Lin Yuehua POV
The pillar of black light was still burning on the horizon when I opened my eyes.
I was lying on the ground in Shen's arms, both of us covered in ash and blood. The seal's power hummed inside me—no longer explosive, but still massive and terrifying.
"Can you stand?" Shen asked gently.
I tried. My legs shook like a newborn deer's. "Everything hurts."
"That's normal after bonding spiritual energies. It'll pass." He helped me up, steadying me when I wobbled. "We need to move. That pillar of light is—"
"The barrier cracking," I finished. "I heard you. The Demon King used us to start phase two." Anger burned in my chest. "How could we be so stupid?"
"We weren't stupid. We were desperate." Shen looked at the destroyed buildings around us. "But you're right. We played directly into his hands."
Xu Tian joined us, supporting an unconscious Lan Meiying. "What do we do now? Half the town is destroyed. People are terrified. And that thing—" He pointed at the black pillar. "—looks like the end of the world."
"Because it might be," Shen said quietly. "If the barrier breaks completely, the entire demon army will flood through. Millions of them. No sect, no empire, no cultivator alive can stop that."
The words settled over us like a death sentence.
"So we're doomed?" I asked.
"Not necessarily." Shen's eyes took on that calculating look he got when solving impossible problems. "The barrier is cracking, not broken. We have time—maybe a week, maybe less. If we can find the anchor points holding it together and reinforce them..."
"Can we do that?" Xu Tian asked hopefully.
"I don't know. I've never tried to repair a dimensional barrier before." Shen ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. "I need to consult my master's journals. There might be something—"
A new voice interrupted. "There's nothing in those journals that can help you."
We spun around.
Wei Zichen stood twenty feet away, looking worse than I'd ever seen him. His perfect white robes were torn and bloody. His silver hair was disheveled. But his eyes burned with cold fury.
"You," Shen growled, summoning his fire sword.
"Me." Wei Zichen's smile was brittle. "I must thank you, Faceless Sword. Your little display tonight proved what I've suspected for years—you're far too dangerous to live."
"I just saved this entire town!"
"You also just accelerated the demon invasion by helping that girl awaken the seal!" Wei Zichen pointed at me. "The Demon Emperor's weapon is now active because of your interference. Congratulations. You've doomed us all."
The accusation hit like a slap. He was right. If Shen hadn't helped me control the seal, I might have exploded harmlessly in the wilderness. Now I was walking around with world-ending power inside me.
"It's not his fault," I said. "I chose to accept the seal's power. Blame me."
"Oh, I do." Wei Zichen's gaze shifted to me, and I felt pinned like a butterfly under glass. "Which is why you're coming with me. Heavenly Sword Sect has methods to extract artifacts from unwilling hosts. Painful methods, but effective."
"You want to kill her," Shen said flatly.
"I want to save the world. If her death accomplishes that, so be it." Wei Zichen raised his hand, ice forming around his fingers. "Step aside, rogue cultivator. This is sect business."
"Everything in Willow Creek is magistrate business." Shen moved between us. "You want her? Go through me."
They stared at each other, spiritual energy crackling in the air between them.
Then Xu Tian cleared his throat. "Um, not to interrupt this dramatic standoff, but we have a bigger problem."
He pointed at the black pillar.
It was spreading. Dark tendrils reached out from the central beam, cracking across the sky like lightning made of shadows. And with each crack, the temperature dropped. Frost formed on the ground despite it being summer.
"The first demons are coming through," Shen whispered, his face pale.
As if summoned by his words, shapes began emerging from the darkness near the pillar. Dozens of them. Hundreds. Shadow creatures with glowing red eyes and claws that looked sharp enough to cut steel.
"How long until they reach the town?" I asked.
Shen calculated quickly. "At their speed? Twenty minutes. Maybe less."
"The town's already half-destroyed," Xu Tian said. "People are exhausted, scared, wounded. We can't fight a demon horde right now."
"We don't have a choice." Wei Zichen's expression hardened. "Meiying!" He slapped the unconscious woman's face. "Wake up! I need you!"
Lan Meiying's eyes fluttered open. "Master? What happened? Why does everything hurt?"
"You were possessed. It doesn't matter." Wei Zichen hauled her to her feet. "Prepare formation Delta-Seven. We're about to face a full demon assault."
