Chapter 24: The Crimson Stained Village

A tranquil village, seemingly untouched by the world, nestled amidst towering mountains and dense forests.

Yet, this very haven, far removed from the clamor and dust of mortal life, was now stained with an endless crimson.

The dark brown earthen paths lay muddied with fresh blood, and the simple, uniformly styled, yet meticulously maintained village homes reeked of a putrid stench.

Chickens, ducks, and pigs—poultry usually spared except for festive occasions—lay scattered across the ground, utterly lifeless despite bearing no visible wounds.

At the village’s heart, where men, women, and children once celebrated with joyous shouts during festivals, a colossal copper pot now stood grimly.

The blood-filled liquid within, almost overflowing, seethed violently, and astonishingly, it was not wood but human bones and blood that fueled the fire beneath.

Human remains were casually tossed beside the cauldron like mere kindling, fed into the flames whenever the heat began to wane.

The orchestrator of this horror was Chang Heyu, a disciple of the Blood s*ave Sect, who stood before the copper pot, his face devoid of expression, tending the gruesome fire like an unfeeling machine.

In the Origin Reversion Realm, he appeared incredibly ancient, his skin a canvas of wrinkles, resembling gnarled tree bark.

Beneath, bluish veins were easily discernible, while his eyes were deeply sunken, as if he hadn’t slept for over ten days.

The distinctive red robes of the Blood s*ave Sect shrouded him entirely from the neck down, revealing only his unnaturally long, slender hands and feet, tipped with elongated, claw-like nails that lent him a terrifying, monstrous air.

“Alas, the quality of these souls and flesh is truly abysmal.”

Chang Heyu gazed at the crimson banner standing erect in the center of the copper pot, a flicker of dissatisfaction crossing his eyes.

The Blood-Stained Banner was almost invariably the first magical artifact acquired by any Blood s*ave Sect disciple upon reaching the Origin Reversion Realm.

The sect would provide a finished Blood-Stained Banner directly to its Origin Reversion Realm disciples, yet this did not imply they received a free artifact; the finished product was merely an empty shell.

For the Blood-Stained Banner to wield formidable power, it necessitated the absorption of vast quantities of living beings’ flesh and souls.

A Blood-Stained Banner wielded by an Origin Reversion Realm cultivator could typically consume over a hundred souls, and the higher the cultivation of these beings, the more robust their flesh, the greater the banner’s might.

However, Chang Heyu’s Blood-Stained Banner was of inferior quality.

Although he had slaughtered a vast number of living beings, the overwhelming majority were ordinary folk, with only a handful being Bone Cleansing Realm cultivators, and not a single one from the Origin Reversion Realm.

Even after he had culled the old, weak, and infirm, the overall quality remained disappointingly low.

The reason for this was quite simple: Chang Heyu was excessively cautious.

Having always possessed mediocre talent, his entry into the Blood s*ave Sect was a stroke of sheer luck, and breaking through to the Origin Reversion Realm had already consumed most of his lifespan.

Furthermore, the peculiar characteristics of the Blood s*ave Sect’s cultivation method left him with insufficient vital energy, making him weaker than other typical Origin Reversion Realm cultivators.

Consequently, he dared not indiscriminately slaughter cultivators, as such actions would inevitably attract far more formidable enemies to hunt him down.

Indeed, this caution proved true; precisely because few cultivators had ever fallen by his hand, his bounty remained perpetually stuck at an unappealing middle tier.

Powerful cultivators disdained such meager rewards, while weaker ones feared his strength.

Moreover, his habit of immediately relocating after each deed allowed him to consistently evade justice.

“Sigh, so be it. Returning to the sect safely is paramount.”

A flicker of reluctance crossed Chang Heyu’s eyes, knowing full well that returning to the sect with such a low-quality Blood-Stained Banner would surely invite ridicule and humiliation from his fellow disciples.

Yet, he believed it better to live disgracefully than to die gloriously, acknowledging that the Origin Reversion Realm marked the absolute limit of his potential, and he was already preparing for a peaceful retirement.

Just then, he suddenly sensed someone entering the village.

Being inherently cautious, he promptly retrieved the Blood-Stained Banner, then with a gentle sway of the flag, his figure vanished from the spot.

****

The one who intruded upon the village was none other than Ye Qingfeng, who had split ways with Quan Haoqing.

Upon stepping into the village, Ye Qingfeng’s brows immediately furrowed.

The intense, pungent stench of blood hung heavy in the air, and the entire village exuded a deathly stillness.

The signs of ruin and the blood-stained walls and tiles silently conveyed to Ye Qingfeng that a heinous massacre had occurred here.

Ye Qingfeng’s eyes instantly sharpened, becoming as keen as a hawk’s, and her beautiful, flower-like countenance was etched with frost.

She was a woman of contradictions; for her, even knowing that many places were experiencing similar, or even more egregious, tragedies.

