Spirit Cultivation

"Mom! You can't leave me like this!" Tang Taizong cried out, seeing her mother taking all of their family treasures in a few high ranked Storage Rings. There was basically nothing left inside the treasury aside from some cheap stuff and pills. She wouldn't bother with low-ranked pills as she didn't have time to pack them all. 

As all Escape Crystals were really expensive and rare, they were mostly in her husband's possession. Now that he was dead, they were taken by Xiao Feng and she was only left with her own that she received a long time ago. Why would she sacrifice her own life for her son like that? Maybe it sounded cruel but that was the mentality of a cultivator. Most were selfish and put their own pleasure and safety first. People like Xuefeng who would die for their loved ones were extremely rare. 

"Get out of my way." Tang Fei's wife called out coldly to her son as he was standing in her way when she tried to reach the last treasure she was still yet to retrieve. She left the only Rank 9 Spirit Sword for last because she knew it would take her the most time to tame. It was easy for her to grab all the pillboxes but she couldn't hide sentient artefacts into the Storage Ring without taming them.

What's more, Taizong was creating problems for her the whole time which further prolonged the time of all Taming. They were lucky that Xiao Family surprisingly took a lot of time to break the barrier which allowed her to clean everything. 

"Mom! How can you be like this?! You have to save me!" Taizong wasn't stupid and he knew that he would die if his mother didn't take him out from here. He was still too young to die, so he stubbornly stood in front of her, not letting her pass until she agreed to save him. 

"If you want to live then fight for your life. Now leave me alone." His mother didn't have any mercy and shrugged him to the side, walking towards the bloody red Draconic Longsword that was laying on a stand. 

She already expected that her son would be persistent but didn't foresee he would be this annoying. Just as she was about to take the sword into her hand, Taizong appeared from behind and dived towards his mother's leg, wrapping his arms and legs around it. 

"Bastard! Let go of me! How did I raise you?! Stop being a p.u.s.s.y and fight for your future! Life is not always sunshine and rainbows! You have to man up and pave your way towards greatness! This is how every cultivator should be!" Taizong mother cursed at him and gave him her last life lesson before ordering, "Now let go of me!"

Unfortunately, Taizong didn't have any of it and continued to hug her leg, calling out in tears, "No! Once I let you go, you will leave me here without any support and only death awaits me!"

His mother naturally got pissed off and suddenly raised her leg, lifting him up into the air before swinging it like a whip while crying out, "God Dammit! I said get off me!" 

Shh-thud! 

Due to the strength she used, Taizong was forced to let go of her leg which made him slide on the rocky floor before facing a nasty hit on the wall. Blood was oozing out of his legs and arms as his skin was wiped while sliding on the floor. 

His mother didn't feel any worse for that as she already decided to abandon him and immediately started her taming. Even for a Monarch Stage Cultivator, it was still hard to tame a Spirit Artefact of such a rank so she needed full focus. 

She hovered her hand on top of the sword and tried to sense the Spirit of the sword but who would have guessed that she would be once again disturbed by her useless son as he once again dashed towards her. She knew he would interfere with her taming no matter what so she decided to settle it once and for all. 

Bang!

She launched like a rocket and her leg found their target on Taizong's belly as she sent him flying before he even realised he was hit. 

Crash!

He was once again heading towards the wall but this time one of the pillars blocked his way and he destroyed it with his body as he crushed into it. Momentarily, he lost air in his lungs and couldn't breathe, only looking at his mother who started approaching him. 

"You know why we were so hard and strict on you all those years?" His mother asked coldly as she lifted him up by his neck, stealing even more breath from his lungs. 

"Wh—y…?" Taizong asked, barely able to speak this one word. 

His mother didn't let him listen without another wave of pain as she tossed him to the side before saying in the coldest voice she could, "Because you are adopted."

"Cough, cough!" When Taizong dropped to the ground and heard this cruel sentence, his heart tightened as if it wanted to break and he coughed out blood that got into his lungs due to the fall. He looked at the women he was calling mother just a moment ago in disbelieved and asked, "Wh...at?"

The woman glared at him and no longer pretended, explaining, "What do you not understand? I'm not your mother. You were born from a servant that your father was doing behind my back. To avoid controversy, I didn't say anything and even treated you as my son for so many years but who would have thought you would turn out so useless. I am really lost for words. You will never achieve anything so why should I save you?" 

She didn't waste any more words on him and walked back towards the sword, planning on trying with taming one more time but just at this moment, a giant explosion resounded throughout the Palace, shaking it as if there was an earthquake. 

Rumble!

"Damn, they broke the barrier. I guess it's time to run." Tang Fei's wife cursed, already knowing what that signified and pulled out the only Escape Crystal from her ring not hesitate to crush it. 

Taizong was still in shock after he learnt the news and finally understood everything that has been happening his whole life. Why his father beat him up every time he failed in his training, why his mother didn't even raise him and why their servant showed so much love towards him, treating him exactly like a mother could treat a son.

Crazy emotions of hate and disgust started spurting inside of his mind as he began hating both his father and fake mother for never telling him this. His life got suddenly turned into a joke. 

Just then, right when his mental sanity was on the brink, a strange but seductive voice knocked to the doors of his head and asked, 'What are you waiting for?'

"What?" Taizong asked out loud, not exactly knowing someone was talking inside of his mind. 

'She is not your mother. Take the sword and kill her. She definitely has other ways to escape. You can still save your life.' The voice explained, corrupting his mind the more it talked. 

"She is not my mother… I can still save my life…" Taizong repeated the words out loud, his mind focused only on survival. His legs moved on their own and before he knew it, he was already dashing towards his fake mother who was currently being wrapped in Space, ready to be sent away. 

Suddenly, the Red Draconic Longsword moved from the stand and flew towards Taizong on its own, aligning perfectly for him to catch and Taizong swung it at his mother, his mind filled with evil thoughts, "Kill her! She deserves it! She ruined your life!" 

"Huh?!" Tang Fei's wife was already immobilized, entering the void when the walls of it were suddenly ruptured and a red sword passed through them, heading straight towards her body. 

The moment she realised what it was, her chest was pierced through and fear filled her face. It was at that moment that pain filled her body as the swords momentarily sucked her blood away but no voice came out of her mouth, disappearing in the void. 

Bang!

The space cracked and exploded, but the body of a woman impaled by a red sword stayed inside the room. 

Thud.

She dropped on the floor as she slid out of the sword. There was no life inside of her eyes as well as blood which was fully sucked away from her body. 

"Hahahaha, the blood of a Monarch is so tasty, aaah. I finally drank something nice after so many years. I can feel my energy levels rising. I need more blood!" The Spirit inside the Draconic Sword laughed, his blade shining much brighter than before. 

He was already filling Taizong's mind, trying to take complete control over him but he was still too weak so he continued to advise for now, 'She is dead! Now take your loot! Check if she has any Escape Crystals.'

Taizong did not have a reason to reject the spirit and wore all the rings onto his fingers before wearing them on his own. He rashly looked through them all and his face turned ugly when he realised there were none. 

"Do not worry! There are bound to be others who have them! You just need to find and kill them! This is your only chance of survival!" The Spirit continued to cloud his mind. 

"My only chance of survival…" Taizong repeated out loud, his eyes empty as if he was possessed. 

'Yes! Go and kill!' The Spirit confirmed happily and suddenly hit Taizong with some of his power, turning his eyes red as the desire to kill filled his mind. Taizong didn't wait anymore and dashed out of the treasury, his mouth of repeating one word, "Kill, kill, kill!"