Mo Chen stood frozen in the middle of the courtyard, which now resembled a lake of blood. His tiny hands clutched the golden scroll as if it were a sacred talisman, though the cold aura emanating from it turned his knuckles white.

  He stared at the back of the black-and-white robed figure receding into the distance, fading behind the roaring curtain of rain, until finally, the figure streaked into the sky—a speck of dark purple light swallowed by the density of the twilight clouds.

  Behind him, the sobs of the Mo Family women broke out all at once, no longer from paralyzing fear, but from an overflowing grief. They ran toward the piles of corpses, searching for familiar faces among the thousands of cooling bodies.

  "Father...?" Mo Chen whispered faintly. He saw his mother kneeling before the corpse of the Family Head, Mo Bei, who lay stiff with eyes wide, staring at the sky. His mother wailed, clawing at the muddy earth with broken nails, mourning the fate of a family that had collapsed within a few rotations of the sun.

  However, when Mo Chen’s mother turned and saw her son standing there holding the glowing scroll, her soot-stained face shifted into a mask of horror. She crawled quickly, grabbing Mo Chen’s shoulders with trembling hands.

  "Throw it away, Chen'er! Throw it away!" she shrieked hoarsely. "That is a gift from a Devil! It is a curse that will suck away your soul! He slaughtered your father, your grandfather, and your uncles! Do not touch that unholy thing!"

  She tried to snatch the golden scroll, but a miracle—or perhaps a curse—occurred. As soon as the mother's fingers touched the scroll, a ripple of golden energy, soft yet firm, radiated outward, gently but decisively repelling her hand. The scroll seemed to have recognized its owner; it would not change hands unless Mo Chen released it of his own will.

  Mo Chen shook his head, his tears wetting the scroll. "No, Mother... That Mister said this is to protect you. He said... he would wait for me."

  "You want to be like him?!" screamed a surviving female elder, her face filled with deep-seated hatred. "Look around you, boy! He is the storm that tore down our home! He didn't give you a path of cultivation; he gave you a path to the same hell he occupies!"

  Mo Chen shook his head again, bowing in tears before looking toward the chests of spiritual stones lying nearby. "No, that Mister is not evil! Look, he still left those chests for our survival! Whereas Father... Father always hurt Mother! Father was always unfaithful!"

  The other children of the Mo Family stared at Mo Chen with strange looks—a mixture of envy, fear, and loathing. In a single day, Mo Chen was no longer just the unfortunate son of the family head; in their eyes, he was the disciple of the butcher, the bearer of the legacy of the Devil who had destroyed their world.

  Meanwhile, far above the horizon, Zhi Xuan shot through the storm. The cold wind whipped against his face, trying to wash away the lingering scent of blood embedded in his pores. Beneath his robes, he held the jade box containing the Night Petal Root Fruit. The fruit pulsed faintly, in sync with his heart, which now felt heavy.

  "You gave hope to a seed of hatred, Zhi Xuan," Ruo Xianxue’s voice echoed in his ears, this time without mockery, only a cold observation. "You know full well that in a hundred years, that boy might come seeking your head with the very techniques you taught him."

  Zhi Xuan narrowed his eyes, gazing toward the north where snow-capped mountains began to appear in the distance. "If he can survive in this cruel world for a hundred years, then my head is a worthy reward for his steadfastness."

  He glanced back momentarily at the Mo Family estate, which now appeared as a mere burning speck amidst the vast earth. The Mark of the Annihilator on his forehead throbbed again, sending a signal to every pursuer that the Devil was not dead; he was merely moving on to prey upon more.

  "This southern region is vast," Zhi Xuan murmured. He dove sharply as he caught the scent of medicinal fragrance. "I must drop these children off; that pavilion might be a place capable of healing and caring for them."

  Zhi Xuan landed like a shadow falling from the sky, right in front of the sandalwood gates of a pavilion nestled on a remote mountainside. The place was called the White Cloud Pavilion, a small sect that stayed neutral in the conflicts of great factions but was known for its dedication to refining medicinal essences.

