As they first arrived at the Autumn Maple Secret Realm, everyone was stunned by the scene before their eyes.
The barrier was already gone, and the once dense forest had been reduced to nothing but withered, lifeless trees. The sky inside the secret realm was utterly different from the one outside.
The sky here was a fiery orange red, as if someone had set the forest ablaze, forming a striking contrast with the clear blue sky beyond—like stepping into another dimension entirely.
At this moment, Han Ling had only one thought: to find his disciple as soon as possible.
"I'm sure everyone already has their own suspicions. No more pointless chatter go see for yourselves."
"Disembark and fly on your swords!"
Han Ling led his sect disciples toward the center of the secret realm. The other sects followed as well, all of them silent along the way, because the further in they went, the more wretched the surroundings became plants and animals alike were withered, their corpses pitiful and grim.
On some of the animal and plant remains, faint black smoke still curled upward, then as if guided with purpose drifted toward the very center of the realm.
"Is this… meant to drain all the spiritual energy from this place?" the Grand Elder muttered, frowning deeply.
The Third Elder crouched to inspect a beast carcass and remarked,
"It looks like someone clawed it open, ripped out the organs… but didn't even take them away. I don't get it."
Han Ling glanced around at the other animal corpses sure enough, they were all the same split open, their entrails pulled out but left there.
"But… no one's fingernails could possibly be this long, right? I fear… it wasn't done by a human…" the Third Elder murmured.
Han Ling heard this and nodded slightly.
"Open your Celestial Eyes."
In this era where spiritual energy was growing thinner and thinner, few people were naturally born with the Celestial Eye; most had to rely on incantations or special talismans to open it, or else they'd never see the hidden world beneath the surface.
The crowd quickly closed their eyes, drew a few hand seals, and chanted as they opened their Celestial Eyes:
"Heaven and Earth open, Yin and Yang reveal, spirits and ghosts of the Three Realms, show your true names. By decree of the Grand Supreme Elder Lord, open my Celestial Eyes, reveal your true forms!"
The other sects behind them also followed suit.
Disciples with lower cultivation took out prepared leaves of seven star grass inscribed with talismans from their storage pouches, pressed them to their eyes, and likewise recited the incantation.
Then—
"!!!"
Everyone gasped when they opened their Celestial Eyes, for the scene before them was completely different from what they'd seen moments ago.
The sky in the secret realm had turned a deep, ominous purple black, an ill omen hanging heavy in the air.
"Look at the center," Han Ling said coldly.
As they drew closer, Han Ling finally saw what the disciples had reported earlier the massive body of the Yin Serpent, with a white glow emanating from beneath it, clearly a formation of some kind.
"That's… that's the Soul-Locking Cold Yin Formation!" the Grand Elder exclaimed, his face ashen.
Han Ling's sharp eyes scanned the formation. The pattern of its lines made him uneasy it didn't seem to be just a Soul-Locking Cold Yin Formation. Other, more sinister formations were woven into it. A vague, chilling feeling was creeping through him.
From his storage pouch, he took out a miniature pair of divination blocks and decided to consult the gods about the auspices of their expedition.
Han Ling relaxed his body, held the two blocks in his right hand, and tossed them into the air while chanting:
"Divine ones above, this humble disciple Han Ling beseeches you—reveal the fortunes of this day."
He stretched out his left palm to catch the falling blocks—
Both blocks landed flat-side up.
A dire omen. Great misfortune.
The other elders immediately grew grave, and the visiting elders from the other sects also put away their usual aloofness, turning serious.
This was no joke. None of the other sects had a powerhouse of Han Ling's caliber a Celestial Aegis（Tiangang） master holding the line. Now that even Han Ling's divination revealed great danger, they could not afford to underestimate their enemy.
The disciples, seeing the elders' expressions, also abandoned any hint of levity and realized just how formidable this foe must be.
Han Ling tucked away the divination blocks. He did not let his worry show, but simply led everyone further toward the center.
Yet the closer they came, the stronger that eerie sensation grew, curling around them like a poisonous fog.
Han Ling crouched down to inspect the formation on the ground, but still couldn't discern exactly what had been added to it—it was a complex weave that would take time to unravel.
"Be careful. Don't step inside," Han Ling ordered as he turned his gaze to the creature before him.
It was indeed the Yin Serpent. But this serpent's cultivation was a full stage above theirs already at the bottleneck of Nascent Void. By all rights, it should've been nearly impossible to injure, yet here it lay, its remaining spiritual energy being greedily drawn into the gaping Gate of Earthfire behind it.
"How many Spirit Condensation（ning shen) level cultivators were there at the time?"
"Replying to Master… at the time, aside from Senior Brother, there were Elder Chen of Ningzhong Sect and Elder Yu of Baihua Sect," one disciple answered.
"Only three people…" Han Ling muttered.
