Crack!
A sound like the heavens splitting apart ripped through the floating island. The very ground beneath Zheng Xie quivered. Fissures began to spread like jagged spiderwebs, tearing through earth and stone. The rupture widened, splitting the once lush paradise clean in two.
The island that had once been overflowing with vibrant life—its thick forests, gentle streams, and chirping wildlife—was now reduced to a bleak, desolate wasteland.
The flowers had wilted into brittle, colorless husks. The grass was gone, leaving only parched soil fractured into deep, dry veins. The air hung heavy with the stench of death.
The insects were nothing more than curled-up carcasses, their delicate wings torn and brittle. Birds lay scattered like discarded leaves.
Rodents—lifeless, stiff—were strewn about without so much as a sign of decay. Even the great, towering trees had dried into blackened skeletons, their bark split and flaking into dust.
And little by little… the devastation spread further. The ground groaned as the lifeless zone widened, inch by inch, claiming what little remained untouched.
Until, at last, the final thread of spiritual qi—so faint it could barely be felt—was drawn from the air and into the body of the man who had caused it all.
He sat unmoving at the heart of the ruin, long, wild black hair cascading over his shoulders like a river of shadows. A thin, dark beard now lined his chin, giving his once-youthful face a colder edge. His eyes remained shut, and his robes—once pristine—were coated in dust, dried blood, and the faint, powdery remains of the life that had once surrounded him.
Around him, the carcasses of countless insects formed a grotesque crown, a reminder of the years he had spent draining the island of its very essence.
The moment that last trace of qi seeped into his body—
Snap!
His eyes shot open.
Twin jewels of blood-red shone like molten rubies, glinting with both triumph and serenity.
His lips curled into a slow, deliberate smile as he drank in the sight before him—an entire world reduced to nothing but ruin under his will.
"Finally… after years of cultivation…" His voice was hoarse, as though scraped raw by silence and time. "I have absorbed the last… drop of spiritual qi from this cursed place."
A low chuckle escaped him. It was not the laughter of joy—it was the sound of a predator that had finally devoured its prey after years of patient stalking.
But before he could take another breath—
Rumble.
A sudden, heart-stopping tremor rocked the island.
In the very center, the ground caved inward. Stone and soil folded in upon themselves, forming a massive crater that seemed to drink in the very air.
And then—
BOOM!
The entire island collapsed.
Its body splintered into jagged fragments, breaking apart like glass under an invisible fist. What had once floated majestically above the endless void now crumbled into drifting debris, each piece spinning and twisting before being swallowed by the emptiness below.
Zheng Xie's moment of victory was snatched away in an instant.
He was thrown off balance, his body hurling downward along with the collapsing ruins. His gaze fell to what lay beneath—and a cold shiver ran through his spine.
Below him, there was nothing.
Just… absolute emptiness, an endless void that made the soul recoil.
The first chunks of debris reached that void—and instantly disintegrated into dust, vanishing as though they had never existed.
His heart clenched, but Zheng Xie's mind cleared. The thrill of triumph gave way to the sharp focus of survival.
"It's been a long time…" he murmured, closing his eyes for the briefest moment.
And in that moment—his body went limp.
All breath ceased.
His heart stopped.
His body became nothing more than a lifeless husk plummeting toward annihilation.
Then—
A spectral hand burst forth from the collapsing air, its translucent fingers curling around the neck of his falling body.
The figure attached to that hand rose from his own corpse—a second Zheng Xie, formed entirely of shimmering, ghostly essence. His eyes burned faintly with soul-light, his form radiating an otherworldly stillness.
This was Zheng Xie's soul form—the manifestation of a Transcendent Grade technique: [Soul Fissure].
In this form, he was untouchable. No blow could harm him, no element could burn him. But in turn, he could not harm the world directly. That was the price of separation.
Unless…
He invoked another technique.
A faint, almost imperceptible ripple passed through his soul form as he activated [Grasp]—another Transcendent Grade ability from his [Soul Scripture]. It allowed him to partially materialize his soul, to bring what was ethereal into the tangible world.
And so his spectral hand, now solid enough to hold weight, lifted his own lifeless body with ease.
"It has been years since I've used my higher-grade soul techniques," Zheng Xie mused aloud as he ascended. "Fortunate… that within this secret realm, no one can sense my presence."
His voice carried no fear—only a quiet certainty.
The void below shrank as he soared upward, each beat of his ascent carrying him further from the pull of the collapsing island's death. This time, he didn't bother with the waterfall path he had once used to travel between layers.
