The smell of incense filled the air of the Great Hall, but for Su Lan, it smelled like death.
She was pinned to a cold, jade platform. Four heavy obsidian pillars stood around her, connected by glowing purple chains. These were "Spirit-Locking Chains." They didn't just hold the body; they bit into the soul, making it impossible to even circulate a drop of energy.
Standing above her was a man she once called Master—Grandmaster Qinghe. He looked immortal and elegant in his white robes, but his eyes were like chips of ice.
"Su Lan," Qinghe said, his voice echoing through the hall. "Do not struggle. Your Junior Sister Lin Yue has a constitution of the Phoenix, but her foundation is weak. You are her shadow. It is only right that the shadow merges with the light."
Beside him, Lin Yue leaned against the Senior Brother, Ye Chen. She looked pale and fragile, like a flower that would break in the wind.
"Sister Su," Lin Yue whispered, her voice trembling with fake emotion. "I am so sorry. If there was any other way, I wouldn't ask this of you. But the Sect needs a Saintess to enter the Ancient Realm. Only you can save us."
Su Lan felt a surge of nausea. For five years, she had been the one to enter the most dangerous forests to find herbs for Lin Yue. She was the one who took a poison arrow for Ye Chen. She had treated them like family.
"Save the Sect?" Su Lan's voice was hoarse, but she forced the words out. "You mean save your own greed. Master, you promised me that if I reached the Golden Core stage, you would let me search for my parents. Was that a lie too?"
Ye Chen stepped forward, his face full of disdain. "Shut up! You are just an orphan the Sect picked up. Your life belongs to us. To be able to contribute your Spiritual Root to Yue'er is the greatest luck of your miserable life."
Without another word, Ye Chen raised a ceremonial silver dagger.
The dagger wasn't meant to kill. It was meant to carve.
Squelch.
Su Lan's eyes widened. A pain unlike anything she had ever felt exploded in her lower abdomen. The dagger sank deep, twisting into her Dantian—the center of her power. She felt the silver blade hook onto her glowing, emerald-colored Spiritual Root.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Su Lan's scream echoed through the silent mountains of the sect. Outside, the thousands of disciples were celebrating the "Ascension" of the Saintess, unaware of the blood being spilled in the hall.
"Focus, Yue'er! Take the root!" Qinghe commanded.
Su Lan watched through blurred, tear-filled eyes as her glowing root was pulled from her body. It looked like a beautiful, pulsating vine. As it left her body, Su Lan felt her strength vanish. Her hair, once black and shiny, turned grey at the tips. Her skin lost its glow. In seconds, she went from a genius cultivator to a mortal waste.
Lin Yue grabbed the root with greedy hands. The moment she touched it, her pale face flushed with color. "It's so warm... Brother Chen, I can feel it! I can feel the power!"
Ye Chen smiled dotingly. "It was always meant to be yours, Yue'er."
They didn't even look at Su Lan anymore. To them, she was already a corpse.
"Throw her into the Back Mountain Abyss," Qinghe ordered casually, as if he were talking about throwing out the trash. "The beasts need to eat, and we cannot leave any evidence of the ritual."
Two disciples entered, unchained Su Lan's limp body, and dragged her toward the cliffside. Su Lan couldn't move. Her heart was filled with a cold, piercing hatred.
If I live... if there is a hell... I will crawl back and kill you all, she thought.
The disciples reached the edge of the Cloud-Wrapped Abyss. Without a word of pity, they tossed her over.
As Su Lan fell into the dark, misty depths, her consciousness began to fade. But then, a sharp, electronic sound rang out in her mind, startling her soul.
[Ding! Scanning Host... Life signs: 2%. Hatred Level: 1,000,000% (Maximum).]
[Condition met. The Sovereign Revenge System is binding...]
[Binding 10%... 50%... 100%!]
[Host Su Lan, welcome to the path of the Empress. Do you wish to live?]
"I... want... revenge..." Su Lan hissed in her mind, her soul burning with fury.
[Confirmed. Emergency Life-Saving Protocol initiated.]
[Reward for First Binding: The Void Devouring Body!]
[Reward: 10,000 Years of Forbidden Cultivation Knowledge!]
Suddenly, the air around Su Lan stopped rushing. The darkness of the abyss didn't swallow her. Instead, the thick, black fog began to swirl around her body like a protective cocoon.
The hole in her Dantian, where her root had been stolen, began to glow with a terrifying, pitch-black light.
A new root was forming. It wasn't green like the old one. It was black—darker than the deepest night, crackling with purple lightning.
[Ding! You have gained the 'Void Root'. This root does not need Spirit Stones. It eats the energy of your enemies.]
Su Lan landed on the floor of the abyss. Normally, the fall would have turned her into a meat patty. But now, she stood up slowly. Her grey hair turned back to a deep, ink-black, but it now had a strange, silvery sheen. Her eyes, once soft and kind, were now as sharp as swords, glowing with a faint purple light.
She looked up at the sky. High above, she could see the lights of the Cloud Mist Sect. She could hear the faint sound of bells celebrating Lin Yue.
"Celebrate while you can," Su Lan whispered. Her voice was calm, but the ground beneath her feet cracked from the pressure of her aura. "I gave you my loyalty, and you wanted my life. Now, I will give you my hatred, and I will take your everything."
[Ding! New Mission: Survival in the Abyss.]
[Objective: Kill 10 Soul-Eater Beasts and reach Level 1 of the Void Path.]
[Reward: Heaven-Slaying Sword Technique.]
A low growl came from the shadows. A massive wolf with red eyes and teeth like daggers stepped out. It was a Soul-Eater Beast, a monster that even Foundation Establishment cultivators feared.
Su Lan didn't back away. She didn't have a sword, so she simply raised her hand.
"System," she said coldly. "Show me how to kill."
[Ding! Detecting enemy weakness... Target: Throat. Suggested Move: Void Grip.]
Su Lan lunged. She was faster than a shadow. In her previous life, she was a genius, but she was "balanced." Now, with the Void Body, her speed was illogical.
Before the wolf could even bark, Su Lan's hand was around its neck. Black energy erupted from her palm.
CRACK.
The wolf's neck snapped instantly. A stream of white energy flowed from the wolf's body into Su Lan's palm.
[Ding! Killed 1st Soul-Eater Beast. Gained 100 Experience Points. Leveling up...]
Su Lan felt a surge of power. It was different from the "gentle" energy of her old sect. This power was aggressive. It was hungry.
She looked into the dark forest of the abyss, where hundreds of red eyes were starting to glow. A cold, beautiful smile touched her lips.
"Next."