The Geared Immortal

Dawn of a new day: Part 1 

/*unedited*/

A huge sinister shadow unseen by the naked eye is currently loaming on top of three people. With its power, it is able to block them from noticing its presence. The sinister smile coming from the formless shape of the shadow can make one feel its eerie and sinister aura.

"Hehehe, hahaha! At last, you are weakened, now is the perfect time for me to take everything back. I Vexi Muxin will once again walk this world. This time I will not fail my tribulation. I will have my honor and those deities won't be laughing at me. This time… this time, I will make them bow under my feet." The shadow said happily as a wide grin appears from its formless appearance.

Then suddenly something from within its memory flashes and its expression sank.

A long time ago, there was a very special young cultivator who lives in a small village under the kingdom of San, who is the neighboring kingdom of the kingdom of Wu. 

In that small village lives an orphan, when was five the village chief discover him to have a unique physique. And so he was sent to the town where a sect takes him in, the child's name is Vexi Muxin. As Vexi grew up he became strong and discovers that his uniqueness among the other cultivators is that he can actually see spirits.

Then a passing grand elder of the Lotus Sect from the kingdom of Yi noticed him. The grand elder told him that he possesses a rare physique called dual soul vessel body, a unique body that can carry two or more souls without getting possessed. The elder explained that with his unique physique he can cultivate ghost techniques that can help other cultivators. But what he didn't know is that the grand elder plotted against him and wish to control him. Since he is still young he fell in the hands of that elder. With many excruciating experiments and torture, his Dao's heart was broken and he became like a puppet.

But later did that grand elder knows that as Vexi Muxin grow stronger so as the recovery of his own soul. After many years of being used by the grand elder as a hidden weapon to deal with those he wanted to kill in silent, Vexi Muxin actually reached the nascent realms. At that time, unknown to the grand elder, he actually created his own soul essence. This is due to absorbing multiple souls as he kills. Many of the souls he has absorbed belong to those malevolent men who committed countless bad karma. And hence, Vexi Muxin's mind regained his control.

And one day, he decided to exact his vengeance to that grand elder and killed him. From then on, he stayed in the path of darkness and became a well-known assassin throughout the cultivation land. As Vexi Muxin became stronger the allure of blood became stale and he then long for a new lease in life, because at this time he has reached the pinnacle of mortality and is nearing the saint realm. So almost no one in the world is his match already and it became boring. Then one day, he suddenly felt that he is about to breakthrough and will reach his ascension of being a saint. Then he faces the divine tribulation and discovers that because of the accumulation of his bad or negative karma through murders and other wrongdoings he is judged by the heavens and cannot be accepted as a saint.

This became his regret because no one told him about these things. He didn't know that negative karma can bar you from reaching the saint's realm and that everything is judged by the heavens through the contents of one's heart.

When he was about to be hit by the final thick dark red lightning volt, he heard a lot of voices mocking him.

"Hahaha… He thinks that being strong is the key to reaching and breaking heaven, what a fool. Tsk, tsk!"

"The cries of the blood of those innocent you've killed are protesting against you."

"It would have been better if he went through the path of the devil. Doing bad things and thinking you can reach the heavens. That's a mortal's twisted logic."

"Hahaha… we can't blame him, he has the same thinking as the others in this land."

Those are some of the voices he heard, from his deduction, he heard more than ten voices of both men and woman at that time. He wanted to ask because he has discovered the truth of things. But it was too late; he was suddenly hit by a strong surge of power and his body exploded into a mist.

Then darkness came and he found himself without a form while floating in the abyss.

"What… Where am I? I haven't died yet?" he muttered to himself.

He wanted to say something but no words come out. He wanted to look around but he can't see anything but darkness. Then something donned into him, he has truly died and is now a ghost. Hopelessness and despair grip his consciousness but no matter what he wanted to do, he could not escape this fate. He felt like he is imprisoned in this eternal darkness.

