Chapter 14 - Dominus!
Hao Xuan sat alone in his room for a few hours, just trying to remember anything about his past he could but every time it would hurt even more than the last. His head would start pounding like a drum and his vision would go dark.
"I still remember everything about cultivation, but why is it that only my personal memories are out of reach?" he wondered while sitting cross-legged on his bed.
"Screw it, no use wasting any more time on this, nothing's gonna change with me sitting here," Hao Xuan said out loud and decided to go for a walk.
Walking out of his room, he saw the majestic scenery outside. He had no memory of this place and didn't recognize anything which only added to the sense of amazement one would feel upon seeing something like this.
There were huge beautiful pavilions everywhere with extremely thick spiritual energy dancing in the air. There were massive trees planted here and there with a few small streams of water snaking in between them.
He walked around aimlessly, admiring the beautiful scenery. Everything seemed to just 'fit in'.
Soon he lost track of time. He had been walking around for almost an hour, going from vista to another when he realized that he was now completely lost.
"Oh come on, you can't be serious," he mumbled a bit nervously as a sense of unease settled in his heart.
Hao Xuan didn't even know the name of the man who was giving him a place to live, how would he explain the situation to the palace guards? They'd think he was an assassin or a pervert and hang him out in the open.
He turned back around and ran, hiding from any guards and patrols that came around. If he had only gone up to one they would've recognized him at first glance.
After roaming around for a couple of hours, he ended up in a wide-open space with a lake surrounded by misty fog in the distance. There were small animals all around the lake, harmful creatures that jumped around and played with one another without a care in the world.
"Hmm, maybe if I can catch one of these guys, I can feed myself," Hao Xuan thought, trying to hide in the bushes. He hadn't eaten anything in the last 2 days ad now that his mind was somewhat empty, the intense feeling of hunger hit him head-on.
After a few minutes of careful examination, he narrowed down on his target. A beautiful white and black Hare which was just jumping around looking for food, biting every other leaf found on the ground. But little did he know, because of the copious amounts of spiritual energy around the lake, most of the animals had developed a thought process and were almost as smart as 3-4-year-old human children.
With its acute senses, the hare quickly found out it was being followed by Hao Xuan and intentionally led him deeper into the mist, closer and closer to the lake.
When Hao Xuan came to his senses and looked around, he was even more lost. He could see nothing and hear nothing in the dense mist.
"Oh what fresh hell is this now, you gotta give me a break," he pleaded looking above as if someone would actually respond.
Hao Xuan tried to retrace his steps but they were gone, he couldn't see anything at all. It was like someone had intentionally wiped away all traces of him.
Stumped, he found a small rock and sat down, pondering about his current situation and trying to think of a way to resolve this conundrum when he heard a tune. The melodious tune was being hummed by someone close by.
Hao Xuan clenched his fists and decided to follow the humming as it was his best and perhaps the only way out of this place.
Just a couple of minutes of walking later, he came to a clearing near a small waterfall at the edge of the lake.
He saw the source of the humming. It was a beautiful slender back sitting on the edge on the waterfall with dark hair going down to her uncovered hips. Hao Xuan forgot all about his current 'sticky' situation as he listened to the love song she had started singing.
"Who are you to make me keep thinking of you,
This hurts my pride but I'm all worked up,
My face goes red and my heart is racing,
I can't control myself as if I'm getting dizzy."
She sang while pouring the blue lake water on her legs, lost in her own world. Her skin was clearer than the whitest of jades and smoother than the finest of silks.
Hao Xuan almost fell into a trance upon hearing her voice. His body felt so relaxed that he only wanted to lay his head in her lap as she sang to him.
The sound of footsteps came from the other side and another girl walked over, covering herself with a small towel. Her long legs caught Hao Xuan's attention from afar.
She had long, orange hair tied up in a ponytail at the back and fringes coming down covering her forehead.
"Senior sister, come on let's go swimming, they are waiting," she said as she sat down next to the first girl. Those two were the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen, or at least remembered seeing. A strange feeling, something he had never felt before rose in his heart. A possessiveness he had never known before in his life.
"Mhmm," the first girl replied as she stopped humming, got up and put on a swimsuit.
Then she followed the second girl back.
Hao Xuan's eyes looked like they had lost their usual green luster.
Like a mindless puppet, a series of thoughts entered his brain. Thoughts that weren't his own, but weren't too foreign either.
"If I go out right now, they will think I was peeping on them. So I should follow them secretly, make sure they don't pose a threat. Mhmm, I must 'investigate' before going up to them," he mumbled blankly trying to justify his actions.
After a few seconds, Hao Xuan followed after them as well.
They went down an old staircase cut out from the natural stone, going around the waterfall and to another area. This place was surrounded by beautiful trees blooming with pink petals that broke off with the slightest gust of wind.
It looked like a scene from a movie.
Here, two more girls were sitting on a rocky ledge, dipping their legs into the water below.
One of the new girls had long brown hair, a very pronounced chest and same as the other three, porcelain-like skin, white and smooth. She was a bit older than the others, more mature, more womanly. She was wearing gold-rimmed spectacles.
The last girl had long pink hair and a round and cute face, but one thing that was common in all of them was that they were all extremely beautiful. Like angels on earth!
They were standing there with the sunlight hitting them through the clouds, all so different and alluring.
