Chapter Four: The Sky That Wouldn't Heal
The heavens were still bleeding.
Shreds of cloud hung like torn silk over the mountains, streaked with gold and ash where lightning had carved through reality. Every cultivator in the Azure Wind Sect could still feel the echo of the divine Eye that had shattered—its aftertaste lingered like iron on the tongue.
For the first time in centuries, even the mountains hummed in pain.
Elder Zhou knelt at the crater's edge, robes soaked in sweat, his hand gripping his trembling staff. "The Heavenly Will…" he whispered. "It was watching us."
All around him, disciples struggled to their feet. Some coughed blood, others stared in mute disbelief at the calm figure standing in the center of it all.
Jiang Yunxian.
His robes were singed at the edges, his hair a tangle of silver-black, and his jade pendant still pulsing faintly with light. Yet his expression was almost bored, as if defying Heaven was an inconvenience between naps.
Xing Yue stood beside him, her eyes reflecting the ruin above. "The sky won't mend easily," she murmured. "When Heaven's gaze breaks, its memory breaks too. The world will start to… forget."
"Forget?" Yunxian asked, stretching as if waking from a nap. "That sounds convenient. Maybe they'll forget I did it."
Rong Qi, glowing faintly behind his shoulder, hissed, "You think Heaven forgets? The last time you mocked it, it burned half the constellations!"
"That explains why my horoscope's been off lately."
"Yunxian!" the feather snapped.
Before more arguments could bloom, the Sect's outer bells began to toll—slow, heavy, tolls meant for catastrophe.
From the north ridge, dozens of elders approached in formation. Behind them came the Sect Master, robed in storm-blue, his aura steady but eyes dark as thunderclouds.
"Jiang Yunxian," he said quietly. "Step forward."
The disciples around Yunxian parted instantly, as though afraid the heavens might smite them by association. Yunxian sighed and obeyed, brushing dirt off his sleeve. "Sect Master, I was just—"
"Do not speak," the man interrupted. His voice carried through the cracked valley. "Heaven itself has moved. You stand at the heart of divine interference. Explain yourself carefully."
Yunxian opened his mouth, then hesitated.
"Would you believe me if I said it was an accident?"
"No."
"Then it was destiny."
The Sect Master's expression did not change, but the silence that followed was colder than snow.
Rong Qi muttered, "You really have no survival instinct."
Behind Yunxian, Xing Yue's presence rippled softly. "He speaks truth in jest," she said. "He did not summon me. My seal was already weakening. His touch merely… hastened what Heaven feared."
Her voice carried a strange weight—calm, timeless, and terrifyingly honest. Even the Sect Master faltered for a heartbeat.
"And who are you to speak of Heaven's fear?"
She looked at him, eyes like moons drowned in ink. "One it tried to erase."
No one dared breathe. Even the Sect Master's aura trembled slightly under that gaze.
Yunxian, sensing the tension rise beyond repair, clapped his hands softly. "All right, all right, everyone's glaring. How about we move this discussion somewhere with tea?"
"Disciple Jiang," the Sect Master said coldly, "you are hereby confined to the Silent Mirror Pavilion until further judgment. As for the celestial being—"
"She stays with me," Yunxian said simply.
Every elder turned toward him as if he had declared war on Heaven again.
"Yunxian," Rong Qi whispered urgently, "stop talking."
But Yunxian didn't stop. His tone wasn't arrogant—just tired, almost too calm. "If Heaven wants her sealed again, it can try. But I was the one who woke her, and I'll take responsibility."
"You? Take responsibility?" one elder scoffed. "You can't even take care of your wine gourd!"
Yunxian smiled faintly. "And yet, here I am, still alive after breaking Heaven's eye. Miracles happen."
The Sect Master studied him for a long time, gaze unreadable. "Very well," he said at last. "Let him be confined—but the star remains under guard. We will speak again when the sky stops trembling."
He turned and strode away, leaving the valley thick with fear and murmurs.
As the crowd dispersed, Xing Yue looked at Yunxian. "Why protect me? You owe Heaven nothing."
He shrugged. "Because you fell where I could see you."
"That's it?"
"That's usually how trouble starts," he said, smiling.
For a moment, her ancient calm cracked—just enough for a flicker of something human to cross her eyes. Then she looked away. "You're a fool."
"I've been called worse."
As guards escorted them up the mountain, the sun began to rise. Light spilled over the Azure Wind peaks, soft and gold, touching the fractured sky where faint cracks still glowed.
Far above, in that broken patch of Heaven, something vast stirred.
A thousand unseen eyes blinked awake, whispering across the void.
> "The Careless Immortal breathes again."
"The cycle resumes."
"This time, let none interfere."
And below, Jiang Yunxian sneezed suddenly, rubbing his nose.
"Someone must be gossiping about me," he muttered.
Rong Qi sighed. "Only Heaven itself."