  His sudden arrival, complete with the burning red pillar of light on his forehead, immediately sent the pavilion disciples drying herbs scattering in terror. The cold air Zhi Xuan brought with him froze the medicinal plants around him instantly.

  "Who are you?! Stop right there!" shouted a middle-aged man in simple physician's robes, stepping forward with trembling hands while holding a soul-purifying mirror.

  Zhi Xuan ignored the threat. With a graceful yet powerful wave of his hand, he manifested his Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron. The bronze cauldron spun in the air, emitting a soothing olive-green glow before slowly releasing the dozens of small children he had previously saved from Mist Valley.

  The children emerged with dazed faces, their thin bodies beginning to feel the fresh mountain air untainted by the stench of the mines.

  "They need shelter, food, and the restoration of their inner essence," Zhi Xuan said, his voice hoarse yet carrying unquestionable authority. He pulled three chests of high-grade spiritual stones from his storage bag and slammed them into the ground, kicking up dust. "This is the cost for their care. If even a single hair on their heads goes missing, I will level this pavilion just as I leveled Mist Valley."

  The physician was stunned, his eyes darting between the overflowing wealth and the pitiful children. He quickly realized who the figure before him was—Gu Fengyan, the Devil whose name was currently shaking Dragon Lotus City. Yet, looking at the children, the physician felt a flicker of humanity greater than his fear.

  "Devil... you brought them here?" the physician whispered, his voice softening as he saw the smallest boy tug at the hem of Zhi Xuan’s robe before hesitantly letting go.

  "I only need you to care for them," Zhi Xuan cut him off coldly. He looked down for a moment, sharpening his divine sense to inspect the Human Wheels in the children's chests. "Their Human Wheels still have a chance to heal, however small. You are free to teach them cultivation or let them remain mortal—the choice is theirs."

  The boy who had previously asked about the sun in the mine looked at Zhi Xuan’s feet, which were stained with dried blood. He wanted to hug those legs once more, but the red aura pulsating from the mark on Zhi Xuan’s forehead made him choke from unintentional mental pressure.

  "Mister... are you going away again?" the boy asked, his voice tiny, as if he feared that if he spoke too loud, the sun he had just found would be extinguished again.

  Zhi Xuan did not turn back. He only looked at the darkening sky, where thousands of stars began to appear—stars that had previously been mere fables to the children at the bottom of Mist Valley. "This world is wide, little one. Here, you do not need to carve stone to see the light. Learn to breathe without fear."

  Without waiting for a reply, he dropped several herbs in front of the physician. "Do not use any sect name for them. If they ask who brought them here, just tell them that the night was once merciful, once in its life."

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  WUSH—!

  Zhi Xuan shot into the sky like purple lightning, splitting the silence of the mountains. He left behind the White Cloud Pavilion, now enveloped in confusion and a massive pile of wealth. For Zhi Xuan, the burden of those children was lifted, but the weight on his soul only grew heavier with the hot throb of the Annihilator Mark.

  "You are so inconsistent, Zhi Xuan," Ruo Xianxue manifested beside him as he flew past eternal mossy peaks. "With one hand you give a scroll of destiny to the son of your enemy; with the other, you throw away treasure for slave children. Are you trying to buy forgiveness from the Heavens?"

  "Forgiveness is for those who regret, Great Saint," Zhi Xuan replied, his breath forming white mist in the freezing air. "I do not regret. I... was just once a man who craved the peace they desire."

  Zhi Xuan spurred his essence, piercing through layers of cooling clouds until ice crystals began to form on the edges of his robes. He no longer looked back toward the White Cloud Pavilion, which had now become a sanctuary for the remnants of humanity he had saved.

  To him, every passing second was a gamble with his life; the Annihilator Mark on his forehead was a beacon for hunters, a war drum incessantly beaten in the ears of the southern region’s experts.

