The scent of death clung to the air like rot to a wound.
Li Yi stood at the shattered gates of Azure Serpent Hall, the sky above him swirling with storm clouds that threatened more than rain. Lightning flashed on the horizon, briefly illuminating the charred remains of the once-proud sect, reduced now to ruin and ash. He had seen slaughter before, but not like this. Not with such precision. Not with such intent.
The abyss hadn't just struck—they had sent a message. And every inch of destruction had been crafted to echo it.
Beside him, Elder Mo Ruyan's robes fluttered in the cold wind, her expression solemn but alert. Her cultivation at the Nascent Soul Realm allowed her to sense even the faintest disturbances, but here, even she seemed tense.
"The abyssal aura lingers," she muttered, kneeling by the burnt corpse of an elder. "Not long gone. Less than a day."
Li Yi's fingers tightened around the hilt of Heavenbreaker. The sword pulsed gently in his grip, resonating with the faint demonic essence that still haunted the ruins. Even in its dormant state, the blade reacted violently to the abyss.
"Then we follow," he said.
Mo Ruyan's eyes flicked toward the thick forest beyond the eastern ridge—the beginning of the Deadwood Sea, a treacherous jungle stretching for thousands of li, infamous for devouring even Core Realm experts. She frowned.
"They're trying to bait us into those woods."
Li Yi turned to her, eyes calm. "If they're hiding there, then that's where I'll go."
"You don't even know what stage their envoy is. This could be a trap far beyond your current strength."
"I'll never be strong enough if I hesitate here."
She paused. Then, with a soft sigh, she unsheathed her slender blade. "Then I'll walk beside you."
—
The Deadwood Sea was aptly named.
A forest of twisted, lifeless trees stretched for miles, branches clawing at the sky like gnarled fingers. The ground was dry and cracked in some places, swampy and fetid in others. Strange creatures skittered beneath the underbrush—spirit beasts mutated by years of exposure to demonic energy. There was no birdsong, no rustle of wind, only silence.
It was here, among these cursed trees, that the abyss had hidden their trail.
Li Yi and Mo Ruyan moved swiftly, guided by the faint traces of corrupted Qi left behind. Heavenbreaker seemed to sense the path, the golden eye on the hilt occasionally flaring when demonic essence thickened. For hours, they followed it deeper and deeper until even the light of day was swallowed by the canopy.
At last, they reached a clearing.
And stopped.
At the center, a circle of ash had been drawn, lined with abyssal runes. Within it stood seven corpses—Azure Serpent disciples, suspended mid-air by invisible force, their eyes wide and mouths agape as if screaming. Their chests had been carved open, cores extracted, leaving gaping holes in their torsos.
Mo Ruyan cursed under her breath. "Soul harvesting."
Li Yi walked toward them carefully. The air rippled around the circle, ancient scripts distorting space.
"A sacrificial array," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Not for destruction. For summoning."
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
The runes around the circle lit up, glowing deep crimson.
Too late.
From the center of the array, a column of black smoke burst upward, expanding rapidly into a towering figure of swirling darkness and flame. Two horns spiraled from its brow, its face masked in bone and shadow. When it opened its mouth, it didn't speak—it howled, and the trees for miles quivered as demonic Qi surged outward.
Li Yi stepped forward without hesitation, raising Heavenbreaker.
The demon's voice echoed in his mind.
> "You… the child of broken starlight. The Heavenburner's heir…"
Mo Ruyan's face went pale. "Heavenburner…? That was the title of…"
"My father," Li Yi said quietly.
The demon laughed, the sound like glass shattering.
> "Then your soul will be a worthy vessel."
Without further warning, it lunged.
Li Yi moved like lightning, swinging Heavenbreaker in an arc that cleaved through the demon's outstretched arm. But instead of blood, black smoke hissed and reformed the limb. The demon was not bound to flesh—it was a phantasm, a spirit projection from the deeper abyss.
Still, the blade burned it. Heavenbreaker's flame left a gash in the demon's shoulder that didn't close.
Mo Ruyan joined the battle with a flurry of sword strikes, weaving formations with every movement. Her Nascent Soul cultivation allowed her to manipulate elemental threads, and she conjured bolts of frost and wind that battered the demon back.
But it adapted.
In a blink, it split into three shadows, each mirroring its full strength. They swarmed.
Li Yi barely parried the first strike before being thrown through a tree, the bark splintering under the force. He coughed blood but rose again. Flames began to rise around him—not conjured by Qi, but pulled from within his bloodline.
Heavenbreaker glowed brighter.
The sword whispered.
> "Unseal—first release."
