Xiao proceeded towards the patriarch's room, feeling an intense aura emanating from that direction. He walked steadily, with caution.
When Xiao reached the door, he noticed it was crookedly placed, as though it had been improperly set. He put his hand on the door and found it completely locked. Preparing to use brute force, he channeled his qi into the door, only to realize it was sealed with a qi lock.
'What a fool,' Xiao chuckled, recognizing the qi lock as an outdated technique, effective only against those who didn't understand its workings. This was likely why the murderer had come to this village, because the people here had no knowledge of cultivators or cultivation.
Qi locks function by matching the unique qi signature of the person assigned to it, as every individual's qi has a distinct mark. The lock opens only when the owner's qi matches the seal.
However, there was a simple way to bypass this: by manipulating one's qi to mimic the door's signature. Xiao, with his vast experience in qi manipulation, could easily adjust his qi to match the one on the door with just a bit of time
Xiao closed his eyes, focused on his inner energy, and began shifting his qi. Within seconds, his qi matched the door's energy.
His control over qi was exceptional for his level, so it took less than 20 seconds before the door swung open with force.
'Too easy,' Xiao smirked.
As the door opened, a blast of intense demonic energy surged toward him. Xiao staggered back but forced himself to move forward.
Inside the room, Xiao was met with a grisly sight: the dismembered body of Zhu Wencheng, the eldest son, sprawled across what appeared to be a ritual altar.
'What happened here?' Xiao thought, his mind flashing to Yan, the second eldest, who had left earlier.
'Is that why he seemed off?' Xiao recalled how Yan had left, expressionless.
Although he wanted to find Yan and question him, Xiao chose to search the room first.
Wencheng's body was butchered, as though someone wanted to make an example of him. His head remained intact, frozen in an expression of surprise as if he hadn't expected to die in that moment.
As Xiao surveyed the room, he noticed another altar, similar to one he'd seen before. However, this one felt far more sinister. The figure atop it looked demonic, its head intact and twisted into a malicious grin. It held a sword, poised as if ready to destroy the world.
Feeling uneasy, Xiao kept his distance and moved to the left side of the room. There, he found the patriarch's desk which was completely shattered. Among the debris, he spotted a broken jade pendant engraved with strange, intricate runes.
Xiao then knelt down and picked up the pendant. He discovered a faint trace of demonic energy lingered on it.
'Whoever had this pendant must have been controlled by the demonic energy,' Xiao mused. The energy had clearly been festering in the pendant for a long time.
'Was it the patriarch?' Xiao inferred, which would explain the villagers' odd behavior. After all, he was standing in the patriarch's room.
'But who gave the pendant to the patriarch?' Xiao wondered. Then, a realization hit him.
'Could it be Lin Jing, the murderer? But that raises another question: why is he in this small village?' Xiao's thoughts spiraled, but before he could think further, the pendant began to glow, as did the altar as if the altar could detect that someone had held the pendant.
A terrible feeling crept over him. His instincts screamed at him to flee. Without hesitation, Xiao activated Time Acceleration and sprinted out of the room, pouring excess qi into his feet to move even faster.
As he ran, he slammed the door behind him, hoping it would absorb the brunt of whatever was about to happen.
Xiao kept running. In less than five seconds, he was outside the house. Just as he escaped, an explosion erupted behind him. He didn't dare look back because the ominous feeling still lingered. It had been the right choice to flee, as the explosion seemed designed to obliterate everything in its path.
'I knew meddling with the patriarch's room was a mistake,' Xiao thought, now dashing in the direction Yan had left.
He deactivated Time Acceleration, careful not to waste too much qi, but continued running. Whatever had been inside the altar had caused the explosion, and Xiao couldn't shake the regret that he hadn't had more time to investigate.
The explosion stopped abruptly, as if it couldn't extend far. Only then did Xiao allow himself to relax. His senses told him he was safe, but he hadn't escaped unscathed. A small burn mark, tainted with demonic qi, had appeared on his back. Xiao hadn't even noticed when it attached itself.
Wasting no time, Xiao activated another of his abilities: Time Healing. His body began to reverse its state, and within moments, the demonic qi was purged from his back. He immediately halted the ability to conserve his energy.
'Why does that technique consume so much qi?' Xiao grumbled. He was left with only half his qi reserves and didn't have time to replenish them. He needed to find Yan before it was too late.
With the patriarch's house exploding and danger all around, Xiao realized he was under even greater time pressure. The murderer likely knew he was in the village by now, but still...
Despite the looming danger, Xiao resolved to stay in the village. It could very well be the place where he would meet his end, but he reminded himself why he had been betrayed in the first place.
'I can't be a coward and avoid conflict. But I also need to be rational,' Xiao thought. He made up his mind that if Yan was beyond saving, he would flee without hesitation.
With his resolve firm, Xiao turned and ran towards the direction Yan went, not looking back at the explosion he'd left behind.