Reverend Insanity: Insatiable

The Masked Spirit's will entered my blessed land and gave me full control of all the gu. It also showed me everything that had happened as I ascended. Ah, the second tribulation was an enslavement path tribulation called "Mother's Cry." It would ring out the voice of a certain beast, making beasts believe its loved one needed help, and causing the beast to see any creatures that weren't of its kind as enemies.

The first tribulation was clearly a food path tribulation. It didn't disintegrate everything it touched; no, it instantly dried out everything by sucking all the moisture from it. This tribulation definitely occurred because of the Dead Sea. I'll name it Withering Downpour. Unfortunately, I can't harvest this tribulation since it's evaporating upon contact, and I don't have the necessary gu to harvest it.

However, that large kelp kraken is ripe for the picking. Since it wasn't reacting, I lifted it into my blessed land with ease, using qi shape. I also left the safety of the qi dome after stowing my ship. The rain hit me, but Dao Devourer activated. Since this was a food path tribulation, it didn't damage Dao Devourer; instead, it helped it grow.

With an infinite source of primeval essence, Dao Devourer remained active. Had I known this would be my tribulation, I would have let my body get hit to empower Dao Devourer. Oh well, it is what it is. As I embraced the rain, the lightning-cloud birds targeted me.

What a bunch of suicidal birds! Not even a desolate beast scared these guys away. They seemed to be cloud path beasts with some lightning affinity. I didn't need them, but I wouldn't mind absorbing them. I activated Qi Shape gu and created a large pill, capturing most of the birds in one swoop.

Instead of fleeing, the ones that were still loose attacked the pill in a frenzy. But all I had to do was make small holes to capture the rest. I then shrunk the pill down to a large size. It now looked like a dark grey pill with small volts of electricity flickering through it. Using nutrient gu, liquid gu, and large appetite gu, I turned the cloudy pill into a liquid-like form and ate it.

Well, that was nice, but it lacked the Dao. I won't even gain a single Dao mark, but it doesn't matter. I then heard a clattering sound. Looking down, I saw Dao Devourer clattering its teeth, signaling that it had reached rank 5 strength. But just as it reached that stage, the Withering Downpour ended.

Of course, it ended now—why wouldn't it? I brought out Masked Spirit's will and ordered it to use Qi Shape gu to contain all of the Dead Sea, keeping it held until I said otherwise. I activated Aurora Scent gu to ensure we gathered all of it. While we were doing this, I caught a whiff of two immortals approaching quickly.

I took out Masked Emotion gu and placed it on my face as I waited for my guests. Not long after, a large bat creature with a man riding on top of it arrived. The moment they saw me, they stopped and kept their distance. The man on the bat creature was a beastman who had the upper body of a cow and the lower body of a bird.

"Did you just ascend here?" the beastman asked me.

"Me? No, but a descendant of mine did."

He eyed me as the bat creature spoke next. "Then where is this descendant of yours who just ascended, and why did he choose to do it near our Bian clan's territory?"

"He's resting in my blessed land, of course. As for this location, well, it just happened," I answered nonchalantly.

"Well, how about we introduce ourselves first? I'm Piao Bian, and this is Feng Bain. And you are?" The beastman asked.

"I go by many names, but you may call me Masked Immortal." My response seemed to upset the beastman as he scowled.

"It's a bit rude not to show your face or introduce yourself properly," the beastman said.

"Well, neither is showing your true face while in a transformation form. But you seem to be misunderstanding something. The title of Masked Immortal wasn't originally mine but my ancestor's. Since I inherited his gu, I also chose to carry on his title. He was known by others, to some extent, as he worked for many. Only I have kept to myself."

Piao's scowl eased a bit after I said this.

"Masked Immortal... forgive me, but I don't know him..." Before he could speak further, Feng cut him off.

"Well, if your predecessor was so well known, how about a friendly match?"

"Forgive me, but I'd rather not fight you. I don't like to pick on the young." Feng didn't speak, but the aura of a killer move appeared as his bat form grew larger. With each flap of his wings, strong gusts of wind followed.

"Then I'll ask you to please teach me."

Piao flew off and went to the side, as if he knew that he couldn't stop this now.

"Well, if you want me to teach you, I'll gladly oblige." The bat beast flew toward me. I used Qi Shape gu to create a wall, while activating an immortal killer move. The wall of qi shattered as he continued to fly at me, but by then, my immortal killer move was ready.

A grey mask flew out of Masked Emotion gu and adjusted itself perfectly onto the bat. It swiped at it, trying to destroy it, but it was too late—the mask's effect kicked in. I flew over to Piao, who was on guard.

"I'm not the one fighting you," he told me.

"Oh, I'm not fighting anyone either. I'm just helping Feng learn. I suggest you follow me." I flew up high as Piao stayed in place, not listening to my advice. He watched me vigilantly, but he was watching the wrong person.

