Chapter 1: Cast to Die
Rain fell like ash on the Valley of Black Roots.
Each droplet hissed against the jagged rocks, steaming off the surface as if nature itself rejected this place. Toxic mists curled between twisted trees, their bark blackened, their branches reaching like skeletal hands toward a leaden sky.
Jin Yue hit the ground hard, the sound of bone against stone swallowed by the storm.
He groaned, half-conscious, his robes torn, soaked in blood and mud. His once-pristine white sect attire now clung to him like a shroud. His spiritual veins had been shattered. His dantian — the core of cultivation — crushed by a single, brutal palm strike from the very man who sired him.
"You are no son of mine," his father had said. "Born of a whore and cursed with no talent. Your existence shames the clan."
Jin Yue's fingers clawed weakly at the ground. Pain surged through his abdomen like knives dipped in acid. The image of his father's indifferent eyes and the mocking laughter of his half-brothers echoed in his skull.
> They threw me away like garbage…
His vision blurred. Somewhere above, thunder cracked the sky in half.
For a moment, he welcomed the darkness.
But it did not come.
Instead, something... called to him.
A whisper, distant and feminine, seductive yet ancient.
> "You are not done, child of ruin."
His eyes opened. The mist around him pulsed, swirling with crimson hues.
> "Do you wish to live? To rise? To burn the heavens with the fire of your soul?"
Jin Yue shivered. The voice wasn't in his ears — it was inside him, curling around the broken fragments of his spirit like silk.
> "Then crawl."
He moved. Inch by inch. Through thorned roots and crumbling stone, through agony so intense it felt like dying a second time.
The mist parted ahead. A staircase descended into the earth — hidden beneath centuries of moss and decay.
He hesitated, but the voice urged him on.
> "Down. Into the tomb of flame and flesh. Your destiny awaits."
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Deep Below – The Tomb of the Soul Flame
The chamber pulsed with life despite the dead air.
A crystal sarcophagus lay at its center, surrounded by ancient carvings glowing with violet light. It was not the gold or jade of noble tombs — this was older. Wilder.
Erotic scenes danced along the walls: men and women entwined in ritualistic passion, surrounded by blooming lotus and soul fire.
Jin Yue collapsed before it, breath ragged.
The crystal cracked open.
From within rose the Soul Flame Scripture, a floating scroll bound in chains of light, wrapped around a woman's withered corpse — beautiful even in death, her body encased in glassy fire.
The moment his blood touched the floor, the chains shattered.
And the voice became real.
She stood before him — not a ghost, not a spirit, but a memory made flesh.
"You have touched the lowest root of the Ninefold Heavens," she said. "But with me, you may climb higher than any who came before."
"What... are you?" he rasped.
"I am the First Flame. The Mistress of the Soul Duality Scripture." She leaned in, her lips near his ear. "And if you bind with me, you shall never be powerless again."
"But know this — your path will be paved with pleasure and pain. Every step forward must be taken through the flesh — yours and others. Are you prepared to become a sinner the world cannot contain?"
Jin Yue's heart pounded. Blood surged. In his shattered core, a spark ignited.
A soft, sensual kiss touched his forehead — and fire consumed him.
---
Hours Later
When he awoke, the mists had cleared. His body… healed. No, transformed.
A glowing mark pulsed on his chest — twin lotus petals intertwined with flame. His senses were sharper. His breath flowed like spirit wind.
The woman was gone.
But the scroll — now a tattoo on his spine — whispered to him.
Soul Duality Path Unlocked.
Stage 1: Broken Root Awakening
Requirement to advance: Dual with a yin-natured partner. Establish soul resonance through intimacy.
Warning: Without bond within seven days, soul fire will collapse. Death imminent.
Jin Yue laughed — a cold, ragged sound.
"They wanted me dead."
"They forgot that only in death can a man be reborn."
He stood, bare-chested under the rising moon.
And began to walk — toward vengeance, power, and a future soaked in both blood and ecstasy.
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End of Chapter 1