The journey to the mortal village took mere minutes at our cultivation speed, but each second felt weighted with anticipation.

Zhang Wuji led us through the air like a steel-gray comet, his qi signature radiating that familiar controlled lethality that made even hardened cultivators step aside.

As we descended toward the cluster of ramshackle buildings that barely qualified as a settlement, I could smell it—the stench of spiritual decay mixed with human desperation.

The kind of place where hope went to die slowly, one disappointment at a time.

"There, Master," Zhang Wuji pointed toward a structure that looked more like a shed than proper shelter. "The villagers have quarantined her in that building. They're... afraid."

I landed softly on the packed dirt, my enhanced senses immediately picking up the wrongness that permeated this place.

It wasn't just poverty or neglect—there was something fundamentally twisted in the spiritual atmosphere, like reality itself was being slowly drained.

The hut Zhang Wuji indicated was little more than four walls of rotting wood held together by prayer and stubborn mud.

Gaps in the planking let slivers of afternoon light pierce the interior, creating a pattern of golden bars across what lay within.

I approached the entrance, noting how even the local wildlife avoided this place. No insects buzzed around the structure, no birds nested in its eaves. Even the weeds grew stunted and pale in a rough circle around the building.

Pushing aside the tattered cloth that served as a door, I stepped into the dim interior and felt my breath catch.

She lay on a pile of moldy straw, her form so still I initially thought she might already be dead. But then I saw the slow, labored rise and fall of her chest beneath layers of bloodstained bandages that looked like they hadn't been changed in weeks.

Her eyes were open—pale, luminous things that seemed far too large for her emaciated face. They tracked toward me with an awareness that spoke of intelligence trapped within a failing shell.

No recognition flickered in those depths, just the weary resignation of someone who had learned that hope was a luxury she could no longer afford.

The woman was a ruin.

Whatever beauty she might once have possessed was now hidden beneath layers of suffering and neglect.

Her skin stretched tight over prominent bones, giving her the appearance of a living skeleton wrapped in parchment.

The bandages covered most of her body, but what I could see was a map of old wounds and fresh sores.

Yet there was something about her bone structure, the shape of her eyes, the way her dark hair fell in lank strands across her pillow...

'Zhao Meilian,' I realized. 'Chen's mother.'

[DING!]

The familiar blue interface materialized in my vision, but what I saw there made my enhanced senses reel with shock.

[System Analysis: Target Identified]

[Name: Zhao Meilian (Soul Fragment: Huan Ying Jia)]

[Age: 10,347 years (Mortal Shell: 49 years)]

[Cultivation: Destroyed Core - Former Peak Soul Formation]

[Current Status: Critical - Spiritual Parasitism Detected]

[Harem Potential: SSS-Rank (Hidden Divine Bloodline)]

[WARNING: Multiple Divine Seals Detected]

[Seal Type 1: Memory Suppression Barrier - 97% Integrity]

[Seal Type 2: Power Dampening Array - 100% Active]

[Seal Type 3: Fate Siphoning Channel - Actively Draining]

[Seal Type 4: Life Force Restriction - Terminal Degradation]

[Seal Type 5: Reincarnation Lock - Prevents Natural Death]

[Vitality Analysis:]

[Current Vitality: 20 Points (Critical)]

[Original Vitality Reservoir: 2,127,400 Points]

[Vitality Drainage Rate: 847 Points per hour]

[Fate Value Analysis:]

[Original Fate Value: 15,847 Points (Exceeds Son of Heaven baseline)]

[Current Fate Value: 12 Points]

[Fate Transfer Status: ACTIVE - Draining to Zhao Chen]

[Transfer Rate: 2.3 Fate Points per day]

I stared at the numbers, my mind struggling to process what I was seeing.

Two million vitality points—that was more than forty times my current reserves. Even at my peak, I'd never come close to that kind of life force.

This wasn't just a cultivator. This was something far beyond mortal comprehension.

'System,' I thought, my mental voice tight with controlled fury, 'explain the fate transfer mechanism.'

[System Response: Target is experiencing Parasitic Fate Drainage]

[Mechanism: Son of Heaven bloodline creates automatic siphoning effect]

[Effect: All accumulated fortune, karma, and destiny flows to designated heir]

[Current Beneficiary: Zhao Chen]

[Transfer Method: Unconscious soul-level vampirism]

[Reversal Condition: Elimination of parasitic connection]

The pieces fell into place like a puzzle made of cruelty and cosmic injustice. This woman—whoever she truly was—had been turned into nothing more than a spiritual battery for that arrogant fool.

Every breath she took, every moment she clung to life, was being systematically harvested to fuel Chen's protagonist advantages.

No wonder the bastard had such unshakeable confidence.

He wasn't just blessed by Heaven—he was literally feeding on someone else's divine fortune.

I moved closer, my footsteps causing her luminous eyes to track toward me with slow, painful effort. When I spoke, my voice was deliberately soft, but I watched her reaction carefully.

"I was searching for the mother of Zhao Chen."

The effect was immediate and unmistakable. Her entire body went rigid, a violent flinch that sent tremors through her fragile frame. But it wasn't the response of a loving mother hearing her child's name.

It was the reaction of prey hearing the approach of a predator.

Her lips moved silently, and I caught the faintest whisper of sound—not words, but a soft keen of distress that spoke of pain too deep for language.

Her hands, what I could see of them beneath the bandages, clenched into fists so tight that fresh blood seeped through the cloth.

There was no maternal warmth in that response. No fond recognition or desperate hope that her son might finally come to save her.

There was only fear, revulsion, and something that looked disturbingly like shame.

I closed my eyes, standing motionless with my hands clasped behind my back as the implications crashed over me like a cold tide.

The original novel had painted Chen as the tragic hero, orphaned by his grandfather's cruelty, driven by righteous anger to reclaim his destiny.

But the truth was far uglier.

This woman wasn't just his mother—she was his victim.

Had been his victim for years, possibly decades, as he unconsciously drained everything that made her who she was.

Her divine nature, her accumulated fortune, her very life force—all of it flowing into him like water through a sieve.

And judging by her reaction to his name, some part of her was aware of what was happening.

'System,' I thought grimly, 'show me the detailed effects of those seals.'

[Detailed Seal Analysis:]

[Memory Suppression: Prevents recall of divine origin, maintains mortal identity as cover]

[Power Dampening: Neutralizes all cultivation abilities, prevents resistance to drainage]

[Fate Siphoning: Redirects all karmic benefits to designated heir]

[Life Force Restriction: Maintains minimum vitality for breeding/feeding purposes]

[Reincarnation Lock: Prevents escape through death, forces repeated incarnations]

[Cumulative Effect: Target has been transformed into permanent spiritual livestock]

[Projected Survival Time at Current Drainage Rate: 2 hours.]

'System,' I thought as we emerged into the dim afternoon light, 'tell me how to reverse this fate transfer. I want her spiritual fortune flowing back to her, not to that parasitic bastard.'

[Solution Identified: Eliminate the Son of Heaven]

[Explanation: The Fate Transfer Conduit is anchored to Zhao Chen's existence. His death would immediately sever the connection and return all stolen spiritual fortune to its original source.]

[Alternative Method: Acquire Divine Authority Override (Cost: 500,000 Harem Points)]

[Warning: Attempting to interfere with Heaven's Will without proper authority may result in severe consequences.]

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