The moonlight was dull that night. As though the sky itself refused to shine upon Liu Shen anymore.
He sat alone beneath the crumbling archway of the ancient temple ruins, the Severance Scroll unrolled before him. Its nine chains had unraveled the moment his soul seal activated. Now, the parchment glowed with dim silver runes that shifted with his breath.
> "To sever fate is to reject the will of the world."
That was the first line. And with it came understanding.
He didn't need to read the technique like a mortal.
It flowed into him.
Like a curse being remembered.
Like a blade unsheathed in a storm.
---
The Art That Defies Heaven
> "Severance Art: First Form — Threadless Soul."
A circle of black light formed around Liu Shen. All energy—spiritual, demonic, divine—refused to approach him. Even the ground beneath him cracked as it was cut off from the leylines of qi.
Yu Meixing and Lei Qing, watching from a distance, flinched.
> "What is that...?" Lei Qing whispered.
> "He's cutting his connection to everything," Meixing replied grimly. "Including us."
The moment the First Form activated, Liu Shen vanished from all sensing techniques. No spiritual pressure. No heartbeat. No aura. It was like he didn't exist.
But to the heavens, it was even worse.
They couldn't see him anymore.
---
The Vault of Fallen Sects
By dawn, the trio descended into the valley known as the Hollow Cradle—a scar in the earth said to be formed when six ancient sects were annihilated by Heaven's Pact centuries ago.
Buried within it lay the Vault of Fallen Sects.
According to Yi Wusheng, it was built by rogue cultivators who tried to preserve their heretical arts after Heaven declared them forbidden.
> "If Severance has a twin… it lies here," Liu Shen murmured.
They reached the vault's gate by midday: two broken jade pillars wrapped in chains of celestial origin. Divine glyphs shimmered across the surface.
But Liu Shen raised his hand—and the Severance Seal on his chest glowed.
With a hiss, the chains recoiled.
The glyphs cracked.
And the vault opened.
---
Inside the Vault
It was no mere tomb.
The interior was massive—a cathedral of crumbling artifacts, ruined scrolls, broken talismans, and statues of heretic cultivators long erased from history.
Most were destroyed beyond recovery.
But Liu Shen moved with certainty, as if led by instinct.
And deep within the central chamber, resting upon a black altar, was a mirror. Fractured. Covered in dust.
> "That's it," Meixing whispered, eyes wide. "That's..."
> "The Celestial Echo Mirror," Liu Shen finished.
> "What does it do?" Lei Qing asked.
Liu Shen approached the mirror cautiously.
> "It reflects a person's soul—not just who they are, but who they were... and who they could be."
---
Meixing's Forgotten Past
As Liu Shen drew near, the mirror shimmered.
But instead of reflecting his soul—it glowed brighter toward Meixing.
A beam of pale light struck her chest.
She gasped, stumbling back, but Liu Shen caught her before she fell.
> "What is this…?" she murmured.
The mirror's surface shifted.
And then—images.
Meixing… in white celestial robes.
Standing before a tribunal of divine cultivators.
Her voice clear, cold:
> "I volunteer for infiltration. I will make the Demon Sovereign love me."
Lei Qing's breath caught.
Liu Shen's eyes narrowed—but not in anger.
> "So it was true," he said softly.
Meixing fell to her knees.
> "I didn't know… I don't remember saying that…"
The mirror changed again.
A later memory—Meixing lying on the ground, covered in blood, screaming at heavenly envoys:
> "You said you'd spare him!"
> "You promised!"
> "I gave you everything!"
Then, a divine spear piercing her chest—her memory ending in betrayal.
> "They erased her… just like they did to me."
---
Shattered Truths
Meixing trembled.
> "They altered my soul… they made me forget."
> "They used both of us," Liu Shen said, voice low. "We were never enemies. We were sacrifices."
He stood and placed his hand on her shoulder.
> "The Severance Art can cut even divine memory seals."
She looked up. "You mean…?"
> "Yes," he said. "I can give you your truth back."
But as he activated the Severance Seal to begin the process—
The vault shook.
A blinding light exploded from the mirror.
And from its cracked surface stepped a figure wrapped in white bandages, carrying a blade of divine crystal.
> "The Guardian of Memory," Liu Shen muttered grimly.
---
The Guardian Awakens
The figure's voice was a haunting echo.
> "He who claims forbidden knowledge must pay the price."
Liu Shen stepped forward, Severance Seal glowing.
> "Then come collect it."
The Guardian's blade struck—and their battle shattered the vault's altar.
Every strike of the divine weapon was meant to erase existence.
But Liu Shen moved like a phantom.
No divine law could touch him now.
And with the Second Form of Severance—Heavenfall Fang, he struck back.
> SHHRRRK!
A crimson blade of soul force tore through the Guardian's chest.
The figure screamed—not in pain, but in remembrance.
> "Your fate… is unbound," it rasped before dissolving.
---
Aftermath
Silence returned to the vault.
Meixing stood shakily.
> "Did… did you sever the heavens again?"
Liu Shen nodded. "And we're not done yet."
He turned to the remains of the altar.
Among the rubble lay a small crystalline orb—pulsing with faint blue light.
> "A Heaven's Witness," he breathed.
Lei Qing stepped closer. "That's… the thing they used to monitor sects during the old war, right?"
Liu Shen grinned.
> "No. It's the thing that can expose Heaven's lies."
He turned to his companions.
> "We've found the evidence. Now we prepare for war."