Death Cultivator : Rise For Revenge!

Chapter 9

"A pity," Yan Su remarked, her voice as smooth and cold as polished marble. She gave a curt wave of her hand. Three silver-masked cultivators dissolved from the shadows, flanking Tian Xian in a perfect triangular formation.

"Capture him alive. We must extract the location of the Reserve Key his father left behind!" Yan Su commanded.

Reserve Key? The words hit Tian Xian like a physical blow. The more he learned, the more he realized he was a stranger to his own lineage. His father had left secrets—anchors of power—that he hadn't even suspected existed.

In the chaotic heart of the City of Shadows, a battle against elite operatives was no longer about pride; it was about survival in a labyrinth of secrets.

The tavern, once a den of rowdy thieves, fell into a deathly hush. The three scouts radiated a synchronized spiritual pressure that felt like a heavy, suffocating shroud.

"You’re too slow," Tian Xian sneered, masking his racing pulse with a look of bored contempt. "I don’t keep my valuables in pockets that are so easily picked."

Sling—!

The Demonic Blade cleared its scabbard. A shockwave of dark-red aura erupted, snarling in every direction. Tian Xian didn't have time for a duel of honor; he had to break their line and get back to Li Yu.

The three scouts struck as one. Their movements were a masterclass in military precision. Their blades didn't aim for his vitals, but for his joints and meridians—calculated strikes designed to cripple and bind.

Clang! Clang!

Tian Xian’s heavy demonic steel collided with two of their rapiers. His raw power was immense, but their formation was a perfect machine, forcing him to divide his focus. As he shoved two scouts back with a burst of strength, the third launched an invisible payload: a Spiritual Binding Technique.

A series of ethereal, silver chains materialized out of thin air, coiling around Tian Xian’s limbs like hungry vipers.

"Vermin!" Tian Xian hissed. He felt his demonic core groan under the pressure of the chains. This was high-level sacred cultivation—leagues beyond the sloppy techniques of the Meng Clan.

Yan Su seized the opening. She blurred forward, her slender blade singing as it aimed for the shoulder Tian Xian had injured in his previous war.

"Your core reacts to me, Huo Tian Xian! Stop resisting and surrender!" she urged, her eyes gleaming with cold ambition.

"I surrender to no one!"

Tian Xian reached deep into the boiling furnace of his demonic heart and triggered a violent discharge.

Technique: Demonic Retribution Wave!

An explosion of obsidian and crimson energy tore outward from his body. The silver chains didn't just break; they were vaporized. The three masked scouts were hurled backward, their robes scorched by the sudden, foul eruption of power.

Yan Su, though startled, parried the brunt of the blast with a graceful pirouette. She realized then that Tian Xian’s power wasn't just a weapon of revenge—it was a force that defied the established spiritual order.

"Don't let him slip away! He is a blight!" she cried.

But Tian Xian didn't wait for a second round. He knew he couldn't win an endurance match in the open. He leaped onto the tavern tables, using a surge of energy to punch a hole through the roof. With a single, explosive bound, he vanished into the night.

The chase began. Yan Su and her operatives pursued him across the jagged skyline of the City of Shadows. Below them, the narrow alleys and thick mists formed a chaotic playground for an assassin's hunt.

"Why don't you take flight, Huo Tian Xian?" Yan Su’s voice echoed through the mist, taunting him. "Are you afraid your foul aura will draw every other sect to your throat?"

She was right. Tian Xian dared not use sustained flight; the massive spiritual signature would be a beacon to every predator in the East.

He leaped from roof to roof, aiming for the city's outskirts. Behind him, the three recovered scouts moved with uncanny speed, utilizing a Shadow Teleportation technique that allowed them to flicker through the darkness.

"We know you’re hiding your sister!" Yan Su threatened, her voice closer now. "Cross the city limits, and we will hunt her down first!"

The threat sparked a wildfire in Tian Xian’s soul. He skidded to a halt on the highest gable of a clock tower, turning to face his pursuers.

"Never. Touch. My sister!" Tian Xian roared.

He swung his blade in a wide, horizontal arc.

Technique: Shadow-Severing Tempest!

Thousands of razor-thin crimson arcs flooded the air, creating a swirling vortex of energy. This wasn't a physical strike; it was designed to disrupt their ability to blend with the shadows.

Yan Su was forced to halt her advance. She raised her rapier to deflect the chaotic energy, but the sheer malevolence of the strike made her grip tremble. "Dammit! This power... it’s designed to hunt the hunters!"

Taking advantage of their momentary paralysis, Tian Xian dropped into the dark alley below and sprinted toward the inn.

He arrived to find Li Yu already standing by the window, pale and panicked. "Xian! I heard the roofs screaming!"

"They found us," Tian Xian said, grabbing her hand. "They know about the key, and they know about you. We move now!"

As they prepared to leap from the window, the door was kicked off its hinges. Two scouts who had cut across the city stood there, blades leveled at Li Yu.

"You're going nowhere, Huo Tian Xian," one said.

Tian Xian moved Li Yu behind him, his eyes glowing with a predatory, demonic light. "You chose death."

Cring—!

His blade was a blur of violence. The first scout, despite his elite training, was unprepared for the raw speed of Tian Xian’s fury. In an instant, the scout was pinned to the wall—not dead, but his spiritual pathways were shattered by the demonic miasma.

The second scout lunged, but Tian Xian was already gone, leaping out the window with Li Yu cradled in his arm.

"Consider this a promise, White Shadow Gate!" Tian Xian’s voice boomed through the night. "Next time, I won't just break your chains—I'll break your necks!"

Using his demonic haste to its absolute limit, Tian Xian vanished into the woods surrounding the City of Shadows, leaving Yan Su’s fury far behind. They ran until the first light of dawn touched the horizon, finally coming to a halt at the edge of the remote White Cloud Valley—a place where he was destined to meet...