Transmigrated as the Crimson Nemesis

Back when he was—uh—"borrowing" (totally not stealing, mind you) money from Zhao Guang, he had gone through his own stuff, just in case there was something valuable.

He hadn't found much, but this crimson jade had been tucked away in a small wooden box, hidden in the deepest, darkest corner of his cupboard like a forbidden treasure.

The only thing he remembered from the original owner's memories was that this thing was insanely valuable to him.

And that's exactly why Mo Yichen hadn't sold it for food.

Now, looking at an identical one in some random man's hands.. a weird feeling crawled up his spine.

Could this guy be connected to the original owner's parents?

Mo Yichen knew he had been adopted. As a kid, he had naively believed his real parents would come get him. Then he spent years getting bullied into oblivion.

Somewhere along the way, he realized—he was abandoned.

If the original Mo Yichen were still here, he'd probably be overjoyed to find out someone had been looking for him.

But as for Li Wei, who had taken over this body, there was no emotional attachment to the past. He wasn't the kind to chase after lost family or forgotten histories.

Still, now that he was Mo Yichen, he figured he should at least try to piece things together. He took a slow breath and asked carefully, "..what's your name? How are we connected?"

The man in front of him, tense and rigid, let out a helpless sigh before answering, "People call me Lan Yu. I was the personal guard of the Priestess of the Heavenly Sword Temple—"

Mo Yichen pauses.

"Heavenly Sword Temple...?" He narrowed his eyes, the name tugging at something in his memory. Where had he heard it before?

Then it hit him—

The storyteller at the inn!

Lan Yu continued, his voice steady. "Young lord, do you remember your mother, Hua Ling?"

Mo Yichen's brows shot up. "My mother? Hua Ling?"

That name did sound eerily familiar. 

But how could he be connected to her?

As Lan Yu recounted the past, a shiver ran down Mo Yichen's spine. Each piece of information hit like a hammer, sinking deep into his mind. By the time Lan Yu finished, Mo Yichen sat in stunned silence.

Lan Yu hesitated before softly calling out, "..lord?"

Mo Yichen rubbed his temples, exhaling slowly. "Give me some time to process this."

What he had just learned was... a lot.

He wasn't just some random orphan with a tragic backstory. No, his parents were actually absolute legends.

His father, Wu Shenyang, the swordsman, feared and infamous in the immortal realm. His mother, Hua Ling, the Priestess of the Heavenly Sword Temple, a figure so well-known that her name still echoed in stories.

Both, the main characters of that tale from inn...

What kind of deranged coincidence..

In short, on the night when their clan was attacked, his mother had made a desperate decision—she entrusted her newborn son to Lan Yu, giving him her jade pendant before ordering him to flee the Immortal Realm.

Lan Yu barely made it out alive.

With nowhere to go, he hid in the mortal world, taking on whatever jobs he could to keep Mo Yichen safe. But by the time Mo Yichen was around four or five, they were ambushed by Golden Core cultivators.

Lan Yu was gravely injured, barely clinging to life, so in a last effort, he entrusted Mo Yichen to an old man praying at a nearby temple—that man turned out to be Elder Zhao Haochen.. the man who adopted him.

It was all too much to take in.

After another long pause, Mo Yichen finally spoke.

"So… my real name is Wu Yehuang? The name my mother gave me?"

Lan Yu nodded. "Eh. But when we escaped, I met a Taoist and asked him to give you a different name for protection. That's how you became Mo Yichen."

Taking a deep breath, he finally asked, "You mentioned that I belong to Primordial Chaos Clan...? and that my mother was there. Do you know what happened to my parents?"

Lan Yu hesitated, his lips pressing into a thin line before he finally spoke. "I served Priestess Hua Ling for ten years, but my duty was only to protect her from a distance. As for why everything happened so suddenly... I can't say for sure."

Mo Yichen's brows furrowed. "So, you have no idea?"

Lan Yu sighed. "After we escaped, all contact with the Immortal Realm was cut off. All I know is... the Clan Lord, Wu Shenyang, self-destructed."

Mo Yichen felt his chest tighten. Self-destructed?

His father chose death..

Lan Yu's voice grew quieter. "As for the Priestess... there's been no news of her since."

Mo Yichen sat still, staring at the ground, 'If I remember correctly that storyteller clearly said that my mother betrayed our clan but how come she was also attacked.. and how come..'

Mo Yichen rubbed his temples, changing the subject, "Alright… where are we? And how do we get out?"

Lan Yu glanced around, his brows furrowing. "This…" He hesitated, his expression tightening.

Mo Yichen's eyes narrowed. "You don't know where we are? Then how the hell did you bring me here last night?"

