Splash—!
The sound of water broke the silence of the night.
A figure floated downstream until a crooked old man hooked him out with a bamboo pole.
Li Qiye coughed, gasped, and sat bolt upright as fingers pressed down on his pressure point.
"Ah—!" He jerked to his feet on instinct—but his legs gave out, almost sending him crashing back into the river.
He looked down.
His body was whole. Warm. Alive.
Li Qiye froze where he stood. After eons as the immortal crow of death, he had flesh again.
Even after countless lifetimes, that realization made his chest tremble.
He drew in a long, cold breath and looked up.
A hunch‑backed old man grinned at him from the riverbank.
"He‑he‑heh… old Three Smiles pulled you out of the river."
The man's grin was wide, three yellowed teeth glinting in the dark like crooked lanterns. Water still dripped off his chin, and his expression was far too lewd for a monk or hermit.
Li Qiye turned toward the mountains. Far away, through the fog, he could just make out the shadow of the Demon Immortal Cave.
His gaze turned cold.
That boy's frail body couldn't hide the depth in his eyes—an ancient resolve far older than thirteen years.
After a pause, he asked quietly, "What do they call you?"
"The Three Smiles Elder, of the Cleansing Dust Sect." The old man's grin widened, showing off those three miserable teeth again.
"Cleansing Dust Sect…" Li Qiye repeated softly.
The name stirred memories buried for millions of years. Too long had he lingered as a cursed crow—time itself had blurred to dust.
"Who commands the Heavenly Mandate now?" he asked.
Three Smiles scratched his stubbled chin and chuckled. "No one. The Three Realms are without a master."
Li Qiye's eyes narrowed. "And the Skystep Emperor?"
"Vanished—thirty thousand years ago." The old man's grin never faded, those three teeth flashing again.
"What about the Black Dragon King of Zhen Tian Sea City?"
"Disappeared around the same time."
Li Qiye's expression turned glacial. He glanced once more at the faint silhouette of the cave and understood.
So that was how he'd broken free from the eternal seal.
"Let's go," he said simply, turning away. He didn't care if the old man followed. After everything he'd endured, hesitation was a luxury he no longer allowed himself.
The City of Zhen Tian Sea
The city sprawled across the horizon like a sleeping giant—an island fortress radiating silent dominion.
Even after thirty millennia without its ruler, the Black Dragon King, its aura still crushed the restless seas and commanded awe from every shore.
Outside its walls stood an old man and a boy—one lecherous and squinting, the other quiet, distant.
Li Qiye knelt before the sea, lighting folded paper offerings.
The flame flickered weakly, its glow reflecting in his steady eyes.
"Rest well, Xiao Hei," he murmured. "In this life, you helped me reclaim my body.
When I rise again, I'll shatter the Demon Domain myself—and avenge you."
The fire burned out. Ashes drifted into the wind.
When he lifted his gaze, the mighty city towered before him, unchanged yet foreign.
He had once built it from the shadows, hidden behind another emperor's glory.
Now, after thirty thousand years, no one remembered the crow who had guided the Black Dragon King's hand.
"Let's head back to the Cleansing Dust Sect," Three Smiles said, baring his infamous grin.
Li Qiye nodded. "Alright."
After countless eras, even a mad old man failed to surprise him.
A Hidden Witness
Not long after the two departed, a woman stepped from the gates of Zhen Tian Sea City.
She was divine to look upon—clad in blue silks that shimmered with sea‑light, her presence calm yet piercing, like the goddess of the ocean herself.
At the base of the wall, she noticed the half‑burned paper ashes.
In the remaining soot, an ancient sigil shimmered faintly—the mark of a forgotten name.
Her pupils sharpened.
"Who burned offerings here?" she demanded.
A servant bowed hastily. "Princess, the guards say an old man and a young boy stopped here earlier."
"Find them. Now!"
"But, Princess, your departure to the Divine Mountain—"
"Find them first!" she cut him off. Her figure blurred into light and vanished into the distance.
She crossed mountains and rivers before the trail faded completely.
When she returned to the city, her expression was unreadable.
"That mark…" she murmured. "It hasn't appeared for tens of millennia. Why today? Enemy—or old ghost?"
"Princess," said her aged attendant softly, kneeling, "we found no trace."
"Lock down the city. Discreetly. Report anything. Immediately." Her voice was quiet but iron‑hard.
The attendant hesitated. "And… the Divine Mountain summons?"
"Canceled." The woman turned away, her divine aura folding like a tide. "I need to consult the ancestral archives. This omen isn't ordinary."
Without another word, she disappeared into the forbidden depths of Zhen Tian Sea City.
The Cleansing Dust Sect
Hidden within the lands of the Sacred Treasure Kingdom, the Cleansing Dust Sect's mountains had once glowed like celestial jade.
Eons ago, Emperor Mingren had established the sect to "cleanse the dust from the heart and witness the Dao."
Now its towers were cracked, its halls hushed—a relic of lost greatness.
Morning light broke across the peaks.
"Elder! Bad news!" a young disciple rushed into the main hall, breathless.
"There's a mortal at the gates saying he's here to be our chief disciple!"
"What?" The Grand Elder frowned. "A mortal? Chief Disciple? Throw him off the mountain!"
Within the Cleansing Dust Sect, the Chief Disciple was heir to the Sect Master's seat—an honor beyond the reach of even most geniuses.
"But… Elder… he was recommended by Three Smiles Elder."
That name made the Grand Elder twitch. "Him again? Probably drunk and making promises he can't keep."
The Cleansing Dust Sect knew Three Smiles Elder all too well—a gambler, a drunk, and a lecher. He called himself "The Triple Virtue Saint" for those vices and was infamously nicknamed Three Smiles.
Yet no one dared treat him harshly.
Rumors claimed he was the illegitimate son of a former sect master; others whispered he carried the blood of an even older patriarch.
Whatever the truth, the old fool had protection.
"Let him babble. Just keep him away from the gate," the Grand Elder muttered, waving a hand.
The disciple hesitated. "But… he's holding the Cleansing Dust Order."
Silence crashed down like a blade.
"What?" The Grand Elder's face turned dark. After a long pause, he said coldly, "Summon the elders. Bring that mortal inside."
The Cleansing Dust Order—one of three relics left by Emperor Mingren himself.
Whoever held it was regarded as acting under the emperor's will, entitled to one unconditional demand from the sect.
That relic had vanished ages ago—rumored to be in the filthy hands of Three Smiles Elder.
Now it had resurfaced.
The great hall filled with incense smoke. At its center stood Li Qiye, gazing up at the statue of Emperor Mingren — its ancient stone features still radiating divine might, heavy enough to make mountains bow.
Li Qiye's expression was calm, touched with faint melancholy.
Time changes everything. Empires fall. Kings fade.
But he… he still walked the world.
At last, he had taken back his human form.
And though those once at his side had turned to dust, the path ahead was his alone.