The sky above the ruins turned a faint red. The clouds rolled slowly, as if witnessing an ancient ceremony long forgotten. The cracked stone pillars trembled gently, responding to the awakening of the blood formation that had slumbered beneath the earth for thousands of years. Ye Tian stood within a glowing circle in the center of the altar, his body stiff yet upright. Before him, from behind a thick red mist, emerged a figure almost identical to him—same height, face, even clothing. But the figure's eyes blazed blood-red, and their smile was twisted, like an irreparable crack in glass.
"You… are me?" Ye Tian asked slowly, his voice heavy but still cold.
The shadow stepped forward, each step causing the ground to creak. It chuckled—not a human laugh, but a laugh from within the void.
"I… am the part you discarded. The emotions you suppressed. The desires you considered weaknesses. I am the curse of celestial blood… that never slept."
Li Fan, standing outside the circle, tried to approach, but his body was flung back by an invisible wall surrounding the altar.
"Ye Tian! That place… is cut off from the real world! It's an illusionary trial space!" he shouted.
But Ye Tian did not answer. The world around him began to change. The red sky turned black. The wind stopped. And beneath their feet, the ground transformed into a giant black mirror—reflecting the sky and shadows, but not reflecting Ye Tian himself.
"A mirror that doesn't reflect… a world that doesn't know its own identity," Ye Tian thought.
His shadow attacked first.
In an instant, a blow filled with black aura struck Ye Tian, creating an energy explosion that made the air rumble. But Ye Tian did not retreat. He raised his arm, and a wave of purple-black energy emanated from his body, forming a shield of spiritual will.
"You are strong," Ye Tian murmured. "But uncontrolled power… is destruction."
Ye Tian's shadow grinned, then replied in a resonant voice:
"And control without emotion… is emptiness. Do you think you can fight the world with emptiness, Ye Tian?"
The fight erupted. In that shadow dimension, blow after blow was exchanged. Each attack was not only physical but also spiritual—assaulting the memories, fears, and doubts that Ye Tian had hidden deep within his heart.
The shadow transformed into the voice of his father, who died in flames.
Then it transformed into his mother, calling his name at the edge of a dream, then disappearing in a pool of blood.
Then it transformed into his own face—weak, dying, and regretting having lived.
Ye Tian knelt for a moment. His eyes trembled, his breath ragged.
"Are you going to give up here?" the shadow whispered, now a whisper of hundreds of people he had killed, abandoned, or betrayed.
"You are a curse. Even if you survive… the world will not accept you."
But… behind all those whispers, one voice emerged. Not a loud voice, nor the voice of someone else. But his own voice—truly his own.
"I know who I am. I am not hope. I am not a disaster. I… am a choice."
Ye Tian's body rose again. The aura around him began to change. No longer purely black… but a blend of dark red and purple light merging into a stable curse fire. The celestial blood symbol on his back pulsed, and from his hand, a new technique was born: Pure Shadow: Void Step.
Ye Tian disappeared in the blink of an eye and reappeared right behind his shadow.
"You are not me. You are just a shadow of the self I never allowed to grow."
"You reject emotion… but you also reject chaos. So I will accept both."
He struck his own chest—piercing his shadow's chest.
A spiritual explosion cleaved the illusory dimension.
The mist lifted.
The sky returned to its pale color.
And in the middle of the altar, only one figure remained.
Ye Tian.
His body stood erect. But now, the celestial blood curse symbol on his back blazed… and one circle of the seal had completely cracked.
The second seal has opened.
The world slowly returned to its axis. The air around the ruins flowed slowly, carrying the faint remnants of the curse's aura. In the middle of the stone altar still glowing with reddish-purple light, Ye Tian stood motionless, his body enveloped in profound silence.
Li Fan hurried over, his face still bearing unresolved tension. As he entered the altar, he immediately felt the change.
"You… have changed," he murmured softly.
Ye Tian's eyes opened slowly. His gaze was as calm as before, but in that silence, something inexplicable was hidden. The aura around him became denser—not like the pressure from a high-level cultivator, but a kind of profound silence, like emptiness that had taken form.
"The second seal has opened," Ye Tian said.
Li Fan stared at the symbol on Ye Tian's back, which still glowed faintly, then nodded slowly.
"Then… what happens when the seventh seal opens?"
