Death Cultivator : Rise For Revenge!

Chapter 10

The escape from the City of Shadows had left Huo Tian Xian physically and mentally scarred. His clash with Yan Su and the three operatives of the White Shadow Gate had proven one thing: his new enemies were far more organized than the Mengs. They knew his history, his secrets, and possessed the uncanny ability to detect even the most suppressed spiritual fluctuations.

For now, Tian Xian and Huo Li Yu sought refuge in the White Cloud Valley, a desolate region shunned by most cultivators due to its treacherous terrain and volatile spiritual energy.

Li Yu carefully tended to the jagged gash on Tian Xian’s shoulder, a parting gift from Yan Su’s slender rapier. "Their power... they knew everything about you, Xian. They even knew about your original Spiritual Core," she whispered, her face tight with anxiety.

Tian Xian clenched his jaw, the muscle leaping in his cheek. "They know more about the Huo Clan than we do. This 'Reserve Key' Yan Su mentioned... and the way my core reacted to what they called the War God’s Trace."

"The War God?" Li Yu frowned, dabbing at the wound. "Father never spoke of such a thing. The Huo Clan's path was always one of tranquility and clarity. Could... could that have been what was written in the scroll Meng Jiu Ning burned?"

Tian Xian nodded grimly. "Likely. They possess secrets Father kept hidden from us. And Yan Su made it clear—they don't want me dead. They want me to join them. That means they need that key, and they believe I’m the one holding it."

He retrieved his old Spiritual Core. It felt cold and lifeless in his palm, a stark contrast to the demonic blade strapped to his back, which thrummed with a rhythmic, predatory heat. He felt fractured—torn between a sacred past and a shadowed present.

If my father intentionally prepared a reserve key, where did he hide it?

Tian Xian spent the next two days in the valley recovering and attempting to harness his surging demonic energy. He sensed that if he didn't master the source of this power soon, it would eventually consume his consciousness entirely.

While he sat in deep meditation, channeling the dark Qi through his meridians, the sound of approaching footsteps broke his concentration. They weren't the silent, ghost-like steps of the White Shadow Gate, but slow, deliberate strides, as if the traveler carried a heavy burden.

Tian Xian snapped into a combat stance. His demonic blade manifested in a blur of motion, radiating a suffocating crimson aura.

A woman emerged from the valley’s thick mist. Her hair was silvered with age, and she wore tattered, patched robes that spoke of a long life in hermitage. Though her face was etched with deep wrinkles, her eyes sparkled with an unexpected blend of wisdom and serenity.

The woman offered a gentle smile as she looked at the boy prepared to strike her down.

"Young Master Huo Tian Xian, do not be so quick to draw your steel against an old woman who seeks nothing but peace," she said, her voice soft yet resonant.

Tian Xian did not lower his guard. "Who are you? How do you know my name? Are you sent by the White Shadow Gate?"

The old woman let out a soft, melodic chuckle. "Me? The White Shadow Gate is far too young and arrogant to know of this place. I am Grandmother Qiu. I have dwelt in this valley since long before the Meng Clan was a spark in history, and I know every ripple of chi that flows through these peaks."

Grandmother Qiu walked closer, seemingly indifferent to the demonic pressure Tian Xian was emitting. She gestured toward the red sword in his hand.

"A beautiful blade, yet its aura dominates your soul. The demonic power you’ve inherited... it is a double-edged gift, child. You must learn to balance it."

Tian Xian was stunned. This woman didn't just know his name; she recognized the very nature of his dark cultivation. "You know of my power?"

"I know of many things cowards try to bury," Grandmother Qiu replied, seating herself on a nearby boulder. "I know that the Huo Clan was not merely destroyed—it was sacrificed."

Li Yu emerged from the shadows of their camp, her breath catching at the word sacrificed. "Grandmother Qiu," she said urgently, "our parents... was there a greater secret behind their deaths?"

Grandmother Qiu nodded, her gaze piercing Tian Xian’s soul. "That secret concerns the two objects in your possession, Young Master. The Demonic Blade you wield, and the Spiritual Core you hide."

She pointed to the earth beneath Tian Xian’s feet.

"The War God’s Trace you seek is not a location. It is an ancient technique—a legacy designed by the Huo ancestors to tame and command the essence of a True Demon."

Tian Xian gasped. Tame a demonic power?

"That technique was passed down through the Huo bloodline in secret, accessible only through the Reserve Key left by your Patriarch," Grandmother Qiu continued. "The scroll Meng Jiu Ning burned contained the clues to that key's location. And the White Shadow Gate knows it."

"But why? The Huo Clan was a righteous, sacred clan," Li Yu pressed, her mind reeling.

Grandmother Qiu smiled mysteriously. "The Huo Clan wore the mask of sanctity, but they were the wardens of the darkest secrets in the cultivation world. Your old Spiritual Core, the one you believe was pure? It was actually a prison."

She gestured toward the pouch at Tian Xian's waist.

"That core was never just a source of pure chi, boy. It was an artifact forged by your ancestors to suppress the Demonic Seed that has lived within you since the day you were born."

The revelation hit Tian Xian like a lightning strike. The core he had mourned losing was actually a shackle. The demonic strength he had gained wasn't an external inheritance—it was his own Demonic Seed, unleashed when the core was violently ripped away.

"Then why did my father let them take it?" Tian Xian asked, his voice trembling with a mix of fury and confusion.

"Your father did not 'let' them take it," Grandmother Qiu corrected him. "He was a genius who realized the Meng Clan were merely pawns. He knew a true cataclysm was coming. He orchestrated the removal of that core before his death—not to kill you, but to wake you up."

Grandmother Qiu stood, her eyes burning with newfound intensity. "This demonic power, child, is the Huo Clan's greatest gift. Only with this strength can you hope to stand against the White Shadow Gate. I will teach you to use the War God’s Trace to command this seed, provided you are willing to embrace your destiny: You are the Redeemer of the Huo Clan, born from the Darkness."

Tian Xian looked at his demonic blade, then at Li Yu’s worried face, and finally back to the enigmatic Grandmother Qiu. He knew the path of the sacred cultivator was gone forever.

"I accept my destiny," Tian Xian declared, his voice ringing with iron resolve. "Grandmother Qiu, teach me. I will make the White Shadow Gate pay, and I will uncover exactly why my father had to sacrifice everything."