"Did anyone else help?"
"No… since our cultivations were too low, Senior Brother told us to tend to the wounded. We stayed in a cave to heal and didn't see the rest of the battle. Later, Elder Chen was badly injured, and Elder Yu dragged him back to the cave and told us to bring Senior Brother back."
"When we went to find him, Senior Brother was gravely wounded. He told us to report to Master and the others… and then…"
The disciple's voice trembled with fear.
"Continue," Han Ling said, rubbing his brow.
"…I tried to urge Senior Brother to come back with us, but then… that gate appeared. Senior Brother's face turned grim and he yelled at us to run. What happened after that… we don't know."
Hearing this, Han Ling rose into the air and circled the Yin Serpent, using the last threads of his severed contract to sense Xie He's whereabouts.
Finally near the Gate of Earthfire he felt the faint presence of his disciple.
Han Ling immediately flew toward it.
There lay Xie He, motionless atop the Yin Serpent's body, strange runes glowing and writhing across his skin soul binding talismans.
"Damn it!" Han Ling cursed.
These were meant to bind Xie He's soul to his body and let it be devoured entirely body and soul alike, utterly annihilated.
Biting his thumb, Han Ling pressed his bloody finger to Xie He's forehead, drawing a Soul Breaking Heaven Sealing Talisman all the way down to his abdomen.
Forming a seal with both hands, he roared:
"Pure Yang Flame, blaze through the Nine Hells—break the chains, shatter the curse, return the soul to its rightful path. Heaven and Earth bear witness—by decree!"
"Break!"
With a sharp crack, the runes binding Xie He shattered like glass.
Han Ling swept him into his arms and leapt down from the Yin Serpent's corpse.
At this moment—
The formation beneath the Serpent of Shadows suddenly turned a deep purple-black. Runes flared to life upon the stone walls, snaking and twisting like countless venomous serpents coiling and intertwining. The talismans ignited, flickering ominously, as the heart of the array began to crack open, revealing a bottomless fissure.
Yu Yuan's crimson eyes blazed as he hovered in midair, looking down on them all. Raising a hand, he crushed a wisp of his own primordial blood soul and thrust it fiercely into the array's core.
"Heaven is blind. Earthfire is merciless.
With my blood I make this offering—
Break this prison!
Purple Flame Inferno, demons rise from the abyss, devour gods and souls, defy the heavens and return—open!"
The final syllable fell like a curse, and a thunderous roar shook the abyss. The entire Earthfire Seal trembled madly; chains shattered, and hellish flames and demonic miasma churned and coiled together.
Purple-black flames shot skyward as the stone slabs below fractured, revealing a black-and-red vortex—the so-called "Gate of Earthfire." As the massive doors creaked open, a chilling, eerie gale howled through the crack, filled with ghostly wails and feral shrieks, as though the Nine Hells themselves had emerged.
Countless imprisoned fiends and heretics, eyes glowing scarlet and claws bared, scrambled madly out of the Gate of Earthfire, shrieking Yu Yuan's name with deranged, soul-piercing laughter.
"…This is bad!" The elders' faces changed drastically. One by one they drew their swords and weapons, standing ready.
"For our people! For the world! For the sect! Even if it costs our lives, we must stop them!" roared the Second Elder, leading the disciples forward in a desperate charge.
"Grand Elder, please… take him to the underworld." Han Ling spoke gravely, handing Xie He's corpse over for passage.
"…Very well. Be careful, all of you." The Grand Elder nodded, sealing Xie He's soul into a pouch and fleeing into the distance to avoid the coming calamity.
In the depths of the Earthfire Abyss, scorching waves surged, molten crimson rock roared like an enraged dragon, and the entire space was oppressive and searing. The Gate of Earthfire loomed ten zhang tall, its doors black as ink, its countless seals and chains cracking one by one as ever more terrifying roars echoed from beyond.
Han Ling hovered alone in midair, his silver-white robe snapping in the heat, long dark hair bound high, his frosty gaze as cold as ice. In his right hand, he gripped his life-bound sword Xiaoyao, its blade gleaming brightly—a sharp contrast to the gloom around him.
Opposite him stood Yu Yuan, black robes billowing, his hair loose, his eyes completely black and his face deathly pale, yet radiating a sick, savage madness.
Yu Yuan raised his head, lips curling into a mocking smile: "You've come? Han Ling… the number one of Tiangang. You never disappoint."
Han Ling's expression was grim. "Yu Yuan. What is it you want?"
Yu Yuan threw back his head and laughed, his voice echoing through the abyss. "What do I want? Years ago, your father imprisoned me here and tortured me to this day. But he underestimated me!"
"You know the price of opening the Gate," Han Ling said coldly.
Yu Yuan's eyes glinted with malice. "The price? Ha… The righteous world is hypocritical, and it left us to eternal damnation! Tonight, I'll make the world pay—destroy it, then ascend to a higher realm!"
