A Record of Ash & Ruin: The Grieving Lands - Chapter 14Book 2: : The Albatross

Ashlock awoke in the courtyard of a demonic sect… as a tree.

A tree that eats people.

And one that grows stronger over time due to a daily sign-in system and cultivation.

In a parallel world where everyone was a Beastmaster, people would tame, train, and evolve their beasts. The Federal Government would give everyone their own beast egg at their coming-of-age ceremony. However, to evolve and grow the beast, they would need potions, gems, and other rare ingredients. Fortunately for Su Bai, he had awakened the Divine-grade Simplification System. With the system, growing a beast was as easy as it could get. “Lightning Rat detected. The evolution path has been simplified. Plugged in. Evolution points +1, +1, +1…”

“Bubble Turtle detected. The evolution path has been simplified. Shower. Evolution points +1, +1, +1…” “Flame Cat detected. The evolution path has been simplified. Sunbath. Evolution points +1, +1, +1…” A few years later, Su Bai, the Divine Beastmaster accepted an interview. “Mr. Su, can you tell us how you achieved your success?” “I spend my time growing my beasts when other people are showering or sunbathing.”

Ever met someone who started cultivating from his mother’s womb?

Buried alive. Forgotten by the world. Cursed to refine death itself.Rin Xie clawed his way out of his own grave with nothing but broken nails, shattered bones, and a core pulsing with rot. In a world where the heavens punish the wicked with celestial fire, where death cultivators are hunted like beasts, Rin awakens with a forbidden path—one that feeds on pain, suffering, and the ashes of the dead.He cannot heal. He cannot forget. But every wound, every betrayal, every death he witnesses becomes fuel for his ascension.Under a crimson eclipse, he walks through battlefields where spirits still scream. In deserts of bone, he consumes lotus flowers blooming from despair. He learns techniques the heavens sealed away in fear—Soul Wither Pulse, Requiem Bloom, Grief Reclamation.But the deeper he dives into death, the less human he becomes.He no longer cries for the fallen.He no longer prays for peace.He begins to wonder—what kind of death should he become?In a world where power devours morality, Rin Xie will either become the end of all things...Or something worse.