Flashback: Year 1512, Wudang Sect's Cloudless Peak, Seven Years After Reonhwa's Death
The night was a shroud, the moon obscured by storm clouds that churned over Cloudless Peak, the heart of the Wudang Sect's sacred domain. Cheon Hajin crouched in the shadows of a bamboo grove, his silver-streaked hair tucked beneath a tattered cloak, his crimson eyes scanning the mist-shrouded cliffs. Bloodreaver, his obsidian blade, hung at his side, its edge humming with demonic qi, hungry for blood. Seven years had passed since Reonhwa's death, and the fire of vengeance still burned in his chest, but rage alone wasn't enough. He was stuck in the Earth Realm, his qi potent but limited, a far cry from the Heaven Realm she'd reached in life. To honor her, to break the martial world that killed her, he needed more—enlightenment, power, the secrets of the heavens themselves.
The Wudang Sect's sacred arts scriptures, guarded in their Celestial Library, were said to hold the key. Techniques like the Tai Chi Divine Flow and the Eight Trigrams Ascension could bridge the gap between realms, granting insights into the Heaven Realm's mysteries. Hajin, now a master of the Thousand Demonic Arts, had spent months planning this heist. The Wudang Sect was a fortress of Taoist purity, its disciples armed with celestial qi, its elders untouchable in their mastery. But Hajin was no mere thief. He was the Neck-Slashing Demonic Emperor, the 73rd Heavenly Demon, and he would take what he needed, even if it meant carving through a mountain of righteous fools.
His Shadow Veil Step carried him silently up the cliff, his body a blur of darkness blending with the mist. The Thousand Demonic Arts burned in his meridians, a constant ache that sharpened his senses. Reonhwa's pendant, tucked beneath his robes, was his anchor, its weight a reminder of his vow: Defy them. The Wudang Sect was part of the Orthodox Faction that had slaughtered her, and though his war against them was yet to come, this theft would be his first strike—a theft not just of knowledge, but of their pride.
The outer defenses were child's play. Two disciples patrolled the lower paths, their swords glowing with soft qi. Hajin struck with the Phantom Claw Strike, his fingers slicing through their meridians before they could scream. Their bodies slumped, blood pooling silently, and he moved on, leaving no trace. The Celestial Library loomed above, a pagoda of white jade perched on a cliff, its walls inscribed with Taoist runes that pulsed with protective qi. Hajin's lips curled into a sneer. Runes meant nothing to a man who'd forged his soul in pain.
He scaled the cliff, his claws digging into stone, his qi suppressing the runes' glow. At the pagoda's entrance, four elite disciples stood guard, their stances fluid, their eyes sharp. Hajin didn't hesitate. The Demonic Tempest erupted, a whirlwind of black qi that shattered their swords and sent them flying. One managed a cry before Hajin's Neck-Slashing Strike silenced him, his head rolling into the mist. The others fell just as quickly, their celestial qi no match for his demonic precision. He stepped over their bodies, Bloodreaver in hand, and entered the library.
The interior was a maze of shelves, each lined with scrolls glowing faintly with qi. Hajin's crimson eyes scanned them, searching for the Tai Chi Divine Flow. His Earth Realm cultivation let him sense the scrolls' power, but time was short—the Wudang Sect would soon sense the intrusion. He moved swiftly, his Shadow Veil Step carrying him through the aisles, until he found it: a jade scroll pulsing with golden light, its aura heavy with the weight of the Heaven Realm. He reached for it, his fingers brushing the jade, when the air shifted.
A presence descended, vast and unyielding, like a mountain given life. Hajin spun, Bloodreaver raised, as a figure emerged from the shadows. The Fist Immortal, Wudang's greatest elder, stood before him. Clad in simple white robes, his beard flowing like a sage's, his eyes gleamed with the clarity of the Life and Death Realm at its peak. His qi was a tide, calm but crushing, radiating the power of a man who'd touched the edge of divinity.
"Thief," the Fist Immortal said, his voice low, resonant. "You dare defile Wudang's sanctity?"
Hajin grinned, bloodlust rising. "Sanctity? You Orthodox dogs hide behind pretty words while you slaughter the innocent." Reonhwa's face flashed in his mind, her blood on the Jade Lotus Sect's floor. "I'm here for what's mine."
The Fist Immortal's expression didn't change. "You wield demonic arts. Your path is an affront to the Dao."
"Then let's see your Dao break mine," Hajin snarled, lunging with Bloodreaver. The Heaven-Splitting Slash erupted, a crescent of black qi that could cleave mountains. The Fist Immortal raised a hand, his qi forming a shimmering barrier of golden light. The slash struck, the impact shaking the pagoda, but the barrier held, absorbing Hajin's attack like water swallowing a stone.
Hajin's eyes narrowed. The Life and Death Realm was beyond him—its mastery of qi was absolute, a harmony of life and destruction that dwarfed his Earth Realm power. But he'd fought stronger foes and lived. He chained his attacks, the Demonic Tempest spiraling around him, black qi lashing like a storm. The Fist Immortal moved, his fists glowing with the Tai Chi Divine Fist, each strike a perfect blend of force and flow. Hajin dodged with the Shadow Veil Step, his body a blur, but the Immortal's fists were faster, grazing his ribs, cracking bone with a casual flick.
Pain flared, but Hajin pressed on, his Phantom Claw Strike tearing at the Immortal's robes. The elder countered with the Eight Trigrams Palm, a series of strikes that warped the air, each blow landing like a hammer. Hajin's meridians burned, his demonic qi straining to keep up. He unleashed the Black Lotus Bloom, illusory blades erupting around him, but the Immortal's qi dispersed them, his movements serene yet lethal. A palm strike hit Hajin's chest, sending him crashing through a shelf, scrolls scattering like leaves.
Blood dripped from Hajin's mouth as he rose, his vision swimming. The gap was undeniable—the Life and Death Realm was a wall he couldn't climb, not yet. But surrender wasn't in him. Reonhwa's pendant burned against his chest, her voice echoing: Defy them. He roared, channeling every ounce of his qi into the Neck-Slashing Strike. Bloodreaver sang, a black arc aimed at the Immortal's throat. For a moment, hope flickered—the strike was perfect, unstoppable.
The Fist Immortal raised a single finger, his qi coalescing into a point of golden light. The Tai Chi Divine Flow redirected Hajin's attack, turning his own force against him. Bloodreaver flew from his hand, embedding in the pagoda's wall, and a palm strike hit Hajin's sternum, shattering his ribs. He flew backward, crashing through the jade doors, tumbling down the cliff into the mist below.
He hit the ground, bones screaming, blood pooling beneath him. The Celestial Library's runes flared, alarms echoing across Cloudless Peak. Disciples would come soon, but Hajin was already fading, his qi depleted, his body broken. The Fist Immortal hadn't even pursued—Hajin wasn't worth the effort. The realization burned worse than his wounds. He'd come for enlightenment, for the Heaven Realm, for her. And he'd failed.
Clutching Reonhwa's pendant, he staggered to his feet, spitting blood. "Not yet," he rasped. "I'll come back. I'll break you all." He vanished into the mist, his defeat a scar deeper than any wound, but his resolve unbroken. The Wudang Sect had won this night, but the Neck-Slashing Demonic Emperor would return.