The night air on the fifth peak of the Argent Moon Sect was sharp, carrying the faint scent of spirit grass and the hum of distant waterfalls. Jian Feng moved through the shadows, the Nine Serenities Jade strapped to his back, its weight both a comfort and a reminder. The paper crane's message—etched with the seal of the Ministry of Karmic Ledgers—burned in his mind: Seek the Veiled Star Marquis in the Court of Dust and Ashes. Your first debt awaits.
He didn't know what the Court was, only that it lay beyond the mortal realms, a place where the heavens' agents mingled with those bold or desperate enough to bargain with them. The thought sent a shiver through his Golden Core, where the Debt-Bonds coiled like living chains. Each step he took toward answering the summons felt like a tightening of those chains, a reminder that Heaven's blessings were never free.
The sect's celestial gate stood at the peak's edge, a towering arch of jade carved with constellations that pulsed faintly in the moonlight. Two Inner Disciples stood guard, their spears gleaming with low-grade spirit enchantments. Jian Feng paused in the shadows, his breath steady. He couldn't afford to be seen. Not now, when the elders' eyes followed him too closely, their whispers hinting at plans he wasn't privy to.
The Nine Serenities Jade hummed softly, its spirit stirring in his mind. "The heavens watch," she whispered, her jade-eyed form flickering like a half-remembered dream. "But they also provide."
As if on cue, a warmth bloomed in Jian Feng's chest. His vision sharpened, the world slowing as if time itself bent to his will. The guards' movements became predictable, their patrols leaving a fleeting gap as one turned to adjust his spear. A blessing, unasked for, unearned. Another chain snapped into place around his Golden Core, thin but undeniable.
Jian Feng slipped past the guards, his steps silent as a falling leaf, and pressed his hand to the gate. The constellations flared, and the world dissolved into light.
When his senses returned, Jian Feng stood in a place that defied mortal understanding. The Court of Dust and Ashes sprawled before him, a vast bazaar floating in a void of swirling gray mist. Pavilions of black jade and bone-white marble hovered without support, linked by bridges of shimmering starlight. The air buzzed with a cacophony of voices—some human, others guttural or melodic beyond mortal tongues. Figures moved through the mist: an immortal in robes of liquid gold, a spirit with eyes like burning coals, a cloaked figure whose form flickered like a broken mirage.
Jian Feng's soul trembled. A new Debt-Bond, heavier than the last, coiled around his core—the price of crossing realms. He could see it now, a chain of starlit silver, pulsing with the weight of the heavens' investment.
A figure approached, cloaked in tattered gray, its face hidden beneath a hood. "Newcomer," it rasped, its voice like stones grinding in a riverbed. "State your purpose, or the Court claims you."
Jian Feng's hand twitched toward his sword, but he forced it still. "I seek the Veiled Star Marquis," he said, his voice steady despite the unease curling in his gut.
The figure froze. Whispers rippled through the nearby stalls, and eyes turned to him—some curious, others predatory. "The Marquis does not meet the uninvited," the figure said. "Show your token."
Token? Jian Feng's mind raced. The crane had given no such thing. But the Nine Serenities Jade pulsed, and a faint glow bloomed in his palm—a jade sigil, etched with a single star, its edges shimmering like a dying comet. Another blessing. Another chain, this one thicker, its links cold against his soul.
The figure studied the sigil, then inclined its head. "Follow. Break the Court's rules, and no heaven will save you."
The Court's heart was a maze of floating platforms, each connected by bridges that shimmered like liquid light. Jian Feng's guide moved with unnatural grace, weaving through crowds of beings that defied description. A merchant with six arms haggled over a glowing orb; a fox spirit with nine tails whispered to a cloaked figure whose face was a void. The air thrummed with power, but beneath it, Jian Feng sensed something else—a watchful presence, as if the Court itself were alive, judging every step.
The guide's voice cut through his thoughts. "The Court has three rules," it said, not turning. "Speak no falsehood, for the Court hears all. Draw no weapon, lest the Court binds your soul. Trade no favor without a witnessed oath. Break these, and you will wish for death."
Jian Feng memorized the words, his mind sharp despite the weight of the new Debt-Bond. The rules were not mere suggestions; they were woven into the fabric of this place, as binding as the chains in his soul.
They stopped before a pavilion draped in black silk, its entrance flanked by a statue of a coiling dragon, its eyes twin nebulae that seemed to watch him. "The Marquis waits within," the guide said, vanishing into the mist.
Jian Feng hesitated, his hand brushing the Nine Serenities Jade. The spirit was silent, but he felt her presence, a quiet warning. Whatever lay beyond this threshold would change everything.
He stepped inside, the starlight fading behind him.
To be continued…
What awaits Jian Feng in the pavilion of the Veiled Star Marquis? Can he navigate the Court's deadly rules and unravel the mystery of his first debt? Drop a comment and join Jian Feng in a cosmos of chains and secrets!