From DEMON to TRASH: The rise of Demonic Emperor Zhiyun

Here's a polished continuation for Chapter 7 with your narrative structure intact:

Chapter 7: The Flames of Rebirth

In the depths of the cave, ten men cautiously explored the twisting paths, their torches casting flickering shadows on the jagged walls. Nearly two hours had passed since they entered, and now they were closing in on the monster's lair, lured by promises of treasure.

"Boss, there are traces of the kid's footsteps here," the man with a ponytail observed, crouching to inspect the faint marks on the floor. "It seems he made it into the monster's lair."

"That's good news, then!" replied the thin man, his voice carrying a sinister edge as he exchanged a dark smile with his leader.

"Looks like your plan worked, boss. Even if the kid's trash, he's proven useful!"

Their leader chuckled, his laughter echoing faintly through the cavern. "Let's pick up the pace! We're reaching the lair in two hours, no excuses!" he barked.

The group erupted in cheers, their confidence bolstered by the promise of riches.

—————-

Inside the Monster's Lair

Zhiyun paused mid-motion, the pill hovering between his fingers as he glanced at the massive red-headed centipede looming before him. Though the beast remained eerily still, its piercing gaze bore into him, exuding a menacing aura.

A smirk curled at the corner of Zhiyun's lips as a plan began to take shape in his mind.

'The red-headed centipede is a poison-type monster, and poison-type monsters are weak against potent medicinal herbs… like the one in this pill,' he thought, tightening his grip on the pill.

'The pill could completely knock the creature out, but…'

Instead of acting immediately, Zhiyun sat cross-legged on the cavern floor and focused inward. His consciousness traced the flow of his qi, navigating the chaotic mess of his meridians.

"Out of twelve meridians, five are clogged, and seven are fatally broken," he muttered with irritation.

'There's a temporary method to unclog my meridians… but it's a method no mortal would dare use lightly.'

Raising his hand, Zhiyun extended two fingers and struck ten critical pressure points across his body with precision, targeting even vital spots.

The result was immediate and brutal. An excruciating pain, unlike anything a mortal could endure, surged through him like a raging inferno. He collapsed onto his knees, gasping for air as beads of sweat poured down his face.

"Dammit," he hissed through gritted teeth, his body trembling from the intensity.

The pain was relentless, like countless blades slicing through his organs. Leaning back against a stone pillar for support, he endured the agony, letting it wash over him.

'This brat's pain tolerance is pathetic,' he thought with a grimace.

After thirty grueling minutes, the pain began to subside. Zhiyun sat still, his eyes closed, focusing intently. Then, he felt it—a single, faint drop of qi forming in the depths of his body.

'Finally…'

A smile of satisfaction crossed his face as the drop expanded into a rushing torrent of energy, surging through his meridians like a wild river.

The most critical stage had arrived. He had to control the energy, guiding it carefully to avoid overwhelming his fragile body. A single misstep would cause the qi to spiral out of control, tearing him apart from the inside.

For any mortal without experience in cultivation, this process was a death sentence. But for Zhiyun, it was child's play.

"This is as easy as breathing," he muttered, deftly channeling the qi along the proper pathways, restoring order to his damaged meridians.

After ten minutes of precise manipulation, he opened his eyes. A burst of dark energy erupted from his body, sending a shockwave through the cavern. Even the red-headed centipede recoiled, adopting a defensive stance.

"Not bad," Zhiyun said, examining the dark purple energy flowing around his hand.

"Unfortunately, I can only maintain this for fifteen minutes."

He glanced at the glowing crystal lily he had taken earlier and carefully cut one of its four delicate flowers. Without damaging the herb, he placed the severed bloom into a pool of water nearby.

Channeling his strength, Zhiyun activated a secret technique reserved for beings like himself. As the flower floated in the water, it began to glow with an ethereal light. Above him, the massive magic stones embedded in the cave ceiling shimmered, their essence flowing into the crystal lily.

'Mortals think of this as just another rare herb. They call it a crystal lily because of its appearance, but in the Celestial Realm, it's known as the Mirror Flower. It has the unique ability to absorb and reflect any elemental energy.'

The flower burned, transforming into a brilliant blue flame that hovered above the water. Zhiyun's smirk deepened as he added the pill to the flame and pricked his finger, allowing a drop of blood to fall into the mixture.

'How ironic,' he thought. 'They planned to use me as bait to poison the centipede. Not a bad plan, but they underestimated who they were dealing with.'

His crimson eyes gleamed with malice as the pill absorbed his blood and the essence of the crystal lily, transforming before his eyes. The once three-toned pill now glowed with a radiant jade-green hue, exuding an otherworldly aura.

"Hahaha! Finally, a proper pill!" Zhiyun laughed, his voice echoing through the cavern.

The refined pill hovered midair, a testament to his mastery. As he prepared for the final step, his smile turned cold and menacing.

