The Hall of Ancestral Life Tablets was quiet, the air thick with the residue of countless generations.
Jade candlelight shimmered against black-gold pillars, each pulse carrying the subtle breath of ancestors long gone.
Han Tian Yi’s footsteps were soft, almost imperceptible against the polished stone.
“Greetings, young master.” an elder said, bowing. “What brings you to the Hall at this hour?”
Han Tian Yi smiled, gentle and disarming, settling cross-legged across from the elder. “I… wish to hear your counsel, Elder.” he said, voice calm and polite.
The elder inclined his head. “Speak freely, young master. Perhaps this old man can offer guidance.”
Han Tian Yi’s gaze sharpened, a quiet weight settling into his expression.
“I… I believe my little brother is better suited to be the next clan patriarch.”
The elder’s eyes widened, just for a heartbeat.
"Does the young patriarch truly feel this way? Isn’t he ambitious? Could the rumors be true? Has he really changed?" The elder thought inwardly.
He masked his surprise, voice neutral. “And why do you say this?”
A faint shadow of sorrow touched Han Tian Yi’s eyes.
“In cultivation, I cannot compare to him. For the sake of the clan… he should take the position.”
The elder’s mind raced.
"What is he saying? Though his brother is a prodigy in cultivation, he lacks experience in strategy. Leadership is more than strength… Yet, his spiritual roots are extraordinary, blessed by both Heaven and Dao, the essence of primordial chaos flows within him. Truly an exception." The elder mind worked inwardly.
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Then, he spoke warmly. “Perhaps you overthink, young master. You have the talent, the wisdom… the right to lead. The second young master’s rise need not require you to step aside.”
Han Tian Yi’s lips curved into a fleeting smile. Tears glimmered, though his eyes were hard to read.
“Y-You trust me that much, elder?”
“Of course.” the elder replied softly. “You are the young patriarch. Your path is clear.”
And then, without warning, the movement drained from the elder’s body. His arms, legs, and head slackened. His eyes dulled.
“Mind-Seizing Demonic Art… success.” Han Tian Yi murmured, satisfaction threading through his calm face.
He had prepared meticulously. Five thousand corrupted healing pills had been slipped into the medicinal hall. The elder had taken one. Everything unfolded exactly as planned.
“Swap my candle with Han Tian Shi’s.” he commanded.
The elder’s body obeyed without hesitation, hands moving with mechanical precision.
When the swap was complete, a spark returned to his eyes. Confusion replaced the brief emptiness.
“Hmm? Where did the young master go?” the elder murmured, genuinely puzzled.
---
Outside the hall, Han Tian Yi guided Han Tian Shi’s body silently. Every step was precise and calculated.
Inside his own mind, Tian Shi screamed, frantic and helpless.
"Why… why is my body moving on its own? What’s happening?!"
He then tried to talk to his big brother asked for help.
"Big brother! Help me please! Something's wrong with my body!" He said but no words came out.
On their way to a remote mountain, they found a demonic cultivator, collapsed and gasping on the ground. Life energy flickered like a candle about to die.
Han Tian Yi approached, robes black and red in the wind, his gentle smile was chilling and creepy.
“Do you need help? I can heal you.”
The cultivator hesitated, suspicion flashing, but weakness held him still. If he refuse, he'll die within an hour.
"Even if it’s a trap… I can’t resist…"
Han Tian Yi fed him a corrupted healing pill.
But due to the demonic cultivator’s conflicting Dao marks, he needed a hundred pills to fully recover.
Far more than a mortal would require.
One by one, the pills overwhelmed him, and his spiritual defenses crumbled. His mind faltered, and Han Tian Yi’s Mind-Seizing Demonic Art took hold.
Inside Han Tian Shi, terror clawed at his consciousness.
"No… my big brother… what have you done?!"
But his voice could not escape. His body obeyed, a puppet in another’s hands.
---
They climbed to a remote mountain, wind whipping through jagged peaks, pine-scented and sharp.
Han Tian Yi knelt, tracing intricate patterns in the dirt, spiritual energy thrumming through the formations. Illusions flickered around them, hiding their presence from all but the most acute eyes.
“You, guard us.” he commanded the demonic cultivator.
The man stiffened.
Then, his eyes lowered in obedience.
Han Tian Yi drew another array, far more complex, it was a spiritual technique from the forbidden archives.
And when he's done—
Two perfect circles of azure light glowed faintly. Tian Shi in one, Tian Yi in the other.
“Possess my body.” Han Tian Yi ordered.
Pain exploded in Han Tian Shi’s mind, searing through his soul like molten fire.
"Arghhh!!! My mind… my soul… it’s being ripped apart!!!"
And then… it stopped.
Han Tian Yi’s consciousness settled within Tian Shi’s body.
Every fiber of Tian Shi’s will was locked away, sealed in his previous body.
Tian Yi could move freely, command the body, whisper false memories into the mind.
Tian Shi became a hollow husk, living in the illusion as a kind, gentle older brother having the false memory of Han Tian Yi planted inside him as his own.
The demonic cultivator remained nearby waiting for a signal.
Han Tian Yi exhaled, letting a faint smirk curve his lips.
His original body was now in Tian Shi's hand.
But in this stolen body, his plan had just begun.