Despair

The soft pitter-patter of rain began falling again, causing the water to mix with blood and dirt on the ruined battlefield. Yu Tian's red eyes glowed as the dark energy surrounding him seemingly grew stronger and stronger.

"Yu Tian..." Shan Qian Xue looked at him in a mixture of fear and sadness.

His body pulsating with an unknown pressure that screamed danger. The transformation of Yu Tian's right arm seemed alive, with the pitch-black energy snaking and twisting around in the air.

She could also feel a pair of eyes in the darkness within, as if they were peering into her very soul. Yu Tian's arm, which was in the shape an unknown beast, seemed like a dragon's head but not one she had ever seen before.

Raising his arm, Yu Tian began to swing downwards again towards Li Changpu.

[Martial Spirit Fusion]!

Already injured by the invisible force, Li Changpu immediately fused with his infernal hydra. Whatever the boy had used before had completely destroyed his left arm, and he wasn't taking any chances this time.

Embracing the demonic dao also made one become closer to a demonic beast. Exploding in a burst of dark purple Qi, the infernal hydra's heads appeared behind Li Changpu's back, while a serpentine tail extended from his backside.

"Martial skill: [Seven Sin Devour]!" Li Changpu used his remaining hand to form a hand sign.

This time, seven ethereal snake heads were created from the former patriarch's demonic Qi, lunging out towards Yu Tian.

Li Changpu felt confident in using the empowered skill, thanks to him fusing with his martial spirit. However, his eyes widened when the same invisible force sliced through all seven heads cleanly, shattering them. "What?"

A weird, dark sound then resonated through the battlefield. Whatever was on Yu Tian's arm opened its mouth, seemingly laughing evilly at Li Changpu.

Li Changpu's snake-like eyes narrowed. The energy that was radiating off the boy was not demonic Qi, and it gave off chills that pierced into his entire body.

It was as if the Qi within him was afraid of whatever was controlling Yu Tian.

There was something very wrong after giving him the void seed. Li Changpu felt the situation had escalated into a situation that was no longer in his control.

The beast's head then opened, sucking in all of the surrounding Qi into its mouth. Li Changpu met something's gaze within the dark energy, making him feel like he was no more than a mere worm.

[World Eraser]

Its mouth fired off a massive beam containing concentrated red energy, evaporating all of the surrounding rain and organic matter. Seeing how he couldn't dodge the tremendous speed of the attack, Li Changpu could only use his strongest technique in an attempt to repel it.

"[Primal Origin]!" Disappearing into Qi mixed with black and dark purple, Li Changpu transformed into a massive hydra avatar reminiscent of his martial spirit.

Charging towards the energy, his shock reverted to fear when the beam easily cleaved through his avatar like a knife through butter. The laser continued to travel, causing a massive explosion that collided with Li Changpu from behind.

The possessed Yu Tian continued to fire beam after beam, his projectiles destroying everything around him. Shan Qian Xue screamed as one of the explosions also knocked her down, and she did her best to protect Li Mei Ling's body.

Trying to get up, both Li You Zi and Shan Dong Hai were also struck by the resulting explosions. Blinded by the heavy clods of mud and smoke, they were unable to see what was causing the mass destruction as they were thrown back.

Li Changpu was immediately forced out of his fused form with his martial spirit.

Landing onto the wet and muddy floor, he continuously coughed up blood from the injuries. Even his infernal hydra only had one head remaining, with the strange dark energy from Yu Tian slowly eating away at the bloody stumps.

Li Changpu was helpless as Yu Tian slowly walked towards him. The former god pointed his right arm towards his face, in which the beast's mouth expanded massively, intending to devour the demonic cultivator.

"No!" Li Changpu tried to scramble back away from the approaching terror.

Suddenly, all of the energy seemingly disappeared from Yu Tian's body. He began to wobble as the consciousness faded from his eyes, falling face-first into the muddy ground and dirt.

His arm also returned to normal, with the beast roaring in indigence as it vanished as well. Li Changpu breathed heavily as he wasn't sure that Yu Tian was still dangerous.

Gathering some of his remaining Qi, the former patriarch decided to kill Yu Tian before he grew anymore. Whatever was inside the boy, in combination with the void seed, would prove an eventual disaster to the Tian Qi continent.

Cultivators, whether righteous or demonic, would face a calamity if this boy was allowed to nurture. Li Changpu believed that the creature within Yu Tian would be able to appear and take control again.

"Li Changpu." A voice called out from above him. "I didn't think you were still alive."

Looking up, the former patriarch saw another familiar face and grimaced. "Sima Kong."

The current patriarch of the Sima clan, Sima Kong, looked down at Li Changpu contemptuously. Although Li Changpu was a generation ahead of him, Sima Kong didn't care about formalities when it didn't involve political affairs.

Dressed in a spotless blue and black robe, Sima Kong observed the carnage underneath him. His long, white hair flowed behind his massive stature, and there was an aura of shadow Qi surrounding his body that prevented him from getting wet from the rain.

Sima Kong knew that something had happened to a member of their family when the Qi marking disappeared. But because it disappeared so suddenly from the body that it could be a dangerous situation for his other clan members, Sima Kong came to investigate himself.

