That night, Ji Tianwei dragged Su Changqing's unconscious body and placed him on the same skull chair.
He stabbed Su Changqing's dantian point, just as Su Changqing had done to him.
"I don't want to torture you while you're unconscious," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "I will wait for you to open your eyes, Su Changqing, you wicked demon." He sighed, then closed his eyes.
Darkness consumed him into his subconscious, where he met a blurry figure.
The figure stood with its back to him, its tone gentle, like a woman's. "What a pity, child," the voice said. "Are you the Second One? But why did you choose this path of darkness?"
She... is she the First One mentioned by nirvana? But why is she a woman? he thought.
"Forgive me, First One," Ji Tianwei ventured. "Was your fate the same as mine? In your lifetime, were you a woman?"
"Yes, child," she replied, her voice filled with sorrow. "I was an empress. I was betrayed by my entire kingdom and forced to walk in darkness. This is merely a fragment of my remaining life. I never thought a child like you would experience such a tragic fate."
"Then why are you here?" Ji Tianwei asked. "What do you need?"
The figure turned, looking at him with eyes full of golden light.
"I have come for the last time. I want you to save my kingdom from greedy people, child. I have a descendant, their first name is Ming."
She walked closer, stroking Ji Tianwei's cheek. "After this, I will give you all my remaining power and disappear from this world. I am placing my hope in you."
As the figure disappeared, an indescribable current of energy surged into Ji Tianwei's meridians, flooding his entire body with new power.
Thank you, Empress, Ji Tianwei thought. I will do my best. He felt his Linghun Qi jump drastically, reaching Level 2.
...
After a long while, Ji Tianwei opened his eyes and found that Su Changqing had regained consciousness.
"Boy... what are you doing?!" Su Changqing shrieked, his voice filled with fear. "I let you live; aren't you grateful? If you kill me, the ancestors will hunt you down!"
Ji Tianwei rose, grabbing Su Changqing's sword from outside the cave. "If that happens, I'm not afraid," he replied coldly. "I only want to avenge your deeds. This is justice."
"REMEMBER, BOY! IF YOU GO ANY FURTHER, I WILL CURSE YOU! THE DEMONIC ANCESTORS WILL HUNT YOU TO THE DEATH!"
"Haha!" Ji Tianwei laughed. "In that case, I will kill them too. Su Changqing, don't beg. Aren't you ashamed to beg a child like me?" Ji Tianwei looked at him with burning hatred.
"This is justice, and justice will always prevail. I will never forget what you did to my parents, and how you took the Immortal Body from me."
Without hesitation, he began to torture Su Changqing. Ji Tianwei slashed, stabbed, and hacked at the body, repeating every torment he had once received.
"How does it feel to have that Immortal Body?" he whispered. "I will add a technique I've gained. Now, your body will no longer be able to regenerate. Life Devouring Technique!"
Cruat! Splatter!
Blood spattered everywhere.
After six months of torture, Su Changqing was left as a dry, still-living skeleton, smelling putrid.
"I am satisfied," Ji Tianwei said. "Now die. With this, mother and father can rest peacefully in the afterlife."
He ended Su Changqing's suffering with the Life Devouring Technique. A black mist emerged from his hand, devouring the demon's body.
Su Changqing could only snarl, his eyes filled with regret and hatred, until finally, darkness took his life.
Huh, my heart feels empty. Is this the effect of nirvana? I will go on a journey, damn it! I forgot to ask where the empress's empire is, ahh. Ji Tianwei quickly cleaned up the scene to avoid suspicion, knowing cultivators might soon arrive.
Ji Tianwei meditated as if waiting for something to arrive, thinking from Su Changqing's words that he would be hunted by other demonic cultivators.
...
Outside the cave, in the Valley of Death, there were five cultivators tracing Su Changqing's footsteps.
"Is this where that demon is?" asked an elite disciple from the Blue Lotus Sect.
"Perhaps. Sect Master Zhao Xiu said he fled north. This could be his hiding place," an elite disciple from the Sword Peak Sect replied.
"Hmm... I feel a strange aura. Should we go down to investigate further?" another elite disciple from the Sword Peak Sect chimed in.
"Don't be reckless. He's a demonic cultivator. We don't know what stage he is at now," another disciple from the Blue Lotus Sect replied.
"Why are you all here? And why are there elite disciples from different sects?" asked an elite disciple from the Fire Peak, who was confused. "What makes you look for him?"