Ye Tian turned his gaze to the sky, which was beginning to brighten.
"The curse… will become an inheritance. But an inheritance that cannot be inherited."
"What do you mean?"
"It means, only one person in this world will be able to bear everything… and that will destroy them, or take them to something more than just human."
They continued their journey along the rocky path leading to the east side of the mountain. In the distance, the mist began to thin, and sunlight slowly seeped through the clouds. But their silence was soon broken when the wind carried a soft sound—the singing of ancient spirits.
Ye Tian stopped. That sound… did not come from the mortal world. It was the Ancestral Soul Song, one of the signs that the spiritual world was opening its gap to witness the movement of the human world.
"Someone… is watching us," Ye Tian whispered.
Li Fan immediately became alert. His hand reached for his sword hilt, but Ye Tian raised his hand to stop him.
"No need. They didn't come to fight. They… are judging."
Behind the distant mountains, right behind the Lake of a Thousand Reflections, a shadow appeared in a space that could only be seen by those bound by the destiny of celestial blood. An old man in black robes stood on the surface of the water, his body seemingly weightless. His face was covered with a cloth, but a pair of eyes emanated the power of ancient times.
"That child… has opened the second seal. Then the time is near."
Behind the man, shadowy figures in dark robes appeared one by one, each carrying an ancient book and a spiritual staff that radiated an aura of eternity. They were the Guardians of Celestial Blood, beings unbound by the ordinary world of cultivation, but by an ancient oath made when the world was young.
Meanwhile, in the Eternal Heaven Palace, a girl stood at the edge of a high balcony. Her long black hair was like night, and her eyes gazed towards the mountains as if able to see through thousands of miles.
"The curse… has truly risen again."
Her hand clutched a pendant in the shape of a coiled dragon. The pendant trembled gently, indicating that the celestial blood was active—and that one day, she too would be called to the same destiny.
Back to Ye Tian, they finally arrived at a hidden cave marked by an ancient locking formation. The aura from within echoed softly, carrying the scent of death and lingering souls.
Li Fan took a slow breath.
"This place… doesn't appear on any map. Do you know what's inside?"
Ye Tian nodded.
"This… is where the old guardians are sealed. Those who once tried to bear the celestial blood… but failed."
Li Fan's eyes widened.
"So… this is their graveyard?"
"Not just a graveyard," Ye Tian replied flatly. "This is also a mirror. A place to see… what I would be like if I fail later."
Both of them stepped inside. The scent of blood and ash greeted them, but also whispers—whispers of ancestors, spirits who failed to surpass their own limits, now trapped between the mortal and immortal worlds.
And on the innermost wall of the cave… there was an ancient carving that emitted a faint red glow. Inscribed there was:
"Celestial Blood is not destiny. It is a choice. But every choice will demand an unyielding price."
Ye Tian stood before the carving. His gaze did not waver.
"Then I will pay the price. Whatever it is."
Each step within the cave felt heavy, as if every inch of space resisted the presence of living beings. The light from the faintly glowing celestial blood symbol on the wall created long, erratic shadows on the ancient stones. And in the darkness, the whispers of old spirits continued to echo—not in language, but in feeling: sorrow, failure, broken ambition, and determination shattered on the verge of awakening.
Ye Tian walked slowly, traversing a downward spiral corridor. His steps were not hurried, but neither were they hesitant. Meanwhile, Li Fan, who followed behind him, broke out in a cold sweat. The aura of this place was not only dark, but also sucked spiritual power—like an abyss that drank the qi from the body of every living being.
"Are you sure we won't get trapped here?" Li Fan asked softly.
Ye Tian did not answer immediately. He stared at the symbols on the wall that kept changing with each step they took.
"This place was not built to block the path," he finally answered. "But to remind… anyone who tries to become the heir of celestial blood, that there is only one path: down, and in."
At the end of the corridor, they finally arrived at an open chamber. The cave walls widened into a vast underground hall, and in the center stood a giant tombstone planted in a pool of frozen blood. Around the tombstone, there were dozens of human skeletons, each still in a cross-legged sitting position, with their hands clasped to their chests. All the skeletons… had the celestial blood symbol on their backs.
"They…" Li Fan whispered. "They all… potential heirs like you?"
Ye Tian nodded slowly.
"They are the failed generations. Their bodies could not withstand the breaking of more than two seals."
