Within Blood Feast Valley, the slaughter had gradually stilled.
Qin Yi had slain every instigator of bloodshed, but when it came to the survivors, he made no further moves.
Maintaining this fragile "peace" was never his intention.
He acted only to keep himself from mistakenly killing innocents, a step that could drive him into deviation.
Yet, through his strange unspoken coordination with Zhou Wen, peace had—against all reason—taken root in the valley.
At the sight, a thought stirred within him.
He wanted to know—
In such circumstances, what would those "immortals" watching from above think?
Would they rage at him for ruining their trial and descend in fury?
Would they find it amusing, letting events play out?
Or… did they have some unknown method still hidden up their sleeves?
Qin Yi found a clean stone, sat cross-legged, and waited quietly.
Waited—for their reaction.
But the next moment, a hunger beyond words erupted from every corner of his being, surging out violently!
This was no ordinary emptiness of the stomach.
It was a craving born from the very depths of the soul, an irresistible urge that screamed at him to devour everything within sight.
Not right!
Far away in the cavern, Liu Ming's mind shuddered in alarm.
He sensed it instantly—Qin Yi's state was anything but normal!
This sudden hunger was no natural impulse. It was a curse, forced upon him from outside!
Yet even with this knowledge, Liu Ming was powerless.
The primal urge to consume had already surpassed reason's control.
It was like when a spot on your body itches unbearably—you know something is wrong, yet you cannot stop yourself from scratching.
Under this purest of desires, Qin Yi's reason fell back step by step, swallowed by madness. Almost at once, he yielded, hurriedly opening his travel pack.
Inside lay chunks of beast flesh he had gathered before.
Without even chewing, he stuffed them into his mouth, swallowing in frenzied gulps.
Not enough—not nearly enough!
The hunger only sharpened.
The meat disappeared at a terrifying pace, but the gnawing emptiness remained, urging him to devour more—more—endlessly more!
Liu Ming knew clearly: Qin Yi's avatar was in an abnormal state. But he could not stop it.
This was unlike Liu San, once controlled by the Three Talents Pavilion. Liu San had been stripped of self, reduced to a puppet obeying commands.
Now, Qin Yi's mind was still his own—yet it had been twisted, warped by desire.
Even though Liu Ming could "see" everything through him, he could only watch as Qin Yi's will drove his body onward in search of food.
The pack emptied quickly, every last shred of meat devoured.
But the hunger did not fade.
It deepened, unbearable, clawing at his very soul.
He could only… eat.
With the flesh gone, only one option remained.
Kill.
Only by killing could he invoke the Blood Feast Codex to absorb the blood and essence of his victims.
The effect was even greater than simple food.
And now—he no longer needed to hesitate.
Because everyone present… was already more insane than him.
If his own stores of meat had bought him a brief reprieve—
What of the mortals who had none?
When that same hunger erupted within them, what choice could they make?
There was no hesitation, no struggle.
The answer was obvious.
"Ahhh—!"
A shrill scream tore across the valley.
No one knew who succumbed first, but one mortal snapped. Unable to endure the tearing hunger, he lunged at the companion beside him, jaws sinking into the man's throat.
Blood spurted in a crimson arc.
The victim scarcely had time to resist before pain and terror stole his life.
The attacker dropped upon the fresh corpse like a starving beast, tearing and devouring, cramming chunks of raw flesh into his mouth.
The horror unfolded brazenly before the crowd.
The power of "example" was absolute.
Once the first taboo was broken, the others—already maddened by hunger—could no longer restrain the beast within.
Their crazed eyes turned toward their neighbors.
Slaughter erupted anew.
This time, not for the illusory "Immortal Fate."
But for the oldest, rawest instinct.
These mortals had not yet cultivated the Blood Feast Codex. Simply killing was not enough.
They had to rip and tear, devouring the warm flesh of the living, to find even a fleeting relief from that bottomless hunger.
But it was only poison to quench thirst.
Moments later, the hunger would return, deeper, harsher, dragging them into the abyss of desire, driving them to the next victim—
Until they themselves became someone else's meal.
Thus, the so-called "initiation trial" had become nothing more than a feast of carnage.
And presiding over this feast was one figure unlike the rest—Zhou Wen.
Unlike the mortals, he had already cultivated the Blood Feast Codex.
For him, killing alone was enough. With each life taken, his technique absorbed the victim's essence, easing the hunger.
He did not need to stoop to bestial savagery.
But still, he had to kill.
And his killing was swifter than all the rest.
At the first level of Qi Refining, Zhou Wen was already a god among mortals. None could withstand him.
When he slew a handful and, empowered by the Codex, broke into the second level, then the third, he became the unchallenged sovereign of the blood-soaked revel.
Wherever he walked, none survived.
In mere moments, more than fifty had perished at his hands. His cultivation surged to the great perfection of the third level of Qi Refining, a wall beyond which he could not yet advance.
But even so, he did not stop.
For it was not the desire for strength that drove him.
It was hunger.
A hunger that could not be restrained.
Perhaps only when every soul in this place lay dead, leaving him the sole survivor, would the madness end.
But before that, he would inevitably meet one man.
Qin Yi.
When Zhou Wen's gaze locked with Qin Yi's, both froze.
If there was anyone left who could kill them, it was only each other.
"Ah…" Zhou Wen's mouth opened, but only guttural sounds spilled out. "Ah…"
Perhaps he wanted to ask: Have you too… been caught by this hunger?
But no words came, only saliva dripping hungrily from his lips.
With a beastlike roar, he clenched his dagger and lunged at Qin Yi!
And Qin Yi, too, bound by that irresistible urge, did not dodge, did not retreat.
He charged forward to meet him head-on.