Days become weeks, weeks become months, and months become years…

Vexi Muxin stayed in that darkness for countless of years. But in those years he plans to get his revenge. Since his Dao is that of negative karma then he would turn into a devil cultivator and prove to those fools that he can reach ascension. But instead of becoming a saint, he now will choose to be a High Demon.

He didn't know how many years have passed as he plans over and over in his consciousness, until one day he discovered something.

He found himself inside the consciousness of someone or something… it was a beast. This new light made him happy and from then on he stayed inside the beast. When a beast dies or kills another Vexi Muxin found himself getting stronger. Then he also discovers that as he became stronger he can begin to communicate with his host, through visions.

Then after a long while, his strength became too strong that he is now able to transfer host at will.

Then one day he saw a group of humans. This made him really happy because at last he can experience becoming human again.

A fierce fight happened and in that fight, his host was killed. Then at that instant Vexi Muxin grabs the opportunity to jump into the consciousness of the man. At first, the man tried to resist his power, but then like a devil he enticed the man with power and dreams.

When the man's willpower becomes weak he immediately tried to take control, and because of that, he succeeded. The first thing he did was taste the allure of the flesh. The woman beside the guy was ravaged by him, then he discovers that the woman is not resisting and started to once again enjoy the feeling of being alive. But that didn't last long as the man regains control of himself. But the allure of gaining flesh again becomes stronger from within Vexi Muxin.

From within the man's memories, he discovered that he actually has a wife, a mortal wife. But his host's willpower and cultivation are high, so he is unable to take control of him anymore. He then learned that to be able to control a person he needed that person to be in despair, and he also needed to become stronger than he is, and to do that he started to plan.

As a thousand years old ghost, Vexi Muxin device a plan to sink the man into despair and at the same time eat more souls. And so he implanted fake sceneries within the man's mind which almost drove the man crazy. This started when Vexi Muxin controlled the woman and go to the house of the man. His goal is to kill the wife which would drive him to madness. But when the woman got there he saw that she is being taken by three people. It seems that one of the men has taken a liking to his host's wife and had forced himself unto her. But suddenly the woman he is controlling was discovered and was also violated and killed in a horrendous manner because she tried to fight back.

Vexi Muxin showed this scene to the man but made some twists in it. When the man saw this, true to his plan the man truly went berserk and almost lost his mind. And from then on began his machination and manipulated the man. Like a real devil, he whispers his plan to the man while they combine their powers and share the growth of their cultivation.

Vexi Muxin then learned that he can best control the beast when they are already dead. His old bloodthirst and murderous spirit began to control him as he manipulated his host, and started his reign of chaos all over the land. The souls of the dead became fuel for his strength and their empty husk became his army.

But later did he discover that, as long as he grew stronger so as his host. But he also discovers that he can slowly corrode the soul of his host, except his host is now consumed with vengeance and power.

To lower the guard of his host, he began to give them control over the army. Then true to his plans, the man became complacent and then the day cometh.

After the huge explosion, the ego of his host named Su Aw was hit hard and Vexi Muxin can feel that his willpower is slowly waning.

"Hehehe… this is not my chance. I will show you something that would make you despair once again. With my power, I can now fully take over your body and devour your soul." Vexi Muxin said while grinning widely.

…

Su Aw didn't know that he was used by the soul essence he deemed to be a weapon he could use for vengeance. And so he weakly enters the hut along with Mer Li and Jester. The three of them sat on the small hut quietly; no one said a word as they never would have expected this outcome.

They are clearly at the top of their game and suddenly lost everything.

"Hahaha… I… I was too careless." Su Aw muttered first.

"No, don't blame yourself, master," Jester said as he looks at the dejected look on Su Aw's expression.

"We can still get back at this, right mistress?" Jester said as he turns to look at Mer Li on the side who just sat beside Su Aw quietly.

Jester waited for an answer but to his surprise, the woman that supported his master all this time seems too quiet.

Then suddenly he saw her stood up and walks to the door. She then opens it and walks out slowly. Her movements are monotone while her once vibrant expression turned lifeless.