  "The children's home is secure; now it is time to think of this body," Zhi Xuan murmured. He felt his meridians throb with pain—a sign that his divine physique had reached its limit after three days of relentless slaughter.

  He sped toward a hidden cliff crevice covered by a natural illusion formation. There, inside a cave fed by a tranquil spiritual spring, Zhi Xuan landed with his remaining strength. As soon as his feet touched the cave floor, the red pillar of light on his forehead dimmed briefly before exploding in a heat pulse that brought Zhi Xuan to his knees.

  "Ugh...!" Zhi Xuan clutched his chest. Black blood seeped from the corner of his lips, staining the clear river stones.

  "That Soul Lantern... it absorbed so many souls," Zhi Xuan hissed, immediately sitting cross-legged on the cave floor. "Fortunately, I didn't use the Soul Lantern directly; the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron held it back well enough."

  Zhi Xuan summoned the Cauldron out of his Sea of Consciousness, and immediately, Xiao Die appeared with a panicked face. "Senior!"

  Xiao Die floated closer, her transparent wings glowing with anxiety at the sight of Zhi Xuan’s pitiful condition. The senior’s dark purple hair fluttered wildly, while the red haze from the Annihilator Mark continued to spread like the roots of a demonic plant trying to entwine his face.

  "Senior! Your inner essence... it's almost completely dry!" Xiao Die cried out, her hands attempting to offer soothing rainbow powder, but she was instantly jolted back as the aura from the mark on Zhi Xuan's forehead sparked with fires of death that rejected all forms of external healing.

  "Don't... come closer," Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice sounding like the scraping of rusted metal. "This bloodline curse... it feeds on emotion and essence. If you touch me, you will be dragged into this dark mental vortex as well."

  On the other side, Ao Sheng also emerged from the Cauldron after a long time, the young boy's face equally pale. "Senior! You are gravely injured!"

  Ao Sheng stepped forward tremblingly. The golden scales on his neck bristled, feeling the Annihilator pressure radiating from Zhi Xuan’s forehead like a heatwave from hell. He, who was usually calm as a dragon descendant, now appeared small before the lingering killing intent from the Mo Family massacre.

  "Stay there, Ao Sheng!" Zhi Xuan barked with a voice caught in his throat. He closed his eyes, trying to force the Heavenly Samsara Wheel to spin amidst his torn meridians. "This curse is not just a seal... it is the resonance of hatred from thousands of lives."

  Ao Sheng nodded faintly, staring at Zhi Xuan’s blackened left side. "Senior, you have formed the 2,000th Slaughter Seal; no wonder you are suffering so much from this sudden surge of power!"

  "My cultivation will drop to the early stage of Soul Transformation at this rate," Zhi Xuan hissed sharply, gnashing his teeth. "Ao Sheng, Xiao Die, guard my body."

  In the Sea of Consciousness, Zhi Xuan’s tiny Divine Spirit remained sitting cross-legged atop the Heavenly Samsara Wheel, but it too hissed sharply as if feeling the same pain. If he did not recover the Heavenly Jade soon, his cultivation would plummet.

  Zhi Xuan exhaled heavily, then calmed himself for a moment, placing both hands on his thighs and forming a mudra. Within a few breaths, his Divine Soul floated out of his body. Zhi Xuan knew that his Divine Soul, which possessed two eclipse wings, was strong enough to mask the Annihilator resonance on his forehead.

  With a sharp burst of speed, Zhi Xuan’s Divine Soul shot out of the cave to search for traces of the Heavenly Jade; at the very least, he needed it to replenish his lost essence and suppress the killing aura on his brow.

  Zhi Xuan's Divine Soul soared through the cave walls, leaving his physical body under the strict guard of Xiao Die and Ao Sheng. He flew across the mountains at a speed that transcended the limits of a mortal frame.

  He was no longer bound by the weight of his wounded divine physique. As a Divine Soul, his senses toward natural energy were thousands of times sharper. He could feel the earth's pulse beneath him, every stream of essence creeping through the roots of ancient trees, and the spiritual ripples left by the cultivators still hunting him.

