Chapter 5: the corpse in front of the shen family gate 

In the midst of the darkness of the night, his figure floated silently. In his hands, the body of the guard he had previously killed. With one light leap, Bai xieye landed on top of the shen family's main gate, then with one swift movement...

SWOOSH!

he hung the corpse right in the center of the gate. The villain's head was bowed, blood flowing from his broken neck, dripping onto the ground. His wide open eyes stared blankly ahead, as if still carrying the terror he felt before his death.

A cold smile spread across Bai xieye's face. "Let's see how they react after seeing this, akhh I'm really looking forward to it." With a terrifying grin.

With light steps, he slipped back into the shadows, disappearing before anyone noticed his presence.

morning at the shen family residence... 

Dawn had just broken when one of the servants on duty cleared the main gate. With languid steps, he yawned, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

However, as soon as he raised his head...

"A-AAARGH!"

An arching scream broke the morning silence echoing throughout the shen family residence.

The servants and guards who heard the scream immediately rushed to the location, once they saw what was hanging on the gate, their faces instantly paled.

"S-SIALAN...!" one of the guards was wide-eyed, his body trembling.

"What the hell is this?! Who would dare to do something like this in the shen family residence?!" Another servant exclaimed in a panicked voice.

The atmosphere turned chaotic in an instant. The shen family elders were immediately summoned, and before long, a middle-aged man in a red plush robe emerged from the residence. His sharp eyes were filled with anger.

Shen tianmu, the patriarch of the shen family, looked at the hanging corpse with a cold expression, "who found this?"

"I-I, patriarch..." Answered the servant who first cried out. He was still trembling with fear.

Shen Tianmu approached, taking in the corpse's condition. The broken neck, fearfully bulging eyes, and the wounds on his body showed that before his death, he was violently tortured which frightened him to the point of bulging eyes.

"Who did this?" Shen Tianmu asked in a low voice, but the pressure contained in his voice was enough to make anyone who heard feel suffocated.

The shen family elders standing around him looked at each other. One of them, an old man with a long white beard, came forward. "Patriarch... This is not ordinary. This is a warning."

shen Tianmu's face hardened even more. "Who dares to give this kind of warning to the shen family?"

Before anyone could answer, the sound of quick steps rang out. A bodyguard ran over with a gasp.

"Patriak! There was another incident at young master shen liang's residence!"

shen Tianmu's eyes narrowed. "What else now?"

"Shen liang.... He was... He was found in a terrible state, patriarch! His hand was broken, his body was trembling with fear, and he kept screaming all night...!"

Shen Tianmu's expression instantly changed drastically. Without waiting any longer, he walked quickly towards shen liang's residence, followed by the elders and some guards.

In shen liang's room... 

The room was filled with the scent of coldness and fear. Shen Liang sat on the corner of his bed, his body hunched over like a frightened kitten. His face was pale, his eyes red from lack of sleep, and his lips trembled incessantly.

"A-Ayah... A-Ayah..." Her voice was weak, barely audible.

Shen Tianmu stepped in, his eyes staring at his son with a sharp gaze. "Shen liang! Explain what happened?"

Shen liang raised his face, but all he could see in his eyes was deep fear. His lips trembled, but no sound came out.

One of the elders stepped closer. "Patriarch, it seems he's been severely traumatized, we need time to calm down..."

"NO...!" Shen liang suddenly shouted, his body shaking more and more vigorously. "He's here... He saw me... He tortured me... He will come again...!"

"Who?!" Shen Tianmu grabbed his son's shoulders roughly. "Who did this to you?!"

Shen Liang gulped, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. He looked down, then in a hoarse, barely audible voice, he whispered...

"B-shadow..."

The people in the room fell silent.

The elders stared at each other, their expressions turning uncomfortable. Bai xieye, who had been hiding in the shadows in the corner of the room, smiled faintly.

"What are you feeling now, shen liang?" He thought coldly. "This is just the beginning."

Meanwhile, in the shen family's backyard....

Bai xieye returned to his place without anyone noticing his presence. He sat cross-legged, back to cultivating, lost in cultivation ignoring what happened in the shen family.

Tonight, he had planted a seed of fear. The next night, he would water it with blood. 

Inside the dark room, Bai xieye sat cross-legged, immersed in his cultivation. The cold aura emanating from his body grew thicker, filling the room with a suffocating pressure. In the silence, his mind recalled techniques from his former life. The moves he created with blood and destruction.

One of them is [Unseen Emperor's step], a technique that is higher than the techniques he used before, if before he could only move quickly, this technique allows him to merge with nature and whatever is around him, making it seem as if it does not exist.

"The steps of a true emperor are not steps that can be seen by ordinary eyes..."

Then, [Heaven Sundering Palm], a palm technique that can crush anything it touches into dust.

Next is the [Eclipse Severance Blade], a sword technique that swallows light, each slash seemingly stealing the color from the world, creating a void that sweeps away everything within the scope of the attack range.

"Under that sun, only death remains."

And finally. [Demon Slaying Sword Dance], a dance of death that turned the sword into countless shadows. Each movement brought an invisible slash, creating a storm of blades that sliced the enemy into shreds of flesh. 

"A sword that draws in the darkness, inscribing a symphony of death."

Bai xieye opened his eyes slowly. A sharp light shone in his pupils, reflecting the full realization of his newly awakened power. He raised his hand, feeling a flow of qi that was denser and sharper than before, with one breath, the energy swirled within his body, as if resonating with his maturing killing intent.

At the shen family meeting hall....

The shen family meeting room was filled with tension. Shen patriarch Tianmu sat in his chair with a cold expression, his fingers tapping on the back of the chair in an irregular rhythm. The elders sat around him, each with a serious look on their face.

"First, the corpse at the gate." One of the elders spoke in a heavy tone. "Then shen liang was found in a terrible state. Someone is targeting our family."

Shen Tianmu looked at them with narrowed eyes. "Is this the work of an enemy sect?" 

The white-bearded elder shook his head. "If the enemy sect wanted to attack us, they wouldn't play this way, this isn't an open attack, this is...terror."

The room fell silent for a moment. 

Another elder added, "What's more worrying is shen liang's state, she wasn't just physically attacked... But her mental state is also shattered. It's as if something is eating away at his soul."

Shen Tianmu clenched his fist. "Whoever did this, I want his head!"

One of the guards came over with a hurried breath, "patriak! We've tightened the guard throughout the residence, but.... There's no trace of the intruder."

Shen Tianmu narrowed his eyes.

"Tighten the guard even more and don't let anyone suspicious escape."

Back to Bai xieye....

Bai xieye smiled faintly in the darkness. He could already imagine how the Shen family would be confused by this incident.