Chapter 64: Chapter 64: On The Bounty
After a few hours of traveling across the desolate landscape, they reached the imposing, grand gates of Fire Cloud City. It was one of the major Cultivation Cities under the Holy Light Empire. Vahn immediately noted the heavy spiritual defenses and the sheer volume of powerful cultivators passing in and out. This was the same city Patriarch Dalian resided in.
Vahn and Lilith blended into the flow of people, moving past the massive stone gate.
But as they walked through the bustling streets, Vahn began to notice something strange. People were giving him too much attention. Their gazes lingered, sharp and curious.
At first, Vahn joked, "It must be your striking presence, Lilith. That’s why they can’t help but stare."
But Vahn was quickly proven wrong. He realized with a jolt that those gazes weren’t of curious observers. Those intense looks were the gazes of Secret Hunters.
A group ofcultivators whose profession was tracking down targets for bounty.
Vahn confusedly questioned Lilith, "Instructor, what is going on? Why are we attracting so much..."
Before he could finish, a piece of yellow paper fluttered in the air, peeled off a nearby wall by the wind, and stuck squarely on his face.
He grabbed the paper and his eyes widened in utter shock. It was a massive, highly detailed Bounty Notice.
"Isn’t this my face? Why is it here on this paper?" he muttered, slightly unnerved.
Lilith looked at it and frowned. It was indeed a surprisingly accurate sketch of his youthful features.
On top of paper there was a staggering reward: 10 million high-grade Spirit Stones.
Everything instantly fell into place.
Lilith, watching Vahn’s stunned reaction, gave a brief, cold smile.
"Seems like they got the news," she stated, her voicing turning like Ice.
-----
While Vahn and Lilith found themselves in the sticky situation of being publicly hunted, the upper echelons of the Seven Great Holy Lands were already in a private uproar.
The monumental news of the Forbidden Marriage Ritual being broken, along with the unsettling disappearance of the Child of Fate / Devil’s Child (Vahn), had reached their ears. This information was strictly suppressed; the ordinary populace didn’t get any wind of it, as the elders feared the scandal would irreversibly stain the name of the Seven Saintesses and damage the Holy Lands’ pristine image.
However, they immediately sent out their top powerhouses in secret to search for Vahn.
However, at the White Lotus Sanctuary, Vahn’s name and portrait were being circulated like wildfire.
"Did you see the new bounty? One of the Outer Court disciples named Vahn Woodinson is on the bounty list!" a disciple exclaimed in the marketplace.
"Haha, yes! Just checked it on the Mission Board," replied another, excitedly. "They said he had fallen to the Demonic Path, and whoever catches him will be given 10 million high-grade Spirit Stones. How many spirit stones is that? I could buy a Heaven Grade Pet with that!"
The sheer magnitude of the reward turned disbelief into greedy obsession.
"Sigh, that brat is done for!"
"Serves him right. Who told him to switch to the Demonic Path because of his lack of talent," sneered an anonymous voice, betraying the envy Vahn had unknowingly provoked during his initial success.
A few steps away, one White Lotus Inner Court Disciple tore down a bounty paper and said with utter contempt, "A mere Qi Refining scrub playing Demonic? I’ll claim this reward and buy myself a new high-grade spirit tool."
Others also joined in, claiming the bounty papers as if the rewards already belonged to them. Every corner of the Holy Land buzzed with such a tantalizing offer.
The bounty wasn’t just circulated in White Lotus; it spread all over the Holy Light Empire and into the neighboring two Empires.
The massive reward and the branding of Vahn as a Heretic who had "fallen to the Demonic Path" whipped the entire cultivation world into a mad spree. Everyone was out to search for Vahn and catch him, convinced they were both getting rich and upholding justice.
The target on Vahn’s back just became the largest, most visible, and most lucrative bounty in the history of the three empires.
Meanwhile, inside the Main Temple of White Lotus Sanctuary, a different, more localized storm was raging. The air was heavy with spiritual pressure and barely contained fury.
Seraphina, the beautiful Saintess, stood fiercely in front of the Supreme Elders and Patriarch Dimidium, her face flushing red with a visible anger that defied her calm demeanor.
She held a crumpled yellow bounty paper in her hand, thrusting it forward.
"Patriarch, what is the meaning of this?" she spoke, her voice strained with indignation. "Why did you put Vahn on the bounty? What did he do wrong to deserve this?"
Patriarch Dimidium raised his hand, halting her protest. His expression was cold and utterly merciless.
"Don’t act so dumb, Saintess. You should know what happened by now."
"No, I don’t," Seraphina retorted, seething with rage. "I know he was kidnapped by Lilith, but what is this nonsense that he had fallen to the Demonic Path? Do you mind explaining that part? I know him well. He would never join the demonic faction."
"Calm down, little girl," Elder Steiner spoke coldly, his tone dripping with disdain. "It is already revealed that the other Saintesses had felt the break of the Marriage Ritual that bound him to all of you, something that should have been impossible. And now that he is free, that Devil child is going to wreak havoc in the world. You don’t know how terrifying the prophecy regarding him is."
Another female elder snorted, her face pinched with disapproval:
"And yet, you little girl, were so blinded by foolish love that you didn’t even bother to inform us about it earlier. If you had, we would have caught him before he escaped. Such a catastrophe! Now, all the Saintesses will lose their unparalleled potential. They won’t be able to grow as fast as they used to be."
She finished, shaking her head with heavy disappointment.
Seraphina’s mind spun, completely baffled by their words. How could the unparalleled potential of the Seven Saintesses depend on a single person, Vahn? She struggled to grasp what the elders were talking about.
But a dark, sickening premonition settled heavily in her heart.
"Huh! What do you mean by that, Elders?" Seraphina asked, her voice quiet and strained.
"Sigh, don’t you realize it yet, Seraphina?" The female elder shook her head with palpable pity, as if watching a foolish child finally facing reality.
"The Destiny’s Child, the Fated Husband... those were all nonsense. He is a Demon’s Child with a Heaven-Defying Physique. We bound him with the Seven Saintesses to drain his power away. To make the best of the best powerhouses for the Righteous Faction. For humanity’s sake."
The elder’s voice turned cold and severe. "He is not your husband, not anyone’s. He is a heretic of the Heavenly Law, and he was nothing more than a carefully cultivated resource."
Rumble!
Seraphina’s world broke down instantly. The carefully constructed reality of her cultivation life, of her humanitarian duties, of righteous power, all crumbled into dust.
"So, that’s what they meant by ’He will be the source of our strength’?" she whispered to herself, her eyes wide with horror. "All this time we were growing stronger using him as a sacrifice. How could I be so foolish to not understand earlier?"
As the devastating truth crystallized in her mind, a silent tear fell down her cheek. The betrayal was total, tearing apart not just her personal beliefs, but the very foundation of the White Lotus Sanctuary’s supposed righteousness.