Huan Tao sat cross-legged inside the trial chamber, her breathing steady yet increasingly oppressive. At first, her cultivation was like the rising of a storm, qi surging into her meridians in fierce waves. But as the minutes passed, the atmosphere around her thickened into something darker.
A faint crimson hue seeped from her pores, invisible at first to ordinary eyes, but in this place, every ripple of intent became manifest. What should have been calm, bright spiritual light twisted into something heavier—like blood dripping into a pool of clear water.
Her aura grew stronger, sharper, until even the stone around her seemed to groan faintly.
Boom… boom…
Each heartbeat of hers sent a vibration outward. It wasn't ordinary qi pressure. It carried a faint stench of death.
The ancient presence observing both Tian Jue and Huan Tao suddenly paused. His unseen gaze narrowed as he turned toward her path.
"...This girl…" the voice whispered, reverberating within the inheritance ground, though no disciple could hear it.
At first he thought it was killing intent—the aura a seasoned cultivator gains after facing countless battles. Yet what wrapped around Huan Tao was not simply intent—it was something heavier, denser, born from experience rather than projection.
"Murderous aura…" the presence muttered. "Not borrowed, not trained… but imprinted on the soul."
Visions flickered in his mind as he probed deeper: the shadow of a child hacking down wild beasts with bare hands, the countless corpses of creatures she felled just to survive, and the quiet, numb gaze she carried even before touching cultivation.
The presence fell into silence, a hint of unease creeping into his ancient heart.
"If left to grow unchecked, she will one day embody slaughter itself. Her footsteps could bring calamity to the Jiuyuan Realm."
Yet in his tone, there was no simple condemnation—only wariness.
His voice turned into a sigh.
"I must return to Jiuyuan Realm. This seed cannot be ignored. She is still young, but… the root is already soaked in blood."
Meanwhile, Huan Tao's aura only grew denser. Crimson qi lines coiled around her like serpents, her cultivation forcefully pushing forward with terrifying speed. Though she had not yet completed the trial, the presence knew—this girl was walking a path different from Tian Jue's. A path paved with corpses.
As Huan Tao sat cross-legged in the glowing inheritance chamber, her body quivered under the constant influx of qi. At first it was ordinary—her meridians stretching, her dantian swirling with fresh spiritual energy—but the longer she cultivated, the more the atmosphere warped around her.
The flickering lights above dimmed as if afraid, the air itself trembling. Her aura surged not just with strength but with something darker, something raw. Her qi pulsed crimson for an instant, then deepened into black-tinged waves that rippled outward.
The ancient presence, hidden in the shadows of the trial grounds, opened his unseen eyes wider.
"This child… this is not mere talent. This is something far more dangerous."
This was murderous aura, the kind that festered only in those who had slaughtered again and again, until it seeped into their bones. A field of death, engraved into the soul.
"Her aura is not nurtured… it was born. Even before cultivation, she must have lived drowning in blood."
The ground beneath Huan Tao began to crack, qi reacting violently to her presence. Her spiritual sea expanded unnaturally fast, her meridians straining as if they might snap—but instead of breaking, they widened, strengthened, adapted. The trial ground's own qi bent toward her, as if intimidated by the sharpness of her existence.
The presence grew restless.
"If she continues down this path unchecked… no sect, no empire, no world will restrain her. A calamity cloaked as a girl. The Jiuyuan Realm itself will tremble."
For a brief moment, Huan Tao's eyes opened. They glowed faintly—not with warmth, but with a predator's hunger, the kind that sought prey even where none remained. Then she closed them again, sinking deeper into her cultivation trance.
The presence hesitated. He had slumbered countless ages, only awakening when these inheritors stepped into the ground. He was meant only to observe and pass down what remained of the ancients. But now…
"I cannot ignore this one. Tian Jue carries curses and destiny. But this girl carries a blade sharp enough to wound fate itself. If she grows careless, she will cut down not only her enemies but the world around her. I must return to the Jiuyuan Realm and watch. For her sake… and for the realm's survival."
The inheritance chamber shook once more as Huan Tao's aura climaxed, painting the hall in a blood-red haze.
And in the silence that followed, the presence—an immortal shade who once vowed never to meddle again—made his decision.
Alright, let's continue Huan Tao's trial and show her rewards:
The second half of Huan Tao's trial unfolded with almost eerie ease. Where Tian Jue had been pushed to the brink of collapse—his body battered, his endurance wrung dry—Huan Tao moved through the challenges like a predator stalking prey.
The flaming bridges meant to scorch flesh? She ran across them barefoot, her aura flaring crimson, each lick of flame folding inward as if bowing before her murderous essence.
The thunder pillars meant to crush her bones? They struck her body, only to disperse into sparks that danced harmlessly across her skin.
The endless sea of beasts projected by the inheritance ground to test her fear? She cut them down without hesitation, each swing precise, ruthless, final.
The presence watching from the void frowned, whispering,
"She… feels no struggle. The trial bends before her instead of resisting. Even the core illusions cannot shake her heart. This child… is born for slaughter."
By the time Huan Tao reached the last stage, her robes were unruffled, her breath steady. She had passed with terrifying efficiency.
The ground trembled. A massive ancient phantom emerged—an armored warlord holding a black halberd dripping with blood-mist. He gazed at her with solemnity before raising his weapon in salute.
"You, who walk with the aura of true murder, shall inherit my legacy. May the Jiuyuan Realm tremble when your steps echo upon it."
The inheritance poured into her body like a flood—streams of killing intent refined into power, knowledge of ancient martial techniques, and a cultivation method specifically tailored to refine murderous aura into an indestructible killing Dao.
Her cultivation already step to 11 stage of qi refinement
Huan Tao receive Blood Halberd Sutra (Peak Heaven grade) and his physique evolved to Murderous Spirit Vessel – amplifies combat strength proportional to killing aura.
Huan Tao opened her eyes slowly, scarlet glimmers flashing within her pupils. Her aura was no longer simply sharp—it was suffocating, pressing down on the very stones of the trial ground.
The presence muttered darkly to itself:
"This child will one day stand at the center of rivers of blood. If she loses her anchor… she will be the calamity of Jiuyuan. I must return and watch. Otherwise, this realm may never know peace."
Huan Tao, however, only smiled faintly, gripping her new halberd that had condensed from the inheritance. Unlike Tian Jue, whose growth had been hard-won through suffering, hers seemed frighteningly natural, as though the heavens themselves had carved her path in blood.