134 A Savage Seclusion

I closed the book, the reality was learning these 8 trigram talismans was just as difficult as studying the 108 runes of damnation. I was better off attempting to derive Dao lines from the 108 runes of damnation than studying the 8 Trigram talismans. The book gave me a better understanding of Formation Masters though, so it was worth the read.

Only the wealthy could afford to practice this profession. Since I had greedily devoured resources from this lower world, I was in the ranks of the very few that could afford to practice it. But I would leave that for the time after I broke into Viscount.

Now that I understood the machinations of Dao runes, I would focus on condensing my nascent devil soul. I choose to again dive into the Tyranny Dao rune. I again experienced the life of tyrant kings and their brutal reigns. This time I only spent a day within the visualization. My understanding of Tyranny had almost reached completion.

If I wanted I could continue studying the Tyranny Dao rune and make a breakthrough with it, but I wasn't sure this was my Path of Damnation. Too much practice of devilry is bad for the soul. I took Chubs out for a walk to sate my greed, collecting more herbs to add to my astonishing collection.

During my leisurely journey through my garden, I had time to think over the paths of damnation. Not all of these paths were equal, somewhere easier to use to beguile mortals with that lead to faster devilry advancement. They were also equally difficult to master.

My first path of damnation should fit my personality. Although the runes could help me get more in tuned with the paths of damnation, my inner devil is what mattered most. Sexual lust was out of the question, I refused to be some kinda boy toy who goes about philandering women.

I had two years of time to waste so I could grasp a bit about every single path, but my appetite wasn't that big. Only one path of damnation would affect my nascent devil soul. Just like Daos, paths of damnation still needed to be studied after one reached the Viscount realm.

These Dao runes were mere samples of the paths. I knew the most well-known paths of damnation were the seven deadly sins of Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, \u0026 Pride. Many of the 108 paths of damnation lead into these deadly sins, though I didn't know how they were connected in practicing devilry.

Even prince X'var of the Rez'gal Empire was bold enough to name his organization the seven deadly sins, I think he gave me the moniker Pride. He might know a little more than he let on about this being an Imperial descendant. I'll have to find the time to ask him when I take a stroll back through the Rez'gal Empire. Thankfully, my identities as Soulless and James Hudson aren't connected.

If I maintain both identities, I could funnel resources from both Empires. Both Empires shall fall in the wake of the rise of this young lord!

I'll ask that shameless Satyr if he has any solution for me when I head back to Satyr Castle.

After clearing my head during a leisurely stroll to pick flowers in my garden, I headed back to my cave for seclusion. I would learn the closest of the 108 paths of damnation that related to the seven deadly sins. Whichever fit me best would be the one I used to break into Viscount.

I focused my \u003cSoul Eyes\u003e on the Dao rune for Pride to start my journey. This rune depicted the story of a clan patriarch. His pride led him to be brave and selfless defending his clan. However, his pride was his ultimate downfall.

His brother went around offending a powerful clan, knowing that the patriarch would be there to defend them. In the resulting battle, the Patriarch gave his life to defend the clan averting disaster. It was a nefarious plot. After the death of the patriarch, his brother executed the patriarch's entire branch of the family, taking over the clan. The patriarch's sin led to the death of all his loved ones he held most dear, damning his soul to the Endless Abyss.

I liked Pride, it's a powerful path of damnation that can affect charismatic leaders the most easily. The souls that tread along this path would always be powerful individuals that had a bit of standing. Rarely are the weak tainted by the sin of pride.

I somehow felt Pride was right for me, I didn't know what it was. After getting closer to the mortal desire of Pride, I no longer felt the need to study the rest of the 108 paths of damnation.

I felt something was missing the more I contemplated over the sin of Pride. Alone it was like yin without the yang. What is the opposite of pride? Humility? To not be prideful was to be humble, although I didn't know much about such things.

The only humility I knew of was that of my worshipers, they humbled their selves before my glorious presence. While I was the shining sun, they were the waning moon forever bowing in my wake.

I felt a change in my devil heart as my understanding of Pride reached a new high. My nascent devil soul was being born! I could feel it within my devil heart, it was clawing and fighting to let it out. I focused all my devil essence into my devil heart to assist the birth of my nascent devil soul.

It was a grueling process. I spent an entire month in constant pain, secluded in my cave room. Shi Da probably thought I was suffering from qi-deviation from the random screams that would come out from my room. It was like giving birth to a child, my nascent devil soul would grow stronger every day the more I fed it my devil essence.

My entire body shrouded in greyish-white light as my breakthrough was imminent. My \u003cSoul Eyes\u003e activated on their own, merging with my nascent devil soul. I felt new power flowing through my entire body like I never had before. The pain was unimaginable as my nascent devil soul merged with my body, transforming me into my true form for the very first time!