Within an untamed forest, a shallow creek trickled and gurgled over a stony streambed.

An indigo bird flapped its small wings, flying carefree in the midst of scattered wild flowers. The feathers of the bird's wings seemed to glow a soft blue hue as they reflected the light of the sun, appearing extremely beautiful and majestic.

Soon, the bird landed onto a slender, pale finger, and was just about to retract its wings when the sound of heavy sprinting burst from the nearby grass, startling the bird so much that it flapped its wings frantically to take flight once more.

Standing on the creek bank, the owner of the finger lifted his head, watching the silhouette of the indigo bird as it flew away into the shelter of verdant leaves hanging from above.

Withdrawing the hand that once held the small bird, the man's fingers brushed aside his long silver-blue hair, vaguely resembling the clear water that trickled along beside him.

Another moment elapsed before a two-meter-tall, muscular man arrived behind him with a predatory presence, the overpowering scent of freshly-spilled blood accompanying his arrival. His body was bare, besides the long black hair that draped around his bronze-skinned, blood-stained physique.

He kneeled a distance away before glancing up towards the slim, similarly naked figure with visible hesitance.

The thin man did not speak, nor did he bother to turn himself around to address the new arrival.

"Sire." The muscular man bowed his head, gruffly forcing words out of his mouth. "One of the humans... escaped."

At the instant he finished his sentence, fine hairs raised all along the kneeling man's body.

An icy wave of irrepressible fear clutched the man's throat as the dribbling and splashing creek stilled to stagnation. The symphony of chirps ringing from the surrounding moss-covered trees deafened to dreadful silence. Even the leaves ceased their movements against the breeze as the scorching summer heat began to cool.

Rip!

Sounds of tearing flesh and fragmenting bone were incredibly resonate in the soundless forest.

The muscular man showed no signs of pain, nor did he say any words in defense as he tore off his own left arm and deposited it gently onto the grass in front of him. Not an ounce of blood leaked out of either the open wound or the fallen extremity.

The action was a clear show of penance for the neglect of his duties, a silent offering of his own flesh and blood.

As a few tense heartbeats passed, violent rustles emanated from the nearby patch of grass as the arm began squirming and twitching. Before long, black fur exploded out its bronze skin, the arm transforming into a huge, feline leg over ten meters in length, the sharp claws extending from the ferocious paw, gleaming with lethality.

To the kneeling Demon's relief, it appeared as though this beseeching display was enough to calm the man standing before him.

Noise returned to the forest, the cool tendrils invading the air dissipated back to its previous sweltering temperature.

For the first time, the man spoke, his voice was low and soft amidst the purifying sounds returning to the creek.

"Clean up the bodies, Horux."

He turned around, revealing the tranquil face of a handsome boy, around the age of 16. However, his icy blue irises betrayed an aged countenance that starkly contradicted his young appearance.

"Send pride members to track the human. Tell the rest that we are to leave as soon as possible."

Horux bowed his head one last time, merely glancing at his gigantic limb lying on the ground before disappearing from his kneeled location.

The youth was alone once more.

He slowly turned back around to stare at the trickling creek, as if the small, but continual flow of the crystalline liquid held the answers to all the world's mysteries within its shallow depths.

...

The next morning.

Spirit Plant Cultivation Chamber.

Auslen lifted his hands from the Spirit Soil, the Spell Formation surrounding the meter-tall Peach Blossom tree scattering almost contemptuously in his eyes.

He shook his head with an inward chuckle. Although he should have been upset after failing to properly utilize the Soul Essence Manipulation Spell Formation for the umpteenth time, Auslen only felt anticipation. From his previous progress, he could sense that he was just a sliver away from finding the correct flow.

Auslen sat on the floor and shifted his gaze away from the immature tree to Vincent, who was standing beside a nearby primrose plant with a sympathetic frown.

“Would you like me to inscribe it again?” Vincent asked, glancing at the now nonexistent Spell Formation he had just drawn.

“Yeah, go ahead. I’ll give it one more shot before calling it for today. Try and see if you can finish the Formation by yourself this time.”

Auslen had recently begun teaching Vincent glyphs, mainly because had grown tired drawing the same Spell Formation multiple times a day. This way, Vincent was happy, and Auslen no longer needed to continue such a tedious and time-consuming activity.

“Okay!” Vincent smiled, standing with the wooden saber that practically hadn’t left his side for months. Attentiveness salient in every movement, Vincent carefully controlled the tip of the saber to inscribe a plethora of tiny glyphs into the Spirit Soil.

…

Half an hour later.

“What's with the 'Soul Essence' in the name of the Spell Formation, Auslen?” Vincent asked, stepping away to inspect the redrawn, square-shaped Spell Formation.

Looking back at the boy who was picking himself up from the Spirit Soil, Vincent continued. “I thought it was called Soul Force.”

“They are both incorporeal masses of consciousness, but Soul Force and Soul Essence are two very different things,” Auslen corrected, dusting his robes and long hair clean.

“Only humans possess Soul Force. However, every other living being possesses what is known as Soul Essence. And although a cultivator's Soul Force cannot interact with another, the same does not apply with Soul Essence.”

Vincent’s brows furrowed, “Why the distinction? Is there that much of a difference?”

