Chapter 13: Corrupting the Sacred
The Sect of Azure Radiance had always boasted of its spiritual purity — untainted Qi, holy lineages, and techniques said to have descended from the Celestial Plane. But Raiyen, cloaked in the guise of a lowly servant, now walked through its most sacred halls with a smirk that mocked every inch of that sanctity.
The inner sanctum of the Sect's Hall of Scriptures was nestled at the top of the White Cloud Peak, a place only elite disciples and elders were permitted to enter. Yet tonight, cloaked in shadows and aided by the Sinbound System's ability to suppress his presence, Raiyen had bypassed every protective formation.
> [You are within the Sect's Sacred Hall.] [Danger Level: High.] [System Stealth Active: Spiritual Presence Masked.]
The marble floor beneath his feet gleamed like moonlight, inscriptions of divine teachings etched into every tile. Pillars lined the grand corridor, each carved with a tale of ancient saints — their eyes downcast, serene, and filled with false virtue.
Raiyen stopped before the grand scripture vault: a circular chamber surrounded by rotating shelves of cultivation scrolls, manuals, and jade slips. In his past life, this vault had been locked to him until he reached the rank of Sect Elder. But now…
He touched the door and channeled a whisper of corrupted Qi.
The runes on the vault glowed faintly, flickering as if uncertain. Then, as if recognizing him not as a threat, but as a long-forgotten heir, the door creaked open.
He stepped inside.
> [Sinbound System Alert: Divine Qi Detected.] [Compatibility Check... Overwriting Protocol Activated.] [New Feature Unlocked: Sacred Conversion] [Allows user to convert Pure Techniques into Forbidden Variants using Sin Points.]
Raiyen's pulse quickened.
The sacred techniques of Azure Radiance were famously powerful — techniques cultivated over millennia by holy lineages. But now, he could rewrite them, reshape them in the image of sin.
He moved to the jade shelf marked "Sky-Piercing Sword Sutra," a technique once considered the pride of the inner court. In his past life, this technique had been used by the very same Sect Master who presided over his execution.
"Poetic," Raiyen whispered, pulling it from the shelf.
He placed his palm over the jade slip.
> [Begin Conversion? Cost: 200 Sin Points.] [Confirm?]
"Yes."
The jade slip shuddered, glowing ominously.
Raiyen watched as the pristine blue light turned black, crimson veins spiraling through it like rot spreading across a dying leaf.
> [Conversion Complete.] [New Technique Acquired: Blood-Sky Evisceration Method] [Effect: Sacrifices enemy spiritual defense for raw destructive power. Gains damage bonus per Sin Point stored.]
He felt the new knowledge etch itself into his mind — each stroke a lash of madness and clarity combined.
He moved to the next scroll.
"Cloudwalker Step Arts."
> [Convert? Cost: 150 Sin Points.]
"Yes."
> [New Technique Acquired: Void-Threaded Mirage Step] [Effect: Movement technique using illusions drawn from the victim's fears. Causes confusion and panic.]
One after another, Raiyen converted scrolls — each sacred technique twisted into something darker, sharper, far more lethal. His Sin Points dwindled, but the power he harvested from these corrupted scriptures filled him with a sense of vindication no cultivation breakthrough ever had.
He wasn't just growing stronger. He was desecrating everything that had once made his killers feel superior.
Suddenly, a ripple of spiritual pressure passed through the vault.
Footsteps.
Raiyen's eyes sharpened. He slipped into the shadows behind a tall shelf just as two disciples entered. They were both inner sect members — dressed in azure robes with the sigil of the White Lotus embroidered on their chests.
"Strange," one murmured, scanning the room. "I swear I felt someone trespass here."
"It was probably a misfire from one of the detection wards," said the other, less concerned. "No one could enter here without Elder He's token."
They stepped closer, and Raiyen recognized them — Chen Yu and Li Rong. In his past life, they had been disciples of the very elder who'd given the order to cripple him during a sparring match.
His gaze darkened.
But this wasn't the time for revenge.
Not yet.
As they inspected the room, Raiyen shifted behind them and slipped out. But not before releasing a fragment of his corrupted aura, invisible to the eye but heavy to the spirit.
Chen Yu stiffened, frowning. "You feel that?"
Li Rong paled. "Yeah… like something's… watching."
Raiyen smiled in the dark as he vanished.
> [Sin Points Gained: Intimidation +7]
He made his way back down the mountain through a hidden path known only to former inner court members. His heart pounded, not from fear, but the ecstasy of what he had done.
Back at the servant quarters, Qian Zhou waited, pacing nervously.
"You took a risk going up there," he hissed the moment Raiyen appeared. "If they catch you—"
"They won't," Raiyen said calmly, brushing dust off his robes.
Qian hesitated, then asked, "Did you find what you were looking for?"
Raiyen didn't answer with words. Instead, he channeled a thin thread of Qi between his fingers — black and red, crackling softly. The sheer pressure made Qian stagger backward, eyes wide.
"That's… not normal Qi…"
"It's not," Raiyen replied. "It's power reclaimed."
Qian shook his head, whispering, "You're not just aiming to rise. You're going to burn the heavens."
Raiyen looked up at the stars.
"No," he murmured. "I'm going to remake them in my name."
—
The following days in the sect saw strange occurrences. Inner disciples began reporting phantom illusions during training. One of the outer elders fell into Qi deviation during meditation, his mind haunted by unspeakable visions.
They blamed it on ancient formations, cursed relics, even rogue spirits.
No one thought to suspect a servant.
No one suspected that their greatest enemy now walked among them — not as a warrior or challenger, but as a ghost within their walls, bleeding corruption into their holiest places.
Raiyen continued his duties as a servant — sweeping halls, carrying water, scrubbing stone floors. But every step he took was calculated. Every smile was a blade concealed beneath honey.
He slipped notes into the hands of discontent disciples, fanned old rivalries with whispered rumors, and encouraged jealousies between masters and their favorites.
> [Sin Points Gained: Manipulation +15]
At night, he cultivated with his new techniques, pushing his body and spirit through the bleeding edge of exhaustion.
The Blood-Sky Evisceration Method tore through his meridians like molten steel, but the Sinbound System healed him, strengthening each wound into a scar of power.
Then came the whispers.
"You're changing," Qian said one night. "The way you walk. The way you speak. You're not like us anymore."
Raiyen turned to him, his gaze deep and endless. "I was never like you."
There was no cruelty in the words — only truth.
Qian bowed his head.
Later that week, Raiyen received a summons from an unexpected figure: Elder Huo, the sect's archivist. A man known for his stern demeanor and distrust of most disciples.
"You've been noticed," the system warned. "Be careful."
Raiyen smiled.
"Let them notice."
His infiltration was complete.
Now, it was time to take root.