Inside the main hall of the Blood-Refining Sect, now a jagged ruin of its former glory, the Messenger slammed his hand onto a weathered map. Surrounding him, the Masters of five different sects stood in stiff silence.
"Why is there still no news?" the Messenger's voice thundered through the hollow hall. "That aura was massive enough to be felt across the entire realm. It cannot simply vanish! You are all incompetent!"
One Sect Master summoned his courage and spoke, "Your Excellency, we have scrutinized every high-level cultivator. We have even scoured the caves of the reclusive Hermits. There is not a single trace of that energy anywhere."
A sinister glint flickered in the Messenger's eyes. "You are all looking in the wrong direction. You seek 'power.' But have you considered that if this demon is cunning, he would hide in the weakest vessel imaginable? A body so insignificant that we wouldn't even bother to glance at it."
He pressed his finger onto a corner of the map—the location of Hao Chen's village. "Make a list of everyone who has arrived in this region over the past two days. I don't care if it's a beggar or a wounded traveler. My instinct tells me the 'Possession' is complete, and the body is currently fragile. If we don't find him now, none of us will survive when he regains his true strength."
The Messenger gestured to a spy clad in black. "Go. Scour that region using the 'Blood Trace' technique. If you find even a single drop of that ancient blood, burn the entire village to ash. We take no risks."
Back in the village, Leehan had no inkling that the terrifying history of his former sect was now marching toward his new sanctuary. He walked home with Hao Lin and Hao Chen, believing he was safe. He didn't know that the real trial was about to begin—the moment the hunter realizes the prey has shed its skin.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, draping the sky in a shroud of orange, the three were returning from the fields. Hao Lin, skipping ahead, suddenly stopped and turned to eye Leehan curiously. Her expression was a mix of mischief and genuine bewilderment.
"Hey Leehan," she asked, planting her hands on her hips, "Tell me something! Are you actually a bit of a blockhead? You spent twelve years in the notorious Blood-Refining Sect, where cultivation energy literally flows through the air... and you're still stuck at the First Stage of Body Tempering? How is that even possible?"
Leehan flinched at her words. He scratched his head and looked at the ground, struggling for an answer.
Hao Lin laughed and stepped closer. "I mean, even the lowest servants there usually reach the second or third stage. How could you be so oblivious that you didn't learn even a basic technique? Did you just carry rocks for twelve years, or did your brain simply refuse to process cultivation?"
Leehan took a deep breath and said softly, "I told you, Lin... learning was an invitation to death. If a slave tried to grow powerful, the Elders would only increase the torture. I only learned how to keep breathing. I never learned how to cultivate."
Hao Lin shook her head, teasing him further. "Fine, fine! But the First Stage? You could have at least reached the Second! You truly are the most straightforward and 'clueless' cultivator in the world. Oh well, now that you're under my wing, I'll see to it that we move the needle on that First Stage of yours."
Back at the ruins, the obsession clouding the Messenger's eyes sent a shiver through the other Elders. When he ordered the village to be incinerated using the 'Blood Trace' technique, a heavy, suffocating silence filled the room.
Finally, an elderly Master from the Cultivation Alliance gathered his resolve. Stroking his long beard with trembling hands, he stepped forward and bowed.
"Master... forgive me, but this path is wrong. You are a representative of the Heavenly Court, the guardians of justice and balance. How can we launch such an attack on a simple rural settlement? They are all 'Mortals' who don't know the first thing about cultivation."
The Messenger turned, his gaze so cold that the Elder's words caught in his throat.
"You speak of the Alliance rules, Master," the Elder continued, swallowing hard. "The law of the Heavenly Court states clearly that harming innocent mortals is forbidden for cultivators. If we burn that village on mere suspicion, the laws of Heaven will be shattered. We are protectors, not predators!"
The Messenger walked slowly toward the Elder, each footstep cracking the stone floor beneath him. He spoke in a low, lethal whisper. "Rules? You dare lecture me on rules? When that Heavenly Demon fully awakens and turns your 'Heavenly Court' into a pile of rubble, will you show him your book of rules then? Amputating a rotting limb is the only way to save the body."
He gestured to the other cultivators. "If that devil is hiding in that village, those mortals are no longer innocent. They have become his shield. My word is law—begin the Blood Trace. If even one drop of blood reacts, turn the entire region to dust. I do not care for the law; I care for the result."
His cruel logic silenced the room. The Elders realized that further argument was a death sentence. They knew that against the power of the Heavenly Court, they were nothing.
Minutes later, a squad of spies vanished into the darkness. They carried the 'Blood-Seeking Compass'—a device capable of detecting even the most microscopic particles of ancient, cursed blood in the air. To them, the villagers were nothing more than insects to be crushed.
Amidst the chilly night winds of the village, Leehan suddenly jolted awake. A strange, gnawing restlessness gripped him. Everything outside the hut was silent, but over the distant hills, flashes like lightning flickered—not natural lightning, but the energy discharge of cultivators in flight.
Hao Chen sat on the porch, staring at the sky. A deep, heavy worry etched his aged face. He knew a storm was coming, but he had no idea this tempest was tethered to the past of his new guest.
In her room, Hao Lin slept peacefully, unaware that her masterpiece—the pill—was about to face its ultimate test.