Chapter 5: The Void Treasure and the Celestial Roulette
The return journey to the Mist Valley was silent, swift as a shadow slipping between twisted trees and a blanket of fog that seemed to never sleep.
Samael advanced with a steady pace, but the price of having invoked the Black Heart was still taking its toll. His right arm was wrapped in makeshift bandages by Seraphina, hiding the blackened cracks in his skin where his Vital Blood Essence had leaked. On his right, Kael walked leaning on his rusted sword, limping but with his golden eyes shining with a feverish light of victory. On his left, Seraphina floated almost soundlessly, her cold and regal presence contrasting with the tatters of her prisoner's dress.
Crossing the illusory waterfall that hid the entrance to the Morningstar refuge, the echo of the water failed to mask the harsh reality of the place.
The Mist Valley was no longer a proud fortress; it was an open tomb. The caves, barely lit by flickering oil lanterns, oozed a bone-chilling cold and a palpable despair. The Great Protective Formation, once a shield of starlight, now sputtered weakly on the verge of extinction. The rock walls, covered in moss and deep cracks from the siege's impacts, seemed to weep moisture.
Crossing the final barrier, Samael felt the weight of reality falling upon his shoulders.
Thirty-four souls. That was it. Empty, terrified gazes rose toward him from the gloom. Elders in mended, dry-blood-stained robes; young disciples with sunken eyes, trembling from a mix of fever, poison, and hunger. A small child, barely reaching Samael's knees, timidly tugged at his black robe. His fingers were smudged with soot, seeking protection, or perhaps just a miracle.
Near the ruined altar, the twins Violeta and Eris, still pale and weak after being cured of the poison, clung to each other. In front of them, barely standing upright, was Grand Elder Lilith. She was missing her left arm, a brutal sacrifice made to protect the girls, but her golden eyes, though dulled by pain, ignited with a spark of relief upon seeing their Patriarch return.
"Patriarch..." Lilith's voice was a raspy whisper trembling between joy and resignation. She coughed, and a few drops of blood stained the floor between her feet, but her right hand did not stop gripping her spiritual wooden staff. "We felt the energy fluctuation from the eastern mountain... Is it true? The Zhaos...?"
The silence in the cavern was absolute. Everyone stopped breathing, waiting for Samael to confirm that the enemy who had massacred them was on their way to finish the job.
Samael did not speak immediately. He reached his left hand into his robe and pulled out the thick gold and jade spatial ring he had ripped from Patriarch Zhao's corpse. He tossed it onto the stone floor. The ring rang out with a metallic clink that sounded like thunder in the silence.
"The main Zhao bloodline has been erased from this world," Samael's voice resonated icy, deep, and absolute, like a bell tolling among ruins. "Their Patriarch is dead. Their Young Master is dead. And the old monster sleeping beneath their manor... was devoured."
A collective gasp swept through the cavern. Several disciples fell to their knees, weeping openly, pounding the ground with their fists as they released the accumulated terror of the past days.
"I have not returned only with vengeance," Samael continued, letting his Patriarch aura expand, covering his people like a warm cloak in the middle of a storm. "I have returned with our future."
Instantly, the System projected the raw truth before his violet eyes:
[CURRENT STATUS OF THE MORNINGSTAR CLAN]
[Hierarchy:] Grade 9 (On the brink of extinction).[Living Population:] 37 active members.[Family Luck:] 2,000 / 20,000 (Critical).[Active Resources:] Depleted. Status: Smoking ruins.
"Grand Elder Marcus, Aunt Lilith, Kael," Samael ordered, his voice acting as both a whip for discipline and a refuge for their souls. "Gather all members in the central square in ten minutes. Today we stop surviving like frightened rats. Today, we begin to reconquer what is ours."
In the strict privacy of the Patriarch's stone chamber, Samael finally allowed himself to drop to one knee. His breathing was ragged; the pain in his meridians was like having broken glass circulating through his blood.
He sat in the lotus position and opened the System interface with a thought.