For a brief moment, the runes along the blade ignited. The golden eye opened wider.
Li Yi vanished—and reappeared above the demon's main body, his aura blazing like a comet.
"Heavenbreaker Art: Blazing Void Cleave!"
The blade fell.
The clearing exploded in light.
A flash of gold and red tore through the demon's chest, cleaving the shadow down the middle. Screaming, it attempted to retreat into the array—but Mo Ruyan cast a net of frost, sealing the runes temporarily.
"Finish it!" she shouted.
Li Yi drove Heavenbreaker downward, piercing the demon's core. The blade erupted in flame, burning away the phantasm with divine heat.
The shadows collapsed.
The forest fell silent.
Only the ashes of the demon remained, carried away by the cold wind.
Li Yi collapsed to one knee, breathing heavily. His robe was torn, his body bruised, but his eyes were still alight with fury and purpose.
Mo Ruyan landed beside him, panting. "You just… unsealed the blade?"
He nodded. "Only the first seal."
She looked at him carefully. "You're changing, Li Yi. Your bloodline… it's awakening faster than it should."
"I don't have the luxury of slow progress," he replied. "The abyss isn't waiting."
She hesitated, then placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll return to the Pavilion. Pavilion Master Yun needs to know what we found. If the abyss is using sacrificial arrays again… we're closer to war than we thought."
He nodded and stood.
As they prepared to leave, a faint shimmer in the corner of the clearing caught his eye. Moving closer, he saw a small jade slip embedded in the roots of a dead tree. He picked it up.
The seal on the slip bore a familiar symbol: a stylized flame with three stars.
He froze.
This was a family emblem—one he had only seen once, in the faded memory of his childhood.
His mother's clan.
Mo Ruyan noticed his change in expression. "What is it?"
He slowly tucked the slip away.
"Nothing. Let's go."
—
Meanwhile, in the Upper Realm...
High above the Xuan Realm, across countless sky-bridges and sealed rifts, the celestial cities of the Upper Realm gleamed in splendor. But deep within the ancient continent of Tianguang, in the heart of the Li Clan's Ancestral Domain, an old man sat in meditation before a floating orb.
The orb flickered.
Then stabilized—revealing Li Yi's battle in the Deadwood Sea.
The old man opened his eyes.
His long white beard shimmered like threads of starlight, and his robe bore nine golden dragons—a symbol of supreme authority.
He sighed.
"So… the boy has begun to awaken. His father's bloodline… and hers."
A younger cultivator bowed deeply behind him. "Ancestor, should we send word?"
"No," the old man said. "Not yet. Let him walk this path unaided. If we act too soon, they may notice."
"You mean the clan heretics?"
"No." The old man's eyes narrowed. "I mean her family. From the God Realm."
—
Back in Skycloud Pavilion
Pavilion Master Yun Tianji sat upon the Azure Throne, reviewing reports with furrowed brows. Several elder sects had gone silent. Murders in the border villages had spiked. Abyssal cults were awakening, their symbols appearing across ruined temples.
Then, the message from Mo Ruyan arrived via talisman.
As he read it, his grip on the scroll tightened.
"Sacrificial arrays… soul harvesting… and a demon spirit calling Li Yi 'Heavenburner's heir'…"
He stood slowly.
"Elder Han, summon the Seven Hall Masters. And inform the Grand Formation Division: We are activating the Skycloud Barrier."
Elder Han bowed. "Are we declaring war?"
Yun Tianji's gaze turned toward the mountains.
"No. Not yet. But the storm is coming. And our Pavilion… must stand ready."
—
Later that night
Li Yi sat alone on a peak overlooking the Pavilion grounds. The stars above shimmered like a river of silver, but his eyes were focused on the jade slip in his hand.
He activated it.
A holographic figure appeared—his mother, young and smiling, dressed in robes of a clan he did not recognize.
"Yi'er," her voice spoke softly. "If you find this, it means your bloodline has begun to awaken. It also means… the path ahead will grow dark."
She paused, her image flickering.
"I was born in the God Realm. My family is powerful—far more than you can imagine. And they… they will not accept you. Not now. Maybe not ever."
She bit her lip, as if hesitating.
"But if you survive long enough to reach the upper realm… find the city of Thousand Pillars. In its depths, there is a gateway sealed by the ancestors of both our bloodlines. It leads to something older than realms. Something that can… protect you."
The message ended.
Li Yi's eyes narrowed.
The sword at his side pulsed gently.
He looked toward the horizon, where clouds gathered in roiling swirls of black.
The abyss had awakened.
But so had he.
---