Poison God's Heritage

"What…what are you doing?" Tonfa's voice came out in a stunned whisper as he watched the bullet pierce his chest. His eyes widened as he saw, not blood, but something entirely different pouring out from the wound. His lower abdomen began to writhe and convulse as if some unseen force were purging him from within. Tonfa let out a groan of agony as his body forced out the foul, infected flesh in a slow, agonizing expulsion. But, as he looked on in disbelief, new flesh began to replace the old. The ragged, corrupted edges of his wound smoothed over, and even his missing arm was regenerating, flesh knitting itself back together.

Tonfa flexed his newly healed fingers as if to confirm the miracle he'd just experienced, his expression half astonished and half bewildered. "This… did you figure out a way to stop the mutation?"

"Yes," I said, giving him a small, satisfied nod. "Not only that, I think we might have finally cracked how to kill the Broodmother. But tell me, what in the hell happened here?" My voice hardened, hoping he would give me a full explanation of the chaos that had nearly torn his sect apart.

Tonfa glanced at the remnants of the carnage, his expression darkening. "Ah, yes…" He rotated his arm, as if testing the muscles, then sighed deeply. "Xuan Fei… He was one of our brightest alchemists, and I have to admit, he was sharp, even brilliant, but his ambition… it overshadowed any shred of sense he once had." He paused, as though recalling the series of events leading up to this disaster with a bitterness that went beyond words. "He approached the Confederation Council a few years back, proposing what he thought was a radical solution. His plan was to use the same stolen Heavenly Dao that mutated the rakshasa and harness it, turning that power into a weapon to kill them off."

I let out a harsh laugh, more out of disbelief than humor. "Fighting fire with fire is a dumb idiom," I said, my voice tinged with disdain. "It doesn't extinguish the flames; it only fuels them further. Trying to wield the same corruption against the Broodmother was bound to fail, if not backfire horribly. That level of hubris… thinking he could control a power rejected by the heavens. That's not bravery; it's the very definition of insanity."

Tonfa gave a weary nod, his shoulders slumping. "Yes, and as you can see," he gestured around at the bodies littering the sect grounds, "it did backfire, in the worst possible way. Xuan Fei fell victim to his own experiment, succumbing to the very mutation he hoped to weaponize."

I frowned, connecting the pieces as I glanced back toward the battlefield. "And he took others with him, didn't he? All those researchers under his influence, they succumbed to the same fate."

Tonfa's voice dropped, heavy with regret. "Not only them, but some of our best cultivators, twisted into monstrosities because of his greed and ambition. We have no choice now but to cleanse what he created… And I'm grateful for your puppets, Shen Bao; they're doing remarkable work keeping those mutated creatures in check. But, tell me—can't you use that solution on them too?"

I shook my head, cutting him off before he could latch onto false hope. "I wish it were that simple. These creatures… they're too far gone. This solution targets the rakshasa mutation specifically, but they're already too twisted by the corruption to recover. They might lose the outward mutations if exposed to it, but the internal damage—the deformation of their bodies and souls—would still kill them. Their bodies are beyond repair, and their souls are tainted beyond saving. And, honestly, I don't have enough of this solution for a widespread cure."

Tonfa muttered a curse under his breath, anger flashing in his eyes. "Curse you, Xuan Fei… Your greed nearly tore this entire sect apart…" Continue reading on empire

I gave a shrug, trying to steer him from guilt. "As long as you survived, then it's fine. Focus on that." I turned to the fight that continued a short distance away. The Blue Sun was facing off against what was left of Xuan Fei. Calling it a battle seemed too generous—she was toying with him, as a cat toys with a half-dead mouse, batting away every attempt he made to strike her.

Xuan Fei's form was almost unrecognizable, twisted and pulsating with every motion. His half-human, half-rakshasa body moved in chaotic fits and starts, as he flailed with the mangled remains of his humanity. Tendrils, claws, and thick, pulsating growths extended from his mutated arm, writhing like snakes as he tried in vain to ensnare the Blue Sun. But she swatted them away effortlessly, her hammer meeting each grotesque limb with bone-crushing finality.

"This is boring," she declared, her voice carrying an almost disappointed tone. She floated forward, sidestepping his clumsy attacks, then brought her hammer down on his head with a final, decisive blow. The impact was absolute, splattering what was left of Xuan Fei's head into the ground.

With Xuan Fei's twisted life snuffed out, silence fell over the sect. Fifteen minutes was all it had taken for us to eliminate the threat and restore calm. And yet, the devastation left in the wake of Xuan Fei's madness was a sobering sight.

Tonfa let out a long breath, his face etched with something close to awe. "You… you and your people are incredibly strong. Why is it that the Blue Sun is still only at the Sun Stage? Dare I say she's stronger than many of our own Yin Stage cultivators… and she's only the weakest of her kind?"

I couldn't help but smile at his amazement. "Yes," I said proudly. "Among the Suns the Beyond has to offer, she's definitely the weakest. Tao Yang is weaker, but she's only just entered the Sun Stage and isn't from the Beyond."

Tonfa looked at me with a kind of newfound respect, maybe even a hint of fear. "Incredible. Truly incredible. You've brought power with you that I don't think the Confederation has even begun to comprehend."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

I saw him pull out his communication jade, and his expression became all business once again. "We have the situation under control," he said into the jade. "Stop the deployment of the God-Slaying Formation. I repeat, stop the deployment of the God-Slaying Formation."

A few moments later, a dark figure streaked toward us from the sky, stopping in midair to hover at our level. It was Don Ma, his face a mixture of surprise and disbelief.

"I thought you were trying to stall for time to avoid the deployment of the formation," he said, looking around at the now-cleared sect grounds. "But you actually did it. You cleared out the entire sect…"

Tonfa nodded. "It's all thanks to Shen Bao and the Blue Sun. Without them, we'd be looking at ruins. But there's more to it than that, Don Ma…" He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "Shen Bao has found a solution—one that could finally eliminate the Broodmother once and for all."

Don Ma's jaw dropped, his eyes widening. "Are you serious? This… this is incredible news! The Confederation will spare no effort to help rebuild the sect, but Shen Bao, we need that solution. You must share it with us."

I raised my hand, making a circle with my thumb and index finger, a gesture so simple yet powerful, and a clear reminder. "You know what this means, right?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.

Don Ma's face shifted to one of understanding. "Yes, of course… compensation. You'll be the reason one of our greatest headaches finally disappears, so naturally, we'll compensate you. Whatever you ask for, if it's within the Confederation's power, it's yours!" His face brightened, already imagining the end of the Broodmother's reign. "I'll go and inform the elders immediately. They'll want to meet as soon as possible. In fact, this will be the second emergency elder meeting we've had this year. Unprecedented…" His voice trailed off as he turned and took off toward the skies, leaving behind a faint shimmer in his wake.

Tonfa looked at me, relief and gratitude etched into every line of his face. "This is… thank you, Shen Bao. Thank you so much. We couldn't have done this without you. Truly, your help has been invaluable."

I smiled at him. "No need to thank me, it also works in our favor... when the attack begins we'll also rid our world from the First Born that's plaguing us."