Chapter 134: Rage of darkness

Two days passed. The investigation about the demonic cultivator in the sect and the nearby villages was finished.

Cang Ming and Chi Leiyang had gathered every bit of evidence they could find. The fragments of corrupted demonic essence, witness statements about his facial features, the remnants of the frantic battlefield, the eerie techniques used during the clash, and most importantly about the sword — Wànshī.

The great sword had been thoroughly inspected, removed the remaining signatures of demonic essence, and checked by Cang Ming before being handed over to Lin Yuan. They didn’t get any important or useful clue other than the demonic sigil in the cave.

Xue Hongzhao didn’t tell them about his aperture mark.

They just know a terrifying truth that the demonic cultivator had not acted alone. He was a pawn of something far larger.

Outside the main gates of Red Talon Hall, a massive wooden caravan waited. The three investigators prepared for their departure: Mu Yue Cang Ming, Chi Leiyang, and their master, Mu Yue Cang Xuanyin.

They stepped inside, and the wooden caravan slowly began to tumble away from the sect grounds, its wheels rattling against the stone road.

Inside, an eerie silence consumed their words.

Cang Xuanyin sat with his eyes closed, his long white beard resting against his chest as his fingers placed lightly against the sheath of his mighty sword.

After a few minutes, he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze intense and sharp.

“We need to be far more cautious from this moment forward,” Cang Xuanyin muttered, his voice calm and heavily cautious. He kept his head lowered, and his eyes closed.

Cang Ming and Chi Leiyang looked toward him attentively.

Cang Xuanyin’s eyes slowly opened, darting toward the small, young boy.

“And Cang Ming…” He called calmly.

“Yes, Master?” Cang Ming responded attentively, straightening his back.

“You mentioned earlier that someone in Green Hollow City was also corrupted by demonic essence and lost their sanity?” Cang Xuanyin asked, his eyes twitching in anger. “Who was it?”

Cang Ming went silent for a moment, recalling the investigation report in the city. He clearly remembered his name and said it immediately. “It was Gu Shiyan.”

Cang Xuanyin’s expression changed slightly. “And Lin Yuan was the one who killed Gu Shiyan?”

“Yes, master,” Cang Ming confirmed with a slow nod. “The same young man who took possession of the great sword – Wànshī.”

Cang Xuanyin leaned back against the silk cushion, his eyes darting sideways. He briefly remembered the arrogant brat who had stood in the ruined hall with strong resolve and demanded the great sword; the boy who had looked him dead in the eye and challenged without hesitating, ‘You’ll see in the future, old man.’

“Interesting…” Cang Xuanyin murmured softly, trailing off into silence for a few long seconds.

“The moment we arrive back at the faction headquarters, inform two of the senior masters…” Cang Xuanyin smirked, commanding Cang Ming by waving his hand. His eyes locked on the passing trees and bushes across the pathway.

“And dispatch an elite detective unit to Green Hollow City,” Cang Xuanyin ordered, his expression twitching in eagerness. “I want them to investigate the Gu family grounds once more. I need to know every fucking detail about them.”

“Yes, master,” Cang Ming nodded in approval.

“Something about this whole chain of events does not look right to me,” Cang Xuanyin elucidated, looking out the carriage window as the towering mountain peaks of Red Talon Hall slowly disappeared into the distance.

Neither he nor his disciples noticed the faint, lingering wisps of black demonic mist clinging to the tree branches far behind their retreating caravan.

****

Red Talon Hall — Main Training Grounds

A wooden and iron plated training dummy burst into splinters, scattering the wood fragments flying across the stone floor.

Lin Yuan stood at the center of the training hall, his chest heaving slightly. The dozens of surrounding disciples had stopped their own training, their eyes locked onto him and his sheathed sword.

They were curious about the dark samurai blade – Wànshī.

The weapon rested pridefully in Lin Yuan’s grip. The collective whispers immediately lingered out among the watching disciples.

“Is that… the weapon that killed detective Xue Jianhong?”

“It is… that’s Wànshī!”

“Why the hell would the elders permit Lin Yuan to wield a demonic weapon like that?”

“Has he gone crazy? What if he gets corrupted too?”

“The demonic cultivator is the one who killed the senior,” Lin Yuan beamed, countering the frantic chatter. He raised the weapon and slowly drew the blade from its sheath.

Chen Ming and the other academy disciples smirked, listening to his words.

“And this is one of the great swords, not a demonic sword,” Chen Ming added to Lin Yuan point, his face lingering in pride.

