He mercilessly slaughtered anyone he saw. He had enhanced senses so he easily pinpointed anyone who tried to hide and killed them. No one was his match as he shed blood left and right. He severed the head of a man and as he moved to kill the woman on the ground, a hand gripped his shoulder stopping him.
It was Lian Qiu who had mustered up his courage and had stepped forth, he shook his head and his eyes didn't faze when he looked at Ling Tian's red ones.
Ling Tian whispered, his voice was very low and slightly devilish, "If I don't massacre this city, I won't be able to live..." Lian Qiu replied firmly, "These people are innocent in this matter, you killed the culprit."
Ling Tian seemed to hesitate for barely a moment, "I... No! They are not innocent, they stood by and did nothing in the face of such evil! If someone watches while another commits evil deeds, that someone is also a participant." Lian Qiu's grasp faltered as he heard his reasoning.
Meanwhile, the woman saw Ling Tian was distracted so she took out a dagger and attacked. Her dagger moved unhindered and reached Ling Tian's chest; However, to her horror, the dagger barely managed to pierce as if it had collided with a wall.
Ling Tian didn't even turn around, he was looking at Lian Qiu with cold calm. The latter let him go and stepped back, he turned around and walked away saying unsurely, "I will wait outside the city then... I... I still don't think this is right." The woman tried to stab again and failed as Ling Tian caught her hand mid-air.
He suddenly pulled and her hand was torn off, she screamed as she fell to the ground in terror. A sword River cut her head off and Ling Tian continued on... In his eyes, a man or woman didn't make a difference.
A few hours passed, the screams and smoke rising from the burning city made it appear like a city from hell from the distance. Ling Tian had killed everyone! Many tried to resist but they were simply too weak compared to him. He felt slightly better after killing everyone but he was very confused because he had not encountered a single old man or child.
He walked out of the city, his black robes were stained with blood but it was slowly growing cleaner every moment due to the scarf's ability. His hands were bloody and they did not grow cleaner, he walked out of the city and saw the final person, it was a guard! He recognized him as one of the ones that had chased him before when he was first in the city.
The guard had a clear wound on his chest, he had been sliced by Ling Tian's sword. Ling Tian crouched beside him and asked coldly, "I noticed something strange! No old man or child is in this place, why is that?"
The guard was on his last breath but he still managed to snicker, "You... I won't tell..." Ling Tian merely punched his hand through his chest and firmly grasped the guard's heart. "I can keep you alive and torture you..."
The guard whimpered in terror, he noticed his heart stopped beating and yet, Ling Tian kept pumping it with his hand and used his Qi to make the blood flow. The guard was so terrified he pissed himself and managed to utter with horror, "We... The soldiers of the Empire collect them... This is a city of the banished only; The old are forgiven and the children are taken to become soldiers... Please let me die! I told you all I know!"
Ling Tian hummed, "I see... I don't think so! I kept you alive so let me at least torture you a bit." He noticed a few wolves nearby that were attracted due to the extreme scent of blood in the air. 'It seems the bodies will be devoured... All the better.'
He used made a gesture with his hand and the wolf rose through the air and moved till it stopped in front of him. He lowered its head to the guard's body and the wolf which was a little afraid gave in to hunger and began eating the man alive. The man couldn't scream, he seemed to have gone deaf and only dumbly stared as he was devoured alive. The wolf turned its eyes on Ling Tian and pounced only to be cut in half mid-air as a sword river flashed.
Ling Tian retrieved his hand and the heart came out with it. He showed neither joy nor disgust, not even guilt. He was merely calm and cold. He let go of the heart and let it fall on the ground. He began walking back to the city.
He slowly returned to the body of the woman and the unborn infant. He seemed completely unbothered by the thick stench of blood, death, and gore(due to most shitting or Pissing themselves before death or things leaking out due to being sliced apart). He put the infant back into the mother's corpse calmly and lifted the corpse in a princess carry and left, his figure which was terrifying seemed more lonely now instead of being like a death god.
