After slaughtering the Lin family, Su Dao walked calmly through the bustling market of Tianhe City. The air was filled with the aroma of freshly steamed meat buns, roasted vegetables, and faint hints of alchemical pills. The streets were crowded with vendors shouting out their wares, eager to attract customers. The clattering of carts, the murmur of negotiations, and the laughter of children filled the atmosphere. It was a lively scene, but Su Dao's eyes were sharp and his focus unwavering.
He entered a modest yet busy hotel, its wooden structure adorned with red lanterns and carved dragon motifs. The smell of roasted duck and aged wine wafted through the air. He found an empty table in the corner, ordered a bottle of wine and a plate of meat, and began to eat quietly. As he sipped his wine, his sharp ears tuned in to the conversations around him.
At a nearby table, three individuals caught his attention. One was a young man in a red robe, his aura fluctuating at the 12th layer of Qi Gathering. Next to him sat his master, a middle-aged man exuding the calm yet powerful presence of a cultivator at the 14th layer of Soul Understanding. Beside them was a young woman, her delicate features hiding her own cultivation level at the 10th layer of Soul Understanding. Their robes bore the insignia of the Scarlet Moon Sect, one of the top five prestigious sects in Tianhe City, renowned for their ruthless pursuit of power.
The young man in red robes leaned closer to his master and asked, "Master, do you know who killed the third young master of the Liang family?"
The master frowned, stroking his beard. "From what I've heard, the killer's strength was at least at the 1st layer of Soul Understanding. The Liang family is investigating, but it seems they have no solid leads yet."
The young woman smirked, her voice dripping with disdain. "That third young master of the Liang family was a waste. He never cultivated, always running off to brothels and wasting his family's resources. Honestly, it's no loss to anyone."
"Shhh!" the young man hissed, glancing around nervously. "Don't speak like that. What if someone hears you and reports back to the Liang family?"
The young woman rolled her eyes. "What can they do to us? Their strongest cultivator is only at the early phase of Core Formation. Our great elder is already at the Nascent Soul level. Even our master is far beyond them."
The master silenced them with a wave of his hand. "Enough! Let's leave. We've spent too much time here."
As they stood to leave, the young woman suddenly noticed Su Dao's gaze. Her sharp eyes narrowed, and she called out, "Hey, you! Why are you staring at us?"
Su Dao remained calm, not responding. The young man in the red robe slammed his fist on the table and stepped forward. "Answer us!" he demanded, his voice loud enough to draw attention.
Before he could act further, his master held him back. The older man gave Su Dao a slight bow. "Apologies, fellow cultivator, if my disciples have offended you. Let us not cause unnecessary trouble. Please excuse us."
With that, the master led his disciples out. As they walked away, the disciples whispered, "Master, why didn't you teach him a lesson? He was clearly eavesdropping!"
The master's voice dropped to a low whisper. "You fools! Do you know who that was? I couldn't even sense his cultivation level. He is likely at least at the Foundation Establishment realm. If you had provoked him, you would have lost your lives."
Hearing this, the two disciples paled and fell silent.
Su Dao watched them leave, his mind processing the information he had gathered. He finished his meal and left the hotel, heading towards the Liang family estate. He concealed himself in the bushes outside, waiting patiently for the right moment.
Two hours later, a young man walked out of the estate, speaking to a little girl holding his hand. "I'll be back soon. Wait for me, alright? Don't wander off."
The man, at the 3rd layer of Qi Gathering, seemed oblivious to the danger. As he walked further away from the estate, Su Dao struck. Like a shadow, he appeared behind the man, grabbed his neck, and kicked him in the stomach. The man fell to the ground, groaning in pain.
Su Dao bound him to a tree with a rope, his eyes cold and merciless. "Tell me everything about yourself," he commanded, his voice low but threatening.
The young man trembled. "Who are you? Why are you doing this to me? I've done nothing to you!"
Su Dao's gaze darkened. "Speak, or I'll kill your little sister."
Hearing this, the man broke down. "Please don't hurt her! I'll tell you everything! My name is Liang Fan. I'm a disciple of the Liang family. My sister's name is Liang Zuo. She's only ten years old. I'm 19. My father is Liang Ming, and my mother is Zhang Hua. They are both at the 4th layer of Qi Gathering. My father is 43, and my mother is 40."
Su Dao continued questioning him, extracting every detail about his family and his role within the Liang family. Once he was satisfied, he ended Liang Fan's life with a swift strike. Using his shapeshifting ability, Su Dao altered his appearance to mimic Liang Fan's exactly. He stripped the corpse, donned Liang Fan's clothes, and stored the body in his spatial ring.
