Chapter 51 – A Dead End

  In the depths of the Ren Clan’s estate, far from the festive glow of lanterns and the hum of conversation, there was a hidden chamber that was nestled behind layers of stone and formation wards. The air was cold and still, and the silence was absolute.

  It was here that the Ren Clan Patriarch appeared, his movement so swift it appeared as though he had materialized in the chamber. His expression was even more severe than usual, and his eyes were cold and hard.

  With a flick of the Patriarch’s sleeve, Ren Sihan collapsed to the floor. He was unable to move from the oppressive weight of the Patriarch’s Qi pinning him down like a mountain pressing against him. He gasped, barely able to move, and the sabre he wielded fell from his hand with a clatter against the stone.

  “Explain yourself. Now.” Ren Tianyou said, his voice cold as steel.

  Ren Sihan coughed harshly, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. His eyes, however, burned with resentment and defiance.

  “My father never looked at me as a son, not once. I was born to a concubine, so I was tossed aside when it was found that I lacked the talent of Ren Qiu. I worked for everything I have, unlike that silkpants brother of mine.” Ren Sihan gritted his teeth and spat out the words.

  Ren Tianyou, the Patriarch of the Ren Clan, didn’t respond. He simply waited while the crushing weight of his spiritual pressure never lifted from Ren Sihan.

  “I met some people in the wilderness. They were powerful, but different. They taught me a cultivation method, one that doesn’t rely on talent or birth. It only requires the resolve to…use human life as a foundation for progress.” Ren Sihan hesitated a moment before admitting to what he had done.

  The Patriarch’s eyes narrowed slightly, but not in disgust.

  “A demonic technique. That is how your cultivation surged so violently, and so quickly.” He murmured.

  Sihan managed to nod his head.

  “They showed me how to refine the essence of mortals. To sacrifice them and turn their pain, resentment and lifeforce into my own progress in cultivation.”

  For a long moment, the chamber was utterly silent.

  “You are responsible for the recent disappearances.” The Patriarch mused, and his thoughts churned. Ren Sihan nodded his head, but didn’t speak.

  Ren Tianyou spent a long moment in silence before the spiritual pressure he was exuding lessened slightly. His gaze was fixed on his grandson as he calculated and planned.

  “You advanced unnaturally. There are flaws, but the power is undeniable. Unfortunately, the essence of mortals is insufficient to progress beyond the initial stages of Qi condensation. Specific…resources would be required to go further.” The Patriarch declared, and Ren Sihan looked up sharply in surprise.

  “Core Formation is a wall I have long stood before. But, no matter how many pills I consume, it eludes me. The Path of Righteousness is a dead end.” Ren Tianyou’s voice grew thoughtful as he mused aloud.

  He suddenly looked down at Ren Shan, his eyes gleaming faintly with a dangerous curiosity.

  “These people who taught you this demonic technique, bring me to them.” The Patriarch ordered, and Ren Sihan shivered.

  Page Break

  The morning mist still clung to the rooftops of Tranquil City as Jun De passed through the gates of the Ren Clan’s estate, his expression unreadable. The celebratory banners were still fluttering lazily in the breeze, as though the chaos of the duel and the oppressive wave of killing intent from the night before had never happened.

  But Jun De still felt it. It was a heaviness on his chest that refused to lift.

  This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

  Ren Qiu had stayed behind, choosing to convalesce under the care of his Clan. The wound he had taken was deep, but not fatal.

  His pride, however, hadn’t fared as well. Losing to his half-brother in front of his Clan and the city’s most prominent citizens had left a wound that would take far longer to heal.

  Jun De had offered to stay with him, but Ren Qiu had merely laughed bitterly and shook his head, telling Jun De that he would return to the Sect when he healed. He seemed determined to train and Jun De was sure that Ren Qiu would be pushing himself hard until he defeated his brother in another duel.

  While he tried to enjoy the warm spring morning as he walked the path back to the Sect, Jun De’s mind kept returning to the moment Ren Sihan’s cultivation had increased. It had been dark and unnatural.

  But what made it more disturbing was the Patriarch’s reaction. It hadn’t seemed like he was angry or concerned about what happened.

  Instead, he seemed interested in Ren Sihan.

  The thought refused to leave Jun De’s mind.

