Flashback: Year 1514, Jade Lotus Sect, Nine Years After Reonhwa's Death
The Jade Lotus Sect lay cloaked in darkness, its cherry blossom groves swaying under a moonless sky, their petals a cruel echo of the blood spilled nine years ago. Cheon Hajin stood at the sect's outer walls, his silver hair glinting faintly, his crimson eyes blazing with a hatred that had consumed him since Reonhwa's death. Bloodreaver, his obsidian blade, pulsed with demonic qi, its edge keening for slaughter. The sect that had raised him as Kang Woojin—the mongrel, the outcast—would pay for her murder. Elders, women, children—all who carried the sect's cursed legacy would drown in their own blood tonight.
Hajin's defeat by the Wudang Sect's Fist Immortal two years prior had been a wound deeper than flesh, exposing the limits of his Earth Realm cultivation. His qi, a black flame refined through the Thousand Demonic Arts, was a force of devastation, his Slaughter Domain a manifestation of his will to destroy. But it wasn't enough. Reonhwa had reached the HeaChapter 5: The Blood of Vengeance ven Realm, a pinnacle he could only touch by ascending to the Life and Death Realm atop on Heaven Realm. The Jade Lotus Sect held no scriptures to bridge that gap, but their blood would serve a darker purpose. The Blood Essence Refinement, a forbidden technique of the Thousand Demonic Arts, could turn flesh and souls into pills of raw power. Their deaths would fuel his ascent.
He moved with the Shadow Veil Step, a wraith gliding over the walls, his presence cloaked in a miasma of demonic qi. The outer courtyard was silent, save for the soft tread of a patrolling disciple. Hajin's Phantom Claw Strike tore through the man's chest, ribs splintering like dry wood, blood spraying in a crimson arc that soaked the cobblestones. The disciple's eyes widened, a gurgle escaping his throat as his lungs collapsed, his body crumpling in a wet heap, entrails spilling like coiled serpents. Hajin stepped over him, Bloodreaver in hand, its edge humming with hunger.
The main hall loomed, its paper lanterns flickering like dying stars. Inside, disciples trained, their swords flashing in mock duels, unaware of the storm approaching. Hajin unleashed the Demonic Tempest, a whirlwind of black qi that shattered the doors and tore into the hall. The air became a maelstrom of screams and blood. Swords snapped like twigs, bodies were ripped apart, limbs flying as his qi carved through flesh like a butcher's blade. A young disciple, barely fourteen, raised a trembling sword, her eyes wide with terror. Hajin's Neck-Slashing Strike severed her head in a single motion, blood fountaining as her body slumped, her face frozen in a scream. Another disciple lunged, only for the Black Lotus Bloom to erupt, illusory blades piercing his chest, heart bursting in a spray of gore that painted the walls red.
The elders emerged, roused by the carnage. Five white-robed figures, their qi blazing with celestial light, charged into the hall, led by Elder Han—the man who'd driven his sword into Reonhwa's heart. "Heretic!" Han roared, his blade radiating righteous fury. "You dare defile this sacred ground?"
Hajin's grin was a slash of teeth, his voice a low growl. "Sacred? You built this place on her blood." He met Han's strike with Bloodreaver, the Heaven-Splitting Slash shattering the elder's sword and cleaving his chest. Blood and bone sprayed, Han's ribs splaying open, his heart pulsing once before he collapsed, his life snuffed out. The other elders attacked, their qi weaving a net of celestial light, but Hajin's Demonic Tempest tore through it. One elder's arm was severed, his scream choking as Hajin's claws ripped out his throat, blood gushing like a broken dam. Another's skull caved in under Bloodreaver's weight, brains splattering across the floor, gray and red mingling in a grotesque pool.
The inner quarters housed the women and children, their cries piercing the night as Hajin approached. His heart, hardened by nine years of grief, felt no mercy. They were the sect's future, its legacy of hypocrisy. He entered, his Slaughter Domain manifesting—a shadowy aura that crushed their spirits, forcing them to their knees. A woman swung a dagger, her face twisted with desperation. Hajin's Phantom Claw Strike tore through her abdomen, intestines spilling in a steaming pile as she fell, her screams fading into wet gurgles. A child, clutching a wooden sword, charged with a sob. The Neck-Slashing Strike ended him, his small body crumpling, blood pooling beneath unseeing eyes. The rest fell in a blur of violence—throats slashed, chests crushed, skulls split—until the quarters were a charnel house, the air thick with the stench of blood, bile, and death.
