Chapter 104 – Blood of My Blood
The wind howled through the jagged peaks of the Valley, its chilling gusts clawing at Rin's skin as he trudged deeper into the labyrinth of the mountain pass. The shattered remnants of the heavens still trembled in his chest, an ever-present echo of the terrible power he had absorbed. It was a burden and a blessing, one that could both unmake and remake the world, depending on how it was wielded. But now, with every step he took, the weight of the past grew heavier, pressing down on him like a stone.
The Valley had long been forsaken, a place where the echo of death hung thick in the air. This was the land where cultivators' ambitions had led to their destruction—where the fallen whispers of the dead had become his greatest teachers. But today, as Rin's boots sank into the blood-soaked earth, something felt different. There was life here, hidden beneath the layers of sorrow and ruin.
A village.
It wasn't large, perhaps no more than a few dozen people, their homes crudely built into the rock itself, as if they had grown out of the mountain like twisted roots. But what drew Rin's gaze wasn't the village itself—it was the scent. The smell of fresh food, of life. It was a scent that made his heart beat faster, as if it had been too long since he had felt something so... ordinary.
As he walked closer, he noticed the people were strange. They moved in slow, unnatural unison, their eyes hollow, their faces gaunt, as if some primal life force had been drained from them. They wore robes that once marked the Azure Echo Sect, but now, they were little more than tattered remnants of their former glory. And yet, Rin could feel it—there was something alive here, something that pulsed with ancient energy.
Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw her.
A small child, no older than six or seven, wearing a simple tunic of faded blue, was running towards him. Her face was smeared with dirt, her hair disheveled, but her eyes—they were wide with recognition.
"Elder Brother Rin!" she cried, her voice full of joy and innocence, as she threw herself into his arms.
Rin staggered back, his breath caught in his throat as he looked down at her. The weight of her words slammed into him like a hammer. Elder Brother Rin.