Ling Qiuyun

Cloudmist City, the County Magistrate's residence.

Oil lamps flickered. Twisting, intricate crimson demonic patterns spread along the seams of the bricks and into the corners of the walls, covering the entire courtyard in an eerie octagon.

A two-story building stood at the heart of the blood patterns. Blood mist shrouded its interior, where a middle-aged man could be dimly seen sitting cross-legged, a small jet-black banner in his hand.

He wore plain clothes and had sharply defined features. His square face held an authority that needed no anger. The banner in his hand was made of gold and jade, its shaft covered in blood patterns. Savage, roaring ghostly faces appeared amid the patterns across its fabric. Even a gentle wave stirred gusts of cold wind.

"It's done. At last, it's nearly complete."

The middle-aged man was County Magistrate Ling Youdao. He closed his eyes and focused, sweeping his sleeve as he formed hundreds of hand seals. The blood patterns filling the air condensed into liquid on the Soul Banner's surface, then, tempered by spiritual power, fused into an irregular blood-red pill.

Ling Youdao carefully placed the pill in a brocade box. He let out a weary breath, the light in his eyes dim.

After refining them through the night, he had used the Soul Banner to thoroughly refine the two Demonic Cultivators. Their souls and blood essence had replaced the final supplementary ingredient, allowing him to barely form the pill.

"F-father, do we really... have to go this far?"

The timid voice came from a short distance away. Its owner sounded short of breath.

The newcomer wore a plain-colored chest-high dress. She had a delicate nose and graceful brows; beneath her willow-leaf eyebrows, a pair of tear-shaped eyes looked as limpid and vulnerable as autumn waters.

Her oval face was a little thin. A beauty mark beneath one narrow eye lent her a fragile allure, and her lips were vivid without rouge. She had the hazy beauty of a southern town in the rain. Though she looked somewhat sickly, she still bore the refinement of a sheltered young lady.

She was Ling Moxue's younger half sister, Ling Qiuyun.

"Foolish! We're on the verge of success. How can you let a woman's soft heart stop us?"

Ling Youdao's brows drew together. The pressure of his True Essence surged out, making Ling Qiuyun cover her mouth as she coughed without pause.

The fierceness vanished from Ling Youdao's face at once.

He hurriedly released the Soul Banner and gently patted Ling Qiuyun's back, using his spiritual power to soothe the meridians around her heart.

"Qiu Yun, I can't stop now. I know you have a kind heart and can't bear to take Mo Xue's life."

Ling Youdao's voice softened. With tenderness in his eyes, he stroked Ling Qiuyun's hair like a loving father and sighed.

"It's all right. This was my choice alone. You tried to stop me, but you lacked the strength. Isn't that right?"

"Father, I know you're doing this for me."

"That's enough. The yin energy here is too strong. I'm afraid it will harm your health."

Ling Qiuyun shook her head gently, her tear-shaped eyes full of guilt. Ling Youdao smiled faintly, all tenderness.

He waved a few streams of spiritual power to disperse the blood mist, then took Ling Qiuyun's hand and walked with her through the courtyard.

"This is a Blood-Melting Pill. Take it. Once you've absorbed its medicinal power, I'll begin replacing your blood."

"When this is over, you'll have a healthy body like anyone else. No—you'll surpass ordinary people. You'll set foot on the immortal path, achieve Foundation Establishment, and found a sect of your own."

Ling Youdao's face was ashen, but longing flashed in his eyes.

The Blood-Melting Pill was a high-grade First Tier pill, exceedingly difficult to make. It required vast quantities of blood essence and souls as a catalyst, along with fifteen spirit herbs that strengthened the blood. Only then could it be formed with the Soul Banner. It was a wicked pill of the demonic path.

Demonic Cultivators were ruthless. Swallowing others' blood essence to cultivate was commonplace among them.

Such practices offended the harmony of heaven. Over time, they affected a cultivator's own bloodline, obstructing the flow of qi, stagnating the dantian, and making inner demons more likely to arise.

