The morning sky was still wrapped in a thin mist, veiling the peaks of the Tianhan Sect in a blanket of gray. Dew clung stubbornly to leaves and stone, not yet ready to fade. In the main courtyard, footsteps gathered one by one. Disciples stood in orderly rows, their faces filled with curiosity, tension, and a hint of fear. At the center stood the jade altar, rarely used except for the most serious of judgments, its surface glowing dimly in the cold morning air.
Yanzhi stood alone at its heart. Her hands were bound with sealing talismans that coiled like burning serpents. Her body looked fragile, her face pale, but her eyes burned with something fiercer than anger.
At the altar's edge, Elder Fan held a scroll of sect law. On the opposite side stood Lu Ming, Yanzhi's teacher, his sharp gaze locked on the elders. Behind him, Han Ye stood stiff, and near him, the other disciples who had joined the mission to the valley, those who had seen with their own eyes what had happened to Yanzhi.
"For grave violations of sect orders, including concealing a spiritual fragment and endangering fellow disciples," Elder Fan's voice rang out, "Yanzhi, disciple under Lu Ming's tutelage, shall receive the Soul Purging Sentence."
Murmurs broke out among the disciples. A few turned to glance at Lu Ming, who remained silent.
Yanzhi let out a dry chuckle. "Funny. You're all afraid of something you don't even understand."
"Enough!" barked another elder. "We've wasted enough time. Begin the preparations!"
The formation beneath the altar flared to life. Ancient runes etched since the founding of the sect pulsed, drawing power from earth and sky. The air began to tremble.
Han Ye stepped forward. "Wait—wait, please! I was on that mission, I saw it myself. Something isn't right. Yanzhi isn't entirely—"
"Han Ye," Lu Ming interrupted, his voice calm but firm.
Han Ye bit his lip and stepped back.
The first bolt of energy from the altar struck Yanzhi. Her body jolted. Her fingers gripped the iron chains at her sides. A burning heat surged not from outside, but from within, right from her chest, where the spirit had taken root.
The spirit stirred.
"This little game is over," the voice echoed in her mind, deeper and more real than ever before. No longer a whisper. It was a roar inside her skull.
"Do you want to die with them? Or shall I burn it all down right now?"
Yanzhi's body trembled. The altar glowed brighter. The soul-purging formation tried to extract the spirit, but it triggered the opposite. The jade chains on her arms cracked. The first fracture spread like a spiderweb.
Elder Fan narrowed his eyes. "The formation can't contain it. Increase the energy!"
"No!" Lu Ming shouted.
But it was too late.
A blast of dark red light exploded from Yanzhi's chest. A blood-colored aura surged into the sky, rolling like smoke. Part of the altar shattered. Stones floated upward. Several disciples collapsed under the crushing spiritual pressure.
Yanzhi was thrown back, but she stayed standing. Her body was burned in places, skin glowing red as if scorched from within, yet her eyes still stared ahead.
"I told you…" she whispered.
In her mind, the spirit's voice came again, heavy, but different this time.
"You held me back. Hah. You're either stupid… or stubborn."
The elders moved in a panic. Ancient seals were thrown. Incantations filled the air. But before they could finish, the spirit slammed the altar with a force that cracked the ground for dozens of steps around.
"DON'T LET IT LOSE CONTROL!" Elder Fan shouted, his voice betraying fear.
Several elders began forming the Sky-Sealing Array. But they were too slow. The red light erupted into a storm.
Han Ye stood frozen, fists clenched. "Yanzhi, hold him back… or none of us will survive."
And at that moment...
From the heart of the vortex, Yanzhi moved. She reached for her own soul, now fraying at the edges, and grasped the fading threads of her consciousness. Blood streamed from her eyes as she clenched her teeth.
"I... won't... let you... destroy this place…"
The spirit's hand paused.
Its terrifying glare began to dim. As if—somehow—it was being restrained.
Yanzhi had regained control.
One final blast of energy shook the sky before everything went still. Like a storm halted by sheer will.
The altar lay half-destroyed.
Yanzhi collapsed.
But she was alive.
The disciples stared in silence. Some knelt, still reeling from the oppressive force. The elders… could only look on with pale faces.
"This is impossible… what kind of power was that…"
Lu Ming stepped forward, but Han Ye caught his sleeve. "Wait. If she survived that… she's not ordinary."
And inside Yanzhi's battered body, the voice spoke again, this time softly, almost like a whisper just for her.
"You... You're not just an empty vessel after all."
And for the first time, it didn't speak with scorn, but a trace of respect.
