The cultivation world stretched across a boundless expanse, spanning from the scorching heat of the Southern Empire to the frost-bitten peaks of the far Northern Mountains.
Countless sects and guilds dominated the land, but none rivaled the Four Eternal Sects who had been leading the cultivation world toward the light, upholding justice and righteousness against the encroaching darkness brought by the Nether Sect.
Though the Four Eternal Sects won the initial war, evil wasn't extinguished. The Nether Sect had returned to the cultivation world, spreading chaos everywhere. Innocent people suffered, but the war would not stop unless the source is destroyed for good.
The war between the righteous and demonic sects was caused by the desire to attain the Moonless Night Manual, which recorded the most powerful cultivation technique. The manual was created by the founding masters of the cultivation world and was passed on to Master Wenzhou, head of Anning Nomads, who was last seen in the north.
The Nether Sect coveted the Manual, so they fought their way from the East Sea to the far north, but lost against the Four Eternal Sects due to the fall of their greatest warrior.
For years, they remained silent. But news spread across the cultivation world that Master Wenzhou entrusted the Manual to Jiang Ziwen, the chief of Veiled Moon Pavilion. On learning the news, the Nether Sect sent its best assassins to Veiled Moon Pavilion to search the manual.
A carrier pigeon was sent out by Madam Jiang just before the whole family was massacred. Till death, the Jiang family would not reveal the whereabouts of the manual, thus the assassins failed their missions and were forced to leave before reinforcement arrived from the Four Eternal Sects.
~~
The night passed, and so the wind howled across the desolate plains, carrying with it the metallic tang of fresh blood and the bitter scent of scorched earth—the lingering remnants of the massacre at Veiled Moon Pavilion. It was into this graveyard of ambition and betrayal that Xue Meiran rode, her eyes wide with the shock of discovery. She had come to deliver a message, but she had found only silence and death.
Amidst the sprawl of bodies, she saw a figure huddled in the shadows, his clothes stained dark, his breathing ragged. Jiang Ye was a ghost among the dead. He was the sole survivor of the massacre, a young man whose eyes burned with a mixture of agony and a predatory, razor-sharp vigilance.
When Xue Meiran approached, attempting to offer aid, he didn't welcome it. He reacted like a trapped beast. With a sudden, explosive motion, he struck out, his movements fluid despite his severe injuries. There was no gratitude in his gaze, only a deep-seated, reflexive instinct to destroy anything that threatened his precarious survival.
Xue Meiran, though taken aback by his ferocity, did not retreat. She saw through the hostility to the desperate, fractured man underneath. Her decision to bring him back to the Snow Flower City was less an act of kindness and more one of calculated necessity.
Jiang Ye was the Young Master of Veiled Moon Pavilion, renowned for his intelligence and swordskill. When news about his survival reached the ears of Tianyun Sect and the Nether Sect, he knew he would be pursued by them to get the information about the Moonless Night Manual. Therefore, he left the Snow Flower City with unhealed wounds, leaving a note of gratitude to his savior. He could not risk bringing ruin upon them.
His father's dying wish echoed in his mind: Live a peaceful life. Stay away from the blood-soaked affairs of the cultivation world. Jiang Ye wanted nothing more than to honor that wish. He would run until his legs gave out, and hide where the sun could not reach. But he would never break his oath. The secret of the Manual would die with him.
~~
Two months passed. The massacre of the Veiled Moon Pavilion became a fading memory. However, the Nether Sect grew increasingly desperate. Their disciples tore through the countryside like a plague, ransacking cities in their search for Jiang Ye and clashing frequently with the righteous sects.
Ximen Han stepped through the shattered gates of Xitang Valley, the metallic scent of blood hanging heavy in the air. The village had been decimated the night before. Curiously, the houses remained untouched by looters.
His comrades, Yan Xingchen of Ruxing Sect and Bai Yixia of Lanling Sect, approached him. "Han-shixiong," Yan Xingchen began, sheathing his sword with a frown. "The elders, women, and children are unharmed. Only the young men were targeted. It doesn't fit the Nether Sect's usual pattern of chaos."