“Of course there is.”

Auslen looked up at Vincent with a soft chuckle. “How much do you know about Demons.”

Vincent flinched before answering, “Not much.” Vincent looked away from Auslen, aiming his gaze at his feet as he continued, a little quieter than before. “Just some stuff a few servants talked about back at the Palace.”

With an understanding smile, Auslen didn’t pursue the question.

“Fair enough. Then, how much do you know about humans?”

“Oh um…” Vincent began, thankful for the change in topic.

“I’m not sure?” Vincent bit his lip, repeatedly failing to come up with a real answer. Confusion was brimming in his silver eyes.

“Not a bad response.” Auslen nodded as he neared the Peach Blossom tree. “Don’t worry about it. I can’t say that I know all that much either. After all, the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.”

Seeing Vincent’s deferential nod, Auslen began. “Humans are composed of two basic constituents that, while faintly interacting with one another, are distinct and separate. Tell me what they are.”

Vincent's answer was immediate. “The body and Soul Force.”

Auslen nodded, hands clasped behind his back like a dutiful instructor. “And when humans begin to cultivate, another constituent, Profound Qi, is added, bringing the total up to three.

"As you know this, are you aware of the true purpose of cultivation, outside of increased strength and lifespan?”

It only took a heartbeat of silence before Vincent shook his head, already reconciled to his lack of basic knowledge that he, a 2nd Stage Qi Refinement practitioner and aspiring cultivator, should probably have thought to inquire about.

“Cultivation is the slow process of integrating each of these three elements together into one. That is where humans are unique from every other lifeform.

“Our Soul Force is weak and inherently immutable. It’s only able to form a slight connection with the Profound Qi and the body.”

Auslen’s eyes shimmered with faint envy as he turned his gaze toward the Peach Blossom tree. “Soul Essence, on the other hand, has the powerful capability of direct integration with Profound Qi, strengthening the Soul Essence until the lifeform is ready to break through to the Lesser Demon Realm. And upon breakthrough, that strengthened Soul Essence can even integrate with the body, awakening the Ancient Bloodline and forming the Demonic Body.

“Therefore, cultivation is the process of circumventing humanity’s inherent deficiency, using the Demonic Body as a touchstone and guiding light in search of an alternate path to journey towards the Dao…” Auslen paused as he looked back at Vincent.

Vincent looked conflicted. The previously enlightened expression brightening his face quickly wrinkled with unease and disgust.

“Demons… aren’t Demons…”

Auslen sighed, already knowing where the child was going. “You would be remiss to try decisively labeling Demon-kind, or any race and species, with terms such as bad or good. Demons are, just like humans, complicated creatures capable of performing both benevolent and malevolent actions when it suits them.

“The frequency they dance between the two is merely dependent upon sentiment, benefit, and pleasure."

Auslen wasn’t upset with Vincent’s thoughts. He had every right to be fearful of Demons. Years before the boy came to the Palace, from what Auslen was told, his parents were brutally murdered in their own house by a Demon during his infancy.

And Auslen knew firsthand the kind of wild destruction Demons were capable of. But, perhaps because he had to witness his mother’s unnerving, violent bouts of emotional instability during his childhood, Auslen had gradually lost his initial wariness for the unbridled Demon-kind.

In his mind, both Demons and cultivators were nothing but beautiful, temperamental beasts.

Vincent's eyes lowered, and he no longer spoke.

Auslen turned his eyes away from the obstinate child. At 11-years-old, he was still too young to understand some things. However, if Vincent truly held a desire for cultivation, there would come a day where he would be forced to come to terms with his lingering resentment for Demons.

Leaving Vincent to his thoughts, Auslen focused on the Spell Formation before him.

Similar to the Profound Qi Transference Spell Formation, the Soul Essence Manipulation Spell Formation was another implementation for cultivating Pseudo Spirit Plants. But the procedure was much more complicated.

The Profound Qi Transference Spell Formation was the cheapest, easiest, and most often instructed method for an Apprentice Botanist to raise Pseudo Spirit Plants. It was incredibly useful for cultivators but frighteningly expensive for most practitioners, as practitioners couldn't acquire Profound Qi without the usage of Qi Refinement Elixirs.

Thankfully, there were other options.

White robes crumpled as Auslen kneeled. He put everything else out of his mind and placed his palms onto the Formation nodes with quiet focus.

Breathing softly as the Formation burst with illumination, Auslen felt an abrupt tugging sensation.

Auslen closed his eyes and did not resist.

Like a flash of light, Auslen’s perception extended forwards like dozens of invisible limbs. Soul Force shot through his fingers, flowing straight through a plethora of paths outlined within the glowing Formation until it touched upon the bark of the Peach Blossom tree from all sides.

Suddenly, Auslen felt an impossible mix of strange sensations. His Soul Force was coming into contact with some sort of almost-sweet, fluid-adjacent substance composed of nothing but untethered emotions.

Soul Essence.

Eyes still closed, Auslen sighed slowly as his Soul Force gently caressed the amorphous Soul Essence, doing his best to relax and adjust in preparation for the next phase.

A couple heartbeats passed before Auslen’s perception of his own body diminished until it was but a weak conglomeration of background noise.

He felt anchored. Stable.