The northern wind bit like icy teeth when Zhao Lengxuan—Leon—descended through the clouds. Midnight painted the land in shades of silver and shadow. A wasteland stretched before him: dead trees bowed beneath frost, houses reduced to broken silhouettes, and the air itself thick with corrupted qi.
He landed softly on snow that cracked under his boots. The entire valley was too quiet,no insects, no wind, no heartbeat. Not even the natural pulse of the world's spiritual energy.
Something had drained it.
Something had replaced it.
Leon exhaled slowly, mist curling from his lips.
"This place is worse than the reports said."
He swept his palm through the air. A ripple of spiritual sense burst outward—meeting resistance immediately, like pushing against invisible webs.
"Demonic formation," he muttered. "Refined and ancient."
He reached into his robe and pulled out a blank talisman slip. With swift, practiced strokes, he infused the paper with golden qi. Lines curved, intersected, and flared until the talisman hummed with sealing energy.
He pressed it to the frozen ground.
A pulse of light surged outward in a ring.
Boom.
The world shook.
Then all noise vanished.
The talisman's sphere sealed the entire valley, suppressing every ripple of qi.
No sound could escape.
No spiritual signature could leak.
No one beyond this place would sense the coming battle.
Leon straightened.
"Now," he murmured. "Let's see what you're hiding."
---
He walked through the abandoned village—frost clinging to shattered windows, doors hanging open as though the inhabitants had fled mid-breath. His steps echoed softly, too loud in the dead silence.
A overturned bowl lay on the ground. A cracked lantern.
A trail of dark stains leading toward the ravine.
Leon crouched near a wall where demonic symbols were carved—jagged, pulsating faintly.
"Someone prepared this place as a nest," he whispered. "Someone knowledgeable."
His hand hovered over the carvings.
Heat burned his fingers.
Demonic qi pulsed beneath the surface like a living heartbeat.
It led him to the ravine.
A yawning crack split the earth, spiraling downward like a throat. Dark fog seeped from its depths—heavy, suffocating, ancient.
Leon drew his blade.
The metal flashed silver.
The temperature dropped further.
He stepped into the abyss.
---
The Nest
The air changed the deeper he went—warmer, thicker, filled with whispers. The walls glowed faintly with red lines, webbing together into demonic patterns. Something here was awakening.
Leon reached the cavern floor.
And froze.
Dozens of corpses lay arranged like an altar—lifeless bodies of animals and even humans, drained of qi, eyes hollow.
A massive demonic sigil radiated beneath them.
And standing at the center—
Two figures.
Tall.
Armored in black scales.
Eyes burning with crimson fire.
The moment they sensed him, the cavern trembled.
One demon hissed, voice grinding like broken stone.
"Immortal… you should not have come alone."
Leon lifted his blade, cold expression unfazed.
"Then let me correct your expectations."
---
"You're welcome to seek your death"
The first demon lunged forward, claws slicing through the air. Leon slid aside, blade meeting its arm with a bright clash. Sparks flew. The force rattled the walls.
The second demon charged from behind.
Leon twisted, dodging by a hair.
They coordinated.
They were intelligent.
They were Ascension-level.
Leon's eyes sharpened.
"This will be troublesome."
He summoned silver qi into his palm—
Heaven Piercing Art.
A blast of energy erupted, sending both demons skidding backward. The cavern floor cracked beneath the impact.
But they recovered instantly.
Demonic qi roared like wildfire.
The first demon formed a spear of darkness.
The second conjured chains dripping with corrupted qi.
Both attacked at once.
Leon met them head-on.
Steel clashed with darkness.
Qi collided with demonic flames.
The cavern shook as though the mountain itself feared the battle.
---
Leon leapt upward, kicking off a stalactite before coming down with a spinning strike. His blade carved through the first demon's arm. Black ichor sprayed. The demon roared.
Leon didn't give it time.
He thrust forward, embedding his blade directly into its core.
Boom—!
A shockwave burst outward as the demon exploded into dust and shadow. The cavern cracked, walls splitting.
Leon landed on one knee, breathing harder now.
"One down."
But victory tasted hollow.
Because the second demon was already behind him.
---
Leon dodge too slow.
A demonic chain whipped around his torso. The impact sent agony ripping through his ribs. He coughed blood but grabbed the chain with both hands, channeling pure silver qi through it.
The demon snarled and released it—too corrupted to withstand the purity.
But the damage was done.
Blood trickled down Leon's side.
Something inside felt… torn.
"Mid-stage indeed," he whispered, wincing.
The demon laughed.
"You bleed, immortal. You bleed well."
Leon stood, blade steady despite the pain.
"Shame you won't live to enjoy it."
They clashed again, force shaking dust from the ceiling. Leon managed to slice across its chest, tearing scales apart.
The demon recoiled—then stopped.
It sensed something.
A pulse.
A distant stir.
A presence approaching from far away.
It hissed and retreated into the shadows, demonic mist swirling behind it.
"We are not finished."
Leon tried to pursue—
But his injury flared. His vision blurred.
He dropped to one knee.
Breathing hard, he pressed a hand to his wound. Silver qi struggled to contain the corruption.
He forced himself to stand.
He dragged himself back through the tunnel, each step heavier than the last.
When he reached the surface, dawn was just beginning to break—a thin line of pale gold touching the horizon.
Leon looked toward the sky, toward the south, toward home.
Toward Logan.
And whispered:
"Damn this is going to take sometime."
The wind carried his words away as he collapsed against a frost-covered rock, eyes closing, preparing his strength for the next battle.
---