As Hao Xuan was "investigating" the girls from afar, a tinge of red had invaded his pupils from somewhere deep inside his soul. It moved around his eyes like a serpent.
Without even realizing, he had entered a strange state fueled by his previously unknown desires. It was like his body wasn't his own anymore. Like…a door that was never supposed see the light of day had cracked itself open just a little bit and something had leaked out, polluting his very being.
Strange voices, whispers sounded in his ears. The whispers overlapped, but they all sounded like him.
"She is beautiful, don't you want her?" the whispers said lightly as his eyes closed on their own and an image of the first girl appeared.
"If you want her, then just go take her, who will stop you?" the image of the second girl appeared.
"NO!" he shouted back, trying to open his eyes but to no avail. These thoughts felt like his own yet still foreign. It was like the whispers were trying to change him somehow.
"Yes! You want her all for yourself, admit it. All your life you were taken advantage of, when will it be your turn?" and the third girl's image appeared.
"No…this is wrong..." he repeated inwardly over and over again.
"It is the fairest of outcomes! We are strong, yet they are not. If we do not take them, someone else will, such is the law of this world!" the whispers intensified, drowning out his own thoughts.
"No…" Hao Xuan said one last time before he fell asleep.
The fourth girl's image appeared, "If we so desire, it shall be ours. Such is our nature, OUR law!" this time the whispers came from Hao Xuan's own lips.
"Yes, I want them, so I shall have them," he mumbled, his words oozing with utmost confidence.
Throughout the conversation, the pronouns were changing constantly. The whispers first referred to Hao Xuan as "you", which then changed to "we" and now it had become "I", signaling the beginning of the final process.
"I will have what is owed to me," the whispers sounded inside his head, overwriting what little was left of Hao Xuan.
He abruptly opened his eyes, the pupils glowing with a bright green glow with a spark of red in the middle. The Glaive manual appeared in front of him.
It opened on its own as he started absorbing all the spiritual energy from the surroundings with its help. Soon the girls noticed the disturbance and went on full alert. They jerked their hands and various weapons appeared.
The third girl with the glasses had a golden rapier in her hand, which she held in front of her.
"Show yourself! Who dares trespasses in the Royal Palace!" she yelled loudly.
A couple of seconds later several dozen silhouettes appeared all around them. All women, all armed to the teeth.
But "Hao Xuan" had no idea about the ruckus he had caused. Without a care in the world, he greedily absorbed the spiritual energy, with it automatically turning into Qi which rushed through one meridian after another increasing his power by a small margin.
"All of them are mine," he said out loud.
His eyes were still shining brightly and could be seen even through all the mist and the small hurricane that was made because of the sudden absorption of spiritual energy.
From the outside, it looked like the hurricane had eyes and was talking to them.
Everyone present was looking at the two almost blinding green eyes with their breaths held.
The eyes looked at the first girl, the second, the third and then the fourth, and then a voice came from the hurricane.
"You all belong to me and me alone. You will have the 'honor' of helping me open the doors," it said looking at them through the hurricane.
Just as the words left its lips, the Glaive Manual lit up.
The Glaive was a God of weapons, Arrogant, Haughty and Unyielding! For one to use it properly, its user must also possess those same qualities.
A smile cracked on Hao Xuan's lips as he peered at the glaive manual, "We were made for each other," he murmured while caressing its pages.
As soon as Hao Xuan's thoughts coincided with the characteristics of the Glaive, his compatibility increased by several-fold. In the future, it would be much easier for him to cultivate the manual as long as he had the same mindset.
Hao Xuan looked back up at the girls some distance away from him and shouted.
"Understand?!" like a king talking down to his subjects.
*BOOOOOOM*
A massive, muffled boom came from inside Hao Xuan's body which could even be heard outside. His very state of mind was changing.
*Bzzz*
A slight buzzing sound came from his eyes and their color changed yet again to bright red. The spark of red had completely invaded Hao Xuan's eyes.
"I want, so I shall take. Nothing can stand against my blade, all must kneel!" he said slowly and solemnly.
Suddenly an invisible pressure appeared, shaking everyone's very hearts. It made them want to kneel down and beg for forgiveness. They felt unworthy looking at him, negative feelings like that of shame, disgust and weakness appeared in their hearts, all directed towards themselves.
"Dominus Infirmi!" a voice sounded in Hao Xuan's ears and the pressure on everyone outside the hurricane quadrupled. All the armored guards that had appeared suddenly fell down to their knees, and the girls had to use all of their Qi just to stand up straight.
The Qi inside Hao Xuan's body bubbled vigorously, its color changing to a bright golden purple as it went straight up to the first main meridian in his right arm that he had chosen to unseal first.
*BOOOOM*
Another explosion sounded as the Qi collided with the first meridian, cracks appearing on its walls, but still not enough.
The pressure outside octupled. The guards collapsed on the ground with blood coming out of their eyes and ears while the girls finally all fell down to their knees with a loud thud, using their weapons as crutches to stay upright.
Looking at the scene, Hao Xuan slightly smiled and said "Good girls," as his Qi thrummed once again, hitting the first meridian with several times more power than before. It blew open and all the pressure outside vanished in an instance.
The essence of the pressure outside was extracted used as the basis to open the first meridian.
Instead of using a weapon's essence to open his first meridian, Hao Xuan used the strength and aura of an Emperor, which required complete obedience from everyone against him.