"Oh, sorry. I just got a mission to check if there was something in the north. My Sect Master ordered me to check it out," the elite female disciple from the Blue Lotus Sect replied. "Didn't you feel something strange about six months ago?"
"We have another reason," said Lin Dong, an elite disciple from the Sword Peak Sect. "We were ordered to kill Su Changqing, who caused a disturbance in our sect. Our Sect Master chased him, but had to retreat because he has an Immortal Body."
"Maybe we should get to know each other, I'm confused about what to call you," the elite disciple from the Fire Peak said. "We have the same goal but different reasons. I can also help you, disciple of Sword Peak."
"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself," Lin Dong said. "We are both elite disciples of the Sword Peak. My name is Lin Dong, and this is my junior, Wei Chen." Both nodded and bowed.
"We are elite disciples of the Blue Lotus. My name is Xiao Qing, and this is my friend, Bing Ying," Xiao Qing, an elite disciple from the female-only Blue Lotus Sect, responded. "We are just checking on the incident from six months ago."
"Ahh... I'm Zhen Xing, an elite disciple from the Fire Peak, hehe," Zhen Xing said, scratching his head and bowing. He felt embarrassed and nervous introducing himself because Xiao Qing had a very beautiful face.
"Ahem," Lin Dong cleared his throat, "let's go down. We've been here for a while. That demon should have known of our presence, but why has there been no movement at all? I also feel something strange from that cave."
They all agreed and descended from their flying swords. The elite disciples were all at the fifth stage of Nascent Soul, except for Zhen Xing, who was at the sixth stage, the same as Su Changqing before he was tortured.
...
Ji Tianwei, who felt the aura of other cultivators from outside the cave, opened his eyes from meditation and thought.
In that case, I will disguise myself as a victim. Su Changqing's body is gone, so I can claim that he has left. I'll use the Life Devouring Technique on myself. This is very interesting, and I can also gather information about the empress's empire, he thought, a smile on his face as he walked toward the iron cage where he was once imprisoned.
"Life Devouring Technique," he placed his right hand on his chest. Blood gushed out, splattering all over the iron cage.
Cruat! Uhugh! "With this, no one will be suspicious, haha," he laughed hoarsely mixed with blood. His body began to shrink until it was half-withered. He waited for the cultivators to enter.
"Help! Help! Whoever is there, please help me! Sniff! Sniff!" he screamed and pretended to cry to lure the cultivators in.
...
"Did you hear a cry for help from inside that cave?" Xiao Qing asked in surprise.
"Let's check. Maybe he's one of the people who was kidnapped, and get your weapons ready," Lin Dong said.
They all walked together into the cave.
Afterward, they saw a small child inside a cage, his body half-withered and covered in blood.
They approached, and Zhen Xing asked, "Are you a victim of the demonic cultivator?" while carefully pointing his sword.
Ji Tianwei, half-dying, replied, "Yes, I am one of the victims. Why do you seem not to believe me, uhuk!" blood came out of his mouth.
"Enough, Zhen Xing. He might be a genuine victim of that demonic cultivator. What's your name, little one? Where are you from, and where is that demonic cultivator?" Xiao Qing said.
Ji Tianwei smiled inwardly, knowing he had succeeded. He replied, "I am Ji Tianwei from the Ji family. My family is dead, and I don't know where he went. Can you help me, sniff sniff." Ji Tianwei cried, hoping they would believe him.
Lin Dong, hearing those words, replied, "Hmm... The Ji family? Maybe what this child is saying is true. I got information that in a village near that forest, there was a house that was burned to ashes. But I see you have no dantian. If I were to help you enter my sect, it would be very difficult."
They all felt the same as Lin Dong.
Xiao Qing then said, "This child has suffered deeply. Maybe I can plead to my parents to adopt him."
They agreed to release Ji Tianwei from the cage.
They walked out of the cave, then used their flying swords and dispersed to their respective sects, except for Xiao Qing and Bing Ying.
Xiao Qing said, "May I call you Little Tian?" while stroking Ji Tianwei's head.
Ji Tianwei nodded and said, "Yes, hehe, and thank you for saving me, Sister."
"Just call me Xiao Qing, okay. Now I'm your older sister, and I will introduce you to my parents. Maybe they will agree. Before that, I will take care of you first and take a leave from the sect." That gentle voice reminded him of his mother.
Ji Tianwei shed a tear, holding Xiao Qing tightly. The two flew on her sword towards the west, where her home and the Blue Lotus Sect were located.