[SYSTEM TUTORIAL UNLOCKED: PATRIARCH PRIVILEGES]
[Eye of Destiny]: Allows viewing the hidden potential, aura, and loyalty of any target.[Investment and Return Module]: Granting resources to loyal clan members will generate a "Critical Return" for the Host. (Multiplier from x2 to x10,000 depending on the degree of gratitude, impact on destiny, and loyalty of the recipient).[Celestial Roulette]: Access to conceptual rewards that transcend the logic of the Lower World.
Samael ignored the pain in his arm and focused on his loot.
[Opening Heaven Grade Treasure Chest (Mid)...]
A golden light, pure and blinding, flooded the gloomy stone chamber. Had he not previously activated a visual and acoustic isolation array, that light would have alerted the entire valley. From the immaterial chest emerged items wrapped in halos of ancient power. Samael could almost taste the density of the Qi in the air: the scent of a millennial lotus, the suffocating heat of a celestial forge, and the icy lethality of perfect weapons.
[REWARDS OBTAINED:]
Ether Heart Pill (Grade 7 - Saint): A pulsing pearl emitting a bittersweet scent. Capable of rebuilding a Saint King's cultivation base or repairing absolute damage to vital essence.Sword Bone Elixir (High Earth Grade): A silver liquid in a jade flask. It smelled of iron and gleamed like ice in the moonlight.Sword "Whisper of the North" (High Earth Grade): A slender, slightly curved blade. Unsheathing it just a centimeter froze the air around it, emitting a lethal hum that yearned to taste blood.Reborn Phoenix Fire Essence (Grade 6): Liquid flame trapped in crystal. It seemed to breathe on its own, emitting an ancient sigh that warmed the cold cave.2x Twin Lotus Pills (Low Heaven Grade): Pink and violet spheres formed by compressed petals. They emanated a scent evoking innocence, but pulsed with a power defying the natural order.5x Sea Shattering Pills (Low Heaven Grade): Deep blue with an oceanic bitterness. They guarantee breaking the bottleneck to the Transcendence Realm.50x Bone Forging Pills (Mid Earth Grade): Pressed red powder that burned to the touch, ideal for disciples in Body Refinement.Array Technique "Dark Nebula Veil": A black pearl that, upon activation, would generate a lethal illusory mist around the base.1x Celestial Roulette Ticket (Low Heaven Grade): A metallic scroll gleaming in crimson and gold tones, beating in his hand like a living heart.
Samael curled his lips into a predatory smile. His clan's destiny, which hours ago hung on the whim of his enemies, was now about to be hammer-forged by himself.
In the central stone square, the thirty-seven survivors formed an irregular circle. The night mist swirled at their feet. The air was charged with static electricity, residual fear, and suffocating expectation.
Samael stepped out of the shadows, his black robes billowing, flanked by Kael and Seraphina. He stopped in the center, his violet gaze scanning his people.
"For years we have been cornered, betrayed, and hunted," Samael began. He didn't shout, but his voice, imbued with Void Qi, pierced their bones and gripped the spirits of those present. "The other families called us trash. They believed they could trample our name with impunity."
He paused, letting the silence weigh.
"Today, that ends here."
Samael walked directly toward Kael. The red-haired youth, with the rusted sword still tied to his waist, looked up.
Samael drew the sword Whisper of the North. Handing it to him, the blade's icy aura clashed against Kael's warm, impulsive aura. Then, he placed the jade flask with the Sword Bone Elixir into his other hand.
"You were my shield tonight, cousin," Samael said, looking him in the eye. "Now, become my sword. Drink."
Kael did not hesitate. He dropped heavily to one knee, uncorked the flask, and downed the silver liquid in a single gulp.
The reaction was immediate and violent. The elixir was not digested; it fused directly with his spinal cord. Kael let out a bestial roar, arching his back as his muscles tore and rebuilt themselves denser, more lethal. A red phantom, the blurry silhouette of a western dragon, flickered around him. His golden eyes flew wide open, and a Sword Intent so sharp and fierce erupted from his body that the nearest disciples were pushed back by the cutting wind.