The Blood-Melting Pill could purify impurities from the bloodline and prevent the rejection and backlash of foreign blood. It was suitable for cultivators below Late Qi Refining.

He had refined the entire Ling Household into blood essence and purified it several times.

Once Qiu Yun took the Blood-Melting Pill and absorbed that blood essence to purify her bloodline, she would surely meet the conditions for possessing the Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet.

"I'll stay with you until the end, Father."

Ling Qiuyun forced a faint smile. She supported Ling Youdao by the arm, which felt like half a piece of deadwood that might crumble at a touch.

"You still have a long road ahead of you."

Ling Youdao looked up and sighed, something like relief in his eyes. When he turned to Ling Qiuyun, his gaze held both reluctance to part and deep affection.

Qiu Yun was the only blood descendant left by the woman he loved. Before he had stepped onto the immortal path, he had been the head of the Ling Household's direct line, and he and A Xin had loved each other.

Then that wretch Ling Leng had taken up cultivation, elevated his branch above the direct line, and snatched A Xin away.

Unwilling to accept it, Ling Youdao had also embarked on the path of cultivation. But though both men had Four-Element Spirit Roots, Ling Leng's progress had far outstripped his.

Ling Leng had countless wives and concubines. A Xin became his eighth. After being forced into marriage, she sank into despair and died not long afterward.

The only blood descendant she left behind was Ling Qiuyun.

After A Xin died, Ling Youdao's heart turned to ashes. Had she not entrusted Qiu Yun to him on her deathbed, he would long ago have followed the woman he loved into death.

From then on, he treated Qiu Yun as his own daughter and ensured she lacked for nothing in the Ling Household. But Qiu Yun had been born with a defect in the meridians around her heart.

For more than ten years, he had used spiritual power to tend those meridians and spirit pills to ease her condition. He had also guided her cultivation, hoping spiritual power would nourish them.

Unfortunately, Qiu Yun's aptitude for cultivation was poor. After turning her awareness inward and entering the Qi Refinement First Layer, she had made no further progress.

As she grew older, the spirit pills became less and less effective.

She would surely die within five years.

In desperation, he had turned to the demonic path in search of a cure. But his cultivation was limited, and he made little progress.

He had intended to follow Qiu Yun in death. Then Ling Leng died, and the Heavenly Demon Spirit Puppet he left behind proved to be just the remedy they needed.

If Qiu Yun could possess it, her defect would disappear without treatment.

"The path of cultivation is long. There are countless cunning Demonic Cultivators like Ling Leng and me. Remember: never trust anyone lightly."

"Once the possession succeeds, your Five-Element Spirit Root will be elevated to a Three-Element Spirit Root. My wish will be fulfilled, and I'll leave this broken body here to atone for my sins."

Ling Youdao went on talking as though giving his final instructions. He personally led Ling Qiuyun to his hidden treasures, explained in detail the cultivation method he had long since chosen for her, and changed the blood-essence restriction on the Storage Bag containing a lifetime of opportunities and savings to hers.

Years of demonic cultivation had depleted his Essence. The Soul Banner alone had cost him thirty years of life. He had little time left, and his cultivation had fallen to the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.

Otherwise, why would he have feared Cao Mengde?

Now, only by luring that scoundrel into a trap and using the blood formation to amplify the Soul Banner could he be certain of killing him.

"It'll be tonight. Take the pill, Qiu Yun."

"I'm sorry. This is all because of me."

Ling Qiuyun's eyes reddened. She tipped back her head and swallowed the Blood-Melting Pill. It was bitter and reeked of blood, but it was no worse than the bitter medicines she had taken for over ten years.

Her lovely face remained calm as she silently listened to Ling Youdao explain the cultivation method he had gone over countless times before. Her tear-shaped eyes brimmed with tears.

Father had fallen to the demonic path. With her frail body, she had been powerless to stop him.

The terrible deed was done. Father had given everything for her, and she would stand firmly beside him until the end.

Night fell over the Four Perfections Mountains, and all was still.