"To think that the trash they handed me is the key to my survival. I should repay their kindness… with a painless death."

In one swift motion, Zhiyun directly confronted the now-alert monster. The creature seemed momentarily stunned by his boldness but quickly regained its composure, almost as if it was pleased that he had finally stepped away from the stone tablet.

"Happy to see me out?" Zhiyun mocked, leaping onto the monster's head. With a powerful axe kick, he pinned the creature down.

The centipede recoiled in shock at his newfound strength but suffered no serious injuries.

'As expected, I can only use this body's cultivation strength, not my own,' Zhiyun thought, his sharp gaze fixed on the beast as he circled its massive form, dodging its wild tackle attempts.

'I've got eight minutes left. I need to make it swallow the pill before my time is up.'

Using the tall trees for cover, Zhiyun moved like a shadow through the dense forest. He swung from vines, leaping from trunk to trunk, using the lush foliage to stay out of the monster's reach as it pursued him relentlessly. He was waiting for an opening—an opportunity to force the creature to open its mouth.

'Something to make it open wide…' His eyes flicked back to the stone tablet. A sinister idea crept into his mind.

Increasing his pace, he snatched up a nearby stone and continued running.

"Hey, Centy!" he taunted with a grin, glancing over his shoulder at the centipede. The nickname seemed to enrage the monster further, its legs moving faster in its attempt to catch him.

"You don't like that, huh?" he chuckled, dodging another swipe from the beast before landing on a thick branch.

Perched on the tree trunk, Zhiyun came to a sudden halt, causing the centipede to pause below, staring up at him.

'Perfect.'

"What if I do this?" he shouted, hurling the stone with precise force at the stone tablet.

The centipede's head snapped toward the sound as the stone shattered against the tablet. To Zhiyun's surprise, the tablet remained completely unscathed.

'Weird,' he thought. 'Even with just a fraction of my strength, that should've been enough to leave a mark.'

A deafening screech from the centipede snapped him out of his thoughts.

'I'll deal with that later,' he decided, refocusing on the task at hand.

"For now, I have more important matters to handle."

Spotting a vulnerable opening, Zhiyun smirked and prepared to strike. But before he could act, a surge of toxic liquid shot from the centipede's mouth, heading straight for him. Mid-air, he twisted his body and used the trees to change direction, narrowly avoiding the attack.

"Damn it, I almost forgot this thing uses poison," he muttered under his breath, annoyed at the lost opportunity.

The centipede launched another barrage of toxic liquid, obliterating everything in its path.

"That's trouble," Zhiyun muttered. "If that poison hits the pill, it'll evaporate before the monster even has a chance to swallow it."

Glancing around, he quickly assessed his surroundings. Time was running out.

'I only have three minutes left,' he thought grimly. Then, an idea struck him.

With precision, he sprinted to the edge of the mountain. The centipede, momentarily confused, hesitated before crawling up after him, its legs struggling to support its massive weight on the incline.

"This is perfect," Zhiyun muttered, eyeing the rocky ledge. They were 120 meters above the ground, and the monster's difficulty in climbing worked in his favor.

As the centipede pushed forward, Zhiyun didn't waste a second. A dagger appeared in his hand, and he darted toward the creature in an attack stance.

Noticing the threat, the centipede stopped and fired another spray of poison. Zhiyun dodged effortlessly, closing the distance between them.

"Got you," he muttered, a dark grin spreading across his face as he struck, not the monster, but the ground beneath its massive body.

The earth crumbled instantly, and both Zhiyun and the centipede plummeted in a 120-meter freefall.

Zhiyun used his agility to his advantage, sliding along the landslide and leaping onto a nearby tree before he hit the ground. The monster, however, landed with a heavy thud, its enormous body crashing onto its back.

Taking advantage of the opening, Zhiyun flung the pill into the creature's open mouth.

The pill's potency was so immense that within seconds, the centipede's head began to glow ominously. A few moments later, it erupted in a violent explosion, sending shockwaves through the forest.

As the dust settled, Zhiyun landed gracefully on the ground, feeling the last remnants of his temporary cultivation strength dissipate.

"Just in time," Zhiyun muttered with a satisfied smirk, though he could feel his body slowly returning to its weakened state. However, what he wasn't prepared for was the severe backlash.

A sudden, searing pain shot through his body, as though he was being crushed by countless boulders at once.

"AAAGGGHH!" he roared, collapsing to the ground as his muscles screamed in agony. He gritted his teeth, fists clenched tightly against the unbearable pain.

"Damn it… I need to fix this body immediately," he hissed, struggling to push himself upright. Using one hand as support, he finally managed to stand, though his entire frame trembled from the effort.

Before attending to his broken body, Zhiyun turned his attention toward the monster's remains. From the centipede's decapitated head, a faint red gleam caught his eye.

A sly smile crept across his lips

"There it is," he muttered, dragging himself toward the corpse. With the dagger in his hand, he deftly cut into the monster's remains, extracting the radiant red object buried within.