Hearing the sounds of the massive explosions, he rushed over and was only able to see a badly injured Li Changpu about to kill a boy. Sima Kong also noticed Li You Zi and Shan Dong Hai also on the muddy ground some distance away, attempting to pick themselves up.

"I see defecting to the demonic path gave you some extra years." Sima Kong observed the aura around Li Changpu's body. "But this also means that I must kill you. The emperor's decree is heaven's will."

"Haha! Only you?" Li Changpu smiled darkly. "You can try, but I must first kill this boy here."

"Oh?" Sima Kong was curious. "And why is that?"

"If he lives, then I believe that this whole continent will fall into a great disaster." Lifting his hand, Li Changpu was about to crush Yu Tian's head before sensing danger approaching.

"How ironic. A demonic cultivator warning others out of goodwill." Sima Kong's voice was laced with sarcasm and disdain.

The blade of shadow Qi connected to Sima Kong's body almost cut Li Changpu in half, but he managed to barely avoid it by retracting his hand. A diagonal cut now lined itself across his chest, dripping blood.

"It seems like I must get rid of you first." Li Changpu sneered, slowly picking himself up while using the remnants of his internal Qi.

"Oh? A Battle Ancestor already?" Sima Kong smiled mockingly.

Whatever the demonic cultivator aimed to do, Sima Kong was determined to obstruct him.

"I'll show you the power of being a Battle Ancestor." Li Changpu growled. "Even if I'm injured, I'm still able to deal with an insect like you."

"[Infernal Gaze]." The demonic cultivator's eyes changed colour as he attempted to paralyze Sima Kong.

Seeing how his opponent wasn't moving, Li Changpu grew wary when something felt wrong. Under the darkened skies, his eyes caught sight of a moving shadow that shot towards him.

"[Assassinate]." Appearing behind Li Changpu, Sima Kong slashed forwards with another huge blade made of shadow Qi.

[Infernal Shield]

Creating a shield made of dark fire Qi, Li Changpu managed to block the attack with his remaining arm. However, the strain from doing so amplified his injuries, and he began to cough out blood again while falling to the ground.

To his shock, Sima Kong's aura intensity equalled his own. His opponent wore a sly smile. "Unfortunately for you, I'm also a Battle Ancestor."

"I don't even need to use my martial spirit to deal with you." Sima Kong pulled back as he unleashed his Qi, the shadows encircling his body.

Making a hand sign, he knew that the elder from his family was most likely killed by Li Changpu. He had the same energy that erased the Qi mark, which infuriated Sima Kong. "Goodbye."

[Shadow Force]

Sima Kong's body transformed into pure shadow Qi, and he charged at Li Changpu with a supersonic speed. Finally deciding that enough was enough, Li Changpu grit his teeth and decided to retreat.

Pulling out a black sphere from his robe, Li Changpu crushed it and immediately vanished. Sima Kong's attack decimated the area of where he was, creating a deep hole that stretched beyond 20 feet into the ground.

"A teleportation orb." Sima Kong sniffed unhappily.

He had something similar on himself as a life-saving treasure, and the members of his family had it too. However, Li Changpu somehow managed to kill a War Grandmaster so quick that they didn't even get a chance to use it.

Demonic cultivators were truly dangerous.

Turning to take a final observation at the situation, Sima Kong flew away. He didn't like the rival families enough to help them, but he also wasn't low enough to hit them while they were down.

...

The little fox was shocked upon returning to the Li clan. The once beautiful backyard and courtyard had been completely destroyed and damaged.

After ditching Li Cheung and managing to hide her presence, Yae saw other cultivators suddenly arrive and capture him. Feeling that it was safe, she began the journey back.

It had begun to rain, so the demonic beast took a slightly longer detour in order to not get wet. Upon returning to the scene of mass destruction, she initially couldn't see anyone present.

Then, Yae finally noticed the fallen Yu Tian and went over, prodding the boy with a paw.

"U-Ugh..." Yu Tian groaned weakly. Rolling her eyes, she decided to use a bit of her lightning Qi to shock him, but it proved ineffective.

The little fox then got in front of his head, digging up wet mud and splattering his face. Within moments, the former god finally regained consciousness.

"En? Zi Jin?" Yae rolled her eyes, smacking his cheek with a paw and causing him to wince. That wasn't her name and she was never going to accept it.

Yu Tian's body felt like complete lead, and his internal Qi was also empty. His body screamed as he struggled with all his might to roll himself up. "What happened?"

Trying to remember the events, the former god felt a massive blank in his memory. Then, he remembered that his mother had been struck by Li Changpu before he blacked out.

"Mother!" The little fox was startled as Yu Tian suddenly jumped up. The boy was running around, desperately looking for her.

Shan Qian Xue groaned as well when she came to. The tomboy heard a familiar voice calling out, and she managed to croak out a reply from under the mud and dirt. "Over here."

Seeing Shan Qian Xue, Yu Tian attempted to run towards her but kept falling along the way. His head throbbed intensely and his limbs were already weak like wet noodles, but he finally managed to crawl and pull himself towards them.

"Mother?..." Yu Tian's vision blurred and split when he caught sight of Li Mei Ling covered with blood.

The last thing he remembered was the world spinning around, before finally collapsing beside her body.