Ximen Han gestured for Bai Yixia to lead the trembling children inside. He then knelt before the village chief, who sat amidst the carnage, his eyes hollow.
"Chief, tell me what happened," Ximen Han urged gently.
"Karma," the old man whispered, staring at the sky. "My father taught me to never yield before desires. I told my son the same... but he only listened to the darkest parts of that lesson. Now, the debt has been collected."
"Explain," Yan Xingchen requested, her brow furrowed.
The Chief sighed, a broken sound. "Yesterday, my son and the other men kidnapped a wounded young woman from the demonic sect. They... they tried to defile her, but the young woman managed to save her dignity from them. She was a skilled in martial arts, but was rather weak. My son locked her in the store room, saying that she would give in if they starved her. But last night, her master came for her. He spared us—the old, the women, the children—out of some twisted sense of mercy. But all the young man who took part in that sin were killed. My son was among them. If I had stopped my son back then, this calamity would not happen." The Chief cried as he mourned while collection the corpses.
Ximen Han examined the body of the Chief's son. There were no sword wounds. The lethal strikes were precise, but they weren't made by a blade or the standard daggers of the Nether Sect.
"Chief, did the killer have a name?"
The old man hesitated, then spoke a name that seemed to chill the very air. "Lu Lisi."
The forest grew unnervingly silent. Even the birds ceased their chatter.
The Nether Sect had three infamous young masters. Ye Jiuyuan, the First Young Master, was a figure of power whose face few had seen. Shen Ziheng, the Third Young Master and son of the current Sect Leader, was a fixture in the cultivation world, often seen negotiating with righteous sects.
But Lu Lisi, the Second Young Master, was a ghost.
While the storybooks titled 'The Three Devils' depicted him as a madman who constantly challenged Ye Jiuyuan's authority, the truth was more complex. Born of a blood-pact between the previous sect leader and deputy sect leader, Lu Lisi was destined to duel Ye Jiuyuan for the leadership.
But with Ye Jiuyuan missing and the leaders dead, the second-in-command, Shen Yunzheng, had seized the throne.
Lu Lisi remained in the shadows, a lethal recluse. His cultivation was whispered to be superior to almost everyone in the sect—save for the missing First Young Master.
"Lu Lisi? The Second Young Master of the Nether Sect?" Yan Xingchen could not believe his ears.
Ximen Han had remembered Ye Jiuyuan's mentioning Lu Lisi when they were in their seventeen days, seventeen nights duel in the snowy mountains of Beifeng Sect.
Ye Jiuyuan said Ximen Han was similar to Lu Lisi because they both used wind technique, yet there was a distinct difference. While Ximen Han was like a breeze on a windy day that cooled down the heat of the burning sun, Lu Lisi was like a storm on a cloudy day just before the rain falls.
"I would give anything to see both of you fight," Ye Jiuyuan had said with a maniacal laugh. As he listened to Ye Jiuyuan speak, Ximen Han could tell the cousins were close—so close that they would either hate or love each other to death.
"I'm afraid you won't have the chance because you and I are going to die by the end of this war," Ximen Han said, swinging his sword at Ye Jiuyuan, who blocked the attack with his spear.
"Then I am sorry to tell you that you are not going to die, but I might." Ye Jiuyuan sent Ximen Han flying back with a kick, then pierced the snow with his spear, triggering an avalanche beneath his feet. Ximen Han tried to use a heavy wind to save Ye Jiuyuan, but the force instead caused the glacier on the mountain peak to slide, burying them both.
Thinking back, Ximen Han could not help but be curious about this Second Young Master, the man who could make Ye Jiuyuan's face fill with both pride and rage whenever his name was mentioned.
"Han-shixiong, we're waiting for your order."
Ximen Han turned his head to Yan Xingchen and told him to help the villagers bury the corpses. "Sent messages to your sects. Tell them that Lu Lisi is searching for the Manual."