He walked towards the tombstone, then knelt down.
"You have all paved this path. If I succeed in passing you… then I promise, your names will be remembered."
As Ye Tian touched the tombstone, a loud voice echoed throughout the cave.
"Heir of celestial blood… you have gone further than others. Then the next trial will begin not from your strength… but from the outside world."
Suddenly, their surroundings trembled. Stones fell from the ceiling, and the spiritual aura around them began to turn wild. But it was not the aura from within the cave—but the aura from outside, from the surface.
Meanwhile, far from the mountains, on a floating island in the sky, an ancient bell tolled. The elders of the Eternal Light Sect rose from their meditations. That bell's sound… only tolled when the celestial blood curse began to disrupt the world's balance.
"The time has come," the Grand Elder said with wide-open eyes. "The heir… has entered the third stage."
"Shall we move?" the first disciple asked, standing beside him.
"Not yet," the Elder replied. "But we will send an observer. The world must see… whether he is a savior or destruction."
On the other hand, in a land shrouded in eternal night, the Black Blood Sect had already moved. A woman with silver hair and dark eyes sat on a throne of skulls. She clutched a dagger stained with fresh blood, and smiled faintly.
"The celestial blood curse… has finally risen again."
"If he succeeds… we will all perish."
"If he fails… then we will take his power."
Inside the cave, Ye Tian took a deep breath. He knew, from this moment on, the world would no longer be silent. Every step he took would be watched, and every great power would pay attention to him—either as a threat, or… a tool.
But his eyes remained unwavering.
"Let them come," he said softly. "If they want to test this inheritance… then I will be the test for the world."
The air outside the cave was no longer silent. The wind swirled like a vortex whispered by the heavens, carrying a foreign scent—not the scent of wet earth or trees, but the smell of metal… fresh blood spilled from afar.
Ye Tian and Li Fan had just exited the cave passage when an immense spiritual pressure pressed down on them from above. From the sky, which was beginning to cloud over, a formation opened, emitting golden light that fell like a giant net.
"Celestial-level tracking formation…" Ye Tian murmured softly.
"Are we too late to escape?" Li Fan asked, gripping his sword.
But Ye Tian just stood still, his eyes narrowed, staring at the sky.
"They didn't come to capture. They came to judge."
The formation's light flickered, and from within it emerged a small celestial boat, floating silently. On it stood three figures in golden-white robes, the emblem of the Eternal Light Sect engraved on their chests. Their leader was a young woman, but her gaze carried the arrogance of thousands of years of meditation and pure lineage.
She stepped down gracefully, her feet seemingly not touching the ground. Her aura was pure, almost illusory, but that was precisely what made her terrifying. Behind the beauty and serenity, lay the power of the Middle Heaven level.
"Ye Tian," she said, her voice light, but each word carried an echo.
"I am Bai Lian, Emissary of the Eternal Light Sect. We have come… not as enemies."
Li Fan gritted his teeth.
"Are you sure? They've been trapping us in a formation since the beginning."
Ye Tian raised his hand, preventing Li Fan from moving.
"I know who you are. But your arrival… is only because the second celestial blood seal has opened."
Bai Lian nodded.
"That's right. This world still remembers the wounds left by the previous heir. So we must assess whether you are poison… or medicine."
"You want to assess it with words?" Ye Tian asked coldly.
"No," Bai Lian replied. "With battle."
She snapped her fingers.
Light from the celestial formation descended, forming a battle arena. In the center, a male figure appeared, dressed in white, his face handsome, but his eyes empty. He was not entirely human. The figure was a Divine Soul Puppet, created from a combination of ancestral spirits and heavenly will, used by the Eternal Light Sect as a tool to test young geniuses.
"If you can defeat him… we will not bother you for now," Bai Lian said.
"And if I lose?" Ye Tian asked.
"Then your blood will be sealed. Your curse locked. And your name erased from heaven and earth."
Ye Tian stepped forward. The heavens echoed as the aura from his body rose—dark, yet stable. The deep red light from the celestial blood seal swirled around him, forming a vortex pattern, breaking the pure aura of the Eternal Light formation.
"You want to judge me?" he said, his deep voice vibrating like thunder from the heavens.
"Then prepare to face the dark side that even light cannot comprehend."
The Divine Soul Puppet moved.