He simply flew.
When he finally reached the next floating island above, he dropped his body onto the ground below. But just before it struck the earth, his soul dove into it once more, reuniting in an instant.
Breath returned to his lungs. His pulse beat again. He landed on his feet, steady as if he had never fallen at all.
And for the first time in what felt like an eternity—
The scene before him was different.
"Ahahahahahaha!"
Zheng Xie's laughter rang out across the island in front. The sound seemed to echo endlessly in the still air, as though even the heavens were forced to acknowledge his triumph.
After countless failed attempts… after years that had blurred into one another… he had finally done it. He had reached the island above.
"Now…" his smile widened as his eyes narrowed with curiosity, "let's see what this island holds."
He stepped forward, letting his gaze sweep across his new surroundings.
This place was a stark contrast to the vibrant, qi-drenched island below. Where once there had been lush forests and teeming life, here was only desolation.
The ground was a pale, cracked yellow, scattered with dried sticks that looked as though they would crumble into powder at the slightest touch. Boulders loomed in scattered clusters, their edges worn and pitted.
Small hills of shifting sand rose and fell with the sighing wind, and the occasional flicker of movement betrayed the presence of tiny, hardy creatures clinging to survival.
And yet… amidst all this emptiness, one thing caught his attention immediately.
Footprints.
Zheng Xie's eyes sharpened.
"Someone has been here… and not too long ago, either." His brow furrowed.
Something about them was wrong. In a place like this—where the wind constantly swept across the ground, erasing all trace of passage—footprints should not remain intact for long. Yet these were crisp, sharp, almost as if they had been pressed into the earth moments ago.
"I need to find them," he muttered, his tone low and edged with steel.
This wasn't idle curiosity. Whoever this was might have seen him use his Soul Path techniques. And that was unacceptable. If word of them spread beyond this realm, the consequences would be severe.
His gaze swept the barren expanse, his senses sharpened to a razor's edge. The island was mostly open ground. If his target was anywhere nearby, spotting them would be far easier than in most terrains.
And indeed… just a few hundred meters away, the trail became clearer.
More footprints.
These were deeper, pressed firmly into the sand, as though the traveler had been moving quickly. They led toward a distant cluster of boulders, standing together like the bones of some ancient, long-dead beast.
Zheng Xie's lips curved slightly.
"So… you're hiding there, are you?"
The thought of a trap crossed his mind, but it didn't slow his steps. "Even if you are leading me in… it won't matter. In this secret realm, there is no one who can surpass me." His voice was calm, confident—bordering on arrogance. "Not with my Soul Cultivation base."
He approached the boulders at an unhurried pace. As soon as he stepped within their shadow, a sudden gust of wind slid across his skin.
Cold.
The air here bit like frost despite the sun above, curling around him like unseen fingers.
Zheng Xie's eyes narrowed slightly, but he pressed forward.
The boulders weren't just random shapes. Upon closer inspection, they were covered in carvings—intricate, disturbing, and almost… alive.
One carving depicted a figure clawing at their own flesh, their expression twisted with agony. Dark tendrils, perhaps representing qi, seemed to seep from beneath their skin.
Another showed what appeared to be close friends—until one suddenly turned on the other, the image capturing the moment of brutal betrayal, the attacker's face twisted in rage as they drove a blade deep into the other's chest and started brutally mutilating the friend.
Elsewhere, beasts were depicted—massive, monstrous creatures with hollow sockets where eyes should have been, their bodies mangled, torn, and half-dead… yet still locked in combat.
The more Zheng Xie looked, the more perplexed he felt about the images. They felt uncanny, they lacked reason, meaning. It almost felt as if they were fake. Yet, a deeper part of his brain said something else.
"What are these…?" His voice was low, almost to himself. "Some kind of records? Memories from the past? What is this secret realm hiding…?"
Whoosh!
An arrow sliced through the air, its shaft a blur as it passed just inches from his cheek. The faint sting of displaced wind brushed his skin.
His eyes flicked toward its path, but his body moved first—sliding smoothly behind one of the taller boulders for cover.
"Tsk." His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth.
"So… that's your game. Lure me in with these carvings, then strike when my attention's elsewhere?"
A thin smile curled his lips—not the smile of amusement, but of anticipation.
"If so… that's commendable." His gaze gleamed faintly as he tightened his grip on the boulder's rough surface. "Let's see just how skilled you are when it comes to a real fight."
A pause. His smile widened slightly.
"Your hiding skills, though…" he muttered almost casually, "are quite excellent."