He left the city for good and didn't even look back as he slowly walked away, he walked through the forest and any beast or animal that attacked him got sliced in half instantly. He walked aimlessly for a few hours until the dark clouds slowly vanished and the night's sky became visible. All the while, his mind numb, not even a thought passed through his head. Lian Qiu was following him from a few hundred meters away.
He saw a very high cliff, on top of it he saw an ancient cherry tree with blooming cherry blossoms. The wind rustled the big tree and caused the pink petals to fill the air. It was a beautiful scene. He calmly ascended the cliff and stopped beside the tree.
He saw a great lake stretched in front of him. Where the lake ended in the faraway distance, he saw a mountain range covered in plants, it was a great jungle. The light of the stars and Blue Dream was reflected in the lake's surface creating breathtakingly beautiful scenery alongside the pink petals in the air.
He put down the body and began digging with his bare hands, a while passed in peaceful silence, the only sounds were of him digging. He finally stopped when a grave appeared. He opened his system screen and looked through the swords for a long time but he found none for resurrecting the dead. There were swords for healing and they were extremely expensive but none of them healed the dead.
He grew very disappointed and sighed. He gently put the corpses unto the grave and began filling it up. When he was finished, He drew Wave Repulser from its scabbard and stabbed it on the ground, the sword's blade was red due to all the blood, the blood gradually moved down and the azure blade showed itself, however, some parts of the blade remained with bloodstains.
He left the blade there and sat down and leaned on the tree, at the bottom of the sword's handle a piece of blue cloth was attacked in decoration, it moved like a thin and small waving flag due to the wind. The sun began rising gradually from the horizon, it rose from behind the mountains, its light reflected in the lake. The sight was painting-worthy. He took out his bamboo hat and mask, revealing his handsome face, his expression was blank.
Ling Tian gently said as the shining red vanished from his eyes, they returned to the previous dark, "Rest in peace... Watch the dawns and sunsets to the ends of time in peace. I will accompany you this time... My... My unborn son..." His voice cracked a little as he stopped speaking.
A single tear escaped his eye and flowed down his face. He murmured, "Mother, father; I tried... I tried so hard to not change per your last wish. You always wanted me to be carefree and cheerful but I... I can't anymore. I can't pretend everything is fine... I can't fool myself anymore. I felt so lost and I feel lost even more now. What am I even living for? What's the point of my existence? What is the purpose of my life? I... Don't know what to do anymore..."
He watched the sunset as he felt a part of himself be buried on the ground. The child might have been Wenhao's but it was still his current flesh and blood. He used to always fantasize about his future wife and his children on earth and his first supposed child had died before even opening its eyes. Every time he thought that the child was this body's and thus his own like any child he will have in the future, he felt an imaginary hand clench his heart a little; Especially when he thought that if he had any child, he would ensure their happiness but this one, he couldn't even keep alive.
He knew there was nothing he could do but he still felt sad... He felt he owed the child and yet he couldn't repay it, not anymore... He felt useless and empty. His flesh and blood were buried beside him and he, a cultivator that was supposed to defy heaven, leaned on a tree helplessly.
A strange feeling appeared within him as he thought of that...
[Heartless Slaughter Sword Intent comprehended.
Breakthrough initiated...]
His Qi in his Dantian gathered and created a very small space distortion essentially creating an inner world. The Qi gathered there and formed a Vortex and remained calm. The Qi was not blue anymore, it was blood red. The vortex seemed like a dark red sinkhole in an ocean of blood.
But at what price? The blood of so many was spilled whether right or wrong...
The wind caused his hair to rustle as the ethereal rays of the sun fell on his face, it was a sad and lost face, eyes filled with confusion and loss searching for purpose and meaning. The fallen Cherry blossoms moved with the wind around him, the sword stabbed to the ground by his side creating a desolate feeling despite the beautiful and lively scenery. Everything was faintly reflected in the lake as if the lake was trying to commit it to memory; Like a painting on its clear surface.
Sometimes, even the most beautiful of places can't make us forget the sadness in our hearts...