Bab 2: The Speaking Doll

Opening his eyes, Luo Xiong saw a familiar ceiling in his vision. He glanced at the surroundings and saw a young lady quietly sleeping at the side of the bed, using her arm as the pillow.

He gazed at her emotionlessly, before checking his body's condition. He could see that most of his upper body was wrapped with bandage, with some stained blood could be seen.

He touch his head, and could also feel bandage covering his forehead. He sighed in his heart, it seems that the devil was really enraged this time.

His father was called Luo Shan, and has a quite reputation in the whole imperial capital. By saying reputation, he was popular as one of the known Imperial Devils who is very ruthless and has a bad temperament.

He was always being beaten up until the verge of death, that's why he could still have an emotionless expression, although he was beaten up to death.

He glanced at his little sister again, and saw that her face was serene while sleeping. It is a very beautiful scene, that only him, Luo Xiong could only see.

She was also famous in the capital, who was part of the three great beauties from the various clans. Meanwhile, Luo Xiong was just a unknown person who was not even worthy of attentions even by minor nobles.

Although he knew that Luo Yan had taken care of him after he was beaten up, he was not thankful as he felt that it was just normal at all.

There is also a slight flame of hatred in his heart, but he forcefully not to let it seen by anyone.

She was the favorite of his devil father, and so, that's why he is still alive till now. If not, then he would be already sleeping at the his coffin few years ago.

He hated her for being a very talented person. She was extremely gifted on cultivation, adding her pretty appearance that could cause a country to topple.

However, although he hated her, he didn't do anything bad to her beside ignoring her. Because, she was a very useful bargaining chip if he wanted to live any longer under the hands of his father.

Luo Xiong understood this, that's why it is also good to make her at his side, and so, he would have a slight assurance for his life.

'Now, what should I do?' Luo Xiong understood that the death's door was nearing, and if he didn't do anything, he would really be killed even if he had his little sister as his bargaining chip.

Since young, he had already a scheming and plotting mind. Maybe because he had inherited the evilness of both his grandfather and father, so he also have a sinister mind.

However, no matter how he was scheming, he couldn't think anything that would help him. It seems like he would need to relax for a moment and see if he could gain an epiphany.

Luo Xiong removed the blanket out of his body, as he silently sneaked out of the room, as the little sister of his didn't felt anything, still in a deep sleep.

He opened the door and walked out, before closing it as he calmly inhaled the fresh air in the surroundings.

He glanced at the blue sunny sky, while stretching hands causing a bone crackling to sound out.

'How many days has it been since I passed out?' Luo Xiong thought.

Although there is still quite pain, his wounds were about to heal completely, so, about a few days had passed.

For an injury like this, and for a cultivator like him, it is a piece of cake if he wanted to recover from injury. Of course, it still not enough if he wanted to heal completely. So, he had lost a sense of time, constantly wracking his brain as he tried to get how many days had passed since the incident.

After stretching his limbs, he started to wander at the Luo Estate. He glanced at the old courtyards who was now home of many bugs and spiders, which is filled with cracks and full of dust.

Many buildings in the estate were abandoned completely, becoming a desolate place devoid of human beings. It was such a lonely place. The sudden decline of the Luo Clan truly caused it to fall into abyss. Now, only few clansmen who has no place to go remained here, as well as some clumsy, old, and weak servants had remained here.

If not because of his undying father, then this place would be occupied by some clan. And although the clan had fallen, the last pillar of support, Luo Shan, was still quite influential so some of them didn't dare to strike first without any complete assurance.

Luo Xiong walked past many abandoned buildings as he thought, 'Such a clan with a bright history, had actually fallen into doom.'

He shook his head and didn't think anymore. As he lingered around, he sank on his thoughts, constantly thinking about the past glories of his clan. He was already five when the clan fallen into despair.

As he gradually lost the sense of time, he unknowingly walked into a remote and lonely building which is filled with spider webs as well as a cracks that even a few reckless moves could destroy this building completely.

At the roof, was a big wooden plaque with a word: 'Storage Room'. It is filled with vines and the word engraved in it were now blurry. He could still remember that this was where the most precious treasures in the clan, were stored. When he first entered this place, he was overwhelmed with awe and shock, because there are so many puppets made of some unknown materials as well as some mystical pattern scrolls stored at the shelves.

And he sighed, and walked towards it as he opened the door. The sight of precious treasures inside couldn't be seen. But all sorts of discarded garbages with some useless puppets which is defective, and also didn't have any limbs remained.

This was no longer a storage room, garbage room was a perfect name for this building.

He wandered on the room, staring slowly at the items inside. There where some incomplete low-tier mystical pattern scrolls, a rusty armors, broken puppets, and some discarded and useless furnitures.

'The most protected building at the previous era, became the most useless of all.' Luo Xiong, as he shook his head in disappointment.

The precious and magnificent treasures inside were already plundered, leaving behind all sorts of useless treasures here. No one would even want it, unless one was a complete mortal.

The reason because of Luo Xiong's slow cultivation wasn't just because of his mediocre talent, but also because of the lowly cultivation technique he was using.

