The Child of Demonic Cultivation

Tremble

WC: 1138

Lan Tian and Jin Ling, as well as all the others, had quickly become overwhelmed in force. Each group of two to six cultivators were trapped in small clear circles of three or four meters. Swords flew through the cave as the corpse piles grew and the safe spaces shrank.

"Ti Ti!" Jin Ling slashed over Lan Tian's head as they ducked and hit corpses from below.

Within a quick moment of eye contact, all the words that needed to be said were understood. Neither was sure how long they could continue like this. Jin Ling was particularly worried about Lan Tian as he watched them send their sword to other groups to help out when they were in danger before fighting the corpses attacking themselves with their bare hands. Scratches peeked through Lan Tian's red clothing, masking the extent of their injuries.

Everyone's eyes were quickly diverted to onto of the large corpse mound when a screech rang through the air. It seemed a fierce corpse that was utterly drenched in crimson blood shood atop the heap of bodies with one half of a corpse in either hand.

"Move." Lan Tian pushed his way through the crowd and corpses to the Blood Pool in the cave. Luckily the corpses controlled by the Yin Tiger Tally were also drawn to the new corpse.

It took two steps forward. It swayed as it walked, its joints cracking almost like it was stretching.

The potent yin energy overflowing form its body carried resentment just as intense. Lan Tian watched its every move carefully as they struggled to make sense of the situation. It felt different, they knew it was different. This corpse it just felt different to them, them closer it got the more Lan Tian's body began to feel electrified and powerful.

Lan Tian shot their arm out to block a strike from a nearby cultivator, Jin Ling followed using his own sword to block the cultivators sword a second time.

Wei Wuxian pushed down Bichen in Lan Wangi's hand. "...Wait." he said in a low voice.

The Corpse let out a shrill howl as small ripples began to appear on the surface of the blood pool.

A hand suddenly broke through the surface, it dug its boney hands into the earth as its scarlet face followed behind. More and more kept coming in a similar fashion.

As soon as they emerged they started to fight the other fierce corpses. The horde of the Yin Tiger Tally corpses was reduced to a flying mess of minced meat, body parts and black blood.

Jin Ling's eyes were wide as he stared at the scene before him. "...What are those things? Why does the Blood pool have fierce corpses in it? Weren't all the fierce corpses on the Burial Mounds burned to ash?!"

Sect Leader Ouyang was shielding his son, who stood next to him. "Some were not!"

"Which ones weren't?!" Jin Ling asked.

"The...the..." Sect Leader Ouyang couldn't say it.

Lan Tian turned to face the two with their fists clenched as a tear rolled down their face, "The last survivors of the Wen Clan...right."

Jin Ling cried out all of a sudden. "Watch out!"

A blood-red figure had landed in front of Lan Sizhui. He began to lift his sword and take a couple steps back while the corpse rose to its feet. Lan Tian ran beside Lan Sizhui and gave him a side glance while shaking their head.

The figure was smaller then the others and stood hunched over. There was a gaping hole in its skull , suggesting it had been bludgeoned to death. soaking in the blood water left its sparce white hair stick to its forehead.

The corpse began to hobble its way towards the two Lan juniors but Lan Tian darted away quickly through the crowd as the other juniors hurried to gather around Lan Sizhui.

Now that the living were no longer so over powered by the dead the corpses grew wary ad huffed deep within their throats. The boys tensed like they were facing a great foe, but Lan Sizhui quickly ordered them otherwise.

"Don't move."

While he was also a little nervous, for some reason, he wasn't scared.

If this skinny, bloody little corpse had eyes, it would have been staring right at him. It tilted its head and extended its hand. It slowly reached towards Lan Sizhui, seeming to want to touch him.

Jin Ling brandished his sword, wanting to stop the corpse, but Lan Tian came up form behind a stopped him. "Jin Jin, don't." Their reassuring smile calmed him slightly as he watched them kneel beside Lan Sizhui and right in front of the corpse while holding something.

Lan Tian held two delicate white flowers in their hands careful not to harm them. They passed one to Lan Sizhui before holding out their own flower to the corpse and then placing it behind its ear.

"What are you...?" Jin Ling started.

They slapped Jin Ling's leg before nodding to Lan Sizhui while smiling. "It's okay, she won't hurt you. I promise."

Lan Sizhui slowly extended his hand towards the corpse. Just as he was about to touch her, a new wave of corpses swarmed in. The blood corpse in front of the juniors snapped her head around and let loose a long howl.

Everyone was shocked at the quick change in demeaner of the corpse as blood and flesh flew after it. Everyone except Lan Tian of course, who was still kneeling, staring at the ground in front of them.

Wen Ning hurled a number of fierce corpses to the ground. He was shaking as he shouted to the blood corpse, "Is it you?!"

The bloody corpse ignored him.

As the bloody corpses tore through the fierce corpses like they'd gone mad, Wen Ning yelled to them, "Is it you?!"

The Demon Quelling Cave was filled with shrill cries, high and low but not a single one answered him. None of them could.

It was barely an hour later when all the voices came to a gradual stop.

The Demon Quelling Cave was the spitting image of hell as shown in paintings. The bloody corpses began to move, gathering where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji stood. Each figure was slightly different but each as bloody and malicious looking as the next. Yet, in those figures Wei Wuxian saw familiar shadows.

As he was naming each of them off, Lan Tian glanced over to find Lan Tian slowly meander their way over to a shaking Wen Ning a little ways away from the group. He watched as they wrapped their arms around Wen Ning as he jolted, not quite knowing what to do with his own body. He finally settled on placing his arms around Lan Tian's neck and rubbing their back. Lan Tian looked so small in Wen Ning's arms. He barely reached Wen Ning's shoulder and was maybe a half of Wen Ning's width at most. They just looked so... young.