  By the time he stepped through the arched gates of the Sect, the sun had begun to rise enough that it painted the Tranquil Mountain peak in gold. Disciples milled about the Outer Sect, talking, training and laughing.

  But Jun De didn’t stop to speak to any of them. The usual idle chatter, the sounds of sparring, even the warm spring breeze that billowed his sleeves, never managed to catch his attention. His mind was too cloudy, but his steps were steady as they carried him to his destination.

  When he arrived in the Upper Ridge, rather than going to his home, he continued on down the path to where Elder Shen resided.

  Jun De didn’t hesitate to knock on the gates to his courtyard. There was a brief pause before they swung open to reveal the Elder.

  “Jun De? This is quite early, and you are not the type to idly visit me in the morning.” Elder Shen said, his eyebrows rising.

  Jun De bowed while cupping his hands in greeting.

  “My apologies, Elder Shen. But I have just returned from the Ren Clan’s celebration, and I have questions that I hope you can answer.”

  Something in Jun De’s expression or tone must have conveyed the seriousness of his concerns to Elder Shen, who stepped aside immediately and gestured for him to enter.

  With Jun De sitting cross-legged on a cushion in the Elder’s Courtyard, he recounted everything that had happened during the Ren Clan’s celebration. He described the duel, Ren Sihan’s sudden rise in cultivation, and the Patriarch’s lack of intervention until the very last moment.

  He also decided to tell Elder Shen about the strange aura that Ren Sihan had after he took something from his storage pouch, and the oddity in the Patriarch’s own cultivation that Jun De hadn’t seen before.

  Elder Shen didn’t interrupt once.

  Instead, he listened intently while his fingers slowly stroked his beard, and deep creases formed between his eyebrows with each additional detail.

  By the time Jun De finished, a heavy silence had settled over the courtyard.

  The Elder’s gaze had shifted to look at one of the trees growing in his courtyard, but Jun De knew he wasn’t truly seeing it.

  “Pill-based breakthroughs leave traces. Stuttering Qi flow, unstable foundations. It can be concealed with certain techniques, but combat will reveal it when they are forced to use their Qi in significant amounts. A flawed foundation will crack when pressured.” Elder Shen muttered, almost to himself.

  “And you say that Ren Tianyou’s cultivation had that quality?” Elder Shen asked, turning his attention back to Jun De.

  Jun De nodded.

  “Just a flicker, barely noticeable.”

  Elder Shen didn’t ask how Jun De had noticed it when no one else at the celebration had, which Jun De was grateful for. The Elder assumed that it was just a part of Jun De’s talents.

  “The fact that Ren Tianyou broke through to the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment through the use of pills isn’t that surprising. He’s very old, and even people of his cultivation can only live two hundred years at most.”

  “What worries me more is that Ren Tianyou broke through to Foundation Establishment late in life. His time is likely nearing its end, and that would make him more desperate to advance.” Elder Shen explained.

  Elder Shen thought for a moment before nodding as if he had come to a conclusion.

  “It would be best if you stay away from the Ren Clan for the time being.” Elder Shen told Jun De.

  “I agree. I came to that same conclusion.” Jun De responded before speaking once again.

  “What about Ren Sihan? No one else at the celebration commented on his sudden increase in cultivation, and even his own father seemed unconcerned by it.” Jun De asked.

  Elder Shen leaned back slightly, and he seemed even more troubled than before. He let out a sigh and shook his head before replying.

  “Unorthodox cultivation methods exist in many forms. While they are not taught by the orthodox Sects like ours, they are not outright forbidden. It is possible that Ren Sihan had a fortuitous encounter, similar to what you discovered in the Inheritance Site.”

  “Without more information, there is little we can do. The Ren Clan is quite powerful within Tranquil City, with many connections. Accusing one of their Clan members of unorthodox cultivation would require evidence.”

  “What do you suggest we do, Elder Shen?” Jun De inquired, and Elder Shen looked at him with a sharp gaze that was no longer cloudy with thought or unfocused.

  “You were right to bring this to me. If the Ren clan is beginning to walk the path of forbidden cultivation, it could endanger the entire region. For now, you are to do nothing. I will discreetly bring this to Vice Sect Master Mu’s attention, while it would be best for you not to mention this matter to anyone else.”

  “Yes, Elder Shen.”