Chapter 1: The Awakening of the Betrayed Ancestor
The ancient hall felt like a colossal tomb of ice. In the center of the chamber, a pillar of eternal crystal stood tall, radiating a frigid aura that could freeze one's very marrow. Three gray-robed elders knelt before it, their hands trembling as they desperately chanted the incantations to break the seal.
"It's failing... we still can't do it!" one of the elders grunted, beads of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. "This Glacial Heart Seal was forged with divine power. We don't have enough Qi to—"
CRACK.
The sentence was cut short. A fine fracture appeared on the surface of the ice. It didn't come from the outside, but from within.
Suddenly, the hall was engulfed by a thick shroud of violet-black mist. The atmosphere grew heavy, as if gravity had surged a thousandfold. The elders were slammed to the floor, their lungs constricted by an overwhelming, suffocating pressure.
"A thousand years... a long enough time for a nightmare."
The voice was soft, yet it echoed through every corner of the hall like a death knell. The eternal ice exploded into shards of crystal dust. Amidst the swirling obsidian mist, a figure emerged. Jin La.
She wore a gown of crimson silk that fluttered wildly despite the lack of wind. The red was so deep, it looked as if it had been dipped in fresh blood. Her raven hair cascaded down her back, and her violet-dark eyes gazed upon the world with a chilling emptiness.
Jin La took a slow step forward. With every footprint, the marble floor cracked and scorched black. She stopped before the lead elder, who was now prostrated with his forehead pressed against the dirt.
"Where... is this?" Jin La asked. Her voice was cold, devoid of emotion, yet dripping with absolute authority.
"F-forgive us, Great Queen!" the elder answered hoarsely. "We harbor no ill intent... we only wished to welcome your awakening! You are within the Ruins of the Black Lotus Sect. A thousand years have passed since... since you were betrayed."
"Fine... You may leave."
Jin La's voice was flat, but it carried a command that could not be defied. The three elders gasped for air, as if they had just escaped the jaws of death. They bowed once more before retreating in terror, leaving the Queen standing alone in the cold, dust-filled hall.
Once silence reclaimed the room, Jin La closed her eyes. She reached into the depths of her mind, trying to summon the fragments of her memory. She needed to know who she was before the eternal ice claimed a millennium of her life.
SWISSS—
A flash of silver light streaked across her consciousness. Her head throbbed violently. A forced vision struck her mind like a tidal wave.
One thousand years ago...
This hall was not this silent. Everything was draped in red. The finest silks covered the pillars, and the scent of expensive incense filled the air. Standing before her was a man in magnificent golden wedding robes. His smile was warm, but his eyes... his eyes were fixed greedily upon Jin La's chest.
Specifically, at the "Brooch of Civet"—a cursed relic shaped like a black cat's eye pinned to her chest. A treasure that could grant limitless Qi, yet slowly devoured the owner's sanity.
As Jin La reached out her hand to utter her vows, a cold pain pierced her heart. The man did not offer a ring; he struck her with a Soul-Crushing Seal.
"Cough!"
Jin La jolted back to reality. She coughed violently, spitting out black blood that splattered across the dusty floor. Her hand clutched her chest, which felt agonizingly hollow.
"Damn it..." she hissed, her voice trembling with unbridled fury. "That bastard... He never loved me. He only wanted the Brooch of Civet for himself."
She tried to clench her fist, summoning her dark energy to shatter the pillar before her. However, a chilling sensation crawled up her spine. A golden pattern of light appeared on the skin of her neck, forming ethereal chains that constricted her Qi flow.
"The Soul-Wrapping Seal."
Jin La fell to one knee. She realized that her awakening was not the end of her suffering. Her body was still imprisoned by the cruelest sorcery ever devised by man.
"Only he..." Jin La muttered, gasping for breath. "Only that old fogey Jong Ji knows how to break these wretched shackles."
She looked up, staring at the wide-open doors of the hall, revealing a new world that was foreign to her.
"Wait for me, Shen Gu. You may sit upon the heavenly throne for now. But remember one thing... The demon you created has returned to take back what is hers."
High Noon in Golu City.
The midday sun scorched the streets of Golu, but to Jin La, the heat was nothing compared to the fire of vengeance burning in her chest. She walked with a stagger, her breath heavy, every step feeling as if she were being dragged by a thousand invisible chains. The Soul-Wrapping Seal on her neck throbbed, draining her essence every time she tried to breathe.
Inside a teahouse, whispers began to stir.
"Look at that woman... her clothes are red as blood, but her body... extraordinary," a man whispered, nudging his friend.
"Beautiful, but her face is so pale. Is she a runaway bride?" another added with a hungry gaze.
Jin La didn't care. To her, the voices were merely the buzzing of annoying flies. However, her path was blocked when a large man with a scarred face stepped into her way. He was the tyrant of Golu's streets, a thug feared by all.
The man smirked, his eyes tracing Jin La's curves with insolence. He stepped forward, his coarse hand reaching out to touch Jin La's chin.
"Beautiful... where are you going in such a hurry? Why don't you follow big brother? We'll find somewhere cool to—"
"Move, ant."
Jin La's voice was frigid, sharper than any blade. Before the man could even finish his sentence, Jin La flicked her right hand, releasing the last dregs of dark energy she could squeeze from her veins.
BUSH—BOOM!
Without even touching his skin, a violent shockwave of air slammed into the thug. The hundred-kilogram man was launched into the air like a cannonball, hurtling backward until he CRASHED through a brick wall. Dust and debris buried his instantly unconscious body.
The city fell into a sudden, deathly silence. Those who had been whispering now stood frozen, their faces turning ghost-white.
Jin La didn't even glance back. She continued her walk, her eyes fixed forward. I must find him... before this seal shatters my soul.
After traveling through the parched outskirts of the city, she finally arrived at a secluded, quiet settlement. At the end of the road stood a dilapidated shack that looked ready to collapse, surrounded by a leaning bamboo fence.
Jin La stopped right in front of the wooden gate. Her eyes narrowed as she saw an old man sitting leisurely, puffing on his tobacco pipe on the porch.
"Jong Ji..." Jin La hissed, before her vision began to blur from sheer exhaustion.