Dragon Monarch System Chapter 1296:- Taboo of All Taboos

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"Among those forgotten techniques, there was one particular cultivation technique that caught my attention."

Ren continued while glancing toward the corpses. "It was a forbidden technique from one of the lost eras, a dark art known as the Abyssal Heart Devouring Art. According to the ancient records, this technique was so dangerous that even the cultivators of that era feared it."

Ren slowly raised his right hand and looked at his palm before continuing, "As you already know, a cultivator’s heart is where their Mana is stored. It is one of the most important parts of a cultivator’s body."

"If the heart is damaged badly enough, the cultivator can lose their cultivation entirely. Even if they somehow survive, they might never be able to cultivate again."

"However, the Abyssal Heart Devouring Art uses this weakness in a completely different way. Instead of relying on the Mana stored inside the practitioner’s own heart, it allows them to absorb the remaining Mana from the hearts of dead cultivators."

"By refining that Mana through a special method, the practitioner can temporarily obtain power that would normally be impossible for someone at their cultivation level to possess."

As Ren explained this, his lover slowly turned her head toward the corpses lying nearby. Suddenly, she began understanding why he had ordered the bodies of the fallen Sixth and Seventh Order cultivators to be brought into his tent. However, that realisation only made her feel even more frightened.

"Last night, while you were sleeping, I began cultivating this forbidden technique." Ren continued in the same calm tone.

"Although I haven’t completely mastered it yet, my cultivation of this technique has already reached a stage close to perfection. I only need to cultivate for a little longer using the Mana hearts of these Sixth and Seventh Order cultivators."

Ren glanced toward the corpses once again before continuing, "Once I finish absorbing and refining the remaining Mana inside their hearts, I will finally be able to perform the ultimate technique recorded within the Abyssal Heart Devouring Art."

"And when that happens, I will possess enough destructive power to make sure that Aditya and everyone standing beside him dies."

His lover stared at him in complete disbelief. Although she had heard about forbidden cultivation techniques before, she had never imagined that Ren would willingly cultivate something so dangerous.

More importantly, the sinister aura surrounding him had finally begun making sense. The frightening presence she had sensed earlier was most likely the result of him cultivating this ancient dark art.

However, before she could say anything, Ren calmly added something that made her blood run cold.

"Of course, there is a price for using this technique. The ultimate technique requires the practitioner to sacrifice their own soul. Once it is activated, my soul will be completely destroyed, leaving behind nothing that can enter the cycle of reincarnation. In other words, after the technique ends, I will cease to exist entirely."

For several seconds, she could only stare at Ren with her mouth slightly open. She had already suspected that his plan involved sacrificing his life, but hearing that his very soul would be destroyed was something she had never expected.

Death was already frightening enough, but complete soul destruction meant that there would be absolutely nothing left of him afterwards.

Meanwhile, Ren appeared completely unaffected by the terrible price he had just described. There was no hesitation in his voice, nor did his expression show even the slightest trace of fear. It was almost as though he was discussing something completely ordinary rather than explaining how he intended to sacrifice his own existence.

Suddenly, Ren rose from his chair and began slowly walking toward her. His movements were calm and unhurried, and the sinister aura surrounding his body continued making the atmosphere inside the tent feel increasingly uncomfortable.

"My love, I just need one thing from you." Ren said while approaching her.

However, by this point, she was so shaken by everything she had just heard that she barely registered his words. Her mind was still struggling to accept that the man she loved had spent the entire night cultivating a forbidden dark art that would eventually destroy his own soul.

She had been so focused on trying to understand his terrible decision that she failed to notice Ren slowly approaching her. By the time she finally realized that he had left his chair, he was already standing much closer than before.

Serena slowly raised her head and looked at Ren, who was now standing directly before her. Although the frightening aura surrounding his body made her extremely uncomfortable, she was still trying her best to control her fear.

