Atop Trấn Thiên Peak, the wind howled like the cries of vengeful souls. The sky churned with dark clouds as twelve stone pillars stood tall, carved with glowing runes that pulsed like the heartbeat of an ancient beast.
Vạn Thiên Phong stood at the center of the array, arms crossed, black robe fluttering wildly behind him. His cold eyes gazed down the mountain path, where a shadowy figure approached.
"Once you step inside this array… not even a Saint can leave alive," he whispered, smirking.
The Heaven-Locking Array—his personal masterpiece—was finally complete. Reforged from a long-lost Celestial Formation and infused with his demonic will, it could bend spiritual laws and suppress realms. It was the perfect trap.
From the edge of the mist, a voice rang out.
"You dare lure me here, Vạn Thiên Phong? You think you can defeat me with tricks?"
It was Hàn Kỳ, the newly appointed Head Elder of the Skywind Pavilion—one of the few powers that still dared challenge him. Arrogant, righteous, and dangerously powerful.
Vạn Thiên Phong didn't respond. Instead, he raised a single finger.
A ripple surged through the ground.
Boom!
The twelve pillars lit up at once, forming a dome of crimson light that locked the sky itself. The air trembled. The birds in the distance fled in terror.
"You're not the first to stand against me," Vạn Thiên Phong said, his voice low, "But you'll be the first to witness what happens when a god decides to become a devil."
Hàn Kỳ laughed. "Then come. Show me."
The battle began.
Blades of spiritual light clashed with waves of demonic energy. Every strike shook the mountain. But no matter how much power Hàn Kỳ unleashed, it was absorbed into the formation, feeding it—strengthening it.
Hours passed. Blood stained the stones.
Eventually, Hàn Kỳ knelt, breathing raggedly, his spirit dimmed. "This… isn't… possible…"
Vạn Thiên Phong walked toward him, slowly, like a god of death.
"I told you," he said, crouching to meet Hàn Kỳ's gaze, "you were never fighting me. You were fighting fate."
He raised his hand—and ended it.
The array dimmed. The pillars crumbled. Silence returned to the peak.
Vạn Thiên Phong turned away, his expression unreadable.
But in the shadows beyond the trees… a pair of violet eyes narrowed.
And somewhere, far away, the Celestial Court had taken notice.
---
...Part Two: The Violet Eyes in the Dark
As the last echo of the Heaven-Locking Array faded, a cold stillness settled across Trấn Thiên Peak. The ground still radiated heat from the battle, and ash danced in the wind like ghostly petals.
But Vạn Thiên Phong didn't leave.
He had long learned that stillness didn't mean peace—it meant something worse was waiting to strike.
He walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the vast valley below. The night swallowed everything, but in his eyes, a thousand forces were moving beneath the darkness. Sect alliances shifting. Families plotting. Divine beasts stirring in their slumber. Even mortal kings trembling in their gilded palaces.
The world was changing.
And he was the cause.
Suddenly—crack!
The bark of a nearby tree splintered, as if sliced by something unseen.
He didn't flinch.
"You've been watching since the start," he said calmly, not turning around. "Do you intend to step out, or keep hiding in the shadows like a rat?"
A soft chuckle echoed.
From behind the mist, a woman emerged—tall, slender, dressed in dark violet robes that shimmered with moonlight. Her long hair cascaded like ink, and her eyes… those violet eyes… gleamed with both curiosity and caution.
"Well, well… Vạn Thiên Phong," she said, her voice smooth as silk, "You've become much more dangerous than the rumors suggest."
He narrowed his gaze. "And you must be…?"
She smiled faintly. "Liễu Tinh Vân. Shadow Envoy of the Celestial Court."
The mention of the Court made the temperature seem to drop several degrees. Vạn Thiên Phong's expression didn't change, but a storm brewed in his eyes.
"So the gods finally send dogs to sniff around."
Liễu Tinh Vân laughed lightly, but her aura flared for just a second. Dangerous. Calculated.
"I'm not here to fight you, villain. I'm here to observe. And maybe… to make a deal."
"A deal?" he scoffed.
She stepped closer. "You're not the only one who wants to tear down the heavens. But unlike you, I don't shout it from the mountaintops."
For a brief moment, silence.
Then Vạn Thiên Phong spoke, low and cold. "You think I trust anyone from the Court?"
"No," she said with a smirk. "But you will. Eventually."
And with that, she vanished into shadows—leaving only the scent of lotus and danger behind.
Vạn Thiên Phong looked up at the dark sky, clouds swirling like fate itself.
"The heavens will burn," he murmured, "with or without your help."
---
...Part Three: No Rest for the Villain
Far away, deep in the Heavenly Sealed Pagoda, an emergency meeting was held.
Old monsters in human form sat around a glowing jade table. Some had lived for thousands of years. Some had died and returned.
But none of them were calm.
"Vạn Thiên Phong has mastered the Heaven-Locking Array," growled the Grand Elder of the Spirit Phoenix Clan. "That formation was sealed in the Ancient Era. Who let him near it?!"
"Does it matter?" said another, draped in white bones. "He's already done what none of us could. That makes him... dangerous."
"More dangerous than the Prophecy."
The room fell silent.
Everyone knew what the speaker meant.
The Prophecy of the Black Star.
A future where a single man would plunge the Three Realms into chaos—where heaven, earth, and the underworld would kneel to him or be destroyed.
Some believed it was a myth.
Others believed it was already beginning.
And now… all eyes were on one man: Vạn Thiên Phong.
---
Meanwhile, back at Thất Sát Lâu, Vạn Thiên Phong's secret base, chaos was unfolding.
"Master!"
A disciple knelt before him, panting heavily. Blood stained his robes.
"We've been ambushed. Five of our outer sect bases have been wiped out. Someone's targeting us—fast, brutal, precise. Like they know our every move!"
Vạn Thiên Phong's eyes narrowed.
Only one group had the ability to strike like that.
"The Ghost Blade Hall," he muttered.
He turned to his strategist, a one-armed cultivator with a face like cracked stone. "Activate the soul tracers. I want to know who leaked our routes."
"But Master—if we use soul tracers, it'll kill half the outer disciples."
Vạn Thiên Phong didn't blink.
"Then let them die."
There was no mercy for weakness in his world.
---
Later that night, he sat alone in the dark, staring at an ancient scroll.
It was old—far older than the sects, the empires, or even the current era.
The ink was faded, but the message burned in his mind.
> "When the Black Star rises, the sky shall bleed.
When the sky bleeds, a king shall fall.
And from that fall… the Devil shall rise."
His hands tightened.
"They call me a villain," he whispered. "But I'm just what this world created."
A knock broke the silence.
It was Bạch Tiêu Nhiên.
She stepped in, her robes light and white, but her eyes sharp and stormy.
"You killed Hàn Kỳ."
"Yes," he said.
"You're being hunted."
"I know."
She walked up and slapped him—hard.
And then hugged him even harder.
"You idiot," she said against his chest. "If you die, who will burn heaven down with me?"
A rare smile touched his lips.
"I'll make sure I live long enough to see it all burn."
---
[End of Chapter 23]