Chapter 483: Communication

Chapter 483: Chapter 483: Communication

Ever since he came out of the Sword Emperor’s Tomb, the Black Beast Tattoo had been quiet, not causing any trouble, to the point that Shen Hao had lowered his guard against it.

But this time it suddenly came out of nowhere, really scaring Shen Hao half to death.

The Black Beast Tattoo had always been a rather passive "eater," only reacting when "food" was brought right to its mouth, never had it shown an urge to actively "hunt for food" like now.

This was truly terrifying.

The "food" for the Black Beast Tattoo was always energy related to souls. Aside from things like Evil Cultivators making Yin Tofu, there was also the method of killing people and extracting souls. In the past, it was during fights—if he killed someone, then letting the Black Beast Tattoo devour them wasn’t exactly a waste, and Shen Hao could just about accept that. But actively going out to hunt and kill for souls by choice was fundamentally different, and carried huge risks.

He couldn’t give in—once he started down that path, he’d never be able to stop. Shen Hao definitely didn’t want to become a tool, completely and willingly controlled by the Black Beast Tattoo.

The good news, though, was that Shen Hao’s cultivation had made considerable progress, especially his Sea of Consciousness and soul; now they were much stronger, and when facing the hunger oozing out from the Black Beast Tattoo, he had a decent amount of resistance—at least he wouldn’t lose control of his body entirely.

Still, the price of resisting the Black Beast Tattoo was that Shen Hao was in incredible pain all over—from bones to skin, every inch of his body felt like it was being sliced up by tiny knives, and even his Sea of Consciousness felt like it was being torn by some external force, his soul suffering along with it in agony.

Cold sweat poured down like a waterfall; finally, he managed to sit cross-legged again and, gritting his teeth, began to circulate the True Qi within his body using the Great Five Elements Technique. This was a method Nie Yun had taught him, which said that when the soul was shaken, using a cultivation technique to guide True Qi could stabilize the Sea of Consciousness and steady the soul. It was a practical trick, and now Shen Hao’s lifeline.

He didn’t know how much time passed before the deadlock gradually subsided. Shen Hao was soaked like he’d just been fished out of a river, and he let out a long breath, slumping against the wall.

"What the hell are you doing?" For him, it wasn’t really about anger—since the beginning, the Black Beast Tattoo had never been a good thing in Shen Hao’s mind. Even though he’d gained a lot from it, was there really such a thing as pie falling from the sky? If there was, you’d better be wary. So he always kept his guard up.

This time, though, he really got spooked. If he hadn’t managed to endure that bout of hunger, he would have become a complete puppet—a miserable fate.

Just the thought of going on a killing spree just to "eat"—wouldn’t that make him an even more hated monster than an Evil Cultivator?

It was just Shen Hao subconsciously muttering out of exhaustion, but unexpectedly, as soon as he finished, he felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest, like being stabbed by a needle.

"Still not done yet, huh?" Shen Hao frowned, yanked his shirt open, and when he looked down was instantly stunned. He found that the Black Beast in the tattoo had eyes more lively than ever before—no different from a living creature, even locking gazes with him!

Shen Hao never imagined he could see so many emotions in a pair of flat, inked eyes: greed, bloodlust, savagery, arrogance, pity, frustration, curiosity... and even a hint of "trying to please"? So many moods reflected straight into his mind, and for a moment Shen Hao was dazed.

Worried he might get ensnared, he hurriedly closed his eyes to steady himself, but it seemed he was half a beat too slow. A strange ripple affected his Sea of Consciousness, so even after turning away and shutting his eyes, his mind was still filled with the Black Beast’s eerie gaze from just moments ago.

Soon, his soul began trembling more violently, the Sea of Consciousness roiling; no matter how hard Shen Hao resisted, a new scene appeared in his mind—a vision of the Black Beast Tattoo. But the focus was on one of the Beast’s claws, now transformed into gold.

His attention was obviously guided there, and Shen Hao suddenly realized: Was the Black Beast Tattoo trying to convey some sort of message?

The thought flashed by, but it helped Shen Hao untangle the mess in his mind, like finding the end of a thread in a knot.

He took a deep breath and began piecing together the day’s strange events.

First, the sudden hunger appeared—even made Shen Hao want to go out and hunt for food—which he only managed to suppress by sheer force of will until the hunger faded. Wasn’t the Black Beast Tattoo basically saying: I’m starving! Feed me!

Then, after he stubbornly resisted and the hunger faded, it projected an image into his soul and guided his attention toward the one claw that had turned from black to gold. If this was another hint, wasn’t it saying: I don’t care, I want to eat, eat and I’ll turn golden!

Eating was the action, but that golden claw seemed to be the key to what needed to be eaten.

Hesitantly, Shen Hao formed this idea, but couldn’t be sure. Because he was treating the Black Beast Tattoo as a sentient being capable of communication, and he really had no evidence that was the case.

"You want to eat something that can turn you gold?" The only way Shen Hao could test his guess was to speak directly to the Black Beast Tattoo on his chest, since things started happening after his last mutter. He wanted to see if it would work again.

After several breaths, the tattoo changed, those creepy eyes seemed to "come alive" again—this time it didn’t tug at his soul or Sea of Consciousness, but instead conveyed a feeling of "delight" through its gaze.

It... really can understand!

Shen Hao was shocked, and updated his understanding of the Black Beast Tattoo: it had sentience, almost like a living thing.

But even after getting a response, the problem wasn’t solved—if anything, it was even more complicated.

"You can understand me? So if I don’t help you find food, you’re just going to pop up and make trouble at random intervals like before?"

The reply was a very clear, affirmative look, laced with a hint of mischief. It seemed to be saying: Definitely, and I’ve got even more tricks.

Indeed, raising hell wasn’t its only move; the Black Beast Tattoo could also "cut off the supply," instantly tanking Shen Hao’s cultivation speed.

After that, Shen Hao tried to "communicate" with the tattoo again, but it didn’t react anymore, reverting to a normal tattoo. Although Shen Hao couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, the tattoo seemed duller and darker than before.

But he had definitely been threatened just now.

Dare not feed it, and it will cause chaos! And cut off your power!

Cutting off his power, he could still deal with—he’d just play the tired, spent genius—what was scary was it constantly popping up to mess with him. One mistake and he’d be doomed!

Was he really going to help the Black Beast Tattoo find something that would "turn it gold"?

But... if he remembered right, didn’t that thing only exist in the Sword Emperor’s Tomb?!