Beneath the Lotus Veil
The air beneath the Blood Lotus Sect's outer perimeter was thick with corrupted qi. A crimson haze floated low across the land like the aftermath of a battlefield, tinged with rot and madness. As Lu Xuan and the war party crossed the spiritual boundary, every step became heavier, as if the land itself resisted their presence.
Yao Lin led the formation, her eyes glowing faintly gold. Her robes, once radiant with celestial embroidery, were now muted by dust and fatigue. Her yellow bond-mark shimmered faintly on her wrist as she murmured, "The Sect has activated a soul-breaking formation below the surface. Watch your spiritual core—this place feeds on memory."
Lu Xuan gave a curt nod. His demon eye scanned the valley ahead, catching invisible runes hidden beneath the cracked ground. "There's blood in the ley lines. They're siphoning qi from past battles—reviving something older."
Su Xue moved beside him, her pale-blue robes streaked with ash. She reached out with her Frostbane blade, its chill seeping into the earth. "The land isn't just cursed. It's *waiting*."
A tense silence spread across the group.
Fei Yan drew her twin sabers with a slow exhale. The cold glint of her blades contrasted with the heat of the crimson mist around them. "Too quiet. No birds. No beasts. Only watchers."
Ming Zhao muttered, his gaze sweeping the horizon. "This is a trap... and they know we have no choice but to spring it."
Cultivation Levels and Power Dynamics
Lu Xuan: Late Foundation Establishment (Immortal Demongod Body awakened, Demon Eye active)
Su Xue: Peak Foundation Establishment (Time Anchor pendant sealed, partial memory of future)
Yao Lin: Mid Foundation Establishment (Time-Bond Seer Physique, Chrono Echoes active
Fei Yan: Peak Qi Condensation (Dual Saber Soul Martial Art)
Ming Zhao: Late Qi Condensation (Strategic Spirit Array Specialist)
As they walked through a valley of petrified lotus trees, each one frozen mid-bloom in crimson decay, Lu Xuan paused. Beneath the cracked earth, his Devouring Skill reacted—pulling at the dark qi surrounding them.
With a breath, he focused his core. The pressure inside him shifted.
Lu Xuan's Breakthrough
The corrupted qi surged around him like a storm. His demon eye pulsed, flashing deep scarlet. Su Xue turned quickly, eyes wide. "Lu Xuan?"
He dropped to one knee, clutching his chest. Black veins spread down his arms, and his breath grew shallow. The Devouring Skill wasn't resisting the corruption—it was *consuming* it.
Inside his dantian, the foundation he had built began to fracture—not in failure, but in metamorphosis. The core cracked, revealing layers of untapped qi coiled like a serpent.
A roar echoed from within him. Images flashed across his mind: burning worlds, falling stars, a crimson throne atop a sea of ash.
Then—
*Boom!*
A shockwave of dark red qi blasted outward, knocking dust from nearby rocks. Lu Xuan stood slowly, eyes glowing with layered rings of black and gold.
"Late Foundation Establishment," Su Xue whispered. Her fingers brushed the hilt of Frostbane, unsure whether to comfort or prepare for battle.
Yao Lin stared in wonder. "He devoured the formation's backlash... and ascended through corruption. He's not bound by balance anymore."
Lu Xuan exhaled. The hunger inside him felt momentarily quiet. But something else stirred deeper.
Something... old.
The Zhao Dynasty Fractures
Far to the east, within the iron walls of the Imperial Capital, the once-glorious Zhao Dynasty had become a shadow of its former self.
Following Emperor Zhao Rui's assassination, his younger brother Zhao Shen ascended the throne. Once a respected cultivator, Zhao Shen now ruled with an iron fist, supported by mysterious forces cloaked in red robes—forces known to whisper forbidden mantras and leave blood lotus petals in their wake.
He disbanded the Royal Spiritual Academy and appointed Blood Lotus-aligned ministers to the key positions of power. Cultivation was no longer honored for enlightenment but weaponized for domination.
They called his regime the Crimson Mandate.
Among whispers in the dark, rumors swirled that Zhao Shen had sacrificed his soul to become a vessel—a puppet king—and that his true master never left the shadows.
A crimson woman.
Character Origins Revealed
Yao Lin had been raised in the Temple of Dunes, a sacred sanctuary where oracles were bound to time itself. Her bond tattoo linked her to multiple timelines, and her visions often left her weeping in silence. Every glimpse of Lu Xuan's death chipped away at her sanity—but she followed him still.
Fei Yan hailed from the destroyed Yan Clan, betrayed by their own allies in the early rise of the Blood Lotus Sect. She trained in the ruins of her burned estate, carving sabers from melted relics. Her hatred was her cultivation.
Ming Zhaon once studied under a renowned military tactician. He gave up rank and power to explore the spiritual sciences, believing formations could outmaneuver fate. Now, he served not for glory—but to atone for past strategies that cost innocent lives.
Su Xue had once fought alongside Lu Xuan in another life—when the sky cracked and the seas burned. Her pendant was not a relic, but a fragment of that forgotten future. She remembered just enough to know she was either his salvation... or his executioner.
Lu Xuan, reborn countless times, carried the Immortal Demongod Body—the first and last of his kind. In each life, he awoke closer to the truth. This time, the memories stirred sooner. This time, the hunger had a name.
Monolith Approaches
As they reached the gates of the inner sanctum, a vast monolith of obsidian loomed before them. Crimson light leaked from runes engraved across its jagged surface.
Yao Lin touched her bond mark. "This is where we fall... or rise."
Su Xue moved closer to Lu Xuan. "No matter what version of you emerges from this, I'll be there to face it."
He looked at her—not as a demon, not as a god—but as a man remembering love.
Then the gates groaned open.
The Blood Lotus Sect welcomed them into its heart.
**End of Chapter 20**