The roars of beasts and chirping of insects filled the air. Inside a cave in the cliff face, several straw mats lay spread out. Luo Fanchen sat cross-legged, eyes closed, breathing in spiritual energy.

Only after completing ten Lesser Celestial Circuits, when exhaustion made it impossible to continue, did he slowly open his eyes. Looking inward at his Meridians, he found that only a third of his True Essence had recovered.

The world's spiritual energy belonged to no one. Unless one mastered one's own Great Dao and comprehended its laws, it was difficult to command—even for a True Person at Core Formation.

Low-level cultivators had to draw spiritual energy into their bodies and refine it into True Essence before they could use it.

"The mortal realm's spiritual energy is thin. Recovering here really is difficult."

Luo Fanchen sighed. The two pieces of Spirit Dust in his hand had lost their luster and crumbled to ash, making his heart ache.

After making the Witch Puppet, he had hurried Ling Moxue along for two hundred li without stopping. Once they entered the Four Perfections Mountains, he could go no farther. While the Witch Puppet bought them time, he had drawn in spiritual energy and refined it into True Essence.

"The Third Level of Qi Refining is still far too weak."

Worry filled Luo Fanchen's eyes. Beside him, Ling Moxue had fallen fast asleep against the campfire, her small face exhausted.

Her thin body curled into a ball, her brows drawn tight and her face scrunched up. In her sleep, she murmured, "Mother... Qiu Yun..."

Luo Fanchen's heart softened. He took off his robe, intending to drape it gently over Ling Moxue.

The girl whimpered like a small animal that felt unsafe. Seeking Luo Fanchen's warmth, she rubbed her cheek lightly against the back of his hand, then turned slightly, wrapped her arms around his, and sank back into deep sleep.

Ling Moxue held on tightly. Seeing how soundly she slept, Luo Fanchen let her be.

"Can I really beat a Demonic Cultivator?"

Ling Moxue's breathing gradually steadied beside him. Luo Fanchen gently stroked the girl's hair, only then noticing that his own hand was trembling.

He had never fought a Demonic Cultivator before. Their methods were vicious, while the only offensive spell he knew was a fireball spell that could hardly even be called a Mystic Method.

"I can win!"

As his breathing evened out, Luo Fanchen's trembling hand grew steady. Resolve filled his eyes.

The mortal realm's spiritual energy was thin and rife with the turbid thoughts of the mundane world. A cultivator who stayed here would see his cultivation decline rather than advance.

Ling Youdao's cultivation could not be very high. He might even have a hidden injury or some other weakness that kept him from competing with other cultivators, forcing him to remain in the mortal realm.

"Even if I can't beat him, I'm confident I can escape. The terrain and timing are on my side."

Luo Fanchen pressed his lips together and opened the Eight Desolations Record of the Demoness again, focusing on the cultivation-method entry.

[Longevity Art, Third Level (910/1000)]

Its proficiency had risen ten points since he had first checked it. During that time, he had circulated his energy through roughly twenty Lesser Celestial Circuits. He had worked bitterly at the Third Level of Qi Refining for two years, and his Conception Vessel, Governing Vessel, and Thoroughfare Vessel were nearly fully opened.

If he could raise the cultivation method to the Fourth Level, he might be able to break through to the Fourth Level of Qi Refining in one stroke.

Moreover, though he had lacked enough Admiration Points, the Demoness Register had unexpectedly entered a bound state when he used the Blood Contract to subdue Ling Moxue.

After they were bound, Ling Moxue's detailed information remained grayed out. Her Admiration Points, however, rose from -5 to -4, and he received 42 Admiration Points.

He had tried spending 2 Admiration Points on Golden Cicada Escape, and its proficiency had indeed increased by two points. Evidently, for low-level cultivation methods, Admiration Points converted to proficiency one for one.

"About a hundred Lesser Celestial Circuits, and I can break through to the Fourth Level of Qi Refining?"

Luo Fanchen murmured, his gaze growing sharp. If he could reach the middle stage of Qi Refining, his odds of taking down the Demonic Cultivator would rise by thirty percent.