That bear attacked the last remaining members of the Meng family. The beast charged with a roar, claws flashing like black knives through the dusk air. The Meng family patriarch somehow managed to block its attack, though his arms shook and blood stained his sleeves.
He shouted, "Xuan'er, run away from here! Find your brother and don't come back!"
Xuan'er cried, "But father, you—"
The patriarch gasped, "I can't hold it back for long. If you stay, we will both die. Run fast, before that demon comes again."
Xuan'er looked at her father. He struggled so hard that her heart twisted. Tears fell from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She started running, feet pounding the soft earth, but a few moments later she stopped because someone blocked her way.
It was not Lu Si. It was her brother, Meng Hao.
Meng Hao's face was pale but steady. He asked, "What is going on here? Why are our family members falling to the ground?"
He plucked a leaf from a nearby tree and drew a character on it with his blood. The mark glowed faintly as he controlled it with his mind and sent it toward the bear.
Slash. Slash.
The leaf cut the bear into several pieces. The beast collapsed. Their father lay almost split in half, barely alive, but he was saved by that sudden attack. Meng Hao leaned close and said, "You don't have to worry. Tell me who did this to our family."
Xuan'er wiped her tears and managed to speak. Her voice trembled, "Brother, it was a demonic cultivator from Ghost King Valley."
Meng Hao's eyes narrowed. "Then that valley will no longer exist after this night."
Before they could finish their conversation, a slow sound came from the forest.
Clap, clap, clap.
A figure stepped out and began to clap. It was Lu Si.
He said, "I didn't expect someone to kill a fifth-stage bear with only an initial-stage cultivation."
Meng Hao asked, "Who are you?"
Lu Si sneered, "You want to destroy Ghost King Valley for killing me, and now you ask who I am?"
He did not finish his sentence before Meng Hao attacked.But Lu Si dough it.
Both Meng Hao and Lu Si were shocked. Meng Hao was shocked because Lu Si had anticipated his attack, though Meng Hao had controlled it with his leaf Dao. Lu Si was shocked because he had sensed Dao power in the leaf itself.
Lu Si watched carefully and soon formed a guess. He thought, If I am right, then this person uses Dao this way.
He picked up a small rock from the ground—no larger than half a finger. He cut his finger and let a drop of blood fall. With that blood he drew a character that represented Dao itself.
Suddenly he felt a connection with his Dao.
Lu Si did not have a Space–Time River because he had to comprehend the space and time Dao to its peak. Instead, he cultivated the Crops Path, which gave him mastery over the Dao of Death. This was his own Dao. He had a blade of death and could perform secret techniques with it.
He realized then that if a person fully comprehended a great Dao, they could write it into a word that held much power. But only another person of equal understanding in the same Dao could read and use such a written word.
Lu Si said, "I never thought my death Dao blade would be reborn with me. I cannot use it yet, but because it exists I can write words that carry the Dao itself and have the power to attack and other effects."
He threw the little stone toward Meng Hao. Meng Hao used another leaf to stop it, but—
Bang.
The stone destroyed the leaf. The leaf shattered into pieces, but the stone did not stop. It continued its attack straight at Meng Hao.
Meng Hao panicked. "No… no… How is this possible? How can your stone destroy my leaf? Do you understand your Dao more than I do? But you are only a twelve-year-old boy!"
He tried to run, but the stone struck his head. It punched a hole through, exiting from the other side. Blood sprayed everywhere like a fountain.
Lu Si watched coldly. He showed no mercy. Then he looked at Xuan'er and asked, "Okay. Everyone is almost dead. What should I do with you?"
He thought to himself," I used the same skill as him. But I cannot use my death Dao blade now. I must raise my cultivation to recover my former strength. Although this technique of using Dao is clever, if I want to understand my Dao more and gain more knowledge, the only way is to raise my cultivation.
He also wondered,"How can this person use the power of Dao to attack at initial stage?"
Xuan'er fell to the ground and bowed before him. "Please don't kill me," she pleaded.
Lu Si said, "Alright. I will save you. But you must become my cultivation cauldron. I will absorb all of your cultivation through the dual-cultivation method."
Xuan'er agreed with trembling lips.
Lu Si stepped in front of her. She thought, "Are you going to start it here?"
But he did not. Instead he put two fingers to her forehead and, using his blood, wrote a character there.
Suddenly, Xuan'er's cultivation was sealed. The bright light of her inner power dimmed and closed like a gate.
Lu Si called his brothers and ordered, "Take care of this girl and follow me."
They carried the wounded and walked to the place where the Meng family's ancestral tomb lay. The air was heavy with smoke and sorrow. Meng Hao lay motionless, blood staining the path. Their father was still breathing but weak.
Lu Si said, "Go and get a corpse from the grave." His voice was calm, almost casual.
They dug and brought out a corpse. Lu Si placed a chair and sat on it, watching them work. At his left stood Xuan'er, rigid like a pillar. She trembled in the trauma of her brother and family's deaths. Her eyes were hollow, fixed on the ground, as if the scene had burned itself into her mind.
The night grew quieter around them. No birds sang. The wind moved through the trees as if afraid to disturb what had happened. The Meng family's land smelled of iron and smoke. Everyone moved in a slow, stunned silence. They had lost nearly everything in moments—family, safety, and peace.
Lu Si observed the scene with a cold interest, thinking about his own future and the Dao he needed to rebuild. Xuan'er stood there in shock, her whole world shattered, while the others obeyed in numb obedience. The ancestral tomb lay open, the earth still warm from the digging, and the small group stepped into a future that felt darker and heavier than the night itself.
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