"A monster core," he mused, examining it closely. The surface shimmered with an otherworldly light, pulsing faintly in his grasp. "And it's a level four one. Not bad."

Pocketing the core, Zhiyun surveyed his surroundings. He needed a large, open space with visible light from the magic stones and, ideally, a water source. Judging by the environment, the centipede's lair itself was the best option.

Without wasting time, he returned to the lair and seated himself in the center. Arranging the crystal lily and the monster core in front of him, Zhiyun took a deep breath and began his work.

The refining process started as the crystal lily absorbed the energy of the surrounding magic stones. Slowly, the flower ignited into a radiant blue flame, illuminating the cavern. At the same time, the monster core began to glow, its essence merging with the fire. The once-blue flames shifted to a deep, vivid purple as the two energies intertwined.

Adjusting his stance, Zhiyun focused his remaining strength, compressing the chaotic flames into a smaller, more controlled form. Bit by bit, the roaring fire shrank until it was no larger than a pearl. Suspended in the air, the flames solidified into a translucent pill with swirling purple fire trapped within.

Zhiyun exhaled heavily, wiping away the sweat that drenched his face. His eyes narrowed as he studied the pill before him, its ominous energy radiating powerfully.

"A level six Purple Phoenix Pill," he murmured, his voice tinged with awe and apprehension.

This ancient pill was a rarity even in the Celestial Realm. Designed to rebuild spiritual roots, cleanse impurities, and unblock meridians, it was a miracle pill for mortals. Yet, the process it induced was so agonizing that even immortals hesitated to use it. Many who dared to consume it had died from the sheer pain

Zhiyun's grip tightened around the pill, its heat searing his palm like molten metal. He closed his eyes for a moment, steadying his resolve.

"I'd rather die than live as a cripple for the rest of my life," he muttered.

Without a second thought, he swallowed the pill

The effect was immediate

A wave of excruciating pain tore through his body, far beyond anything he had endured before. It was as if molten magma was flowing through his veins, burning everything in its path

Zhiyun collapsed into the nearby spring, thrashing violently as he tried to use the cool water to soothe the unbearable heat. But it was futile.

"AAAAAAGGGHHHH!"

His agonized screams echoed through the cavern as the pain consumed him. His skin began peeling away, revealing raw muscle and tendons beneath. His hair burned away completely, leaving him unrecognizable. A faint red-orange hue glowed beneath his exposed muscles, as though fire raged within his very being.

The torment was beyond comprehension. The fire wasn't just destroying his body. it was breaking him down to his core.

For forty-five relentless minutes, Zhiyun endured the agony. His screams eventually gave way to hoarse gasps as his voice failed him. By the time the flames began to subside, he was barely conscious.

But the ordeal wasn't over.

Dark purple veins began snaking their way across his body, starting at his toes and creeping toward his face. The residual poison from the monster core had taken root, spreading rapidly through his system.

Zhiyun's breath hitched, his chest tightening painfully as his vision blurred. His hands trembled as he clutched at the ground, his strength fading with each passing moment.

'I'm dying,' he thought, his mind teetering on the edge of consciousness.

However, a flashback of his betrayal surged to the forefront of his mind, igniting a fierce determination within him

'This cannot be the end, he thought, gritting his teeth.

With sheer willpower, Zhiyun summoned every ounce of strength he had left. His hoarse voice echoed through the cavern as he fought against the relentless poison coursing through his veins and the raging fire consuming his body.

The chaotic energy within him threatened to tear him apart, but he refused to give in. Channeling his focus, he began compressing the rampant power, forcing it toward his core. His entire being trembled violently under the strain, and just as it seemed he would collapse, a massive shockwave burst from his body, sending ripples through the water around him.

Zhiyun fell backward into the cold spring, his chest rising and falling heavily. He had done it he had survived.

"Hahaha… AHAHAHAHA!" His hoarse, triumphant laughter echoed through the cavern, growing louder with each breath

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he could feel qi flowing freely through his body. A radiant blue hue enveloped him, its gentle light contrasting with the destruction that had just taken place.

He glanced at his burnt and ravaged body, only to see it begin regenerating before his very eyes. His scorched skin peeled away, replaced by smooth, flawless flesh. His hair grew back, longer and shinier than before (like a shampoo commercial model lol) cascading over his shoulders. Even his muscles seemed to take on the perfect definition, sculpted to perfection (This is the best part, yum!)

In mere moments, his body was fully restored, far beyond what it had ever been. Not a single scar or burn mark remained. It was as though he had been reborn.

"Like a phoenix rising from the ashes," he muttered, his voice laced with satisfaction. Running a hand through his newly regrown hair (like a shampoo model) a triumphant smile spread across his lips.

His celebrations however where cutoff by loud noises of approaching people, his eyes shift immediately to the direction of the entrance where he came from.

His smirk widen as he recognize the group.

"Just in time"