The southern region of the Copper Cloud Continent was initially the territory of the Seven Southern Claws, the last remaining union of 'Demonic Cultivators' on the continent.
Their weakened state and suppressed land were a consequence of the rise of the Azure Scale Empire. The empire's power and influence were so formidable that even the infamous Gu Clan was forced to abandon their original territory and join other demonic organizations and sects in a crowded space.
This situation persisted until the Tian Clan arrived on the continent from across the sea.
The Tian Clan took only a single year after their arrival to thrive in both reputation and power. Upon learning about the Seven Southern Claws, they immediately marched to their gates and launched a siege.
In an instant, war erupted between the Tian Clan and the Seven Southern Claws.
The Gu Clan, Blood Sect, Purple Lake Sect, Robes School, Assassin Sect, Bones Mountain, and Corrupted Tigers joined forces against the single clan but emerged from the conflict as the defeated.
After the Tian Clan took control over the southern part of the continent, rumors of their immense power spread, elevating their esteem to nearly the level of the Azure Scale Empire.
In the current era, demonic cultivators are seen as a group of losers and the weak. They are forced to cower in the corners of hidden realms they own, barely managing to survive if they dare to step outside.
The Blood Sect itself has three secret passageways for their disciples to enter their hidden realm, and the route Mao Xuelian and Cultivator Cui used was one of them.
Cultivator Cui brought Mao Xuelian here for a specific reason—he believed it was the only way for the Blood Sect to regain its former glory.
This was tied to the prophecy of The Destined One and The Cursed One.
The note left by the legendary Nascent Soul Cultivator Wu Da, before ascending to the upper realm, foretold the future of the Wood Sky Realm, where two figures would bring both misfortune and fortune across the realm.
Cultivator Cui, Cui Mang, had clearly seen how the Cursed Blood reacted in his senior brother Dong Zhang's hands. At that moment, the Cursed Blood unmistakably detected the presence of The Destined One near the White Mountain Range and the Forsaken Dew Forest.
The only humans residing near those areas were from Li Village. Although Cui Mang did not possess the Cursed Blood at that time, he could easily deduce Mao Xuelian's identity as that woman's daughter by analyzing the situation in the village and the sudden attack by the woman who possessed the early stage of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation.
It was common knowledge that special figures, such as The Destined One or The Cursed One, were likely to be born from Cultivator parents. Therefore, he and Chou'e concluded that Mao Xuelian was indeed The Destined One.
…
"Are you certain of your assumption, disciple Cui?" A young man with long white hair opened his eyes slightly from deep meditation and looked at Cui Mang's kneeling figure across the crimson curtain separating them, asking once more.
"I believe it is undeniably true, Sect Master," Cui Mang replied.
The crimson curtain swayed gently as a moment of silence enveloped the two. After several minutes, the Sect Master spoke again. "Very well. Then, quickly proceed to test her qualifications with the Cursed Blood Pool."
Cui Mang responded to the Sect Master's order with a bow and cupped hands before quickly exiting the room to relay the command.
He reached for the knob of the tall, dark red doors and pushed them open. As he stepped outside and gently closed the door, he immediately shouted, "Disciples, gather! The Sect Master has issued an order. Quickly bring Mao Xuelian to the Cursed Blood Pool!"
Using a sound amplification technique, Cui Mang effectively conveyed his order throughout every corner of the sect.
Mao Xuelian, confined in a room under the watch of several disciples, also heard his voice.
The disciples acted swiftly. As soon as the order was given, they quickly brought her out of the room.
"Hurry, brat!" one of the disciples urged her with a stern expression.
"Y-Yes...!" Mao Xuelian replied, lowering her head as she began to walk faster.
Escorted by the disciples, Mao Xuelian was forced to descend the stairs from the third floor of the pagoda. When she stepped into the courtyard, she was met by rows of thousands of Blood Sect disciples, including Elders, Inner disciples, Outer disciples, and even servant disciples.
They all gathered neatly in the wide, stone-paved field in front of the pagoda. Their faces displayed a range of expressions, from expectant to doubtful, yet overall, they all showed a degree of respect towards her.
Slightly clenched her fist, Mao Xuelian put on a cowardly demeanor as she maintained her head lowered as she walked past the lines of people clad in black and red robes.
They then brought her to the paved road which connected to the entrance of a mountain at the center of the Sect buildings. Their faces immediately turned serious and stern as they faced the entrance of the mountain.
Two connected red pillars were the entrance of the mountain, which was followed by precisely 1000 stairs before they arrived at the Cursed Blood Pool.
The sound of their steps echoes through the hidden realm with demanding determination and relentless hope.
As they approached the peak of the mountain, the frown on Mao Xuelian couldn't be concealed by her self-control and experience anymore.
Her eyes looked at her surroundings, to the right and left sides of the stairs, where there hung humanoid and animal corpses in chains, nudes, with no skin left at all. There were even some hollowed wounds on their stomach, where blood was still freshly streaming down to the ground along with their intestines and other inner organs.
The sight was so inhuman that it slightly affected Mao Xuelian. However, what shocked her the most was the bizarre phenomenon of blood flowing upward instead of downward, ascending the mountain, likely toward the infamous Cursed Blood Pool.
Before she realized it, Mao Xuelian and the Blood Sect's members arrived at the peak of the mountain. There lay a circular pool filled with boiling blood, with the streams below still making their way to it. Mao Xuelian grimaced silently as she noticed a long intestine creeping toward the pool like a worm.
At that moment, an ancient voice echoed through the realm, "Begin the ceremony." The overwhelming sound made Mao Xuelian feel faint.
Cold sweat covered her face, and her facade crumbled as she gasped for breath, desperately trying to remain conscious.
Four middle-aged individuals—three men and one woman—took their positions at the four cardinal points around the pool. They raised their hands above their heads and began muttering something in low but thunderous whispers.
Once the four elders finished chanting, circular lines of symbols and words spread across the mountain peak. Even without her special eyes, Mao Xuelian could sense the energies from the surroundings being directed toward the pool by those lines.
Then the ancient voice spoke again, "O Cursed Blood of my Lord, reveal to us the proficiency of this little girl!" The disciples and elders repeated this phrase in unison.
The pool reverberated in response.
It began to shine with a dark purple light—thick and corrupted.
However, just as the faces of the Blood Sect members began shifting to pleased smiles, the dark light suddenly disappeared.
The pool ceased its reverberation and became still.
A moment of silence gripped everyone's hearts.
Then the ancient voice spoke again, this time quieter. "Five-element Pseudo Spiritual roots... Basic physique... Mediocre comprehension talent... Fate Proficiency: common..."
The frown on Mao Xuelian's face deepened as the ancient voice finished delivering its verdict on her. She didn't know much about cultivation, so she struggled to understand what the voice was saying.
However, she was adept at reading people's expressions and gauging the atmosphere, so her face immediately turned pale.
In the next moment, an elder suddenly appeared in front of her with a raised hand.
Then her vision turned black.
...
Meanwhile, at the center of the continent, at a lake near a pagoda atop a mountain, an elderly man meditating there was about to pick up a dead white fish to cleanse the lake when, unexpectedly, the fish trembled and began swimming back into the water, meeting a surprised black fish that had mourned its death just moments before.
"Huh...?" The elderly man gasped in surprise.
His astonishment only grew when he saw the revived white fish's scales change from pure white to a darker purple.
"!!!???"