The Black Heaven
The Black Heaven was no ordinary realm.....it was an abyss, a cursed dimension where the most accursed of souls dwelled. To gaze upon it, even for a moment, was to invite obliteration. Not merely the body, but even the soul itself would crumble into ashes. And this...this truth....was what weighed upon Yu Sui more than anything else.
But in his eyes, there was not only fear. There was fire. The fire of one who had seen death itself and was prepared to walk into its embrace. Yu Sui knew: if the Gates of Black Heaven were to open fully, devastation beyond imagination would descend.
Galloping at full speed, rain slashing across his face, Yu Sui's voice thundered into the storm, an order sharp as lightning. At once, Wuzu and the colossal black dragon obeyed. The command: raise the protective barriers.
The dragon soared, encircling the widening gate with its massive body, weaving a colossal ward that stretched across the entire region. Above, Wuzu's shadowy form writhed, struggling to suppress the cursed spirits clawing their way through the breach.
Behind them, the faces of their companions had already drained of all color. Every drawn sword screamed as it left its sheath, every spirit beast manifested in fury, their howls merging with the raging storm. Horses thundered across the drenched earth, hooves striking like drums of war.
The spirit beasts ascended to the skies, sensing the monstrous threat spilling forth. Some scattered sparks of flame, others raged with torrents of water, their powers weaving a desperate defense. And when Mo Yan unsheathed his blade, Bai Long erupted with a deafening roar, streaking into the heavens toward the gate of Black Heaven.
Far away, within the Daoren Academy, a ritual was unfolding. A newborn lay upon the ground, crying helplessly, writhing in hunger and fear. Only Azhai Rong stood chanting, his voice trembling yet unyielding as the forbidden rite drew toward completion.
But before the final incantation could leave his lips.....an arrow cut through the storm. It pierced his chest with perfect precision, not killing him, but paralyzing his body, shattering his concentration. The ritual halted. The chants died. Yet the Gates of Black Heaven continued to groan open.
The riders reached the Academy gates, their steeds halting with skidding force. They dismounted at once, storming toward the desecrated altar. The marketplace and houses nearby were silent....not with peace, but with dread. People cowered in their homes, trembling as the heavens churned with impending doom.
Lady Duan Shou stepped toward Yu Sui, her expression grave, her voice steady though her eyes shimmered with tears.
"Your Majesty… I know what stands before us. But there is only one way to stop it. Sacrifice."
The word struck like a blade.
Mo Yan's chest shattered from within. Sacrifice? His mind clung to one desperate hope.....that this sacrifice would not fall upon Yu Sui. Yet the faces around them fell pale, hearts sinking, souls trembling. How many more sacrifices would fate demand of them? How much more would they be forced to lose?
Lady Duan Shou's face was stern, but her tears betrayed her anguish. This was the prophecy. One last sacrifice. And then.....with trembling hands...she offered Yu Sui the pink scroll she had birthed with blood, the sacred seal of a ritual long forbidden.
The words etched upon it were unmistakable.
The Sutao Jue Soul-Seal Incantations.
Mo Yan's breath caught, his soul tearing apart. His knees buckled, and he collapsed upon the ground. For to invoke the Su tao Jue Soul-Seal was to demand a price no mortal could bear: the sacrifice of Yu Sui's very Security .
Yu Sui caught him, steadying him, even as Mo Yan's tears burned down his cheeks. Without the seal, Yu Sui's soul would forever remain cursed. But with it… his body would become but an empty husk, a fragile paper boat upon a raging river.
And still, Yu Sui had no hesitation.
He pulled Mo Yan into his arms, whispering words Mo Yan had longed for, words that now cut sharper than any blade:
"I love you…Mo Yan. More than life itself."
Mo Yan broke. To hear those words now, at this cruelest moment....it was torture beyond compare.
Around them, every heart drowned in sorrow. Tears blurred every eye.Evryone bowed their heads, kneeling, as Yu Sui began to chant. The incantations of Su tao Jue filled the storm, each syllable burning like fire. No one dared raise their gaze. All knelt, all bowed, for this was not a ritual...this was farewell.
Mo Yan's eyes clung to Yu Sui alone. He wanted to see him, to etch every detail of him into memory. Perhaps for the last time.
The chant reached its final verse. And as the prophecy dictated, to awaken the Su tao Jue seal required one final act...the offering of a true love's kiss.
Yu Sui's lips curved into a fragile, sorrowful smile. His hand, cold yet gentle, brushed Mo Yan's face like a silken thread. And then, softly, painfully, his lips pressed against Mo Yan's. Time froze, their souls bound in that single eternal moment.
The Su tao Jue seal awakened.
A lotus bloomed, radiant and sorrowful, dissolving into light that scattered into the air, into the storm, into the very heavens. The petals drifted upward, carried by destiny, until they struck the Gates of Black Heaven.
And with the sound of a thousand chains breaking, the Gates slammed shut.