~~
In the depth of the Nether Sect, a young man in green robe paced through the corridors of the Crimson Hell Palace, stopping near the door of the Grand Hall.
The sect leader and the Elders were having a feast, entertaining themselves with songs and dances. The moment the young man in green entered the hall, the music fell silent and the Elders stood up to greet him. "Er-gongzi."
Lu Lisi walked straight to the dais and sat on the seat where the late deputy sect leader used to sit. Though Shen Yunzheng was the current sect leader, Lu Lisi was the rightful heir to the sect leader position. But as the agreement could not be fulfilled, the seat of the deputy sect leader was the highest he could afford for the time being. Nevertheless, he was respected by everyone, including Shen Yunzheng.
"Er-gongzi rarely attends gatherings. Did something important happen which er-gongzi wanted to tell us?" Shen Yunzheng offered Lu Lisi a drink. With a subtle smile, Lu Lisi took the cup and drank from it.
"Nothing special happened. This young master just wanted to show his face in case you forgot who holds the actual right to the sect leader position." He dropped the cup, which shattered upon contact with the floor. Some of the Elders looked away, not daring to meet his eyes.
Shen Yunzheng laughed as he told the servant to bring another cup. "How can we forget about er-gongzi? If you really want the position, I will abdicate right now." Shen Yunzheng attempted to leave the seat, but Lu Lisi stopped him. "No need. You must have forgotten to remember. I am not the only one who can sit on that seat. Besides this er-gongzi, have you forgotten that there's da-gongzi? When I find my brother, we will fight for the position as the agreement said. Until then, I don't care who's sitting on the sect leader's seat."
One of the Elders—He Huaizhong, a middle-aged man—stepped out and greeted Lu Lisi. "Er-gongzi, do you really believe da-gongzi is alive?"
It was the stupidest question ever asked. Especially in front of someone who admired his brother more than anyone.
Lu Lisi clenched the arm of his chair, hard enough that it made a creek sound. "Why? Do you want him dead?" Lu Lisi asked back, his eyes widening with rage.
He Huaizhong immediately knelt down and begged for forgiveness. "Er-gongzi, this servant didn't mean that. Please, forgive this old soul."
Lu Lisi took a deep breath, then waved his hand. The Elders then excused themselves from the room. "Shen Yunzheng, please managed the sect well while you're the sect leader. If my brother was here, Elder He would already be dead."
Shen Yunzheng stood as he bowed. "I shall do as er-gongzi's wish. Please, excuse me." Lu Lisi nodded, then Shen Yunzheng left the hall too.
~~
Under the moonlight, Lu Lisi stood under the pagoda tree, reminiscing about the past when his family was together. His uncle would take them to the mountain to hike and collect herbs for his mother. When they returned, they would be soaked with mud and dirt, which made his mother scold them. They would hide behind his uncle's back, and his mother would try to catch them. His uncle would then coax his mother until she smiled, and she would take the two of them to bathe. Those were the good old days that could never return.
A young woman in a red dress jumped down from the roof and greeted Lu Lisi. "Any news about my brother?" Lu Lisi asked.
The young woman took out a letter from her sleeve and handed it to her master. "Murong send a message that da-gongzi is in South City."
Lu Lisi opened the letter and read it. "Good. We will set off to South City tomorrow." Lu Lisi told the young woman to prepare necessary stuff, but she remained standing and she looked like she had something to say.
"Is there more?" Lu Lisi asked and the young woman nodded.
"Ximen Han is also in South City," the young woman said. Hearing the name, Lu Lisi's eyes darkened. His spiritual energy flared, shredding the letter in his hand. "We set out tonight," he told her. "I won't let that immortal find my brother before I do. And if I ever run into him, I swear I will kill him."
Lu Lisi flicked his sleeve as he entered the chamber. The thought of Ximen Han made his blood boil. He had never had someone he wanted to kill so badly.
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