Doomsday Cultivation of Truth

During the days of arduous cultivation, Edwin gradually grasped some tricks of the cultivation technique. He could guide the spiritual energy to flow within his body more freely and also perform some primary spells. However, he knew that he was like a flower in a greenhouse, having never experienced the true test of wind and rain.

One early morning, the sunlight filtered through the mottled windows and shone on the old man's weathered face. The old man looked at Edwin with a solemn gaze and slowly said, "Child, it's time for you to venture out into the outside world and accumulate practical combat experience. At the edge of the city, there is an abandoned factory which is now occupied by a group of mutant monsters. This will be an excellent place for you to hone yourself."

Upon hearing this, Edwin's heart skipped a beat. Nervousness and excitement intertwined within him. But looking at the old man's expectant eyes, he instantly straightened his spine and nodded firmly, "Sir, don't worry. I will surely live up to the mission!"

After saying that, he carefully packed his bags and checked his weapons and talismans. The sharp short sword glinted with a cold light in the sunlight. He took a deep breath, carrying anxiety and courage, and resolutely embarked on the dangerous journey to the abandoned factory.

Along the way, the once prosperous scenes no longer existed. Instead, there was desolation and dead silence. The buildings on both sides of the street were dilapidated, with overgrown weeds among the ruins. The wind rolled up the dust and waste paper, flying wantonly in the air, as if it were a dirge of the doomsday.

Edwin's footsteps echoed on the empty street, particularly distinct. His gaze vigilantly scanned the surroundings. Every shadow could potentially hide unknown dangers.

Finally, the abandoned factory appeared before his eyes. The factory gate was rusty and half-open, like a hideous giant mouth waiting to devour him. From inside, the intermittent low growls were like the calls from hell, making his spine tingle.

Edwin swallowed hard, suppressing the inner fear, and tightened his grip on the short sword, carefully stepping into this unknown terrifying place.

As soon as he entered the factory, a strong and pungent stench of decay hit him, almost making him vomit. In the dim light, he vaguely saw that the ground was full of sticky black liquid and the walls were covered with strange green vines.

Suddenly, in the dark corner, pairs of eyes shining with blood-red light suddenly opened and stared at him intently. Edwin's heart rate instantly accelerated, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

Before he could react, a huge monster, neither human nor beast, emerged from the shadow like a ghost and pounced on him. This monster had a huge body, with distorted and bulging muscles. Its hard outer skin was covered with sharp bone spurs, each glinting with a terrifying cold light. It opened its wide mouth and spewed out a black smoke. The smoke was highly toxic and instantly spread.

Edwin was terrified, but years of cultivation made his body instinctively react. He quickly dodged sideways. The black smoke brushed past his cheek, bringing a burning pain.

Calming himself down, he endured the fear, tightly held the short sword with both hands, and continuously injected the spiritual energy within him into it. The short sword instantly shone with a dazzling light. He shouted loudly and slashed at the monster.

There was only a "clang" sound. When the short sword collided with the monster's outer skin, a series of sparks splashed out. Edwin felt a numbness in his arm.

The monster felt the pain and let out a shrill scream but didn't fall. Instead, it was completely enraged. It waved its huge claws, bringing up a gust of wind, and frantically pounced on Edwin.

Edwin dodged left and right, his figure was as flexible as a ghost. Every time he brushed past the monster, his heart was in his throat.

During the intense confrontation, Edwin gradually discovered that although this monster was extremely powerful and fast, after each attack, there would be an extremely short pause. He was secretly delighted in his heart, knowing that this was his opportunity.

When the monster pounced again, Edwin pretended to be unable to dodge in time, luring the monster to strike with all its strength. Just at the moment when the monster's old force was gone and the new force hadn't emerged, he seized the opportunity, took a swift step forward, and thrust the short sword straight into the monster's eye.

Only a "puff" sound was heard. The short sword deeply pierced into the monster's eye socket, and black blood gushed out like a fountain. The monster let out a desperate roar and collapsed to the ground.

Edwin panted heavily, and his sweat soaked his clothes. However, he knew that this was just the beginning. More dangers were still waiting for him... 

After successfully defeating the first monster, before he could catch his breath, several more monsters rushed out from the darkness. They had different forms. Some were like huge pythons but had sharp claws; some were like fierce tigers but had pairs of wings.

Facing these powerful enemies, Edwin dared not slack off in the slightest. He took a deep breath to calm his inner tension and began to circulate the spiritual energy within his body. His hands quickly formed seals, and he muttered incantations. The spiritual energy within him surged along specific meridians. With his spellcasting, the air around him seemed to become denser.

"Wind rise!" Edwin shouted loudly and waved his hands forward. Instantly, a powerful airflow rose in front of him, forming a small tornado. The tornado howled and swept towards the monsters. The wind was mixed with sharp wind blades, cutting the monsters' bodies.

The monsters were caught off guard by this sudden spell and had wounds of varying depths on their bodies. But they didn't retreat. Instead, they were completely enraged and pounced on Edwin even more frantically.

Edwin's figure flashed and avoided the monsters' fierce attacks. He took the opportunity to carefully observe the monsters' movement patterns and found that the monster with wings was extremely fast and could command the other monsters with each attack. Apparently, it was their leader.

He decided to concentrate his strength to deal with this leader first. Edwin mobilized the spiritual energy within his body again. This time, he focused all his spirit on the short sword in his hand. The short sword glowed brightly, and it seemed that there were runes flowing within the glow. He suddenly jumped up like a fired cannonball and stabbed towards the leader.

The leader sensed the threat and waved its wings, raising a gust of strong wind. This wind was like a substance, carrying a sharp whistle, trying to block Edwin. But Edwin was even faster. He shuttled through the wind, and the short sword in his hand was like a lightning bolt, directly penetrating the strong wind and precisely stabbing the leader's wing.

The leader felt the pain and let out a shrill cry, falling from the air. When the other monsters saw this, they immediately fell into chaos.

Edwin seized the opportunity and cast a more powerful spell. His hands quickly changed the magic seals, and he chanted ancient and mysterious incantations. The spiritual energy around him surged frantically. "Rain fall!" At his command, inside the originally dry factory, suddenly dark clouds gathered, and large raindrops poured down like a downpour. Under Edwin's control, these raindrops became as hard as iron, like bullets, hitting the monsters.

After a fierce battle, Edwin finally eliminated all the monsters. At this moment, his spiritual energy was almost exhausted. His face was pale, and his legs went weak. Exhausted, he collapsed to the ground.

Just when he was resting, he suddenly felt a mysterious force coming from the depths of the factory. This force was faint but carried an indescribable attraction. He forced himself to stand up and followed this force.

In the basement of the factory, he discovered an ancient formation. The formation was composed of complex lines and mysterious runes, emitting strong fluctuations of spiritual energy. Those runes glimmered with a faint light, as if telling ancient secrets.

Edwin realized that this might be the key to improving his strength. He stepped forward, squatted down, and carefully studied this formation. His fingers gently touched those runes, feeling the power and patterns contained within them.

After some efforts, he finally understood the mystery of the formation. As he injected spiritual energy into the formation, the formation slowly activated, and a large amount of pure and rich spiritual energy rushed into his body like a tide. His meridians were widened by this powerful spiritual energy, and the spiritual energy vortex in his Dantian became more condensed. His cultivation level was greatly enhanced instantly.

When Edwin walked out of the abandoned factory, his gaze was even more determined, and his heart was filled with hope for the future. He knew that he had taken another important step on the road of cultivating immortality and was closer to the goal of saving the world.