"Master, I can barely stand—"
"I don't care! Move!" He shoved her forward.
Something inside me snapped. I'd spent hours watching cultivators treat mortals like cattle. Watching them care more about power than people. But seeing Wei Zichen push his injured disciple into battle like she was disposable?
"No," I said.
Everyone turned to stare at me.
"What did you say?" Wei Zichen asked dangerously.
"I said no." I stepped forward, golden light beginning to glow around my hands. "Lan Meiying almost died tonight. She's not fighting anyone. None of us are."
"Girl, you have power for all of three hours. Don't presume to give me orders."
"I'm not giving orders. I'm making a choice." I looked at Shen. "You said the seal creates bonds between spiritually compatible people, right? That's why we could stabilize it together?"
"Yes, but—"
"So I can share my power with others. Create temporary bonds." I turned to the approaching demon horde. "I can give everyone in this town enough spiritual energy to fight back. Just for tonight. Just long enough to survive."
Shen's eyes widened. "Yuehua, that's incredibly dangerous. Forcing spiritual roots into mortals could kill them. And it'll drain you completely. The seal might destabilize again."
"Then it destabilizes. At least people will have a chance." I looked at Xu Tian, at the exhausted townspeople, at Lan Meiying barely standing. "I'm not letting anyone else die because cultivators think they're the only ones who matter."
"Foolish," Wei Zichen said. "You'll kill yourself and them."
"Maybe. But it's my choice to make." I held out my hands, letting the seal's power flow freely. "Who wants to fight back?"
For a moment, no one moved.
Then Old Man Chen stepped forward. "I'm too old to develop spiritual roots the normal way. But if you're offering temporary power to protect my home? I'll take it."
One by one, townspeople came forward. Farmers. Merchants. The blacksmith. Even children old enough to hold weapons.
"You're all insane," Wei Zichen said.
"We're all desperate," Xu Tian corrected, joining the group. "There's a difference."
I touched the first person's hand—Old Man Chen—and pushed seal energy into him. It hurt, like tearing off a piece of my soul. But I felt his spiritual channels open, accepting the power.
His eyes glowed gold. "I can feel it. The energy. It's incredible!"
I moved to the next person. And the next. Each transfer hurt worse than the last. My vision blurred. My hands shook.
But I kept going.
Shen caught me when I stumbled. "Yuehua, stop. You're killing yourself."
"Not yet." I pushed past him, touching another person. "Just a few more."
"There are fifty people here! You can't—"
"Watch me."
I touched the twentieth person and almost passed out. The seal's power was draining fast. Too fast.
And I was only halfway done.
Behind us, the demon horde was getting closer. Five minutes away. Maybe less.
I reached for the twenty-first person's hand. My vision went dark. I couldn't feel my legs anymore.
Then Shen's hands covered mine. "Together," he said softly. "We're cultivation partners now, remember? Share the burden with me."
His demon-tainted spiritual energy flowed into me, stabilizing the seal. With his help, I could reach more people. Maybe all of them.
We worked together, bonding our power with every person who volunteered.
When we finished, fifty-three mortals stood before us with glowing eyes and temporary spiritual power.
"How long will this last?" someone asked.
"Until sunrise," I said, my voice barely a whisper. "After that, the power fades. Use it well."
The demons were close enough to see their individual faces now. Nightmares made flesh, charging toward Willow Creek with murder in their eyes.
Old Man Chen picked up a farming scythe. It burst into golden flames. "Well then. Let's not waste it."
The townspeople formed a battle line. Mortals with temporary cultivation power, standing against a demon horde.
We should have been slaughtered.
Instead, we fought.
And somehow, impossibly, we held the line.
Until the sky split open with a sound like breaking glass, and something massive began pushing through from the demon realm.
Something that made the horde look like insects in comparison.
Shen grabbed my arm. "Tell me you see that."
"I see it." My voice shook. "What is it?"
"Phase three," he whispered. "The Demon Emperor's vanguard."
The creature that emerged was three stories tall with too many arms and a head that looked like a skull made of black fire. Its roar shook the earth.
And it was looking directly at me.
"The seal," Shen breathed. "It's calling to the seal. Drawing demons to you."
"Can we stop it?"
"I don't know. But we're about to find out."
The giant demon charged.