[DING! Investment Detected: Recipient Kael Morningstar.][Gratitude Level: Absolute (Blood Loyalty).][Impact on Destiny: Extreme.][CRITICAL STRIKE x500. Return Reward granted to Host: "Void Sword Manual: Dimensional Slash" (Low Heaven Grade).]
Kael drove Whisper of the North into the ground to support himself. He wept, but not from pain; he wept from pure pent-up rage and blind faith in his Patriarch.
Samael continued his march and stopped in front of Lilith. The mature warrior, with her bandaged stump, looked at him with maternal devotion. Samael offered her the Reborn Phoenix Fire Essence.
"The fire never truly dies in our blood, Aunt Lilith," Samael whispered. "It was only waiting for the right spark."
Lilith took the liquid flame and swallowed it.
Her pupils dilated until they were covered in a dazzling orange. The heat emanating from her body dried the cave's moisture instantly. Her brown hair took on an incandescent reddish hue, and, to everyone's astonishment, an illusory arm made entirely of pure phoenix flames sprouted from her mutilated shoulder. Her cultivation base, damaged for years, repaired itself and erupted, reaching the peak of Transcendence Stage 4. Lilith looked at her fiery arm and, for the first time since the massacre, traced a savage smile.
[DING! Investment Detected.][CRITICAL STRIKE x100. Return Reward: "Purgatory Flame" (Primordial Fire Seed - Grade 6).]
Samael turned to the twins, Violeta and Eris. The two girls, barely fifteen years old, with the snow-white hair characteristic of the main family, looked at him with huge, tearful eyes.
Samael crouched to their eye level and handed each a Twin Lotus Pill.
"This clan will live to protect you," Samael said with a softness that belied the killer who had just slaughtered fifty men. "And the day will come when the entire world learns to be terrified upon hearing your names."
Upon consuming them, a hypnotic, pink and violet light enveloped the twins. The System displayed the sinister auras of Taboo Crimson Red vibrating violently above their heads, as if the universe itself were trying to suppress them, but the power of the Heaven Grade pills was absolute. Their cultivation bases, broken by poison, aligned with a mystical crackle. Illusory petals swirled around them, and an overwhelming, icy pressure made the stones grind beneath their feet.
Both threw their arms around Samael, crying with relief as the vertigo of their new power settled.
[DING! Investment Detected: Modification of Taboo Destinies.][CRITICAL STRIKE x1,000. Return Reward: 2x Void Protection Amulets (Mid Heaven Grade) and Joint Cultivation Technique "Shattered Mirror of Destiny".]
The rest of the night was an unprecedented collective ecstasy. Samael handed the Sea Shattering Pills to the five remaining elders. The old warriors fell to the ground sweating and panting, their bones cracking as they broke through decades of bottlenecks to advance to Transcendence. The disciples swallowed the Bone Forging pills, screaming in euphoria as golden lights erupted in their veins, healing wounds and multiplying their physical strength.
The entire square vibrated with hope and raw, newly forged power. For the first time in far too long, the Mist Valley smiled.
[DING! Massive Investment Event Completed.][Family Luck increased: 2,000 → 4,800. Status: Early Recovery.]
Far away from the euphoria of the Mist Valley, in the geographical heart of the territory, the gold and jade walls of the Golden City hid fear and conspiracy.
In a secret chamber, lined with dozens of sound-isolation talismans, two men sweated cold, sitting around an ebony table. They were the leaders of the two remaining great families: Patriarch Chen, a master of fire Qi, and Patriarch Liu, a giant wielding the earth element. Both were in the Transcendence Realm.
"Ancestor Zhao is dead! Devoured!" rasped Patriarch Chen, losing control over his aura and cracking the delicate crystal goblet he held between his burned fingers. "My spies say the Zhao Manor is a damn crater! What kind of demon did that Samael brat awaken?"