The pitch-black blade reflected against the light. Lin Yuan held it up, turning it slightly to devour the atmospheric light.

There is no surge of raw power or demonic qi in it.

He scratched his head with his free hand, letting out an annoyed sigh. “Argh…”

“What the hell makes this sword so special anyway?” Lin Yuan muttered to himself, looking at the sword. “Does this have any unique power?”

He glared at the silent blade. “That rotten bastard didn’t even use its true ability before he got sliced in half.”

Lin Yuan took a combat stance and flicked his sword once before slashing through the empty air.

A dull wind pressure rippled in front of him. He pivoted his body and delivered a vertical slash. But it was still nothing.

Lin Yuan’s expression twisted into a muffle. “What a…”

“Just practice daily, brat,” a dry, raspy voice called out from the entrance of the training hall.

And Lin Yuan turned his head. A senior elder stood near the entrance, his arms folded neatly inside his long robes.

The old elder looked at Lin Yuan with a knowing glint in his eye. “One day, if you survive the intent of your sword long enough, the lingering will of the blade will recognize you as its master!”

He pointed toward Wànshī and continued speaking. “And when that day comes… you shall truly understand its natural wilderness, brat.”

Lin Yuan looked back down at the pitch-black blade, his reflection gleaming on the surface. He remained silent for a few seconds, understanding the elder’s words.

Then, a confident grin lingered across his face.

“Then I’ll just have to beat it into submission until it recognizes me,” Lin Yuan said, smiling faintly.

“That’s the spirit, brat!” The senior elder chuckled softly, shaking his head.

Lin Yuan adjusted his stance and tightened his grip around the dark hilt.

Suddenly, for a fraction of a second the handle felt slightly warm in his palm, as if a faint pulse of life had wavered out from inside the blade.

Lin Yuan’s grin vanished. He instantly looked down at his hand, but the sensation was gone immediately. The hilt was as cold as ice once more.

‘Huh…’ Lin Yuan thought, his eyes widening in suspicion. ‘Did I just imagine that or is it real?’

****

Somewhere beyond the Qinglin Continent

Far away from the territory of Red Talon Hall, the sky was dark, and a terrifying, endless void of abyssal clouds rattled against each other.

The air here was thick, suffocating, and dripping with venomous, pure demonic qi. The grotesque, monstrous beasts roamed on the jagged, large landscapes.

Some are tearing raw flesh from bone with their fangs and paws, others dragging half-eaten corpses through the polluted black ground.

At the heart of this apocalyptic wasteland there was a colossal, old fortress. Its towering stone walls were carved with frenzied runes, its gates made of spiked obsidian, and the whole structure reverberated under a thick, suffocating pressure.

And within the fortress, at the end of a grand main hall which is lit by green fire, there was a massive throne made of carved dragon bone.

A dark figure sat upon it in silence, swallowed in shadow.

The loud, frantic footsteps echoed against the stone floor as two armored guards rushed inside, throwing themselves onto their knees before the throne.

“My Lord…!” They spoke at the same time.

And an eerie silence followed after their call. The figure on the throne did not move an inch and his eyes remained closed.

The guards kept their foreheads pressed against the stone floor, trembling uncontrollably.

“The senior elder we dispatched to the Qinglin Continent…” One of the guards spoke, his voice cracking as he swallowed hard, “is dead in Red Talon Hall.”

The vast hall fell dead silent.

“He was interrupted and cut down by the faction master of the detective faction,” another guard added desperately.

For a few long seconds, frantic stillness lingered over the throne room.

Then, the two burning, red eyes snapped open in the darkness of the throne.

A wave of pure, apocalyptic rage instantly swept across the vast hall. The horrific demonic aura surrounding the bone throne burst outward vehemently, pinning the guards down.

The shockwave slammed into the kneeling guards, cracking their armor and causing them to cough up blood as they were pressed flat against the floor.

But the figure on the throne remained seated, his crimson eyes burning through the shadows.

After a few agonizing seconds of suffocating pressure, a strong voice echoed through the darkness. “Inform our demonic disciples inside Green Hollow City…”

The red glint in his eyes flared with murderous intent as he continued speaking, “to slaughter every living soul in that village. Leave no witnesses, and no bloodline can relate to us. And after that they should come here to report!”

The guards slammed their heads against the floor. “By your heavenly command, my lord!”

The figure leaned forward slightly into the green light, his dark robes fluttering against the air. “We must fasten our plans now.”

The whole castle trembled as the wave of demonic essence blasted out into the sky, tearing through the black clouds.