  "The Annihilator Mark remains on my forehead, even in soul form," Zhi Xuan hissed as he saw his reflection on the surface of a calm mountain lake. The red script pulsed weakly, trying to call the attention of anyone with the mental strength to sense it.

  However, his focus was not on his pursuers. His soul-eyes scanned every inch of the southern region, seeking the unique resonance of the Heavenly Jade. Without that jade, his divine physique would continue to reject the spiritual essence he absorbed, like a cracked vessel unable to hold the water of life.

  "There..." Zhi Xuan felt an incredibly faint vibration from the northwest, just beyond the Mist Valley he had destroyed. It was a frequency only the original owner could recognize—a glow of energy that was pure, haughty, and possessed heavenly authority.

  He sped toward that direction, passing through forbidden forests filled with savage beasts. But as he neared the center of the resonance, he froze. The sight below him was no longer a wild forest, but a luxurious caravan guarded by hundreds of warriors in shimmering golden armor.

  In the center of the caravan stood a magnificent carriage pulled by four white dragon-horses. And atop the carriage's roof sat a transparent glass box containing a crescent-shaped jade fragment that emitted a jade-green light so sacred it could calm the spiritual storms around it.

  "Where is this envoy from?" Zhi Xuan murmured. He didn't recognize the rising sun emblem on their banners. He could only guess it was a faction from another part of the south that had heard the Soul Transformation explosion at Mist Valley days ago.

  Apparently, after the destruction of Mist Valley and the death of Elder Cao, news of Gu Fengyan's appearance had reached the ears of the southern factions. They sent envoys not just to investigate, but to reclaim treasures that should not be in the hands of a rogue practitioner of the southern region.

  "They must be carrying the Heavenly Jade; a group like that wouldn't just be holding spiritual stones," Zhi Xuan surmised from the unique resonance of the Heavenly Jade, which acted as an instinctive draw for the Divine Soul of any Soul Transformation expert.

  Around the carriage stood three figures that made Zhi Xuan’s Divine Soul tremble slightly. They were peak-stage Soul Transformation practitioners, only a step away from the Weaver Transformation realm. Their mental pressure was so solid it created a field that rejected any external divine sense interference.

  "Brother Ming, do you feel something?" asked one of the golden-clad guards, his eyes sweeping the sky with a gaze that seemed able to pierce clouds.

  "Only a restless mountain wind," answered the one called Ming, his hand remaining on the hilt of his short sword. "However, stay alert. The Annihilator Mark has not been extinguished. That Devil must still be in the southern region."

  Zhi Xuan, hovering thousands of feet high, narrowed his soul-eyes. His eclipse wings flapped slowly, absorbing the moonlight to hide his presence. He knew that attacking them as a Divine Soul separated from his body was extremely risky. If his soul were wounded, it would cause him to immediately drop to the early stage of Soul Transformation.

  "Three peak stages... and dozens of Five Element practitioners," Zhi Xuan calculated coldly. "If I force it, I will only become a new ornament on their carriage."

  A thought occurred—a technique that shouldn't fool a late-stage Soul Transformation expert, but might work given their greed. "They are very strong and would crush my Divine Soul. However, if I use this Annihilator resonance to lure them out, will they chase me?"

  "But this soul avatar is all I have," Zhi Xuan muttered. "If I'm caught, I will surely die. But only I possess a Divine Soul with eclipse wings. Can they handle it?"

  "Lure them away, then I'll double back and snatch the carriage carrying the Heavenly Jade," Zhi Xuan’s voice sounded desperate. His body needed that jade, and his Divine Soul needed nourishment. "Is it possible? If I fail, I'll be even more gravely injured, but if I succeed... I can find a way to break this seal."

  "Cunning is perhaps something they lack when they are blinded by the sight of the Annihilator Mark," Zhi Xuan finally decided, steeling his heart. "If this soul is destroyed, my Divine Spirit will remain safe and can flee if they find my body."