"Lower your voice, you idiot!" hissed Patriarch Liu, biting his lower lip, paranoia making him glance into the room's shadows. "What do we do? If Samael comes to collect for the alliance's kills, he will murder us and our families in our beds."
Chen stood up, pacing back and forth like a caged beast.
"We must contact the North immediately. Alaric Valois doesn't know we failed. If we send him a secret message tonight telling him the Morningstar twins are still alive, Duke Valois will send his elite monsters from the Blood Snow Sect."
"Are you crazy?" Liu paled. "What about the City Lord? If we invite Northern troops into the Golden City, the Lord will intervene. You know full well that old man is in the Origin Realm. If he gets angry, he will crush Samael and us with a wave of his hand. He is the ultimate authority; he doesn't tolerate massive chaos in his territory."
"The City Lord only respects order and power!" Chen countered, his eyes bloodshot. "We will tell him Samael Morningstar is practicing Taboo demonic arts that threaten the balance of the entire region! We are the last pillars of this alliance. If we don't kill that pup now, he will eat us alive. The messenger raven to the North will take four days to arrive, and Valois's reinforcements will take three days to travel here. We have seven days to entrench ourselves or die!"
Both Patriarchs nodded slowly, knowing they were dancing on the edge of an abyss, and that the wind blowing from the North brought only promises of damnation.
Back in his cold cavern, Samael took out the gleaming Ether Heart Pill (Grade 7). He observed it for a second before swallowing it.
There were no explosions. Only an absolute and perfect heat, followed by an anesthetic chill. The Saint-grade essence flowed through his right arm, repairing the painful muscle tears and purifying the black blood accumulated from the Black Heart's backlash. In seconds, Samael felt his foundation solidify like the bedrock of an immovable mountain. He was in his optimal state.
The System vibrated in his mind, its digital tone sounding colder and more demanding than ever:
[Tactical Condition Met: The Clan possesses the resources to initiate a war of extermination.][NEW MAIN QUEST: THE PURGE OF THE GOLDEN CITY]
[Objective:] Exterminate the bloodlines of the Chen and Liu Clans before Northern reinforcements cross the territory's borders.[Time Limit:] 7 Days.[External Threat Detected:] Valois Family (Deployment of experts en route).[Local Neutral Threat:] City Lord (Origin Realm - Unpredictable stance).[Success Reward:] +10,000 Family Luck Points + Treasure Chest (High Heaven Grade).[Failure Penalty:] Total Annihilation of the Morningstar Clan.
Samael took a deep breath, feeling the quest's pressure like a heavy iron ring closing around his chest. Time roared in his ear like a starving beast. Seven days to declare war on two noble families on their own turf without provoking the wrath of the region's strongest being.
"System," Samael said into the darkness. "Use the Ticket. Open the Celestial Roulette."
Reality distorted around him. The cave's rock walls vanished, replaced by a spatial void.
Before him unfolded the Celestial Roulette: a titanic structure that seemed to be made of starlight, primordial metal, and pure darkness. Floating runes in extinct languages spun around the rim. Looking at the artifact, Samael heard echoes of divine laughter, the weeping of falling empires, and the roar of mythological beasts. Fragments of possible futures flickered in the slots.
The spin began with the sound of distant thunder, rapidly transforming into a hypnotic hum that blended light and shadow into a dizzying whirlwind. Every turn of that wheel was a promise of absolute power... or of cosmic disaster.
The central needle, sharp as death's scythe, tore through the air, buzzing over auras of mortal white, earthly green, divine gold, and taboo red.
The entire destiny of the Morningstar Legion, and their victory in the next seven days, now hung by an invisible thread dictated by the universe's whim.
Samael narrowed his eyes. The blood of his ancestors, the echoes of the dead, and the broken dreams of his past life burned in his chest.
"Today, we Morningstars gamble again," Samael whispered, watching the wheel spin. "And I will make sure that luck itself learns to fear me."