The selfish father of his didn't want him to lend the precious cultivation technique of the Luo Clan, fearing that he would lose it. Then, this bastard even wanted him to have a good position at the nearing competition in capital two months later. He is dreaming completely!

One must know that a good cultivation technique could compensate one's talent and as long as one have a top-tier one, then one could even match with an extremely talented genius.

As for the other good cultivation techniques, they were all plundered by other factions as well as some clansmen.

Luo Xiong sighed in his heart. If he only have his little sister's talent…

After seeing that there is no good items that could help him his cultivation, he quickly shook his head and was about to leave when he suddenly felt a cold feeling on his nape.

He felt a chilling cold gaze, watching him as he wandered through the room which caused Luo Xiong to be bewildered.

He glanced at source of the gaze, and saw that in the corner, at least forty centimeter doll could be seen, leaning its back to the wall.

He could see that its two chilling eyes were staring directly at him, causing Luo Xiong to froze on the spot.

He remained at his position in few moments, before he regained his senses. He felt something attracted him from this doll, though he didn't know why.

His intuition told him that this would change his fate in this life, and could even possibly become an expert in the empire. And so, no one could control his fate other than him.

However, he didn't move even though his intuition urged him to pick it up. After all, intuition was a very unreliable thing.

After taking a deep breath, which calmed his tensed mind, he walked towards it cautiously before he grabbed its body. He felt somewhat strange when he was staring at this strange doll. It felt creepy, when he saw its smiling face.

This, was the most terrifying thing that caused him to get fearful other than his father. After all, humans were afraid of unknown.

When he saw that nothing strange happened even after he picked it up, he heaved a sigh of relief relaxing his muscles.

"I guess I should give this to my little sister." he said to himself. It would good if she was happy, so she would still be quite useful for him.

'Speaking of usefulness, it seems like there is still some use of her.', Luo Xiong thought, as he suddenly had an epiphany which flashed to his mind. After he thought of a plan, he smiled grimly as a cold light flash on his eyes.

He was prepared to leave when he saw something that shocked him completely.

Near the exit, was a doll standing as it smiled at him with those creepy eyed. The atmosphere in the room turned cold, as cold sweat poured down from his forehead.

He checked his hand, and saw that the doll on his hand change into a broken puppet causing him to be alarmed. The broken puppet fall down to the ground, while the youth stared at the doll smiling at the latter.

Suddenly, the doll's smile widened and it let out a voice of little girl causing Luo Xiong's hairs to stand up. "Kid, you have a cold smile there."

Luo Xiong took a step back, as he suddenly slipped causing him to fall down. He stared at the doll, with a scared expression.

"G-ghost… demon…" Luo Xiong murmured, as he practically became insane. That is understandable.

Many legends about ghosts and demons were spread throughout the world, the Great Wu Empire was not an exception. The legend has it that a sinful person would be haunted, even a good person would die miserably. This legend even frightened cultivators. After all, although they have power to fight, ghosts and demons were unknown to them. Luo Xiong was no exception.

The smile on the doll's face faded as a sneer replaced it as it said, "Kid, what ghost and demons? You're very delusional. A cultivator like you was actually afraid of the creatures of dark race. Tch… pathetic."

When he heard this, Luo Xiong forcefully calmed down as he recollected his thoughts before saying, "You're really not a ghost nor demon?"

"Keke, of course not. I am also a cultivator from my past life. Unfortunately, I was sealed in this damned doll." the doll cracked a smile, as it said nonchalantly.

Although it was quite strange for a doll to speak, Luo Xiong felt that it was not scary as it seems. He knew that those ghosts and demons from a various legends would pounced upon a person if they saw it. And, this doll didn't kill him saw his guard relax slightly.

Hearing the words of the doll, Luo Xiong was astonished, as if he couldn't believe what did he just heard. The soul on doll is actually a cultivator in the past, which is quite astonishingly unbelievable.

"You're a cultivator in past life? Then you were sealed in that doll?" said Luo Xiong with the intent of confirmation, staring at the doll with somewhat cautiousness. Although the doll had said that it was a cultivator in its past life, he still needed to be cautious because he didn't know if it was a friend or foe.

"Enough with this nonsense and I'll propose a deal with you, brat." doll said with an impatience on its voice as it stared at Luo Xiong with its green eyes.

Luo Xiong was taken aback when he heard what the doll said. He glanced at it cautiously as he carefully said: "Deal? What kind of deal is it? Is it beneficial for me or not?"

"Keke, kid you're very fortunate to met me because I'll change your life. So don't worry, this deal would be highly beneficial for you." the doll smiled, as it said.

Though the doll had already said it, Luo Xiong was still cautious and didn't dare to be careless, and so, he first decided to see if the deal is really beneficial for him or not.

After hesitating for a moment, Luo Xiong finally spoke: "So, what kind of deal is this?"

"I will live within your magic space, how about that?" the doll said, as it finally said its purpose, which caused the youth to be disappointed.

