Death Cultivator : Rise For Revenge!

Chapter 7

Tian Xian knew exactly who they were: the envoys of the White Shadow Gate. They had arrived with terrifying speed, as if they had been circling the Meng Clan like vultures, waiting for the precise moment of its collapse.

He took a long, steady breath. His vengeance against the Mengs was merely the opening act of a much vaster war. He hadn't expected the gears of fate to turn this quickly, leaving him no room for respite.

"The White Shadow Gate..." Tian Xian’s lips curled into a cold, predatory smirk. "You are the enemies I must face next."

He turned away and began packing their few belongings. His mission had shifted; it was no longer just about blood for blood. He had to uncover the secret of the Ancient Key that had caused his clan's ruin before the White Shadow Gate could claim it. He needed to get his sister out of this territory and seek answers in the grander cultivation sects far to the North.

His life had changed irrevocably, and he could no longer afford the luxury of hesitation. His life and his sister’s safety were the only things that mattered now.

Tian Xian pulled the curtains shut and turned to face the room. His features were set in stone, a sharp contrast to the gloom of the night.

"Sister, we have to leave. Now," he whispered, gently shaking Huo Li Yu awake.

Despite her exhaustion, Li Yu snapped awake at the authoritative edge in his voice. "What is it, Xian?"

"A greater enemy has arrived." Tian Xian gestured toward the window. "They move like shadows, swift and silent. They are the ones Meng Jiu Ning spoke of: The White Shadow Gate."

Li Yu stole a glance outside. She saw the silhouettes of silver-masked cultivators gliding soundlessly over the ruins of the Meng estate. Their aura was frigid and suppressed—far more disciplined and lethal than the arrogant Meng disciples.

"They are looking for the scroll Meng Jiu Ning burned," Tian Xian explained, securing his Demonic Blade. "They are searching for the secret that led to our parents' deaths. We cannot stay here."

Li Yu nodded without a word. As a survivor, she knew when to run.

"The ruins of the Huo manor..." Li Yu said, her voice heavy with grief.

Tian Xian met her eyes. "For now, let those ruins be a house of ghosts. If we return now, we are nothing but prey. We must discover the truth of the Ancient Key and why the White Shadow Gate covets it. Only then can we return and rebuild our clan, Sister. But we must become far stronger than we are today."

The decision was made. Tian Xian took Li Yu’s hand, and using his demonic speed, they vanished from the inn, racing toward the North—away from the epicenter of the Meng Clan’s fallen power.

Their journey through the night was a tense exercise in vigilance. Tian Xian avoided using flight techniques, fearing his demonic spiritual signature would be detected. Instead, they moved through forgotten footpaths and dense thickets.

As dawn broke, they arrived at an ancient crossroads that linked several minor cultivation sects. They stopped at a small tea house on the edge of the forest to catch their breath.

"We need information, Sister," Tian Xian whispered, taking a sip of the bitter tea. "We need to find out exactly who this White Shadow Gate represents."

Just then, the door of the tea house creaked open. A middle-aged man, looking travel-worn and weary, stepped inside. He wore tattered robes, carried an old, notched sword, and possessed a weak, unremarkable aura. He took a seat at the table adjacent to Tian Xian.

"I heard there was a great slaughter in the south, at the Meng Clan’s fortress?" the tea house owner asked, unable to contain his curiosity.

The man let out a heavy sigh. "Ah, don't even speak of it. It was a hellscape. The Patriarch is dead, the First Elder crippled. They say a bloodthirsty Demonic Cultivator did it."

"But what happened after?" the owner pressed.

The man leaned in and whispered, but Tian Xian, with his enhanced demonic hearing, caught every word.

"Two days ago, after the massacre, a group of strange people arrived. Dressed in pure white, wearing silver masks. They scoured the ruins as if they were the Emperor’s own investigators. They were silent, but their aura was terrifying. We low-level cultivators call them the White Army of Wisdom."

The White Army of Wisdom? Tian Xian narrowed his eyes. The name sounded far more benevolent than "White Shadow Gate." Clearly, this was an organization that operated behind a mask of righteousness.

The man continued, "I heard from one of the surviving servants that the white-clothed group wasn't looking for Spiritual Cores. They were searching for the Starlight Stone kept in the Meng Clan’s secret vault."

The Starlight Stone? Tian Xian was stunned. Meng Jiu Ning had called it an Ancient Key, but this "White Army" called it the Starlight Stone. They were undoubtedly the same object.

"But why were they so quick to arrive?" the owner asked.

"Who knows? But word is, they didn't find it," the man replied, sighing. "The vault was apparently empty before they even arrived."

Tian Xian and Li Yu exchanged a quick, knowing glance. If the White Army of Wisdom hadn't found it, who had taken it?

Suddenly, the middle-aged man looked directly at Tian Xian, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Young man, your aura is... familiar. I feel as though I’ve seen it before."

Tian Xian’s heart hammered against his ribs. Had this man recognized his demonic power?

The man offered a small, knowing smile. "You remind me of the Huo Patriarch when he was young. You carry a similar air—one of great dignity. It is a tragedy that the Huo Clan was destroyed."

Li Yu smiled in relief, but Tian Xian remained on high alert.

"You overestimate me, Paman," Tian Xian replied coldly. "I am but a simple wanderer."

The man shrugged. "Perhaps. But listen to an old man’s advice. If you seek lost cultivation secrets, do not head to the Great Sects in the North. Go to the City of Shadows in the East. There, ancient secrets are sold, not taught."

The man rose, left a few coins on the table, and offered a polite nod before departing.

As the man walked away, Tian Xian felt a strange, cold intuition. He glanced at Li Yu, who was busy packing their tea set.

With a movement too fast for the human eye, Tian Xian retrieved his lost Spiritual Core from his inter-dimensional pouch.

The core was vibrating—a faint, rhythmic pulse.

Tian Xian stared at the door. The middle-aged man had already vanished into the morning mist.

My spiritual core reacted to him. Why? Tian Xian thought furiously.

He was certain now. The man in the tattered robes with the old sword was no "low-level cultivator." He was a master in hiding.

"Sister, we aren't going North," Tian Xian said, his face regaining its icy resolve. "We are heading East. We are going to the City of Shadows."

A new enemy had emerged in the light, and a mysterious ally had provided a clue from the dark. The journey to uncover the truth behind the Huo Clan's fall had just taken an unexpected turn.