Chapter 79: Li Cheng
Chapter 79: Li Cheng
Why was this happening?
What exactly had happened?!
Zhi Mo rushed through the Inner Sect and flew straight to the core area. To his relief, the people here remained unchanged in number, all cultivating as usual.
“Senior brother, something’s wrong with the Outer Sect. All disciples there vanished, and nearly half are missing from the Inner Sect.”
Zhi Mo immediately reported the clan’s mutation to his senior brother.
“What nonsense? Our Tai Chu Immortal Gate always had this many members. And what Outer Sect? We only have the Inner Sect and core area—there’s never been an Outer Sect. Did you confuse us with other clans during your travels?” The senior brother stared at Zhi Mo like he’d grown a second head.
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No Outer Sect?
Zhi Mo felt icy dread. What force could erase memories and distort common sense? Those empty Outer Sect peaks and buildings—how could everyone forget their existence?
They’d all forgotten!
After testing others, Zhi Mo found identical responses. People now eyed him strangely, as though he were the mad one.
“Mother!”
Zhi Mo suddenly remembered Zhi Hua.
“Where is she?”
“Mom!!”
He tore through his mother’s residence but found no trace of Zhi Hua. Acting Headmaster Yu Ruyi had also vanished. The world felt alien overnight. Though wanting to consult Grandpa Xue, some instinct stopped him. Left with no options, Zhi Mo returned home, recalling yesterday’s meeting with his sister.
“Sis!”
Zhi Xin’er remained. She spoke before his feet touched ground.
“Many clan members disappeared.”
She emphasized “disappeared”—not missing, but utterly erased from existence.
“Come.”
Without letting him speak, she dragged him inside.
After sealing the door, she produced a talisman from her sleeve. Spiritual energy ignited it, releasing a shadowy figure.
“Li Cheng, Tai Chu Immortal Gate’s in chaos. Many vanished, including Mother.”
The shadow was her Dao partner Li Cheng, source of her information. She’d waited all morning to activate this projection until Zhi Mo arrived.
“I know.”
The shadow coalesced into Li Cheng’s form—a handsome Foundation Establishment wandering cultivator.
“Not just your clan. Everywhere, people are being erased at their core. Someone’s stealing their spirits.”
“Who?!”
Zhi Mo abandoned polite inquiries.
The day’s events had shattered his world. Trivial details no longer mattered.
“You should know who it is.”
Li Cheng glanced at Zhi Mo but didn’t utter the name.
“Why should I trust you?”
Zhi Mo narrowed his eyes. Unlike Zhi Xin’er – this man’s Dao partner who trusted him blindly – he demanded answers.
“Trust or not, this remains truth.”
Li Cheng offered no proof nor tried convincing Zhi Mo, speaking with detached indifference.
“He’s done this for ages. His first victim was cultivation world’s greatest prodigy – Demon Monk Jie Ming. Over time, he drained spirits from countless lives across the lands. Scattered remains went unnoticed.”
“How would you know this?”
Zhi Mo silenced his sister with a look, eyes locked on Li Cheng.
“You’re just a Foundation Establishment wandering cultivator.”
“Foundation Establishment wandering cultivator?”
Li Cheng chuckled. As his gaze swept over the siblings, his casual demeanor dissolved. A transcendent aura radiated from him.
“Li…Cheng?”
Zhi Xin’er gaped.
Wasn’t Li Cheng supposed to be a lowly Foundation Establishment cultivator?
“My apologies.”
Li Cheng’s smile held no warmth.
Powerful energy erupted, sealing the room completely. Golden light enveloped him, blurring his form. Mere proximity forced the siblings backward until they couldn’t meet his gaze – a soul-deep oppression.
“Now you see why?”
The golden shadow’s voice echoed coldly, every word dripping with frost.
“You lied to my sister?”
Zhi Mo’s eyes turned flinty.
Though baffled by Li Cheng’s transformation, Zhi Xin’er remained his beloved elder sister. No one harmed his family.
“I shared secrets, not lies.”
The transformed Li Cheng didn’t spare Zhi Xin’er another glance.
Zhi Mo shoved emotions down, shielding his dazed sister before speaking.
“Even your kind feels fear?”
“Early exposure risks us all. He’s mightier and crueler than you fathom. Don’t hope for mercy – that world-destroying madman spares none.” Li Cheng’s voice dropped, avoiding the name as if speaking it summoned danger.
“Why steal spirits?”
“Do farmers explain harvests to vegetables?”
Harvests?
Zhi Mo’s breath hitched. If true…had that monster taken his mother too? Though resisting the thought, he sensed ninety percent truth here. Yet yesterday’s visit to White Jade Pavilion lingered – that affectionate gaze couldn’t be fake.
“He thinks himself Heaven?”
“He makes Heaven seem kind.”
Li Cheng’s grimace suggested unpleasant memories.
“You want more than warning me. State your purpose.” Zhi Mo glanced at his ashen-faced sister. “And stay away from her.”
“No schemes. Just refusing to await death quietly.”