"No." Luo Xiong immediately shook his head as he declined this so-called deal. No matter what angle it is, he couldn't see a tremendous benefits about this deal. It could even harm him. So, who knows what this doll would do within his magic space.

"Don't decline so quickly and listen what I will said next," the doll smiled. "You didn't know but I have a vast space inside this body which is identical to a cultivator's magic space. Which means, if I lived within your magic space, you could have a vaster magic space where you could store your internal magic power. So, what do you think?"

"Hmph! Are you trying to fool me?" Luo Xiong sneered. "If I really have a vast magic space inside me, then the magical energy that I would need to absorb would also become double if not triple. And the result is that my cultivation speed would become slower as tortoise."

'This brat is not easy to sway' thought the doll. However, it didn't became angry after age heard about Luo Xiong's doubt. To be truth, it was rather impressed. If it was other people, they would have already agree after they heard that he was an expert in the past. In addition, having a wider magic space is also a advantage. But Luo Xiong immediately declined because he still knew his limits and the deal would only put him in advantage. Such a swift mind was rather admirable.

"If that is the case then what if I give a cultivation technique that surpassed even an heaven-tier cultivation technique?" the doll finally said after thinking how to sway the youth in front of him.

"Oh, cultivation technique huh?" Luo Xiong's interested was piqued.

In the Desolate Mortal Region, cultivation techniques were divided into four tiers, from lowest to highest: human, mystic, earth and heaven. Each and every tiers were also divided into four levels which is, low, middle, high, and top.

Even in the Desolate Mortal Region, a high-level earth tier or heaven-tier cultivation techniques were as rare as a phoenix's feather. Which is why, Luo Xiong was quite stunned when he heard that the doll wanted to give him a cultivation technique which even surpassed a heaven-tier.

"Alright, if you really gave me a cultivation technique above heaven-tier, then I will cooperate with you." said Luo Xiong with eagerness on his voice. Although he was very cautious and rarely became excited, just hearing about such a horrifying cultivation technique couldn't help but felt greedy.

Seeing that Luo Xiong became greedy just by hearing that he had a cultivation technique above the heaven-tier, the doll inwardly shook its head as it thought: 'Although he was smart person, his willpower is still at the level of mortal.'

But it was not surprising a single bit, because Luo Xiong had just experienced being beaten up by his father. And so, his experiences is still lacking compared to an old monster like it. After a moment, the doll raised its arm as it swayed it, saying: "Come here."

Luo Xiong immediately followed the doll, as he kneeled down and leaned forward.

Meanwhile, the doll jumped into the youth's head, as its hand touch his forehead, before a strange and mysterious energy poured out of it.

Suddenly, Luo Xiong felt a incomparably painful headache which is beyond his comprehension. He screamed in pain, as he hugged his while the doll dodged his arm.

After a few breaths of time, the headache that he was feeling had began to fade before it completely subsided. Then, a myriad of unfamiliar informations appeared into his mind. This memories were too strange, and there was a mysterious ancient languages which he didn't know.

After that, Luo Xiong removed his hand which is hugging his head, as he stared blankly at an empty space within the storage room. This is the first time that he heard about such a strange technique which transfer one's memories onto another one.

Luo Xiong cleared his mind and ignored the doll who was currently watching him nearby, as he began to read his memory.

Few minutes later, Luo Xiong took a deep breath, as he opened his abyss-like eyes. He finally learned what kind of cultivation technique the doll gave him.

It turns out that this cultivation technique is called "Magic Devouring Ancient Technique", which has an ability to devour one's internal magic power then refine it to oneself, before turning it onto one's own internal magic power. Also, it could absorb magical power inside the Magic Stones, which is a hundred times faster than the cultivation technique he was currently practicing. Furthermore, this was just the cultivation technique's first volume. As for the second volume, he didn't checked it as he knew his own limitations.

"What an evil technique," after he learned the abilities of "Magic Devouring Ancient Technique", Luo Xiong took a deep breath and murmured in amazement. This cultivation technique was truly deviant and evil, devouring one's internal magic power then refining it, such a technique was forbidden.

Seeing the expression of Luo Xiong, the doll secretly snickered. In truth, even in his peak, such a cultivation technique was truly rare. He had obtained it in some sort of ancient ruins, which is very dangerous even for an expert like him. He also had the same reaction when he discovered such a cultivation technique, not only could it devour one's internal magic power, but its tier was also unimaginably high. "What do you think? Do you want to cooperste with me?"

Luo Xiong glanced at the doll as he said, "Although you have given me such a cultivation technique, I don't believe that you're benevolent enough just to live inside my magic space, right?"

"You are quite smart. When you really became strong, I'll tell what to do." said the doll, not at all surprised that Luo Xiong guessed it correctly. "Anyway, I should enter your magic space now."

Before Luo Xiong could react, the doll entered his magic space by jumping into his stomach, as it entered his body like it was formless and shapeless. The youth immediately checked his magic space.

Below his abdomen, was a space filled with internal magic power which was practically scattered within. At the center of his magic space was a doll, calmly floating as it said, "Kid, now that we are in cooperation, you should call me by my name—Gu Yi."