As the sun crested over the horizon, casting a soft glow over the rugged path ahead, Mo Tianzun, Zhao Longxuan, Jiang Fenglie, and the Liu Twins departed from the seduction village. The lingering sense of unease from that place still clung to their cloaks, but they had little time to rest.
The road to the next village was flanked by silver-leaved trees that whispered in the wind. As they walked, Fenglan kept the mood light with his endless chatter.
"I swear," he said dramatically, twirling a strand of grass in his fingers, "if the next place is haunted by seductive spirits again, I'm letting Zhenhai go first. He's immune to charm with that stone face."
Zhenhai rolled his eyes. "Keep talking and you'll be feeding the spirits with that sharp tongue."
Mo Tianzun trailed behind, unusually quiet. The misty memories of the mysterious village they pass by, played again in his mind—the eerie stillness, the lifeless smiles on those porcelain faces and those love demons. But it wasn't the dolls that disturbed him most or those lowly love demons. It was the subtle, almost invisible signature of energy he'd sensed there, one that matched an old, bitter memory.
"Liu Shengjie…" he muttered under his breath.
Longxuan, walking beside him, turned his head slightly. "Hm?"
Tianzun shook his head. "Nothing."
But it wasn't nothing. Deep inside, Mo Tianzun felt a quiet certainty growing: all of this—the sudden appearance of monsters, the destabilization of qi across the realms, the twisted game of fate—was tied to Liu Shengjie. Though Shengjie had once been the revered God of War, Mo Tianzun knew better than to trust divine titles. Especially not from the one who had once struck him down.
He remembered the pain, the betrayal. Shengjie had killed him not out of hatred, but out of cold strategy—clearing a path toward his own ascension. Becoming a god among gods.
As they neared the next village, they were greeted not by guards or farmers, but by a peculiar silence. It was peaceful—but too peaceful. Suspiciously so.
Just before the village entrance, they passed a clear stream with stepping stones. Two figures stood on the opposite side—one cloaked in sea-blue silk, the other in pristine white robes, a soft fox tail trailing behind him. Their elegant appearances glimmered with spiritual resonance.
Zhenhai's eyes widened. "Yun Huayin? CANGLONG SHUIYUN YOU'RE ALIVE!?"
Fenglan nearly dropped his sword. "the famous water dragon canglong SHUIYUN!?You're alive!? And with uncle Huayin!?"
The two figures turned. CanglongShuiyun—the Water Dragon—blinked slowly, confusion dancing in his calm features. Yun Huayin, the Nine-Tailed Fox, stepped forward with measured grace, a hand unconsciously brushing the edge of his sleeve.
"It has been… decades," Huayin said softly. "We had heard… strange things. Is it true? Is that…"
The Liu Twins looked toward Mo Tianzun and smiled. "This is Tianzun," Zhenhai said. "He's alive."
The words landed like thunder.
Shuiyun's body went still. Huayin's eyes narrowed, his throat bobbing as if caught in disbelief.
"But… we heard…" Shuiyun finally said, voice cracking slightly, "we heard he was pushed off a cliff… by Liu Shengjie."
Mo Tianzun gave them a small nod. "That much is true. But it didn't kill me."
Huayin stepped closer, his usually composed expression breaking. "You… you're really here?"
"I'm here," Tianzun replied, voice steady. "But Liu Xuanji is totally gone. Only Mo Tianzun remains."
Shuiyun said with emotion. "You saved me once. If you ever need us now…"
"I may," Tianzun interrupted. "Something far worse is coming. Whatever Shengjie started isn't over. The balance of the world is slipping."
The group fell into a heavy silence before Longxuan clapped a hand on Tianzun's shoulder. "Then we'll face it. Together."
Huayin, ever the perceptive one, looked toward the distant village gates and whispered, "Let's see what secrets this next place holds."
With allies reunited and suspicions sharpening, the group advanced again—toward the mysterious village, and perhaps toward truth.