He was rammed by the giant bat and sent flying. But the bat didn't stop there—it chased after him, only to be hit by a strong water current that pushed it back.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Feng?!?" Piao yelled at him.

"He won't understand you in his current state," said a small mask that hovered near Piao.

"You did this? It's that mask on him, isn't it?" he asked the mask.

"But of course," it replied. However, instead of replying further, Piao flew right toward me, with Feng chasing him. Once they were both close, Feng flapped his wings, creating a tornado that went after both of us.

Piao turned into a long, light blue dragon, with water condensed onto its claws.

"Enough!" He slashed at the bat's face, but it stopped flapping its wings and fell to avoid the attack. However, this earned its anger. It flapped its wings again and sent itself flying back, creating another tornado aimed directly at Piao.

Piao swished his tail, covered in water, and destroyed the tornado, but it gave Feng enough time to fly back toward him. This time, the bat thrust its wings, creating a powerful burst of air to send itself flying toward Piao. It crashed into the dragon, scratching its claws all over, but the dragon's defense was strong. Each slash was either stopped by its scales or blocked by the water protecting it.

But bats aren't known for their claws; the bat bit into the dragon's body, piercing it and causing it to yelp in pain. It then aimed its mouth at him, unleashing a powerful stream of water that struck the bat right on the head, sending it off.

The attack was powerful enough that the mask on the bat dissipated. Feng stopped in his tracks.

"Are you back now, Feng, or do I need to hit you again?" Piao yelled at him. But instead of responding, Feng transformed into his beastman form. He had the head of a grey rat and a grey robe covering the rest of his body.

He turned toward me as the mask that had been speaking to Piao flew back to me.

"May I ask what that killer move you used on me is called?" he asked, now with a kinder tone than before.

"It's called Masked Perspective. It's designed to help transformation path cultivators get into the mindset of their beast. How was it?"

"It was nice. It helped me understand the movements of my Whirlwind Devil better than before. Are you a Wisdom Path gu immortal?" Piao turned back into his beastman form as he waited for my response.

"Masked Immortal is indeed a Wisdom Path gu immortal. If you look up my ancestor, you'll see he was famous back then for making oaths for others."

"I'll have to learn about him when I return then. Was this your killer move, or did your ancestor create it?" Feng asked.

"My ancestors created the mortal killer move with the hope of making it into an immortal-level killer move, but he was never able to do it himself. But that's what inheritances are for—we pick up where they left off to improve and add to the inheritance for the next person."

Feng and Piao nodded in agreement.

"Then I'd like to ask that both you and your recently awakened family join us back at our clan for a celebratory dinner," Feng said.

"That sounds good, but I must tend to my family and help guide him right now. I'm sure you understand, but I'm not denying the invitation—just postponing it."

I let out a gu and sent it to Feng, who received it without hesitation.

"You'll be able to contact me through this gu, and vice versa. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go." I flew away as they both seemed like they had more to say but held back. Once I was no longer visible, only then did they speak to each other.

"Should we really have let him go so easily?" Piao asked Feng.

"Are you going to force him to stay personally? With just that Masked Perspective killer move, he has a strong counter to any standard transformation cultivator," Feng replied.

"Was it that bad?" Piao asked.

"I lost my sense of self... It was as if I was always the Whirlwind Devil. No consensus—just the mind of a beast. Imagine if he got both of us with that attack. We could end up killed by our own hands or, worse, remain in our transformation form too long and become true mindless beasts," Feng said with a worried tone.

"Either Elder creates a method to protect us, or we'll have to be with him when he's around," Piao said.

"Yeah, that old man wouldn't mind helping us if it involves a Wisdom Path gu immortal. Let's go."

...

Once I was far enough from the Bian immortals, I set down my newly formed blessed land and entered it. There was plenty of light, and it was full of greenery, with the top half covered in leafy trees and the bottom half full of shrubs and bushes. What made it stand out, though, was that in the middle was a large lake of fresh water.

I flew over and, just as I thought, the water was fresh. In the sky was a small grey line, likely a result of the cloud birds I had eaten. There was also a large qi sphere holding the Dead Sea in the air. My blessed land was middle sized just as the system said it would be. My three largest gains from ascending were Karma Immortal gu, the Dead Sea (specifically the salt plague bacteria), and lastly, the kelp kraken.

In the bottom half of the blessed land lay the desolate plant. Masked Spirit's emotionless state killer move seemed to be more effective on beings with little thought. Any smarter creature would have awakened by now, but since it's a plant, its thoughts are minimal. I'll keep it for now, though since it's a desolate plant with little demand for care.

Even though it's a Wood Path plant, my blessed land has higher Food Path dao marks. Anything that could be considered growing food will thrive here. Some more than others, for sure, but in general, most things do well here. For now, I should prepare for some terrain alterations.