The night was cold on the mountain ledge, yet not from the wind—it was a chill born of the unknown, of paths that diverged beyond mortal understanding. Beneath the stars, Li Yi sat alone, knees crossed and palms resting on his lap, Chaos Qi spiraling around him like silent embers. His breaths were calm, controlled, each exhale brushing the silver grass that grew on the cliff's edge.
Behind him, the others slept in a protective array Lan Qing'er had constructed—layers of talismanic light that repelled wandering beasts and lingering soul wraiths. Only Xue Lian remained awake, perched like a ghostly figure beneath the twisted branches of a spirit pine, her gaze fixed on Li Yi.
"Your Qi… it's too ancient to belong in this realm," she said quietly, approaching. "Even the Abyss Envoys feared it."
Li Yi opened his eyes, their depths now holding flecks of violet and gold—signs of a bloodline awakening faster than he could fully understand. "That's because it doesn't belong here," he said. "I think I wasn't meant to be born in the Xuan Realm."
Xue Lian stopped beside him. "Then where?"
He looked at the stars.
"The God Realm," he answered. "I don't know how I know it. But the deeper I cultivate, the more I feel like… I've only returned to the beginning."
She was silent for a moment. "Then perhaps your presence was the thread that reopened what was once sealed."
Li Yi didn't respond, but something shifted in his core. A subtle cracking—like an invisible lock had loosened. His Chaos Core trembled. His cultivation surged.
[Core Foundation – Late Stage]
Across the field, Mo Ruyan stirred. Zhao Feiyu jolted awake moments later, his hand already on his weapon.
"Something changed," Ruyan whispered.
Lan Qing'er's eyes fluttered open. "His realm increased again…"
"It's more than that," Feiyu said, narrowing his eyes. "Did you feel that ripple in the spiritual net?"
"Yes," Xue Lian confirmed. "A gate just stirred. A spatial gate between realms."
Li Yi stood, his aura rippling with dark brilliance. "We don't have much time. The Abyss won't wait. And if the last descendant of the Celestial Flame General has already fallen into their hands…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
The group gathered as Xue Lian activated an ancient mirror she pulled from her pouch—an artifact infused with bloodline recognition. The surface shimmered and cracked with light. Lines of glowing scripture danced across its face.
"This mirror once belonged to my ancestor," she explained. "It was used to observe battles in the upper realms. I've modified it to serve as a realm-linking gate."
"You can open a path to the Shadowverse with this?" Lan Qing'er asked in disbelief.
"Only temporarily. And the path will be unstable. We'll be vulnerable during transit."
Li Yi's voice was calm but commanding. "Then we go through together. We fight together."
She nodded.
With a flare of spiritual light, the mirror expanded into a circular gate. The winds howled as spatial pressure bled through the opening—beyond it was a world unlike the Xuan Realm. The skies were gray, choked with swirling mists. Towers floated upside down in the distance, and the ground itself shimmered with dark spirit lines.
They stepped through.
The moment they arrived in the Shadowverse, a storm of foreign Qi slammed into them. Li Yi's Chaos Qi instinctively shielded the group, forming a dome as they landed on blackened soil that crackled with static.
"Stay close," he warned.
The realm was quiet, too quiet. Not a beast stirred, not a single insect chirped. The silence was oppressive.
"Where do we begin?" Zhao Feiyu asked, scanning the horizon.
"We don't," Xue Lian said. "It begins with us."
As if summoned by her words, shadowy figures rose from the surrounding mists—warriors clad in translucent armor, their faces hidden behind masks carved with demonic runes. Not alive. Not dead.
"Shadebound," Mo Ruyan whispered. "These are souls cursed by the Abyss. Their presence means the fragment bearer is close."
Li Yi didn't hesitate. "Spread out, protect the mirror. We can't lose the return anchor."
The Shadebound attacked.
Spiritual steel clashed with shadow claws. Lan Qing'er formed a defensive perimeter of starlight, while Zhao Feiyu cut through the vanguard with blazing strikes. Mo Ruyan danced between enemies, her light needles piercing unprotected soul nodes.
Li Yi dove into the thick of it, his Chaos Blade swirling with devouring energy. Each swing erased two or more enemies, but for every one that fell, another rose.
Xue Lian summoned vines of glowing orchids that entangled dozens at once, buying time for Li Yi to breach their rear line.
In the center of the swarm stood a young man.
He was dressed in tattered robes, his skin pale, his eyes flickering between clarity and madness. Around his neck hung a broken talisman—a remnant of Celestial Flame ancestry.
"The last descendant," Li Yi realized.
But the boy turned, his face twisted. "You shouldn't have come…"
Dark energy surged from him, and behind him rose a pillar of Abyssal flame. The mists swirled violently, and from the fire emerged a demonic figure—taller than any of them, cloaked in broken chains and with eyes of molten void.
"Abyssal Lord," Xue Lian gasped.
The Shadebound fell to their knees as the Lord stepped forward, chains dragging behind him. His voice echoed across the realm.
"You brought the source of Chaos to me. Foolish."
Li Yi didn't flinch. "I didn't come for you. I came for him."
The Abyssal Lord smiled. "Then take him. If you can survive."
The ground cracked.
Li Yi's Chaos Qi swelled to the heavens. Behind him, his allies formed a protective circle around the mirror. Even Xue Lian began weaving a forbidden spell from the Ghost Orchid archives—one that could momentarily freeze time in the immediate area.
"Ruyan, Feiyu, Qing'er—delay the Lord," Li Yi ordered. "Lian, maintain the gate."
"And you?" Zhao Feiyu asked.
Li Yi stepped toward the lost descendant. "I'll break the curse."
With a roar, the battle for the lost flame began.
And deep in Li Yi's bloodline, something ancient stirred once more. A whisper across the vast cosmos. A voice that said:
"Become more than a cultivator. Become the balance of realms."
—
End of Chapter 20
(Ready for Chapter 21?)