Then suddenly the two heard her laughing in a different voice.

"Kekeke… Hihihi… Hahaha… What a fool!" Mer Li suddenly said with a voice not of hers but of that of a man.

"I have been waiting for a long time for this to happen. And now that I have gathered this many souls, I can now return to this world once again." Mer Li shouted as her expression turned sinister.

"This body is truly first class, it's a waste that she was killed just like that. But then once I'm back I will have more than this. Kekeke…" she added.

Upon hearing her ramblings, Su Aw and Jester were stunned. They didn't know what is happening, but then Su Aw suddenly realizes the voice is familiar.

"You… how come!? You're just an essence! This… this cannot be!" Su Aw suddenly said as his expression sank.

"Hihihi… No, I'm more than that." The voice of Vexi Muxin said from within Su Aw's mind.

When Vexi Muxin said that, Mer Li suddenly turned towards Su Aw and like a crazy person jump towards him. Seeing this, Su Aw immediately moved sideways to dodge. Then suddenly he found himself sprayed with blood and some gray brain matters.

Then he found the body of Mer Li crash towards the wall of the hut and goes through it. From the hole, he can see her lying on the ground with her skull blasted open.

"No!!! No!!! Mer Li! What… what happened?" Su Aw cried as he ran towards her.

But after taking a few steps he stopped as he saw her slowly climbing up to stand.

Then Su Aw was donned in the realization that Mer Li is already gone and is being manipulated by the soul essence. Though she was acting like a normal being and has the emotion of Mer Li, however, he knows that her soul and consciousness is under the soul essences control. But then before he could react, Jester suddenly jumps on him and drags him to the ground.

Jester actually saw a silver flash that hit Mer Li straight in the middle of her forehead ruining her pretty face.

When he saw this cold sweat immediately drench his back. He has already experienced this before. This was the time when he encountered the young man. It's the same silver flash, but this time it seems to be a long-range attack. And from its source, Jester immediately deduces that it came from the village.

Before they could react, Jester and Su Aw saw the now disfigured face of Mer Li standing outside the hut.

"Who dares interrupt me?!" Vexi Muxin shouted.

Meanwhile, at the huge mansion beside Jin Fu and the other cultivators stood a middle-aged man holding a weird-looking hallowed stick while pointing it towards the location of the hut uphill. This man is Ping Gui.

"Damn it! I wasn't able to kill that Su Aw guy. The woman accidentally got in the way." Ping Gui said as he shook his head.

He then held the weapon in his hand and hid it in his spatial ring.

"Why did you stop?" Xinge Lee asked from behind.

"Well, I don't have any more of those small arrows for this thing." Ping Gui said dejectedly.

"Why don't you make one then? It's your artifact?" Xinge Lee asked in confusion, which gained the nods of the cultivators around them.

"Ahem… you see I bought this thing a few months ago in one of the forest border towns called Dis, that town is weird. They have those small communication things everywhere, and many cultivators are wearing some metallic contraption in their bodies." Ping Gui explained.

"Because I lack spirit stones, I just bought this thing they called 'rifle'. This is the lowest grade weapon of its kind in that place. Plus it's already used so it was a bargain. I didn't expect that it would be a very powerful weapon… if only I'm not in a hurry to go to the capital city of Wu. I would have stayed in that place." he added.

"Ahhh… So that place." suddenly Elder Jugs muttered to himself.

"Anyway, since we are unable to kill that Su Aw, what should we do then?" Xinge Lee asked the crucial problem.

With this everyone turned quiet.

"Well… maybe those two people following them might be of help." Ping Gui suddenly said as he pointed to the side of the hill.

"What do you mean?"

"I… I think I saw two people in there. I'm not too sure though as they seem to vanish every now and then." He answered while thinking.

Upon hearing this, the rest of the cultivators suddenly had a hopeful expression on their faces. As they are all trap in this place, they are not sure of what is happening outside.. Though the mist seems to be clearing slowly, their spiritual sense cannot still be used.