Before he finished speaking, his hands flashed through seals. Black flames roared as the seals on the Gate of Earthfire shattered further, and the infernal howls grew ever more frenzied.
Han Ling's sword flashed like water, striking out in an instant! Two figures clashed violently in the abyss. Blade light and black flame collided again and again, booming deafeningly as molten rock sprayed and scarlet sparks lit the darkness.
Yu Yuan conjured black flame sigils with his palms; Han Ling leapt high, his blade a silver rainbow cleaving the sigils apart. Back and forth they fought as the abyss quaked under their feet.
Yu Yuan sneered. "You're stronger than your father. But still not enough!" His hands moved faster and faster, and the ground split open to reveal an enormous black sacrificial array.
Han Ling's face darkened. "The Guixu Sacrificial Grand Array… you're insane!"
Yu Yuan grinned cruelly. "That's right. But the sacrifice… won't be me."
Suddenly—
A force slammed into Han Ling, shoving him into the array's heart!
Chains snaked out and wrapped around him, draining his spiritual power. Han Ling turned back in fury and shock—only to see the attacker was… the Third Elder!
"Third Elder?!"
The Third Elder's expression was cold. "Did your father ever consider what it felt like to be trampled on? Tonight, I merely choose another path for the world."
Yu Yuan laughed manically: "The human heart is the easiest thing to corrupt!"
The chains tightened, and the seals on the Gate of Earthfire were moments from breaking completely. In the vortex beyond, countless pairs of blood-red eyes stared out.
Han Ling growled low: "In your dreams!"
Silver-white light erupted around him, cracking the chains. He raised his eyes, sharp and fierce. "As long as I draw breath, you will not destroy this world!"
With a mighty slash, he broke a corner of the sacrificial array, stalling the seals' collapse.
Yu Yuan hissed coldly: "Impressive, Tiangang's greatest. But how long can you last?"
Han Ling's robes were torn, his blood and sweat dripped freely, yet he held his sword high, its white glow blazing, with golden lightning faintly dancing within.
"You all… hear me." Han Ling gave a resolute smile. "Better to die, guarding this world!"
Golden lightning descended like heaven's wrath, and the Gate of Earthfire shook violently, black miasma roiling, as tortured howls rang through the abyss.
Yu Yuan roared: "You would destroy yourself just to stop me?!"
Han Ling slowly closed his eyes. "I will stop you. At any cost."
His soul ignited, golden light shooting skyward:
"If my body is to be the sacrifice—
Then let it become divine—Break!"
The golden light exploded like a sun, rushing upward. The sacrificial array shattered inch by inch, the giant soul-locking serpent howled as it was torn apart by divine power.
Yu Yuan's chest was pierced through by the golden light, and he fell heavily to the ground, blood soaking the floor. "No… impossible!"
Han Ling's body cracked with light, his lips curved in a cold smile: "A sacrifice… depends on who you're up against."
With that, his divine sense dissolved into countless motes of golden light, scattering into the night sky.
Yu Yuan clutched his seared chest, his eyes full of unwillingness and terror, screaming in rage.
The blood moon faded, leaving another bloody debt between good and evil.
Han Ling's name, along with the golden light of that night, was etched into the hearts of all who lived.
And that final slash illuminated the Gate of Earthfire—
whose massive doors, at last… slowly closed.
Yu Yuan howled to the heavens, black flames swallowed by white light. The Third Elder was hurled away, his breath faint. Han Ling's figure trembled, falling to one knee, his sword embedded in the earth.
The Autumn Maple secret realm… fell silent once more.
Another side — Year 34,555 of Blue Earth.
In a strange yet spacious room, the walls were painted a warm beige color, complemented by a floor-to-ceiling window. The curtains swayed gently with the wind, as the window hadn't been closed.
The entire room was designed in a simple yet luxurious style. Outside the floor-to-ceiling window was a brilliant night sky and the Milky Way, and from time to time one could spot what looked like spaceships flying by.
Inside the room stood a white sofa, a sleek black desk, and a nearly wall-sized transparent display cabinet, filled with oddly shaped yet exquisitely crafted ancient artifacts, as well as all kinds of books. One could even see bamboo scrolls placed neatly inside, making it easy to guess that the owner of the room had a fondness for antiques.
Overhead, simple but refined linear lights cast a soft glow on the floor — and also on the figure lying on the large bed.
He had a beautiful, delicate face with striking, elegant features, and his long, black, thick hair framed his visage. Though his looks were stunningly graceful, they did not lack a certain masculine charm, the kind that evoked a deep sense of pity and tenderness at the sight of him.
Bathed in the light above, he seemed a little uncomfortable. His eyelids quivered faintly, as though the next moment he would wake and open his eyes.