It was utterly impossible to expect her to take it upon herself to bring peace to the world or vanquish evil.

She would never proactively engage in such endeavors.

Yet, if such inhumane acts unfolded directly before her eyes, she would absolutely never let them slide, nor would she entertain the option of letting bygones be bygones.

Her obsession with rectifying such wrongs was no less intense than her desire for personal vengeance.

Once her resolve was set, the only question remained how to utterly destroy him.

In the next instant, the frost on Ye Qingfeng’s face seemed to melt, her facial muscles twitching subtly, and her expression shifted from stern resolve to timid deference.

She resembled a foraging squirrel, darting her gaze around at the slightest rustle, her meek demeanor appearing utterly harmless.

Upon reaching the center of the village, she beheld the mountain of corpses and the still-boiling, blood-filled copper pot.

‘Good, let the performance begin.’

A surge of icy spiritual energy permeated her face, turning Ye Qingfeng’s cheeks deathly pale.

She promptly collapsed onto the ground, appearing utterly terrified by the gruesome scene.

After gasping for about three breaths, Ye Qingfeng gritted her teeth, then directly prostrated herself, declaring, “Disciple Ye Fengjie (TL Note: A common trope in Chinese web novels where a female character pretends to be a male for various reasons, often for safety or convenience, by adopting a masculine name or persona.) reveres the immortal master’s might! Today, I have specifically come to seek apprenticeship and study, hoping to be fortunate enough to witness the glory of the Demonic Dao!”

Hidden in the shadows, Chang Heyu’s face registered surprise.

He had initially expected a sacrificial lamb, but to his astonishment, an aspiring follower had arrived.

Ever since Ye Qingfeng had entered the village, he had remained concealed, meticulously observing her every action.

‘Weak, ignorant, and timid.’

He had originally planned to offer Ye Qingfeng, this unexpected gift, as a sacrifice to his Blood-Stained Banner.

‘But who would have thought, this is a Blood s*ave delivered right to my doorstep!’

The Blood s*ave Sect—its very name underscored the crucial importance of Blood Slaves to the sect.

Beyond forging a Blood-Stained Banner, every Blood s*ave Sect disciple, upon reaching the Origin Reversion Realm, was obligated to recruit a Blood s*ave.

These Blood Slaves served as both thralls to the Blood s*ave Sect and as the sect’s next generation of disciples.

A tenuous master-disciple relationship could even be said to exist between a Blood s*ave and the disciple who recruited them.

Initially, he had merely intended to find an ordinary person with cultivation potential to serve as his Blood s*ave, just to fulfill his obligation.

‘But what if this Bone Cleansing Realm cultivator truly intends to pledge allegiance to me?!’

‘Could it be that the heavens truly have eyes, and my days of suffering are finally over?!’

Meanwhile, Ye Qingfeng continued her performance, weeping profusely with snot and tears streaming down her face.

“Oh, Demonic Master, my life is so bitter! I remember how I once married that accursed scoundrel, exchanged vows, and promised to walk the immortal path together, sharing honor and disgrace. But that heartless beast actually forced me to become a concubine to some esteemed young master, all for a few spirit stones!”

“When I refused, he… he!”

Ye Qingfeng dramatically tore away the veil covering half her face, revealing a visage that startled Chang Heyu.

The lower half of Ye Qingfeng’s face was marred by grotesque knife scars, resembling cracked tree bark, a sight even more horrifying than his own appearance.

Had Ye Qingfeng’s original appearance been unremarkable or even plain, perhaps the scars would not have seemed quite so ghastly.

Yet, her still-intact upper face clearly indicated that before her beauty was ruined, she must have been a stunning woman—one capable of making even an old man like him feel young again.

What a pity, truly a profound pity.

Just as a black dot stands out most starkly on white paper, Ye Qingfeng’s inherently exceptional beauty only served to magnify her hideous scars tenfold.

With the faces of an angel and a demon simultaneously present on a single countenance, people would inevitably fixate on the terrifying demon and the grotesque distortion.

Chang Heyu’s reaction, however, was relatively mild.

After all, he had encountered too many eccentric fellow disciples within the Blood s*ave Sect who stood apart from ordinary society; his aesthetic sense had even become somewhat twisted.

‘It doesn’t look fake.’

‘For a woman, her appearance is almost as vital as her very life.’

‘Any idiot who would commit such a ‘waste of resources’ was, in Chang Heyu’s estimation, utterly outrageous!’

‘Let me enjoy her first, then you can ruin her!’

As Chang Heyu sank into a gloomy mood, Ye Qingfeng, too, was pondering.

‘Why hasn’t that rat in the shadows come out yet? Hiss~, my eyes hurt so much. I overdid it with the tear-inducing ingredients.’

‘If only I had known, I would have used less in that tear pack.’