A thousand li south of Qingxu Temple, there was a miasma-ridden land rarely visited by people, perpetually shrouded in gray-white poisonous fog that ordinary cultivators wouldn't easily enter. At the extreme depths of this region, hidden against a black cliff, was a palace complex. The architectural style was strange and gloomy, mostly built of black stone and some dark metal, with eaves upturned like the talons of strange birds—this was an important branch altar of the demonic force "Shadow Serpent Pavilion."
At this moment, in the deepest secret chamber of the branch altar, candlelight flickered, illuminating twisted, wriggling snake-shaped reliefs on the walls. A figure wearing a silver long dress with a matching mask covering her face stood quietly before a smooth obsidian wall like a mirror. The stone wall wasn't reflecting her figure but was flowing with light and shadows like water waves, within which blurry human figures and text occasionally flashed—this was the "Dark Shadow Flowing Cup," a special channel for Shadow Serpent Pavilion to transmit confidential information internally.
Auntie Su, or rather, Shadow Serpent Pavilion's Silver-Masked Envoy "Dark Moon," frowned slightly beneath her mask. She had just received the latest intelligence summary from informants planted in Qingxu Temple's periphery. Initially, she just routinely browsed—the news that young disciples from Qingxu Temple had returned from secret realm trials, with casualties and harvests, was commonplace.
However, when a piece of information about a disciple named "Tang Xiaoqi" employing a strange purification technique at the secret realm exit to rescue several fellow disciples from strange demon vines entered her "vision," her entire aura suddenly congealed.
Purification technique?
Her heartbeat uncontrollably missed a beat. In this era when the demonic path lay dormant and the righteous path flourished, ordinary exorcism and demon-breaking spells weren't rare. But the description in the intelligence—"soft white light," "demonic energy dissolving upon contact," "rapid withering"—these characteristics instantly made her associate with an almost dust-sealed name, a power flowing in bloodlines—the Xu family's inherited "Source of Purification"!
The Xu family... Xulan Mountain Villa... that tragically cruel night of extermination... her sister... and that young child sent out by a loyal servant at the cost of his life in the chaos...
Countless memory fragments she had forcefully suppressed surged into her heart like a tide, carrying the smell of blood and burning pain. Her nails beneath the mask unconsciously dug deeply into her palms.
Back then, she had been ordered to participate in the siege of Xulan Mountain Villa—not by choice, but under the control and coercion of Shadow Serpent Pavilion. She could never forget that in the firelight and screams, her sister's final glance at her contained no resentment, only endless sorrow and a trace of entrustment. She had secretly intervened, interfering with the pursuers, giving that loyal servant with the young child a chance to escape into the perilous poison miasma forest. For many years after, she had been secretly searching for that child's whereabouts, but always came up empty, assuming he too had long perished in the maws of beasts or the poison miasma.
Could it be... he was still alive? And at Qingxu Temple? Going by the name "Tang Xiaoqi"?
Auntie Su forced herself to calm down, carefully analyzing the intelligence. Tang Xiaoqi, age matching—about sixteen or seventeen. Origin unknown, said to have been rescued from the edge of the poison miasma forest by Qingxu Temple cultivators several years ago, having lost some memories, only remembering his name was "Xiaoqi." Cultivation low, spiritual roots mixed, always inconspicuous in the temple, even privately mocked by some disciples as a "little waste." Until this secret realm trial, when he suddenly amazed everyone.
Age, origin, suddenly displayed strange ability... all clues vaguely pointed to that possibility.
She needed to confirm!
Auntie Su closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, striving to recall her sister's aura, recalling that unique, faint sensing of Xu family bloodlines. She and her sister were born of the same mother, their bloodlines connected. She was much more sensitive to that aura originating from the source of purification than outsiders. It was just that the young child had been small back then, his aura weak as a candle in the wind, and she hadn't dared to search openly, missing him time and again.
She extended her right hand wearing silver silk gloves, gently pressing against the cold obsidian wall. A strand of pure yet yin-cold attribute magic power slowly infused. The light and shadows on the stone wall flowed faster, finally freezing on a blurry image of Tang Xiaoqi sketched by an informant from afar—a youth who appeared thin-framed, with delicate features yet carrying a hint of stubbornness.