Lan Yu thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I… vaguely remember losing consciousness. As for this place… I don't recognize it, and I definitely didn't bring you here." He gave Mo Yichen a confused look. "At first, I thought young lord brought me here"

Mo Yichen let out a slow, exasperated sigh, his lips pressing into a thin line. Before Lan Yu could reply, Mo Yichen waved it off. "Doesn't matter. What matters is that we're safe—for now. First, we need to find a water source to clean our wounds before they get infected."

With that, he pushed forward through the dense forest, leaves crunching underfoot as Lan Yu followed closely behind, limping.

"Young master, are you really planning on walking like this?" Lan Yu finally asked.

Mo Yichen glanced back, noticing the faint crimson glow still flickering around him. He let out a resigned sigh. "Ah… this."

Lan Yu, "This might be dangerous..."

"You think I don't know that?" Mo Yichen muttered, rubbing his arms as if that would somehow suppress the eerie aura wrapping around his body. "But I can't seem to stop it from leaking out. Ever since last night, it's been like this. The moment I unlocked my meridians, it felt like something that had been suppressing my power for years just… broke."

Lan Yu, "Your meridians were sealed."

Mo Yichen stopped dead in his tracks. "What?"

Lan Yu looked a little awkward as he scratched the back of his head. "When the lord was young, your core had already strengthened beyond what it should have. But for some reason, your mana was leaking uncontrollably. If anyone found out, they would have come after you." He sighed. "To protect you, I got a taoist seal your meridians."

Mo Yichen stared at him, eyes wide in disbelief. HUH?!

For years, he had been ridiculed as a useless piece of trash, bullied relentlessly for his so-called lack of talent. And the entire time, his real potential had been locked away?!

"You—" He pointed an accusing finger at Lan Yu, who could only offer him a determined look.

Mo Yichen closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. He couldn't exactly blame Lan Yu. If his power had been discovered back then, he wouldn't have just been bullied—he would've been dead. The people from the Immortal Realm would have hunted him down long before now.

A bitter chuckle escaped him. "Tsk. The Immortal Bureau actually didn't scam me after all."

Lan Yu blinked. "The what?"

Mo Yichen ignored him, shaking off, "Forget it. What's done is done. Right now, we need to focus on suppressing this thing before anyone senses it."

Lan Yu's face darkened in seriousness. "That's what worries me. If anyone from the Immortal Realm finds out who you are, they won't let you live. Every single person who possessed the Chaotic Primordial Core was massacred. Not a single one survived."

Mo Yichen frowned. "That's… cruel"

So that was why his power had been sealed.

Lan Yu's warning made sense. If the existence of someone with a Chaotic Primordial Core was enough to warrant mass extermination, then letting his power run wild would be a death sentence.

"But why now?" he murmured, glancing at the swirling crimson hue. "Why did the seal break now, of all times?"

Was it because of the Heavenly Nector Peach?

His brows furrowed. "Lan Yu, do you know who those assassins were? The ones who attacked us last night? There's no way they could've known my identity, right?"

Lan Yu's expression turned grim. "I was wondering the same thing."

He hesitated for a moment before speaking again. "They weren't ordinary assassins. They were demonic cultivators. It can't be that they found something.."

Mo Yichen's steps slowed. "Like what?"

Lan Yu gave him a serious look. "These demonic cultivators were definitely after something. They don't just kill mortals randomly.. "

Mo Yichen's lips curled into a frown. "I don't remember offending anyone, neither did I kill anyone.. except for those demonic wolves..?"

Lan Yu, "Demonic wolves?"

Mo Yichen, "..that I used a trick." He turned around, only to meet Lan Yu's confused gaze. After a brief pause, he continued, "It's called a blood talisman. We use blood to write incantations on talisman paper."

Lan Yu's expression darkened. "..exorcism?" His voice carried a weight of disbelief. "Did Lord just use exorcism!?"

A cold sensation crawled down Mo Yichen's spine. "…What do you mean, exorcism? It was just a little trick using blood."

Lan Yu hesitated before speaking, his voice low and cautious. "The blood flowing through Lord's veins… it's not ordinary. The Primordial Chaotic Clan wasn't just feared for its rare Yin-Yang Qi. It was because of their very blood."

"..."

"The scent alone can make demons kneel in greed. Its consumption can push any demonic cultivator to new heights, strengthening them by leaps and bounds. And if wielded…" He took a breath. "It can bring destruction."

"..haha what are you talking about..?"

"One of the forbidden arts that the lord used was exorcism." Lan Yu's voice was barely above a whisper now. "And that art… was supposed to have gone extinct with the massacre that night..." Lan Yu, "..how does the lord know it..?"

'How the hell would I know it? It's supposed to be a small trick I INVENTED back in my world!' Mo Yichen screams inwardly, more in confusion.

Lan Yu's eyes flickered with unease. "Lord… openly using it will attract demonic cultivators."

Mo Yichen swallowed, his throat dry. His voice came out quieter this time, almost resigned.

"…I fear it already has."