In the Gu Clan's residence, stood a small house inhabited by two orphaned siblings, Gu Tian and his younger sister, Ming Yue. Ten years ago, their parents were murdered in a treacherous betrayal that tore apart the Gu Clan. Their father was the clan head at the time.
Gu Tian was only five years old, and Ming Yue was just three. With innocent eyes that did not yet understand the meaning of loss, they witnessed their father and mother being stabbed by the traitors. In the chaos of that night, their mother managed to slip a final message, telling them to hide and entrusting Ming Yue to her older brother.
The trauma was deeply ingrained, causing Gu Tian to lose his voice for days from excessive crying. But he persevered, because he had to take care of his younger sister. To Ming Yue, who always asked, "When will Father and Mother come home?", Gu Tian could only reply, "They have gone far away and cannot come home yet."
Now, ten years have passed. But the trauma has not faded.
On his bed, Gu Tian shivered. The shadows of the past struck again, along with a bad premonition: Ming Yue had gone alone to Mount Hua. He knew there was danger. Although his body was still weak, Gu Tian forced himself to get up and walked towards the clan gate.
Upon arriving at Mount Hua, he found scattered food supplies under a tree. Clear wolf tracks were visible on the damp ground. Gu Tian's heart pounded. "Damn it... not again!" he muttered, before quickening his pace.
Soon, he found his sister. A sword almost pierced Ming Yue's trembling body. In an instant, Gu Tian lunged forward and pulled his sister's body away, shielding her from danger.
Ming Yue's sobs broke out. She hugged her older brother tightly.
"Hic... I'm sorry, Brother. I haven't found the plant yet... but I've caused trouble instead..."
Her tears soaked Gu Tian's clothes, but the young man only responded with a warm embrace.
The female cultivator was surprised by Gu Tian's arrival, she saw Gu Tian's pale and weak body come to save his sister without regard for his own condition.
"Who are you?!" the woman asked, pointing her drawn sword at Gu Tian's face.
Gu Tian did not immediately answer, his gaze still fixed on his terrified sister. Gu Tian then told his sister to move away from that place.
His young sister continued to hug him tightly. "No. I don't want Brother to get badly hurt."
Gu Tian assured Ming Yue that he would be alright. Ming Yue finally loosened her embrace and slowly began to back away.
After Ming Yue was at a distance, Gu Tian spoke to the female cultivator with a terrifying gaze, as if he would torture her alive until she was no longer breathing.
"I know who you are... You are Lian Ning Shu, the main disciple of the Heavenly Leaf Sect."
Lian Ning was shocked at how he knew her name and origin. "H-How do you know? Who exactly are you!"
Gu Tian smiled faintly, looking at Lian Ning with a terrifying gaze that felt as if Lian Ning had been killed by something invisible, yet Lian Ning realized she was still fine.
"Me?" Gu Tian paused for a moment. "My name is unimportant. I am just a shadow fighting against the current of fate."
Lian Ning was shocked and moved her sword closer to Gu Tian. "W-What do you mean? Answer truthfully!"
Ming Yue saw her brother threatened with a drawn sword at his neck and worried about him.
"Brother... I'm sorry, Ming Yue always causes you trouble," she murmured, her small hand wiping away her tears, entrusting everything to her brother even though she was still worried.
Despite his weak physical strength, his cunning and intelligence gradually shook Lian Ning's mental state.
Gu Tian remained calm even with Lian Ning's sword in front of his face. Gu Tian walked slowly like a shadow, approaching Lian Ning's ear and whispering something.
"I know your greatest secret," Gu Tian smiled and turned his back on Lian Ning.
Lian Ning trembled when Gu Tian whispered that he knew her greatest secret.
"D-Does he know that I once killed my own brother to become the main disciple?" she whispered, cold sweat beginning to flow down her face, her body trembling weakly, her eyes wide with disbelief that anyone knew the secret she had hidden all this time.
Lian Ning turned around, looking at Gu Tian trembling as her mental state had been eroded little by little.
"W-What nonsense are you talking about!" she shouted, her voice filled with fear.
Gu Tian smiled, his weak body causing him to sweat profusely, droplets falling to the ground.
"Nonsense?" Gu Tian paused for a moment. "You think my words are just nonsense? Hahahaha... how amusing you are."
"The more you try to hide it, the clearer it becomes that you do indeed have a great secret. And I know your secret," said Gu Tian, who was trying to keep himself from collapsing before his enemy did, suffering between inner turmoil and physical pain.
Her mental state deteriorated further, hallucinations began to appear in Lian Ning's vision, her heart pounded rapidly, her breath became erratic, her behavior strange. "N-No... Not me. Not me." She began to swing her sword wildly in random directions. The wind began to blow strongly, seemingly adding to the chilling sensation.
Hysterical screams began to escape Lian Ning's mouth, her cries filled with deep inner torment. What was worse, she slammed her head against the ground until blood began to spurt from her head.
Gu Tian watched this, a satisfied smile on his face, even as his body slowly began to sway weakly.
"Ming Yue, let's leave this place and look for the medicinal plant 'Bloodseeking Craze'. Let her feel what it's like to have regrets that always shackle humanity."
Ming Yue felt sorry for Lian Ning, but she couldn't do anything but take shelter in her brother's shadow.
"Brother... will she be alright if we leave her? She won't die, will she?" Ming Yue looked into her brother's eyes while hugging his weak form.
Gu Tian answered Ming Yue's question. His pale hand stroked his sister's head.
"You are too naive, Ming'er. She deserved that, otherwise, we both would have been killed."
"I know, but..." her face was sad as she looked at the ground.
"Enough, let's hurry and find that plant and then go home before it gets dark," said Gu Tian, wiping away his sister's tears.
They had walked quite far, but the hysterical screams could still be heard.
A light figure flashed above them, surrounded by a roaring aura of Spiritual Qi. The wind blew strongly as the aura passed over them. The hysterical screaming that had been audible just moments before vanished the instant the Spiritual aura passed, leaving behind a silent, empty atmosphere.
Gu Tian, who was growing weaker, his eyes narrowing, his steps becoming lighter, his vision darkening, his hearing fading, felt unable to move any further and finally fainted.
Ming Yue's cry when her brother fainted sounded very sad and deep. The sadness did not last long; she got up and began searching on her own, leaving his brother in a cave for his safety.
The sky began to darken, and the air on Mount Hua grew colder. Inside the silent cave, Gu Tian lay unconscious. Meanwhile, Ming Yue's determination only burned brighter.
"Brother, wait for me in the cave for a moment, I will definitely get the plant you asked for."
Ming Yue's journey began.
Because Mount Hua was very vast, finding rare plants was not an easy task. She traversed through bushes and thickets; the scratches she received from passing through them did not diminish her determination.
Until she arrived at a rather strange place where a negative spiritual aura permeated the area. The trees that should have been green had become dead plants, and many carcasses of wild animals lay there, from ice wolves to blood bats to purple thunderbirds, all lifeless. Amidst all the strangeness, Ming Yue managed to find the 'Bloodseeking Craze' plant. Ming Yue approached the plant and began to pick it.
The moment she picked it, the ground in the area trembled and began to crack. Something was coming out of the ground; it did not look like something good. Ming Yue quickly tried to leave the place, but strangely, there was some kind of barrier blocking the area, and Ming Yue was trapped inside.
Ming Yue knocked on the barrier and shouted, "Help! Help me, anyone!" but no sound could be heard from outside; the sound only echoed within.