Chapter 2: Shadows of Vengeance
The forest beyond the Liu Clan's ruins was a labyrinth of gnarled trees and a thick mist that smelled of blood and pine. Lin Xuan moved like a wraith, his sixteenth-year-old frame deceptively frail. His eyes, tinged with a crimson glint from Mo Tianyin's soul, burned with predatory intent. He was at the 8th Layer of the Body Refining Realm, but it was his cunning, honed over centuries as the Demonic Sovereign, that made him a predator.
His senses caught a faint pulse of qi ahead. In a clearing, five Zhi Clan disciples rummaged through stolen treasures. One, a scar-faced youth, twirled a jade hairpin in his fingers—Liu Yue's. The sight sent a jolt of rage through Lin Xuan's chest, a feeling that belonged to the boy whose body he now inhabited.
"This little trinket," the scar-faced disciple sneered, "belonged to that Liu Yue. When we drag her back, I'll make her beg for it on her knees."
Lin Xuan's blood boiled. He stepped into the clearing, his presence chilling the air. The disciples froze, their eyes widening at the bloodstained servant boy.
"You're… alive?" the leader stammered, drawing a rusty spirit sword.
Lin Xuan's lips curled into a predatory smile. "Ants can still kill." He lunged, his hands glowing with a sinister light as he unleashed Tooth Dagger—a basic but deadly technique from the Human Emperor's Records, now unlocked in his memories. Jagged, bio-energy blades extended from his knuckles. The first disciple's sword barely rose before Lin Xuan's fist tore through his chest, blood spraying. The remaining disciples roared, their qi blades slashing through the air. A lanky youth unleashed a wave of wind qi. Lin Xuan countered with Celestial Glide, another basic Record technique, dodging the attack with fluid grace. He closed the distance, his Iron Body Art—a demonic technique from his past life—hardening his skin against a flaming axe. The axe drew a shallow cut, but Lin Xuan's fist retaliated, shattering the man's ribs with a sickening crunch.
His Demonic Devouring Art surged, black tendrils of qi draining the fallen disciple's life force. Lin Xuan's cultivation climbed to the 9th Layer of Body Refining. He struck with Tooth Dagger, each punch a thunderclap that left mangled corpses in its wake.
The scar-faced leader, at the 3rd Layer of Qi Gathering, proved tougher. He summoned a blazing tiger claw, its flames scorching the ground. Lin Xuan gritted his teeth, the heat singeing his robes, but his Iron Body Art held firm. He closed in, his Energy Devour—another basic Record technique—siphoning the leader's qi mid-strike, weakening the flames. With a final Tooth Dagger thrust, he pierced the leader's chest.
"Liu Yue… will never escape… the Zhi Clan…" the leader gasped.
Lin Xuan crouched, his crimson eyes cold as the abyss. "You should've thought of that before speaking her name." He drove his fist deeper, ending the man's life, then devoured his qi, stabilizing his cultivation. The hairpin fell from the corpse's hand, and Lin Xuan picked it up. The boy's memories surged—Liu Yue's soft smile, her gentle voice—stirring an ache he couldn't name.
Following Liu Yue's faint qi signature, he found her, her mother Luo Shuang, and her seven-year-old brother Liu Yang huddled in a cave. Liu Yue's sapphire robes were torn, her moonlit eyes wide with relief and fear.
"Lin Xuan… you're alive?" she whispered.
He nodded, his expression unreadable. "We need to move. The Zhi Clan's still hunting you."
Luo Shuang gripped Liu Yang's hand tightly. The boy's eyes were wide, his small frame shaking. Lin Xuan's gaze softened for a moment, the boy's memories tugging at his heart. "Follow me," he said, leading them through the forest to a nearby town.
As they fled, Lin Xuan's mind churned. Why did Liu Yue's safety matter so much? The Demonic Sovereign cared for no one, yet the boy's emotions refused to fade. He paused at the forest's edge, kneeling beside the Zhi Clan disciples' corpses. His Demonic Devouring Art surged again, draining their remaining qi. His body thrummed with power, breaking through to the 1st Layer of Qi Gathering.
"Lin Xuan… are you a demonic cultivator?" Her question hung in the air, a mix of fear and trust in her eyes.
He met her gaze, his voice cold but steady. "Yes."
She flinched, but didn't look away. Something in her expression—trust, perhaps—stirred that unfamiliar ache again. Ignoring it, Lin Xuan led them to a small inn. He secured a room with his last spirit stones, then scoured the market for herbs, his alchemical knowledge from his past life guiding him. He found Spirit Bone Grass and Moonshade Root, essential for basic pills. At a small stall, a commotion caught his attention—a petite girl with fiery auburn hair arguing with a greasy shopkeeper over a jade pendant.
"It's fake!" the girl snapped.
Lin Xuan's senses tingled. The jade pulsed with a faint, ancient aura. Ignoring the girl, he stepped forward. "I'll take it. And those herbs." He paid the shopkeeper and returned to the inn. In his room, he ignited a silver-blue flame—an alchemical technique from the Records—its heat steady and precise. The herbs melted into a glowing blue pill. He administered it to Liu Yang, whose pale cheeks flushed with health as the poison left his body.
Liu Yue watched, her eyes wide with awe. "You're… an alchemist?" she asked.
Lin Xuan tossed her a spare pill, his smirk softening. "Something like that."