Its attacks were swift—piercing like lightning, each blow strengthened by spiritual will sourced from Heaven. But Ye Tian did not retreat. With calm movements, he parried each attack, then retaliated with unpredictable style: curse techniques mixed with pure martial arts, creating an unreadable rhythm of battle.
Ye Tian's body darted in the shadows, then appeared above the puppet's head and slammed his palm into the crown of its head.
Pure Shadow: Soul Crack!
A spiritual explosion shattered the divine illusion. The puppet was thrown back and its body shattered into pure light that instantly disappeared into the air.
Silence.
Bai Lian looked at Ye Tian without expression. Then she raised her hand.
The celestial formation disappeared. Sunlight once again broke through the clouds.
"You… have passed."
"For now."
Without saying anything else, Bai Lian and her entourage boarded the celestial boat and disappeared over the horizon.
Li Fan turned to Ye Tian.
"You know… the world won't let you live in peace, right?"
Ye Tian gazed into the distance, his eyes dark but firm.
"I don't need peace. I only need a path that is not controlled by anyone."
"Because from now on… I am not just an heir. I am a warning."
The heavens had calmed. But that calmness was not peace—but tension that was hiding its fangs. Behind the slowly rolling clouds, the eyes of Heaven from various major sects began to open their dimensional windows, peering, judging… and counting the time remaining before the conflict truly erupted.
On the mountain slope, Ye Tian and Li Fan sat under an old pine tree whose branches swayed gently, as if listening to their conversation.
"What happens if we continue like this?" Li Fan asked. "Defeating their emissaries one by one?"
Ye Tian looked at the sky.
"They will send more. Then, when one sect cannot stop me, another will join. And when they begin to unite… the world will shake."
Li Fan sighed.
"You talk as if you're ready to challenge the world."
"Because I have to be."
In the distance, a faint rumble of thunder echoed—not from the clouds, but from the underground spiritual field that was beginning to change. Ye Tian felt a pulsation in his body. The third seal had not yet opened, but the warning had arrived early.
"Strange…" he murmured. "This curse should remain silent until I trigger it myself."
Li Fan immediately became alert.
"What does that mean?"
Ye Tian stood up, his face turning serious.
"Someone is trying to open it from the outside."
Suddenly, the ground around them trembled gently. In the distance, the cries of spiritual creatures were heard, followed by the roars of wild beasts created from the power of the curse. In a short time, a small dimensional rift opened in the sky—and from there, emerged black-skinned, human-like creatures with blazing red eyes. On their foreheads was an ancient symbol: the mark of the Cursed Shadow Sect.
"They…" Li Fan exclaimed. "Wasn't that sect annihilated hundreds of years ago?!"
"No curse ever truly dies," Ye Tian replied.
The leader of those creatures stepped forward. His face was covered with a demonic mask that emitted black smoke. But his voice was clear.
"Heir… your blood is too fragrant to be allowed to grow."
"We… are the remnants buried by history. But your blood… will be the fuel to awaken the eternal shadow."
Without warning, the creature shot forward with a speed that the naked eye could hardly follow. But before its attack reached Ye Tian, the protective formation from Ye Tian's body activated, forming a black layer that absorbed the surrounding light.
Ye Tian raised his hand, and from his palm emerged a seven-layered curse pattern, moving like a wheel of fate.
"You want to see the dark side of this inheritance?" he said softly.
"Then here it is… Seventh Shadow Curse: Chains of Despair!"
Black chains shot from the ground, gripping the creature's body and dragging it into the spiritual vortex underground. Their screams vanished as their body merged with the not-yet-fully-born curse energy.
Li Fan stared in amazement.
"That technique… is not from the human world."
Ye Tian bowed his head.
"It's not a technique. It's… a memory from those who failed before me. I am merely a bridge."
As everything returned to calm, the sky began to turn golden red, signifying the arrival of dusk. But that calmness was only temporary.
Ye Tian stepped forward, his dark eyes gazing towards the horizon.
"The third seal will open. But not by me."
"But… by the world that forces me to open it sooner."
And at that moment, in the depths of the most secluded valley, an ancient eye that had been closed for thousands of years—finally opened. Purple light from the earth's depths pierced the sky, and a woman's voice echoed from an unseen place:
"The time is near… The Celestial Blood Inheritance will become the judge of this era. And if he fails… then the entire world will be buried with him."
———