CHAPTER 11: THE SANCTUARY OF THE BROKEN AND THE GATHERING STORM
The transformation of the Blue Cloud Sect into the Sanctuary of the Architect was no longer a mere internal restructuring; it had become a cosmic anomaly that warped the very fabric of the Eastern Territories. From a bird's-eye view, the mountain range was now perpetually shrouded in a swirling vortex of violet and gold mist, a visual manifestation of the "Fate Tax" and the "Heart of the Eternal Sword" merging into a singular, predatory ecosystem. The air within the sanctuary was so thick with spiritual essence that mortals walking near the borders found their ailments cured, while cultivators felt their bottlenecks trembling—not with ease, but with a terrifying, forced expansion.
Inside the Grand Hall of Atonement, the atmosphere was even more oppressive. Empress Lin Yue, once the most radiant figure in the continent, was now a shadow of her former self. She sat in a meditative trance, her long silver hair cascading over her blood-stained robes. Her eyes were closed, but her hands were constantly moving, weaving threads of her own Imperial Sword Intent into crystalline "Karma Stones." Every stone she produced was a fragment of her own soul, a piece of the debt she believed she owed to the man who had died for her in two separate lifetimes. She didn't complain. In fact, the physical pain of the soul-weaving was the only thing that silenced the screaming regret in her mind.
Li Xiao sat on his throne, his Nascent Soul—a violet infant glowing with celestial light—pulsing within his Dantian. He could feel the influx of energy from every corner of the mountain.
[ Ding! Sanctuary Population: 5,000 Forsaken. ]
[ Total Karma Harvest Rate: 450,000 units per day. ]
[ Global Fear Index: Rising. 'The Righteous Alliance' has declared the Sanctuary a 'Calamity-Class Threat'. ]
"Let them declare what they wish," Li Xiao murmured, his voice echoing through the silent hall. He looked down at Yan Feng, who was busy refining a batch of 'Blood-Essence Pills' using the life force of the captured Holy Light Sect disciples. "The more they fear us, the more they feed the system. Fear is just another form of karma, and I am the only one who knows how to spend it."
"Master," Yan Feng spoke, his new dark arm glowing with a sinister, rhythmic light. "The rumors have reached the Southern Continent. A group of 'Heroes'—those who claim to be the protectors of the world—are gathering. They are calling it the 'Great Purge'. They plan to march on the Sanctuary with a combined force of seven Great Sects."
Li Xiao's violet eyes flickered with amusement. "Heroes? I wonder how many of those 'Heroes' were the ones I paved the way for in my third and fourth simulations. It's time to see if the seeds of regret I planted in the world's 'Protectors' have finally ripened."
As he spoke, a massive vibration shook the mountain. It wasn't the Empress's aura, nor was it the breakthrough of a disciple. It was the arrival of the first wave of the 'Forsaken'—but this group was different. These weren't just broken cultivators; they were the 'Exiled Sovereigns' of the Southern Continent, men and women who had been betrayed by their own sects and left for dead.
At the mountain gate, Lin Yue's eyes snapped open. She felt the approach of several powerful auras, all of them at the Void Prying realm or higher. She stood up, her sword—now black as night due to the infusion of her sorrow—humming with a lethal frequency. She walked to the edge of the cliff, looking down at the thousands of people gathered at the base.
"The Lord has decreed," she spoke, her voice carrying an imperial authority that chilled the blood of everyone who heard it. "Only those who carry the Mark of Betrayal may enter. All others... shall be recycled into the mountain's foundation."
Among the crowd, a woman stepped forward. She was beautiful, but her face was marred by a brand of 'Treason' on her forehead. She was the former Saintess of the Southern Sea, a woman who had once been the symbol of purity until she was framed by her own brother.
"I carry the mark," the woman shouted, her voice trembling. "I was told the Architect accepts the broken. I offer my soul, my cultivation, and my revenge to him. Will he take me?"
Li Xiao, watching from the Hall, saw the golden threads of fate connecting this woman to his third simulation—The Exile of the Fallen Saintess. In that life, he had been a simple fisherman who had rescued her from the sea, hidden her for twenty years, and eventually died at the hands of her pursuers so she could escape.
[ Third Simulation Resonance: 92% Match. ]
[ Name: Han Xue. ]
[ Seed of Regret: 'The Fisherman's Grave'. ]
"Lin Yue, let her in," Li Xiao's voice boomed across the sky. "And bring her directly to the Hall of Atonement. She needs to see the grave I left behind in the Southern Sea."
As Han Xue was led up the mountain, the world outside was in a state of absolute frenzy. The Holy Light Sect had officially joined forces with the 'Iron Blood Empire' and the 'Celestial Palace'. They had realized that the Blue Cloud Sect was no longer a place of cultivation, but a black hole that was swallowing the 'Luck' of the continent.
The 'Righteous Alliance' had gathered an army of one hundred thousand cultivators, led by the 'Three Sovereigns of Light'. They were moving toward the Eastern Territories, their goal to erase the Architect from existence.
Li Xiao stood up from his throne, his violet robes fluttering. He didn't look at the approaching army. He looked at Han Xue, who had just entered the hall and was looking at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.
"Do you remember the taste of the sea salt, Han Xue?" Li Xiao asked, his voice soft but deadly. "Do you remember the man who didn't know a single cultivation technique, yet stood before a Void Prying expert with a fishing spear just to give you ten more seconds to run?"
Han Xue collapsed to her knees, her scream of realization echoing Lin Yue's past agony.
"It was you..." she sobbed, clutching the floor. "The fisherman... you were him! I spent fifty years looking for that island... I built a temple there... I thought you were just a mortal!"
"To you, I was a mortal sacrifice," Li Xiao said, his gaze indifferent. "To me, you were just a chapter in my simulation. But now, you are a vessel. Lin Yue, take her. Show her the second veil. Let her know that her 'Protector' has returned as her 'Executioner'."
As the third seed of regret was fully activated, Li Xiao felt his Nascent Soul undergo a terrifying mutation. It was no longer just violet; it began to develop black, obsidian wings. The 'Karma Harvest' was reaching its peak.
"Let the Heroes come," Li Xiao whispered, looking at the horizon where the lights of a hundred thousand cultivators were beginning to appear. "I have enough systems for all of them. And each one will be a masterpiece of their own suffering."
The Sanctuary was ready. The Architect was waiting. And the world was about to learn that the most dangerous enemy is
the one who has already died for you a thousand times.