---
Four hours later, Su Dao approached the Liang family estate. The guards at the gate frowned as he approached. "Liang Fan, why didn't you bring anything back from town? Weren't you sent to buy supplies?"
Su Dao waved them off with a dismissive smile. "I realized I already had everything I needed at home. Why waste money?"
The guards nodded and let him pass.
The Liang family estate was a sprawling compound surrounded by high stone walls. The main courtyard was paved with smooth tiles, and elegant pavilions lined the edges. The main hall was a grand structure with intricate carvings of dragons and phoenixes, its golden roof tiles shining under the sun. Smaller buildings surrounded the main hall, including residential quarters, training grounds, and storage facilities. The estate was bustling with servants and disciples, all moving with purpose.
Inside the residential quarters, Su Dao foundiang fang small but neat room. A girl sat on the bed, her wide eyes lighting up when she saw him. "Brother! You're back!"
Su Dao smiled faintly, hiding his cold intensions. "Yes, I'm back. How have you been?"
The girl, oblivious to the truth, began chatting happily. Su Dao listened, his mind already planning his next steps within the Liang family.
Here's an extended version of the story with world-building, plot development, and attention to detail:
---
The Liang family library was a grand hall built from polished blackwood, with carved beams depicting mythical beasts and ancient battle scenes. Rows of bookshelves stretched high, packed with scrolls and manuals detailing cultivation techniques, family records, and historical accounts. The air was filled with the faint scent of aged parchment and the lingering essence of Qi from the treasures stored within.
Su Dao entered the library disguised as Liang Fan, his demeanor calm and collected. The librarian, a middle-aged man with sharp eyes, barely glanced at him. Su Dao quietly browsed the shelves, his gaze scanning titles until he found a technique that caught his attention: Iron Claw Technique, an advanced martial art known for its brutal close-combat efficiency.
Flipping through the manual, Su Dao committed the technique to memory, his photographic recall making it unnecessary to take the scroll with him. He studied other techniques as well, briefly skimming them to broaden his knowledge. After several hours in the library, he returned to his room to cultivate.
Su Dao sat cross-legged in his room, the space illuminated by the soft glow of a rank-three low-grade Qi Condensation pill he held in his palm. The pill exuded a rich medicinal fragrance, its swirling energy potent enough to accelerate his cultivation. Su Dao consumed the pill and closed his eyes, guiding the surging energy into his meridians.
Over the course of two days, his cultivation advanced steadily. However, as he meditated, a troubling thought surfaced. "These resources will run out in a month," he muttered to himself. "Even if I rob other cultivators, their resources won't last me more than five months. I need a sustainable solution."
His eyes narrowed. "Alchemy... If I can master alchemy, I won't have to rely on others for pills." He resolved to find a way to learn alchemy.
---
On the third day, Su Dao decided to act. Under the cover of night, he made his way to the room of the second young master, Liang Zhen, who was cultivating in isolation. The room was modest but well-guarded by formations. Su Dao silently bypassed the array with his knowledge of inscriptions, slipping inside like a shadow.
Liang Zhen sat on a meditation mat, his eyes closed as he focused on his cultivation. His aura at the 4th layer of Soul Understanding fluctuated, the room filled with the faint hum of spiritual energy. Before Liang Zhen could react, Su Dao struck. With a single slash of his blade, Liang Zhen's head was severed, his expression frozen in shock.
Su Dao quickly searched the body and took Liang Zhen's storage ring. Inside, he found a modest amount of pills, spirit stones, and a few techniques, though none as valuable as the Iron Claw Technique he had learned earlier. Satisfied, he left the room as silently as he had entered.
The next target was the first young master, Liang Hao, a cultivator at the 14th layer of Soul Understanding. Su Dao approached Liang Hao's residence, a grander building guarded by two disciples at the 8th layer of Qi Gathering.
As Su Dao neared, the guards stopped him. "Liang Fan, what are you doing here?"
Before he could respond, an elder appeared from inside. The elder, a man with a sharp gaze and an aura at the 10th layer of Soul Understanding, frowned at Su Dao. "Why are you here so late? What business do you have with the first young master?"
Su Dao remained calm, his mind racing. He had anticipated this scenario. With a respectful bow, he replied, "I came to deliver a message from Father. He asked me to speak with Brother Hao about tomorrow's meeting."
The elder's eyes narrowed. "What is your name? Who is your father? And your mother?"
Su Dao's expression didn't waver. "My name is Liang Fan. My father is Liang Ming, and my mother is Zhang Hua." He listed their ages and other details he had memorized from his interrogation of Liang Fan. The elder seemed skeptical but nodded reluctantly.
