Death Cultivator : Rise For Revenge!

Chapter 3

The crimson light that bore Huo Li Yu aloft was a paradox—it felt like searing heat and bone-chilling cold all at once. The sensation swirled with a shock so profound it left her breathless. One second, she was kneeling in the damp, freezing corridors of the Meng estate; the next, she was perched atop the roof of the main gate, shielded within a cage of pulsing, dark-red spiritual essence.

Li Yu trembled, pulling her knees to her chest as she peered down. Below her lay the tattered remains of the Meng Clan’s pride.

"Xian...?" she whispered, her voice hitching in her throat.

She saw her brother. But this man—this warrior clad in crimson and obsidian, radiating an aura of primordial fury—was not the Huo Tian Xian she remembered. He was no longer the 'frail little brother' she had spent her life trying to protect.

Down in the courtyard, standing amidst the sprawled corpses of Meng disciples, Huo Tian Xian stood tall. His robes remained immaculate, a stark contrast to the blood-slicked stones of the courtyard. His cold, regal face turned slightly upward, meeting her gaze.

"Sister, are you unharmed?" Tian Xian’s voice was frigid, yet it carried a familiar, softening undertone reserved only for her. "It has been far too long. Stay there. I have come to take you home. Watch me as I reclaim the honor of the Huo Clan."

Li Yu was speechless. Tears fell silently as she felt caught between the terror of her brother’s new power and the overwhelming relief that someone had finally come for her.

Meng Jiu Ning, the Patriarch of the Meng Clan, finally emerged at the gates. He was flanked by his wife, Qin Niang, the clan elders, and Commander Zhang, the Head of Guards. Meng Jiu Ning’s expression was one of pure, unadulterated rage—but deeper than that, he was insulted. His reputation was being dismantled by a "Demonic Cultivator" who had seemingly crawled out of a nightmare.

"Look at this, my wife!" Meng Jiu Ning hissed, his eyes locked on Tian Xian. "The little rat has finally crawled out of his septic hole after two months of hiding. Do you truly think a bit of strange, forbidden power is enough to challenge the Meng Clan and the alliance of vassals sworn to me?"

Huo Tian Xian tilted his head, a thin, lethal smile playing on his lips. "Strange power?" he repeated, his voice echoing with supernatural weight. "This is the power that guarantees your extinction. I have come to demand three things: Blood, Treasures, and the total Annihilation of the Meng Clan."

Meng Jiu Ning sneered. He glanced to his side, spotting Clan Leader Xi—the head of a minor vassal clan who had long bowed to Meng authority. The Xi Clan was renowned for their lightning-fast sword techniques.

"Clan Leader Xi!" Meng Jiu Ning barked with absolute authority. "Prove your clan’s loyalty! Slay this low-born Demonic Cultivator, and his name will be forgotten before the sun sets! Do this, and I will grant you the Huo Clan’s former business territories as your prize!"

Clan Leader Xi swallowed hard. He was a powerful man, but the aura radiating from Huo Tian Xian felt like a physical weight on his soul. Yet, he had no choice. To refuse meant his own clan would be purged by the Mengs.

"As you command, Patriarch Meng! I shall strike him down!" Clan Leader Xi dropped into a low stance, his blade singing as it left its scabbard. He lunged forward at blinding speed, his silver sword-chi cleaving the very air.

It was a brutal, flawless strike—the Xi Clan’s ultimate technique designed to end a battle in a heartbeat.

Huo Tian Xian didn't even flinch.

Just as the tip of the silver blade came within an inch of his throat, Tian Xian raised his right hand. The same dark-red light that shielded Li Yu erupted from his palm.

Srett!

There was no sound of clashing metal. Instead, there was the sickening grind of energy. The crimson light coiled around the silver blade like a viper, racing up the steel, onto the man’s arm, and finally consuming his entire body.

Clan Leader Xi’s face instantly turned ashen. The Meng disciples watched in horror as the man’s skin began to wither and mummify before their eyes. It was as if every drop of his vitality and spiritual essence was being forcibly siphoned into the void of that red aura.

"W-what... is this...?" was the man's final, gasping breath.

Huo Tian Xian retracted his hand. The silver sword clattered to the ground, followed by the desiccated, shriveled husk of Clan Leader Xi. There was not a single external wound, yet he was dead—drained of life itself.

This power... it wasn't just spiritual. it was predatory.

A deathly silence fell over the gates. The elders began to whisper in a panic, their eyes filled with genuine dread. This was no longer an intruder; this was a catastrophe.

"One insult repaid," Tian Xian said coldly, unsheathing his red blade.

He grabbed the withered corpse of Clan Leader Xi, lifting it as if it weighed nothing, and hurled it across the gates. It landed with a dull thud right at Meng Jiu Ning’s feet.

Thump.

Meng Jiu Ning closed his eyes for a moment, trembling as he fought back a surge of fear. His reputation, his power—it was all crumbling because of this 'weakling.'

Huo Tian Xian raised his red sword, and his voice boomed with a spiritual technique that carried his words across the entire Meng territory:

"This is a message to the Meng Clan and every vassal who bows to them! You have allowed evil to flourish and participated in the destruction of the Huo bloodline!"

"I am Huo Tian Xian. I have come to burn this land to the ground! Meng Jiu Ning! If you do not come forth to face the consequences of your sins, I will tear this clan apart stone by stone, until only dust remains!"

Meng Jiu Ning, usually the picture of cold arrogance, finally snapped. His face turned a deep crimson, the veins in his neck bulging. He could no longer retreat. If he backed down now, his alliance would turn on him in an instant.

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!" he roared. He didn't charge himself, but his eyes blazed as he looked at Commander Zhang and the elders.

"EVERYONE! Elders, Commanders, Core Disciples! Call upon the Vassal Clans! Whoever brings me the head of Huo Tian Xian shall inherit the wealth of the Huo estates! DESTROY HIM! LAY WASTE TO HIM!"

The command was the spark. The drums of war thundered from within the fortress. Within seconds, hundreds—then thousands—of cultivators from the Meng Clan and their allied minor sects swarmed out of the gates. Their weapons glinted under the fading light, forming a vast sea of steel and killing intent.

Huo Tian Xian stood alone before the tidal wave of humanity. He gripped his red sword, the black-and-crimson aura spiraling around him like a cyclone, and his cold smile widened.

This was exactly what he wanted. Total war.

"Watch me, Sister," he whispered softly, for Li Yu alone to hear.

With a flash of movement, he vanished. The combined spiritual pressure of thousands surged to meet him, but the red blade in Huo Tian Xian’s hand had already begun its dance—painting his vengeance in blood.