After agonizing for a few minutes under the tree, Qiu Yunru had come up with a barebones plan:
He needed to escape the Demon Realm.
This would be the best action to take for his own survival. If he ever wanted a peaceful life, he would need to survive first. Also, he would just like to be alive, thank you very much.
As for how to escape...there were very few methods that he could think of.
Once one reached Nascent Soul status, it was a common feature in Spring Blossoms, Autumn Fruits to be able to open portals to quickly transport oneself from one place to another. Whether such an ability would apply to transporting oneself between realms was another question, but it didn't seem entirely impossible.
The problem was, he was still at Golden Core status. Even if he had won the Nine Sects' Tournament and received all of the winning benefits, he would have still had two years of difficult training ahead of him if he wanted to reach Nascent Soul status. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was likely that he had been disqualified from the tournament. After all, he'd fall extremely far out of range of the arena, which was strictly against the rules--exit Heixi Gorge, and you would be eliminated.
Qiu Yunru wilted inside at this thought. All that hard work, just to receive nothing but a trip to the Demon Realm in return...What a joke!
Considering his situation, it would probably take him ten years or so to reach Nascent Soul status. The idea of spending ten years down in this dank, stinking darkness...
It made him feel ill.
He had always had an eye for aesthetics, and preferred to surround himself with pretty things and natural lighting. Despite the fact that he was often ill and unable to go out and about too much in his past life, he'd still put a lot of effort into decorating his dorm nicely. To be surrounded by nice-looking things was to feel nice, he thought. Thus, the idea of being imprisoned down here for so long was...unbearable!
What's more, there was no way for him to guarantee reaching Nascent Soul within ten years. Considering that the Demon Realm had far less spiritual qi than the Mortal Realm, it might take him twenty, thirty! Who knew?! No, training to Nascent Soul to escape wasn't a good option!
The other option he could think of was this:
It had been hinted in DLC advertisements that powerful, noble demons resided in the capital city of the Demon Realm. These demons, having high demonic cultivation abilities, even had the ability to tear portals through dimensions and travel as they wished between the Mortal and Demon Realms to hunt, walk among humans, and conduct their business.
Perhaps he could get close to one of these noble demons and convince them to transport him back. It might really be the only option that didn't involve decades of misery...
Qiu Yunru stood up shakily, leaning against the blackened Spiral Root Tree. Though he no longer tasted blood and felt that his heart was beating normally again, he was still incredibly exhausted. He trudged over the steaming, dissolved body of that demon, Mo, and picked up his mask.
It was bright red, with carved black horns and teal lips. What an ugly demon mask! With a sigh, he pulled it over his head and over his face. If he was going to make it around the Demon Realm without being killed on sight, he would have to wear a disguise.
Also, he desperately needed a shower. He could feel the blood caked on his face, the dirt on his hands, and the sweat in his hair. Disgusting!
Next task: find a non-poisonous lake to wash in.
_______
The tournament in Heixi Gorge was ended abruptly when it was reported that a disciple of the Jade Clouds Sect had gone mad and killed two other disciples. The competition organizers were horrified to hear that it wasn't just a grudge gone wrong.
This disciple had really torn off someone's head!
What's more, mountains of demonic qi were detected in that disciple's body when he was apprehended. Even more demonic qi was detected at the scene of the murders.
On top of all this...another disciple had died as well!
Well, it hadn't been confirmed yet. However, an eyewitness reported that a third disciple had fallen off a cliff. When a search party was sent for his remains, none were found.
"He was probably washed away by the river," A competition official said grimly. "It's no use."
No use, indeed--they had searched for hours and found not a trace! They hadn't even found a trace of spiritual qi, which would usually be left behind in the location in which a cultivator had recently died. It was truly strange!
However, they kept searching for a while longer. This was because that kid--the one who had lost his mind and turned into a murderer--kept insisting on it. He wept and wept to the guards overseeing his makeshift cell at the side of the gorge, begging them to keep looking. He seemed absolutely sure that the disciple who had fallen--his own shixiong--was alive!