After everything he had just told her about the Abyssal Heart Devouring Art, she was beginning to understand just how dangerous this forbidden cultivation technique truly was. However, there was still one thing that she could not understand. Why had cultivating this technique changed Ren so much that even she could barely recognise him anymore?

"You see, my love, the very method of cultivation used by the Abyssal Heart Devouring Art is considered a taboo. It goes against the natural cycle of life and death." Ren began explaining while looking down at her. His voice was surprisingly calm, almost as though he was teaching her about an ordinary cultivation technique rather than something that had been forbidden for millions of years.

"As cultivators, our ultimate goal is to achieve immortality. We cultivate Mana, strengthen our bodies, and constantly break through our limits because we wish to overcome the restrictions placed upon us by nature."

"However, no matter how powerful a cultivator becomes, death is still something that most of us cannot escape. And when a cultivator dies, the Mana that remains inside their Mana heart does not simply disappear immediately."

"After death, the remaining Mana inside a cultivator’s heart gradually begins changing. Because the cultivator is no longer alive to control and circulate that Mana, it slowly becomes corrupted."

"This corrupted Mana is extremely dangerous, especially when large quantities of it gather in one place. That is why, after certain large-scale battles, powerful Light Magic users are sometimes required to perform purification rituals to cleanse the battlefield of the corrupted Mana left behind by the dead."

Serena quietly listened to his explanation. As a cultivator herself, she was naturally familiar with the existence of corrupted Mana. She knew that battlefields where large numbers of powerful cultivators had died could sometimes become dangerous places if the remaining Mana was not properly purified. However, she had never heard of anyone deliberately absorbing that corrupted Mana into their own body.

"The Abyssal Heart Devouring Art does exactly that." Ren continued while glancing toward the corpses lying nearby. "Instead of purifying the corrupted Mana, this technique allows the practitioner to absorb and refine it. By using the remaining Mana inside the hearts of dead cultivators, I can temporarily obtain power far beyond what my current cultivation would normally allow."

Ren slowly raised his right hand and examined it for a moment before continuing, "However, there is a reason why this technique was considered one of the forbidden dark arts of the lost eras."

"Corrupted Mana is not something that a living cultivator is supposed to absorb. Doing so goes against the natural order of life and death, and the consequences of absorbing too much of it are extremely serious."

Hearing this, Serena suddenly remembered the frightening changes she had witnessed in Ren earlier. The sinister aura surrounding his body, the strange darkness in his eyes, and the overwhelming fear she felt whenever she looked at him had all appeared after he began cultivating this technique.

"So... the reason you’ve changed so much..." Serena finally managed to speak, although her voice was still trembling.

"That’s right." Ren nodded calmly.

"The changes you’re seeing in me are the result of absorbing enormous quantities of dark, corrupted Mana from these corpses. The more corrupted Mana I absorb, the stronger the technique becomes. However, at the same time, the corruption also begins affecting my body, mind, and soul."

What he did not tell her: the users of this cultivation will die sooner or later from over-corruption. The moment he practised this cultivation method, his fate was already sealed.

There was no fear or regret in Ren’s voice as he explained this. In fact, he appeared completely indifferent toward the terrible changes taking place inside him. It was almost as though he no longer cared about what would happen to his body or mind, as long as he could obtain the power necessary to accomplish his goal.

"One of the most dangerous side effects of this technique is that it gradually destroys the practitioner’s positive emotions."

"Love, happiness, kindness, compassion, and even the ability to feel sympathy for others slowly begin disappearing. The more corrupted Mana the practitioner absorbs, the harder it becomes to experience those emotions. Eventually, all that remains is hatred, resentment, anger, and the desire to destroy everything." Eventually, the user becomes a mindless monster who wants to destroy everything.

When that happens, the Heavens react and sends down Heavenly Tribulation to destroy this taboo of all taboos. Of course, Ren did not felt that it was necessary to mention these things to her.

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