The image was very blurry, the aura even more separated by countless mountains and rivers, faint to the point of almost not existing.
Auntie Su held her breath, immersing all her mind and spirit within, disregarding consumption as she activated her spiritual sense, trying through this distant connection to capture that trace of possible resonance originating from bloodlines.
Time passed bit by bit. In the secret chamber, only the occasional soft crackling of candle flames remained. Fine beads of sweat appeared on Auntie Su's temples—mainting this kind of ultra-long-distance subtle perception consumed her greatly.
Just as she was about to give up, thinking her excessive longing had produced an illusion—
An extremely faint, faint to the point of being like a hallucination, fluctuation carrying a light coolness and pure meaning, as if crossing a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers, through that blurry image, gently touched her spiritual sense.
Just this once!
Auntie Su abruptly opened her eyes, her pupils beneath the mask suddenly contracting, her body even trembling slightly from excitement.
No mistake! Though extremely faint, and masked by some power (perhaps the spiritual energy environment of Qingxu Temple, perhaps his own not yet awakened), that was definitely, unmistakably, the unique purification aura of the Xu family bloodline! Originating from the same source as the aura deep in her memories of her sister!
He was alive! Her sister's only bloodline, the Xu family's final inheritance, was truly alive! At Qingxu Temple, having become that inconspicuous "Tang Xiaoqi"!
Immense joy and sorrow instantly submerged her, but the vigilance and calmness from long years in the demonic lair made her quickly suppress the surging emotions. Replacing them was even deeper worry.
He had exposed! Though perhaps only the tip of the iceberg, but that purification technique's appearance had definitely attracted the attention of Qingxu Temple's high level. And this news, able to reach her here, couldn't guarantee it wouldn't be obtained by Shadow Serpent Pavilion through other channels. Especially... that supreme "Pavilion Master," and the even more terrifying "Demon Lord" remnant soul behind the Pavilion Master, fixated on the Xu family's Source of Purification!
Once they confirmed...
Auntie Su dared not continue thinking. She had to act immediately.
She pressed her hand against the obsidian wall again, magic power surging, light and shadows shifting. She needed to transmit this intelligence back to Shadow Serpent Pavilion's main altar in a way fitting her "Silver-Masked Envoy" identity. It couldn't appear too urgent, nor reveal any personal emotions—it had to be objective, calm, even carrying a trace of "credit" mentality for finding an important target for the Pavilion Master.
She weighed her words, sending information through the Dark Shadow Flowing Cup: "Reporting to the Pavilion Master: According to peripheral informant reports, Qingxu Temple's newly advanced disciple Tang Xiaoqi employed a suspected ancient purification technique during the recent secret realm trial with significant effect in countering demonic energy. After preliminary judgment, this person is highly likely related to the orphan from Xulan Mountain Villa years ago. The secret technique he possesses may benefit the Pavilion Master's great undertaking. Whether to take further action, please instruct."
Information sent, light and shadows dispersed, the stone wall returning to stillness.
Auntie Su stood alone in the dim secret chamber, her figure appearing somewhat lonely. She knew that once this intelligence reached the main altar, it would inevitably stir up waves. Shadow Serpent Pavilion's desire for the Xu family's Source of Purification had never ceased. Next, whether secret contact, probing, or even more intense capture operations, might follow one after another.
"Sister..." she murmured in a low voice, the sound barely audible in the empty secret chamber. "I will definitely protect him... even at the cost of everything."
She had to find a way to do something before Shadow Serpent Pavilion's claws fully extended toward Qingxu Temple. At the very least, to buy him time to grow, or... find an opportunity for him to completely escape all this.
Far away at Qingxu Temple, Xiaoqi knew nothing of this. He was immersed in the joy of obtaining a new technique and planning for future cultivation, completely unaware that an invisible giant net, because of his single move in the secret realm, had begun quietly tightening. The gears of fate again accelerated, pushing him toward an even more unfathomable vortex center.