Hajin gathered the remains, his hands slick with gore, his robes drenched. In a hidden grove, he set up a demonic cauldron, its surface etched with runes that pulsed with malice. He piled the bodies—elders, disciples, women, children—into its maw, their blood mixing with rare herbs and demonic crystals he'd scavenged. His qi fueled the Blood Essence Refinement, black flames licking the cauldron as it boiled. The stench was suffocating—burning flesh, sizzling bone, the wails of trapped souls echoing in the night. The mixture condensed into a dozen black pills, each throbbing with stolen life, their surfaces veined with crimson.
He swallowed them, one by one, his meridians screaming as their power surged through him. His Eearth Realm qi, already a black flame, twisted and expanded, touching the border of life and death. His body convulsed, blood leaking from his eyes, his heart stuttering as the pills' energy tore through him. The breakthrough came like a storm, his qi harmonizing life and death in a brutal ascension. When he rose, gasping, he was in the Life and Death Realm—Beginning Stage, his power a volatile balance of creation and destruction. Reonhwa's pendant burned against his chest, her voice a whisper: Defy them.
*****
Three months later, Hajin stood before Cloudless Peak, the Wudang Sect's sacred heart. The Fist Immortal's effortless victory two years ago had been a humiliation, a reminder of the gap between the Earth Realm and the peak of the Life and Death Realm. Now, in the Beginning Stage of the Life and Death Realm, Hajin's qi was a storm, his Slaughter Domain a tangible force that warped the air. He would claim the Immortal's power, refine it, and ascend to the peak—to the atop of the Heaven Realm, where Reonhwa's legacy waited.
He stormed the Celestial Library, his Demonic Tempest shattering the outer defenses. Disciples fell in droves, their celestial qi no match for his newfound power. Swords snapped, bodies burst, blood sprayed as Bloodreaver carved through them, heads rolling into the mist. The alarms rang, summoning the Fist Immortal. Hajin grinned, his qi flaring like a black sun. Let him come.
The Fist Immortal descended, his white robes pristine, his qi a golden tide that pressed against Hajin's own. "You return, demon," he said, his voice calm but heavy with disdain. "Your path taints the Dao."
Hajin's laugh was raw, bloodthirsty. "Your Dao didn't save your disciples. It won't save you." He lunged, Bloodreaver blazing with the Heaven-Splitting Slash, a crescent of black qi that shook the peak. The Immortal countered with the Tai Chi Divine Fist, his strikes fluid, redirecting Hajin's force with infuriating ease. But Hajin was no longer the Earth Realm fool he'd faced. His Life and Death Realm qi matched the Immortal's intensity, his Demonic Tempest clashing with the Eight Trigrams Palm in a shockwave that cracked the library's jade walls.
The Immortal's fists landed, bruising Hajin's ribs, but Hajin's Shadow Veil Step kept him elusive, his Phantom Claw Strike tearing through the elder's robes, drawing blood. The Immortal's eyes narrowed—Hajin's power was no longer beneath him. The Neck-Slashing Strike came, a black arc aimed at the Immortal's throat. The elder's Tai Chi Divine Flow redirected it, but Hajin chained into the Black Lotus Bloom, illusory blades piercing the Immortal's defenses, blood spraying from a gash across his chest.
The battle stretched into hours, a storm of qi and steel that leveled the library's shelves. Hajin's meridians burned, his body bled, but his Life and Death Realm power held, his Slaughter Domain crushing the Immortal's spirit. He saw an opening—the elder's stance faltered, his qi wavering under Hajin's relentless assault. With a roar, Hajin unleashed a final Neck-Slashing Strike, Bloodreaver singing as it severed the Immortal's head in a fountain of crimson. The body collapsed, golden qi fading like a dying star.
Hajin dragged the corpse to a hidden cave, his breath ragged but triumphant. The Blood Essence Refinement cauldron awaited, its runes glowing. He placed the Immortal's body inside, its peak Life and Death Realm qi a treasure beyond measure. The cauldron boiled, flesh melting, bones cracking, the elder's soul screaming as it condensed into a single golden-black pill, radiant with power. Hajin swallowed it, his body convulsing as the Immortal's qi merged with his own. His meridians expanded, his qi surged, harmonizing life and death to its zenith. The breakthrough was cataclysmic, his power soaring to the peak of the Life and Death Realm, a step from the Void Realm.
He clutched Reonhwa's pendant, his voice a low growl. "Almost there." The Wudang Sect's blood would follow, but for now, the Neck-Slashing Demonic Emperor stood at the peak, his vengeance a blade sharper than ever.