"Very well. Don't disturb him for long."
Inside Liang Hao's room, the atmosphere was heavy with spiritual energy. Liang Hao sat in the center, his eyes glowing faintly as he cultivated. Unlike Liang Zhen, Liang Hao exuded confidence and power, his posture commanding and upright.
"Fan, what are you doing here?" Liang Hao asked, his tone sharp.
Su Dao didn't answer. Instead, he drew his sword, and in one swift motion, he unleashed a devastating strike. Liang Hao's eyes widened in disbelief as the blade cleaved through his chest, shattering his protective barrier. The fight was over before it began.
Su Dao searched the room, finding a wealth of resources in Liang Hao's storage ring: high-grade pills, spirit stones, and even a few rare treasures.
Su Dao knew his time in the Liang family had come to an end. Leaving the room, he made his way outside the estate. Standing at the center of the courtyard, he ignited a talisman and tossed it into the air. The talisman burst into flames, igniting the buildings around him. The wooden structures of the Liang estate were quickly engulfed in fire, the flames roaring into the night sky.
Cries of panic erupted as disciples and servants scrambled to escape. Su Dao took to the air, flying over the burning estate. He watched for a moment, his expression cold, before disappearing into the night.
The Liang family estate was in disarray, the air thick with tension and fear. The elder, standing alongside the family leader, barked out orders to the disciples. "Follow him! We must not let him escape!"
The family leader, a man in his mid-fifties with a stern expression and the aura of a Core Formation cultivator, nodded grimly. "Mobilize everyone. This is not just an insult to the Liang family—this is a declaration of war. If we let him go, we lose all face."
Meanwhile, Su Dao darted through the dense forests and mountainous terrain under the moonlight, his speed unmatched. His laughter echoed through the trees like a phantom's whisper. "Fools! Pathetic fools! You couldn't stop me if you tried. Killing them was far easier than I imagined. The so-called mighty Liang family—what a joke!"
As Su Dao left his pursuers behind, his expression shifted to a calm, calculating gaze. He thought to himself, "I've drawn too much attention. It's time to disappear, to hide and cultivate until I become a force that none can oppose."
In the weeks that followed, rumors spread like wildfire across Tianhe City. The Liang family's second and first young masters were slaughtered in a single night by a mysterious figure. Whispers among cultivators began to circulate:
"Did you hear? The Lin family was wiped out, and now the Liang family has been struck! It's said the same man did it—a cultivator so ruthless and cunning they're calling him the Shadow Demon."
"No one knows where he came from, but they say he can kill Soul Understanding cultivators in a single strike!"
"Both families are searching for him, but there's no trace. It's as if he's vanished into thin air."
Despite their efforts, the Liang family could not uncover Su Dao's whereabouts. Their pride was shattered, their resources drained in a futile search. The Shadow Demon became a name that struck fear into the hearts of cultivators and mortals alike, a legend of death and destruction cloaked in mystery.
---
Ten Years of Seclusion
In a secluded mountain range shrouded in mist, Su Dao sat cross-legged in a cave illuminated by faintly glowing spiritual stones embedded in the walls. His surroundings were spartan: a simple mat, a stone table, and a furnace for alchemy. The past ten years had been a relentless cycle of cultivation and refinement. Su Dao consumed countless pills, tempered his body and soul, and honed his techniques.
The isolation had forged him into something more than he had been. His once-youthful face now carried a sharp, mature edge, his eyes like abyssal voids reflecting endless depth. The peak of the Foundation Realm was now his.
Standing at the mouth of the cave, Su Dao gazed at the horizon, where the first rays of dawn broke through the mist. The morning light bathed his figure, but his aura was anything but warm. It was cold, sharp, and filled with a sense of inevitable destruction.
Su Dao clenched his fists, feeling the immense power coursing through him. He spoke, his voice carrying a cold determination that seemed to reverberate across the mountains.
"Ten years of seclusion, ten years of endless cultivation. From a mere ant, I've risen to the peak of the Foundation Realm. They thought they could hunt me, but now..."
He raised his hand, and the spiritual energy in the surrounding area trembled, as if bowing to his will.
**"...now it's my turn to hunt them. Liang family, your time is up. For eighty long years, I've endured suffering, loss, and humiliation. But I will endure no more. I am Su Dao, the Shadow Demon, and I will carve my name into history with your blood!"
With that, Su Dao turned, his robes flowing like the wings of a raven. The wind carried the faint scent of iron, a prelude to the storm he was about to unleash.