From a distance, several cultivators observed them enter the palace's domain.
"Young outsiders," one of the elder cultivators murmured.
"Bold," another sneered.
A middle-aged man with cold, eagle-like eyes stepped forward. Behind him, his cosmic soul flickered faintly, manifesting as a Silver-Blood Serpent.
"Send three juniors," he commanded. "Eliminate the intruders quietly and erase all traces."
The subordinates bowed in acknowledgement.
Feet shuffled.
Three figures disappeared into the mist.
Back at the palace, Yu Lianxue traced the carved symbols on the gate. A thin shimmer spread across the stone like ripples on water. The restrictions were intact but weakened.
Together, the twins activated their lotus-based soul powers. Frost swirled with heat, two energies coiling around each other in perfect, unnatural harmony. The runes cracked, flared, and then shattered with a crystalline echo.
The ancient gate slowly creaked open.
Inside, dust drifted through the still air. Broken columns lay scattered across the grand hall. Yet the deeper they explored, the more intact the chambers appeared.
They moved from room to room, uncovering:
• Cultivation slips etched with forgotten techniques • Old spirit beads used to temper meridians • A box of gathering pills, sealed with a faint medicinal fragrance • Fragments of formation plates humming with residual power
Everything they discovered spoke of an era far more advanced than their own.
In the deepest chamber, they came upon a solitary cultivation dwelling with a stone pedestal at its centre. Resting atop it was an enormous tome bound in dark-woven hide.
The Alchemy Atlas.
The book vibrated gently, radiating restrained knowledge. Dozens of diagrams, medicinal patterns, and flame-control marks lay sealed within its thick pages.
Chu Feng stepped forward.
He placed a hand on the Atlas. It throbbed faintly beneath his palm. He lifted it.
No one objected. It was clear who the book belonged to.
When they finally stepped out of the palace, bags heavy with treasures and spirits high, the world greeted them with silence.
Suddenly,
Ruffle... ruffle...
The grass shifted.
Figures emerged from behind broken pillars.
Three men. Each bore the same serpent emblem on their robes. Their cosmic souls glimmered faintly behind them, small serpents with gleaming eyes.
Poison cultivators.
The attack came without warning.
A cloud of pale smoke erupted through the air. Yu Lianxue reacted instantly, frost surging around her, but the smoke twisted unnaturally, bypassing her shield and curling around to engulf her and Yu Lianyan from behind.
Their bodies stiffened.
Breaths grew shallow.
Poison.
Chu Feng spun in shock as Jìn Bǎo dropped to one knee, talismans flickering weakly around him while purple veins crawled across his skin.
The three attackers advanced. Their killing intent was unmistakable. They had not come to steal.
They had come to kill.
Sword light slashed toward Chu Feng's face. He barely parried, stepping back. Another strike came from behind, blurring his vision.
He saw Yu Lianxue's skin pale. He saw Yu Lianyan's hands trembling. He saw Jìn Bǎo clutching his throat, struggling to breathe.
Their lives teetered on a knife's edge.
Something inside him snapped.
His breathing sharpened. His vision blurred. His heartbeat twisted into a violent, uncontrollable rhythm.
"Enough."
The whisper tore itself from his throat.
His black-and-white hair flared wildly, whipping through the air. His cosmic soul erupted, runic light intertwining with sword-light, pulsing with unrestrained fury.
The three attackers stumbled back in sudden fear.
Too late.
Chu Feng moved.
Not with technique.
Not with clarity.
But with instinct fueled by rage.
His sword intent exploded outward. The ground split in a violent arc. His blade struck the first man before a scream could escape. Blood sprayed. The second man fled, only to be torn apart by a downward slash. The third tried to summon a barrier but was cleaved cleanly in two.
Silence fell across the battlefield.
Chu Feng stood among three lifeless bodies, panting and shaking, not from exertion but from shock at what he had done.
His eyes slowly cleared.
He looked down.
Blood soaked his hands. Blood from human lives he ended.
His sword clattered to the ground.
"I… killed… someone…"
His voice trembled. His knees shook as the world dimmed around him.
Then faint cries echoed in the distance.
A towering phantom of immense power emerged from the shadows, pointing a finger at Chu Feng, ready to obliterate him.
As the finger drew closer, something on his chest flared to life.
The talisman Han Long had given him, soaked in blood, ignited with blinding golden light.
Runes spiralled beneath the four of them, forming an intricate teleportation array. It activated on its own, pulling them inward.
The talisman blazed even brighter.
A flash of white swallowed everything.
The four of them vanished.
The phantom froze mid-strike.
Moments later, it dissolved, revealing an elderly man. His eyes narrowed as he scanned the sky, as though searching for someone far away.
After a long, heavy silence, he sighed.
Within a hall, Yu Lianyan awakened first.
Her eyes fluttered open, vision blurred for a moment before the ceiling above came into focus. The faint scent of medicinal herbs drifted from a nearby incense burner, and a familiar pattern of warding runes glowed softly around the room.
A recovery chamber.
Her pulse quickened.
She sat up immediately, snapping her gaze toward her twin.
Yu Lianxue lay beside her and opened her eyes as well. Across the room, Jìn Bǎo was sprawled inelegantly across his bed, rousing from sleep.
Relief lasted only a second.
The twins' expressions hardened simultaneously.
They scanned the room, tense and alert, hands already moving toward their weapons.
"Chu Feng—?"
Both called out at the same time.
No answer.
The silence only sharpened their anxiety.
Before they could rise fully, a soft sliding sound came from the door. An inner sect attendant stepped inside, bowing quickly.
"You are awake. Good. The poison and injuries have been treated."
Yu Lianyan shot forward. "Where are we?"
The attendant blinked, taken aback.
"You are in the Sword Sect."
The twins froze.
Jìn Bǎo sat up abruptly, his hair a wild mess.
"…Sect?" he whispered.
A week ago, they had been trapped in a deadly secret realm, fighting for their lives. Chu Feng had been covered in blood, losing control. Then the blinding light of the talisman…
The attendant's next words struck them like thunder.