The Zhao Clan Estate was a fortress of gold and jade, sitting atop a minor spirit vein. It was a symbol of prosperity.
But beneath the manicured gardens and koi ponds, the air was stale and cold.
Yan Luo moved like a wisp of smoke. Her Light Law affinity allowed her to bend photons around her body, rendering her nearly invisible to the naked eye. She slipped past the outer guards, guided by the faint, sickening trace of resentment she had sensed at the canyon.
She descended into the private cellar of the Clan Head.
It wasn't a wine cellar.
The moment she stepped through the hidden heavy iron door, the smell hit her. It was the scent of copper—old, dried blood—and the musk of unwashed bodies.
The room was lined with stone tables. On them lay tools that made Yan Luo's stomach churn: bone saws, rune-carving knives, and glass jars filled with organs pulsing with dark energy.
In the corner, there was a massive vat. The "Blood Cauldron." It was empty now, but the residue on the rim was fresh.
"He was telling the truth," Yan Luo whispered, her hand trembling as she touched a discarded child's tunic on the floor. "Han Fei was right."
She found a ledger on a desk. She opened it.
Batch 43: Failed. Not enough purity. Batch 44: Success. Potency increased by 15%. Source: Village of the Low Tides.
"They are farming people," Yan Luo's voice cracked. Her worldview—the belief that the Azure Cloud Sect was a beacon of order against chaos—fractured. The Zhao Clan was one of the sect's biggest donors. Their gold built the orphanages. Their gold bought the swords.
"And their gold is made of blood."
"An astute observation, Saintess."
The voice came from the shadows.
Yan Luo spun around, her Moonlight Sword instantly in her hand.
Zhao Wuji stood at the entrance of the dungeon. He wasn't wearing his clan robes. He wore a butcher's apron over his cultivation gear. The massive iron door slammed shut behind him, sealing them in.
"Clan Head Zhao," Yan Luo said, her voice icy. "Explain this."
Zhao Wuji sighed, walking forward. The pressure of a Foundation Establishment (Peak) cultivator flooded the room, making the air heavy as lead.
"Explain what? Alchemy? Progression? The strong eat the weak, Saintess. It is the only law that matters. You think your purity comes from prayer? It comes from the resources I provide."
"You are a monster," Yan Luo raised her sword. "I am taking you to the Hall of Justice."
Zhao Wuji laughed. "Justice? I own the Hall of Justice. Elder Liu owes me three million spirit stones. Who will they believe? The hysterical girl who trespassed on private property, or the Clan Head who defended himself against a 'demonic assassin'?"
He raised his hand. The runes on the dungeon walls flared crimson.
[Trap Activated: Blood-Binding Array]
Red chains of light erupted from the floor.
Yan Luo moved. She was a genius, a Legacy Disciple. Her sword flashed, cutting through the first wave of chains.
"Moonlight Style: Crescent Sever!"
A beam of pure white Qi slashed toward Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji didn't dodge. He punched. His fist was wrapped in burning blood Qi.
BOOM!
The collision shook the dungeon. Yan Luo was forced back, her boots sliding on the stone. Zhao Wuji didn't move.
"You are talented," Zhao Wuji sneered. "But you lack conviction. You fight to capture. I fight to survive."
He made a gripping motion. The blood residue in the cauldron suddenly boiled and shot out, forming a giant crimson skull that snapped at Yan Luo.
She parried, dancing through the dungeon, but the space was too small. The array weighed down her body, sapping her Qi.
"Give up!" Zhao Wuji roared, pressing the offensive. "Die here, and I will bury you with honors! I will say you died a hero fighting the Blood Devil!"
Clang!
Yan Luo's sword was knocked from her hand. A heavy kick to her stomach sent her crashing into the stone table. Tools scattered. She coughed blood, gasping for air.
Zhao Wuji loomed over her, his hand glowing with lethal energy.
"What a waste," he muttered. "Your Pure Yin Body would have been an excellent ingredient."
Yan Luo looked up at him. She didn't see a cultivator. She saw a demon wearing human skin. And she realized, with terrifying clarity, that no one was coming. Her prayers, her status, her righteousness—it meant nothing in the face of raw violence.
Is this the truth of the world? she thought, despair clouding her eyes.
Zhao Wuji's hand descended to crush her throat.
Thwip.
A sound, barely audible.
Zhao Wuji paused. He felt a sting on his neck.
He reached up and pulled out a small, black needle.
"What?"
Suddenly, his Qi circulation stuttered. His legs went numb. The burning blood energy in his hand flickered and died.
[System Effect: Neuro-Paralysis Poison (Enhanced)]
"Who?!" Zhao Wuji staggered back, his vision blurring.
From the shadows behind the cauldron—shadows that Yan Luo had checked and found empty—a figure emerged.
He wore black robes and a white, featureless mask.
"You talk too much," the figure said. His voice was distorted, sounding like grinding stones.
"Assassin!" Zhao Wuji roared, trying to force his Qi through the blockage. "You are with the Blood Devil Sect!"
The masked figure ignored him. He walked calmly toward the table where Yan Luo lay. He picked up her fallen sword.
He looked down at her. The white mask revealed no emotion, but Yan Luo felt a strange familiarity in his posture.
