Far beneath the battlefield, the gate pulsed like a slumbering heart, each beat sending ripples of ancient energy across the sea floor. The symbols etched into the stone groaned, glowing a deep crimson as cracks spread through their once-eternal form.
And above, in the skies of the Eastern Sea, cultivators stood still—because the heavens themselves had gone silent.
No wind.
No waves.
No sound.
Only a tension so thick it felt like the realm itself was holding its breath.
---
Qingye Sect Command Pavilion
Elder Qiu's hand trembled as he withdrew a jade slip, its surface fractured.
> "This is from the Sealing Pavilion…" he muttered. "It just shattered."
An elder beside him paled. "The Abyss Gate? But that was sealed long before the Immortal War—!"
> "And now it stirs," Qiu snapped. "We need to evacuate the outer disciples. Prepare the formation arrays. And someone—find Lin Ho."
---
Coastline – Moments Earlier
Lin Ho rose slowly, Chaos Qi spinning tightly around his limbs. Whatever had reached out from the depths—it hadn't been aggressive. It hadn't even tried to harm him.
But it had spoken to his blood.
That was what disturbed him.
His Primal Chaos Bloodline, forged in the earliest moments of the universe, recognized the energy beneath the trench.
Not as enemy.
But as… kin?
> "This isn't demonic Qi," he murmured. "It's too pure… too old."
Bai Qing approached, now wrapped in an emergency healing talisman.
> "You're trembling."
> "Something ancient is beneath us," he said, "and it knows who I am."
She paused.
> "Then we shouldn't be here."
> "No," Lin Ho said, tightening his grip on his blade. "We must go closer."
---
Deep Trench – The Awakening
A single claw breached the gate's inner seal—translucent, thin, and yet crackling with dormant divinity.
Not a demon.
Not a beast.
But a creature from the First Era.
Something neither good nor evil. Merely… ancient.
Within the Oracle's chamber, waves exploded outward. Her pearl shattered. Her eyes bled black.
> "The seal weakens," she gasped. "The Primordial is waking."
And worse still—its eyes were already open.
---
Lin Ho's Vision – Fractured Time
The world twisted.
For a moment, he saw beyond time. Fields of stars. Planets cracking. Celestial beasts bowing before a titanic figure that radiated the same Qi within his own veins.
A voice boomed.
> "You are heir to chaos. Bearer of the Spiral Vein."
> "Unseal me. Or perish beneath the second tide."
Lin Ho stumbled back. "I don't… understand."
> "You will. Soon."
---
Back on the Battlefield
Elder Qiu arrived just as a massive fissure split the coastline, black mist erupting like a reversed waterfall. Formations activated, glowing blue nets weaving across the air.
> "Everyone back!" he commanded.
But Lin Ho stepped forward.
> "I need to go down there."
The elders froze.
> "What did you say?"
> "Whatever is waking… it's tied to me."
He unsheathed his blade—chaotic gold and midnight black surged around it.
> "If I don't stop it, no one else can."
And before anyone could stop him, Lin Ho leapt into the abyss.
---
End of Chapter 63