God Of Immortals

"Elder Cao, should we be involved?"

Lin Cheung asked worryingly. They were only out to find the forsaken palace and should be on their way. Why should they complicate things in this way?

"Something's wrong. Follow me. Stay quiet and leave everything to me."

Entering the village, they saw a young girl being tied to an Etcher tree with the spectral chains by the side of a path at the entrance of the village. A large number of the villagers, who gathered in front of the tree, were being held back by the village guards.

Ju Feng and the rest of the group were distraught by the scene. Who could tie a young girl to a tree like this? Was she the Xue Wu elder Wang Xiu was talking about? That was truly an unfair and strange world.

Combining her spiritual sight with her ancestral bloodline sense, elder Wang Xiu examined the girl but she couldn't detect any form of Karmic sin in the girl. But she had the feeling of something not quite right. With her aura masked, elder Cao Wang Xiu approached one of the gathered villagers.

"Excuse me, what's going on here?"

The man turned to see who was talking to him. When he saw the scholarly robe of elder Wang Xiu, he respectfully replied with a slight nod.

"Yes, Xiansheng. The girl's found to be a rogue blood."

Another villager who was close to them also quipped in.

"She's a Xue Ku. Xiansheng."

"A Xue Ku?"

Asked elder Wang Xiu as she acted to be contemplating on the situation.

"Yes, xiansheng. Her name is Yan Dai. She was the daughter of the old village diviner, Wen Dai, a true blood cultivator and Wang Dai, an evanesce core cultivator."

"Where are they now?"

"They are both dead. They died in mysterious condition on the same night, their bodies decayed and disintegrated before morning. She was the only survivor. At that time, many villagers were wondering if she was the cause of their death or not. But because she was too young then, the suspicion was overlooked. But now, with the happenings around now, all fingers pointed to her."

"What happenings?"

"There have been many disappearances and death of children in this village and sorrounding villages."

Are you certain she's a rogue blood cultivator?"

"Yes, Xiansheng. The village headmen came together and consulted their diviners but they couldn't locate the problem. It continued like that until our village diviner confirmed it that the girl was the one behind them."

"The village diviner?"

"Yes, Xiansheng."

The man pointed to the woman in black robe with half mask on her face.

"That's her over there, in the black robe. Wu Yu Cui, a true blood cultivator."

Behind the woman was a grim-faced man wearing a heavy grey robe. As elder Cao Wang Xiu watched the man, she could sense a dangerous presence with him which radiated sinister, but no evil. She turned her attention back to the man who was addressing the gathered villagers.

"Is that the village chieftain?"

Elder Wang Xiu asked as she gestured toward the man wearing the yellow silk robe.

"Yes, Xiansheng. That's chieftain Xu Xinyi. He lost a son too."

"Alright, thank you."

She left the villager's side and walked towards the center where the chieftain was still addressing the crowd. She understood the enormity of the task on the head of a chieftain. Especially, keeping the village safe from dangers. Any cultivator indulging in the killing of innocents people must face the consequences, blood cultivator or not. Yet, wrong person shouldn't die wrongly for the acts of another.

"We've found her guilty of these crimes. As with the laws of the land, she would have to be put to death inside the infernal chamber."

"Greetings, chieftain Xu Xinyi."

"Who is that?"

Chieftain Xu Xinyi turned towards the voice in anger. Nobody in the village could interrupt the chieftain without consequencies. Not at the time when the whole village was on edge after the recent happenings.

"Please forgive me, chieftain Xu. I'm sect elder Cao Wang Xiu."

Elder Cao Wang Xiu replied with a raised cupped fist. The village chieftain was a peak-stage copper core, but elder Cao Wang Xiu knew the importance of honour accorded the chieftains. She continued raising her cupped fist until the chieftain recovered from the slight shock of having a sect elder in the village. 

"We welcome you, sect elder Cao."

"Thank you, chieftan Xu. Forgive me for intruding. But I think you should thoroughly investigate the matter before making that decision. Don't you think?"

"We have checked and confirmed it, sect elder Cao. There's no doubt about our findings."

"Please, allow me."

As she said that elder Wang Xiu dropped the Light-Caller seal she was holding in her hand, and the light from the seal covered the whole area.

"Into the light and let it be revealed."

The shield surrounding the grim-faced man shimmered and quickly faded, revealing the true sickening aura of the man. Aura which had been moulded by blood and karmic sins.

"You?"

Chieftain Xu Xinyi asked in shock. He couldn't believe the man acting as a trusted ally was a shifer. Was he the one killing the children? But the village diviner confirmed it was the girl. Then, what about this shifter?

"Yes, me. So what? Can you can be quiet now? Thank you."

The grim faced man replied, as he turned his attention towards elder Cao Wang Xiu with a smile that resembled a scowl. He had been hoping to carry out his task silently and leave the people to their confrontations. But things had changed after the sect elder used the truth-revealing seal.

"Now, I have your attention, golden core Cao Wang Xiu. I've been watching you since you arrived."

The grim-faced man shook his head slightly before giving a mocking bow.

"Please, forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Wu Heng. But you can call me Blood-Blade."

The grey-robed man, still smiling, stared fixedly at elder Wang Xiu.

"Shall we?"