"Can you stand?" the figure asked.
Yan Luo nodded weakly, clutching her bruised ribs. "Who are you?"
"A necessary evil," Mo Tian replied.
He turned to Zhao Wuji. The poison bought them seconds, not minutes. A Foundation Establishment cultivator would burn it out soon.
"You poisoned me!" Zhao Wuji spat black blood. "Coward!"
"Efficiency," Mo Tian corrected.
He tossed the Moonlight Sword back to Yan Luo. She caught it, surprised.
"He is paralyzed for ten breaths," Mo Tian said to her. "He killed children. He tried to kill you. He is the rot of your sect."
Mo Tian stepped aside, pointing at the struggling Clan Head.
"Kill him."
Yan Luo froze. "I... I should arrest him. He needs to face trial."
Mo Tian laughed. It was a harsh, mocking sound. "Trial? He just told you. He owns the trial. If he walks out of here alive, tomorrow you will be the traitor."
Zhao Wuji was regaining his strength. Red steam rose from his skin as he burned his essence to purge the poison. "I will kill you both! I will skin you alive!"
Mo Tian looked at Yan Luo. "Look at him. That is your 'Righteous Path'. Do you want justice? Or do you want to be a corpse?"
Yan Luo looked at Zhao Wuji's hate-filled eyes. She remembered the empty cages. She remembered the feeling of his hand closing around her throat.
Something inside her—the naive girl who believed in rules—shattered.
She gripped the sword hilt until her knuckles turned white.
"He... he has to die," she whispered.
"Then do it!" Mo Tian shouted.
Zhao Wuji roared, breaking the paralysis. He lunged forward, a desperate, cornered beast.
Yan Luo didn't retreat. She stepped forward.
"Moonlight Style: Eclipse."
She didn't aim for his limbs. She didn't aim to disarm. She drove the blade straight through his heart.
Shkth.
Zhao Wuji stopped. He looked down at the blade protruding from his chest. He looked at the Saintess, whose face was splattered with his blood.
"You..." he gurgled.
Yan Luo twisted the blade. Tears streamed down her face, but her eyes were cold. "For the children."
She pulled the sword out. Zhao Wuji collapsed.
The room fell silent.
Yan Luo stood over the body, shaking. She had killed a Clan Head. An Elder. She had executed him without trial.
"I... I did it," she gasped. "I am a murderer."
"No," Mo Tian walked up behind her. He placed a gloved hand on her shoulder. "You are a survivor."
He leaned in close to her ear.
"This is the secret we share now, Saintess. You saw the darkness behind the light. And you extinguished it."
Yan Luo turned to look at the mask. She didn't feel fear. She felt... relief. A twisted, dark gratitude.
"What do we do now?" she asked, looking to him for guidance.
Mo Tian looked at the corpse. To Yan Luo, it was a tragedy. To him, it was a feast.
"Go," Mo Tian said. "Go back to the Sect. Tell them you fought the Blood Devil. Tell them Zhao Wuji died protecting you. You are the hero. He is the martyr. The secret dies with him."
"But... what about you?"
"I was never here."
Mo Tian shoved her gently toward the door. "Go. Before the guards break the seal."
Yan Luo hesitated, then nodded. She wiped her eyes, steeling herself. She looked at the masked man one last time—a terrifying, enigmatic savior—and fled up the stairs.
Mo Tian waited until she was gone.
He locked the door.
He turned to Zhao Wuji's fresh corpse. The blood was still warm. The Foundation Establishment cultivation base was dissipating into the air.
"Wasteful," Mo Tian tutted.
He walked over and placed his hand on the hole in Zhao Wuji's chest.
"Heaven-Devouring System. Maximum Output."
The dungeon darkened. The shadows writhed.
Zhao Wuji's body convulsed. His flesh, his blood, his Qi, and even the remnant of his Nascent Soul—everything was sucked into the vortex of Mo Tian's hand.
It was too much energy. Mo Tian's skin cracked. His veins turned black.
[Critical Absorption!] [Devouring Foundation Establishment (Peak) Cultivation Base.] [WARNING: Host vessel insufficient.] [Forcing Breakthrough...]
"Break!" Mo Tian screamed, the pain nearly blinding him.
BOOM.
A shockwave of black energy pulverized the stone tables.
[Breakthrough Successful.] [Breakthrough Successful.] [Breakthrough Successful.]
When the dust settled, the body of Zhao Wuji was dust.
Mo Tian stood in the center of the ruin. His aura had changed. It was no longer gaseous. It was liquid. Heavy, dense, and terrifying.
[Status Update] Host: Mo Tian Realm: Qi Condensation - Stage 9... Stage 10... [Half-Step Foundation Establishment] Villain Merit: 1000 Trait Acquired: [Blood Monarch's Aura] (Suppresses blood-based arts).
He clenched his fist. The power was intoxicating.
"One step," Mo Tian whispered, his eyes glowing in the dark dungeon. "One step away from the true path."
He looked at the stairs where Yan Luo had fled.
"And now, I have the Saintess in my pocket. She thinks she killed him to save the world. But she killed him to save herself."
Mo Tian laughed. He picked up a piece of the shattered Blood Cauldron as a souvenir.
"Welcome to the dark side, Yan Luo."