My Descendants Are My Power

Moments later, Phil withdrew his hand from Mary\'s head. She returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Phil turned to his disciple, who watched with a furrowed brow and a mix of apprehension and curiosity. He gestured for Mary to follow him. "Come, child. You wish to know about the Heavenly Path Psychic Sanctuary, about Heavenly Path himself, and why I wanted you dead, do you not?"

Unafraid, Mary followed Phil into his humble abode.

Inside, Phil prepared tea with the air of a seasoned elder, not the legendary Advanced Mastery psychic he was rumored to be. "I know not how you discovered the connection between Heavenly Path and myself, but you have stumbled into a grave error."

"A grave error?" Mary\'s expression turned serious.

"Your approach was clever, I\'ll grant you that," Phil said, his face impassive. "You learned of my bond with Heavenly Path and my ability to open the Heavenly Path Psychic Sanctuary. By seeking my help, you ensured your success. Opening the sanctuary would be a deed of great merit, beneficial to both of us. Your Blackwood clan could even forge a connection with me through this."

Mary frowned, seeing the truth in his words.

"When I refused to cooperate, your Blackwood clan rallied other factions, spreading rumors and applying pressure. You left me with no choice. Faced with such overwhelming force, I would have been compelled to open the Heavenly Path Psychic Sanctuary for you."

"You even dared to defy me. I heard whispers that even the Druid Bird Totem wouldn\'t risk sending their strongest against Blackwood. You feared me not, believing I wouldn\'t harm a soul from your clan."

Mary\'s frown eased. She hadn\'t orchestrated any of that. Her only thought had been to rescue her children. It seemed events had spiraled far beyond her control.

"But you miscalculated," Phil said with a bitter smile. "My disciple should have ended you. Your death would have severed the threads of this entanglement. He\'s always been prone to suspicion."

Samuel, who was pouring tea, froze.

Sensing his disciple\'s reaction, Phil scoffed. "Not you."

Reassured by his master\'s familiar demeanor, Samuel asked, "Master, do you have another disciple besides me?"

"I do," Phil replied, his expression grave. "He was the least gifted yet the most extraordinary disciple I ever took under my wing: Heavenly Path. And now, thanks to Samuel\'s suspicious nature, your presence here has made matters far worse… or perhaps the trouble began the moment I took Heavenly Path as my student."

"What?! The Heavenly Path Venerable… he lives?!" Mary and Ethan exclaimed in unison.

They might not have grasped the full implications of Phil\'s words, but one thing was clear: the Heavenly Path Venerable, whom they believed to be dead, was alive!

Even more shocking, this elderly master, who stood at the pinnacle of power in Sunshine Mansion and commanded respect throughout the Emerald Dynasty, seemed deeply wary of his supposedly deceased disciple.

Samuel\'s hand trembled, nearly spilling the tea.

"Yes, he lives," Phil sighed. "Had you died, it wouldn\'t have mattered. I would have remained oblivious to the events of the past. But Heavenly Path is ever-vigilant. Your presence here…"

…

"Millennia ago, Crystal Crest bustled with life. I enjoyed taking on disciples, and my students numbered in the hundreds." Phil\'s voice was filled with a wistful longing for those livelier days. Now, only Samuel remained by his side.

Samuel, who had endured thirty years of pleading before being accepted as Phil\'s disciple, scratched his head. The elders often spoke of those times as a golden age for Crystal Crest.

"Among my many disciples was Heavenly Path. He possessed an unwavering dedication to the path of cultivation, yet he wielded a forbidden technique, the Living Sacrifice Formation, for nefarious purposes. I should have ended him then, rid the world of his menace. But guiding a soul towards righteousness is a deed of great merit. So, I kept Heavenly Path among my disciples."

"Centuries passed, and I realized Heavenly Path possessed a rare spirit. Despite his mediocre talent, he dared to challenge fate itself."

"Can you imagine? A cultivator with a Five Psychic Constitution, never blessed with treasures to enhance his potential, even resorting to the Emerging Ability to alter his destiny, yet remaining stuck at a Four Psychic Constitution. And yet, he reached the Competent Force realm through sheer willpower!" A flicker of awe crossed Phil\'s eyes.

"The Three-Nine Thunder Tribulation, a mere formality for those with exceptional talent, was an insurmountable obstacle for him. I told him then that reaching Basic Mastery was beyond his grasp. But his unwavering spirit, his sheer tenacity, deserved the world\'s admiration."

The room fell silent. A Four Psychic Constitution reaching Competent Force? It defied all logic.

"He told me he understood his fate and would spend his remaining years in quiet contemplation. But I… I underestimated him. The world might accept defeat, but not Heavenly Path! I never imagined he would resort to such drastic measures."

Phil\'s eyes flickered with a mixture of anger and sorrow. Samuel, sensing the dark turn in his master\'s tale, paled. "Drastic measures? Master, you never told me how the other disciples died. Did he…"

The weight of countless years seemed to settle upon Phil\'s shoulders. "A Competent Force cultivator has a lifespan of two thousand years. Heavenly Path refused to accept his limitations."

"He might have lacked talent, but his comprehension of the mystic arts was unparalleled. He destroyed the Living Sacrifice Formation, but not before spending centuries twisting its principles, merging it with Crystal Crest\'s own Hundred Glories Celestial Net Technique!"

"The Hundred Glories Celestial Net Technique borrows power from the people, from towns, cities, even entire regions. But Heavenly Path… he sought to borrow life force, destiny itself, from my disciples!"

"For centuries, he collected their blood, weaving a web of karmic bonds."

"Heavenly Path was in the middle stage of Competent Force then, with mere decades left to live. His final Thunder Tribulation approached."

Fear flickered in Phil\'s eyes. "No, it was Crystal Crest\'s tribulation. He intended to sacrifice thousands of my disciples, using their life force to fuel his ascension to Basic Mastery!"