Dao God of the Demonic Path

Chapter 17 – He died

Inside their parents’ residence—

“Father, Mother… can I go outside with my brother?”

Han Tian Shi’s voice sounded as gentle as ever, his posture respectful as he stood before them.

He had come here almost without thinking.

Even now, a faint uneasiness lingered in his chest. Something felt missing. Important. Yet no matter how he searched his memories, nothing surfaced. His spiritual sense swept through his body once, twice. Everything was normal.

Too normal.

In the end, he pressed the feeling down.

"It must be because I almost forgot my surprise for big brother." He thought.

Fairy Yu Xing tilted her head slightly, her gaze soft. “Why so suddenly, Little Shi?”

“I’ve been planning to surprise big brother when he finally comes out of seclusion, Mother…” he replied, expression sincere.

Han Fei Yu looked at him for a long moment before speaking, his tone calm and steady.

“Your brother lost his beloved wife outside our secluded domain. Is it truly wise to bring him out?”

Han Tian Shi’s body stiffened.

Father is right.

A faint ache stirred in his chest.

"Big brother would only be hurt if he remembered that again…"

Yet—

A strange pressure tightened around his heart.

Heavy and urgent. Yet invisible.

"But why does it feel like I must persuade him?"

His mind and heart become conflicted.

“But Father,” he heard himself say, his voice warm and earnest, “that’s exactly why I want to bring big brother outside. I want him to forget that cruel memory and create new ones with me.”

The words flowed out smoothly.

Naturally.

Perfectly.

His pupils trembled.

"W-What…? That’s not what I meant to say. I didn’t plan to say that."

Inside, confusion surged like a storm.

Outside, his expression remained calm. His breathing steady. His posture obedient and composed, as if nothing was wrong at all.

Han Fei Yu fell silent, fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

“Hmmm… you are right.” he finally said. “Very well. You may go with Tian Yi.”

He raised his hand and tossed over a divine artifact.

“Take this. It contains one sealed attack of mine. If danger arises, activate it. You and your brother must be careful. Do not provoke demonic cultivators.”

Han Tian Shi’s hands moved on their own and caught it midair.

He bowed deeply.

“Thank you, Father. Thank you, Mother.”

A bright smile appeared on his face as he turned and left.

Behind him, Han Fei Yu and Fairy Yu Xing exchanged no suspicious glances. Their son had always been gentle, obedient, and kind. Nothing in his behavior seemed out of place.

If such a request had come from Han Tian Yi, they might have hesitated.

But from Tian Shi?

It felt natural.

Completely natural.

Inside his mind a silent scream echoed.

"Why am I walking?"

His legs moved steadily across the corridor.

"Why am I speaking normally?"

His fingers curled lightly around the artifact.

"Why can’t I stop?"

Panic clawed at his consciousness as he tried to move his arm.

Nothing happened.

It was as if he had sunk deep into his own mind, pressed into the darkness while something else stood at the surface—wearing his body, using his voice, smiling with his face.

He could see.

He could think.

But he could not control a single movement.

Afterward, the two left their secluded domain and began roaming the higher realm together.

Wherever they went, attention followed.

Their looks, their bearing, and their noble background drew countless gazes. Fairies approached one after another, offering wine, conversation, and soft laughter that chimed like bells in elegant halls and grand pavilions.

To outsiders, it looked like two gifted young masters leisurely enjoying their freedom.

Then—

“PTUI!”

A wad of spit landed directly onto their food.

A vicious aura flooded the hall as a demonic cultivator strode forward, his presence heavy and suffocating. Early Spirit Severing Stage. The very air seemed to thicken around him.

“You brats really think you’re standing above the clouds just because of your birth?” he sneered.

The hall erupted into hushed panic.

“No good, no good…”

“Isn’t that the infamous murderer?!”

“They said he was killed last month!”

“He dares provoke the Han Clan’s young masters in public?!”

Han Tian Shi’s chair scraped harshly against the floor as he stood.

“How dare you speak to us like that? Do you not know who we are?!” he shouted, anger blazing in his eyes.

The demonic cultivator smiled cruelly.

His body blurred.

Boom!

The ground cracked beneath his feet as he shot forward like a cannonball, fist wrapped in violent spiritual energy. Tables shattered from the pressure alone.

Han Tian Shi’s pupils shrank.

"So fast—!"

Spiritual energy surged instinctively through his meridians. A radiant barrier formed, layered with multiple heaven-tier defensive techniques stacking over one another like overlapping shields.

The punch landed.

Rumbling sound could be heard.

"CRACK!—"

The barriers shattered instantly.

A violent shockwave exploded through the restaurant. Windows burst. Beams snapped. His body was sent flying like a broken kite.

“GUH—!”

Blood sprayed from his mouth as he smashed through the outer wall, rubble and dust swallowing his figure before he skidded across the ground and lay still.

Silence.

His vision dimmed. Sound faded.

After all, he was only at the Nascent Soul Realm.

The enemy stood an entire realm above him.

Heaven and earth apart.

“How dare you touch my little brother?! You deserve a fate worse than death!!!”

Han Tian Yi’s roar shook the hall.

Frost spread instantly from beneath his feet, crawling across the floor and walls as icy spiritual energy surged outward.

“Ice Coffin Execution!”

A massive coffin of condensed ice formed in an instant, sealing the demonic cultivator inside. Countless ice spikes erupted from every direction, piercing into the coffin with merciless force.

Gasps filled the hall.

“T-Terrifying!”

“They’re truly from the Immortal Han Clan!”

Crack—

A thin fracture appeared on the coffin.

Then another.

And another.

BOOM!

The ice coffin shattered into countless shards. The demonic cultivator stepped out, completely unscathed, his aura even more violent than before.

“W-What…?!” Han Tian Yi exclaimed, shock flashing across his face.

The figure vanished.

Reappeared.

Right in front of him.

Han Tian Yi raised multiple ice walls in frantic succession.

BOOM!

They shattered like glass.

Technique after technique collapsed under overwhelming force. No matter how refined his arts were, he was still only at the Core Refining Stage—two whole realms below his opponent.

The demonic cultivator advanced relentlessly.

Killing intent surged.

Then—

Silence.

A head rolled across the ground.

Its eyes remained open.

For a heartbeat, the entire hall froze.

Then chaos exploded.

“We’re done for!!! The heir of the Han Clan is dead!!!”

“He actually killed him?!”

Han Tian Shi’s eyes fluttered open, vision blurry and unfocused.

Something rolled to a stop in front of him.

He blinked.

Once.

Twice.

His breath stopped.

“B-Big brother…?”

His voice shattered.

Yes.

Han Tian Yi had died.