Silence fell over the altar. Only faint wisps of smoke curled among the shattered stones.
Elder Fan staggered forward, breathing hard. "What is this... demonic power?!"
Lu Ming moved swiftly, standing in front of Yanzhi. "She's still my disciple. And you just proved that brute force won't tame this power."
Han Ye rushed over. "Yanzhi… She held it back, even while her body burned!"
The disciples exchanged glances. They had seen it. She resisted something even the elders couldn't comprehend.
Elder Fan clenched his teeth. "She must be sealed. Until we understand what truly lies within her."
"Try it, if you dare," came the faint voice from Yanzhi's chest, the spirit not yet asleep. "One more foolish attempt, and there'll be nothing left of this altar."
Lu Ming met each elder's eyes. "You can surrender to your fear. Or… give her time, and find out what this really is."
No one answered. Only heavy stares, and an atmosphere thick with uncertainty.
---
Far away, in the outer mountains of the sect, message birds flew low across the sky. On one peak, two cloaked figures watched the residual energy still crackling above the Tianhan Sect.
"You felt that?" one of them asked. "That wasn't just any fragment…"
"No," the other replied. "That was an ancient spirit. Something that should have stayed buried for millennia."
They exchanged glances. Then, in the soft silence of morning, they descended. What happened today wasn't the end, only the beginning.
---
The mountain wind carried the scent of dew as it rose above the valleys. On a rocky path leading toward the great halls of Tianhan, the two cloaked figures moved swiftly, their steps nearly silent. Their robes fluttered gently in the lingering energy that still hovered in the air, the remnants of the spirit's awakening.
"If that was truly an ancient spirit," said the taller one, his voice calm, "it won't be long before other factions catch its scent."
The other said nothing, his eyes hidden beneath his hood, fixed on the jade rooftops of Tianhan's main hall, scorched black by lightning. He inhaled deeply. "This will disturb the balance. The world won't stay silent if something like that rises again."
They quickened their pace. Not out of curiosity, but because time would wait for no one.
---
In Tianhan's main courtyard, chaos had not fully settled.
The sky was clear once more, but the ground still bore the scars, blackened cracks stretching from the altar to the stone pillars. Disciples stood frozen, expressions caught between awe, fear, and disbelief. Some still trembled, recovering from the near-collapse of their sect.
Elder Fan winced, clutching a wound on his shoulder. A stray bolt from the spirit had struck him, injuring not just elders but several formation guards as well. "That… wasn't a cultivator's power…" he muttered hoarsely.
Beside him, Elder Lu stared at the altar, now broken and scorched. The sacred jade split, their sect's symbol defiled by something wild and incomprehensible.
"What kind of power resides in that girl?" he whispered. "It's not demonic… but it's nothing we can tame either."
Yanzhi sat at the center of it all, slumped and exhausted. Her robes were torn, her face bruised, but her eyes were open, and this time, not empty.
Behind the elders, Lu Ming approached briskly. "Let me see her," he said curtly. Han Ye followed close behind, sharp-eyed and tense.
One elder raised a hand, but lowered it again at Lu Ming's glare. In Tianhan, there was one man no one dared challenge, Yanzhi's teacher.
Lu Ming knelt beside her, studying her quietly.
"Are you conscious?"
Yanzhi breathed in. Her voice rasped. "I'm still here."
"That power—" Han Ye started, but Lu Ming held up a hand.
"I know," he said quietly. "And she held it back."
The elders exchanged glances.
"Held it?" Elder Fan's eyes narrowed. "Do you realize what kind of power that was? It could've destroyed us all!"
Lu Ming met his gaze. "And yet, we're still standing."
Han Ye stepped onto the altar, surveying the cracks and lingering smoke. "The third Heavenly Thunder never fell, did it?" he asked.
A formation guard nodded. "No. The moment that power rose… the sky stopped."
A heavy silence followed. Then, a disciple muttered, "If not for her… we'd all be gone."
Whispers turned to murmurs. One elder shouted for silence.
But the truth was already out.
That behind the awakening of a terrifying power… was a girl who chose to hold it back.
Later, Yanzhi was taken to the healing pavilion, not in chains, not restrained. She walked slowly, weak but untied. The elders hadn't reached agreement, but none dared act rashly.
Lu Ming walked beside her. Han Ye followed closely, his eyes never leaving her. But no one could deny, something had changed.
---
Elsewhere, in the black lakes of the North, a giant bird raised its head. Its eyes flared for a moment before it launched into the sky, wind swirling in its wake.
The world had heard. And now, everyone was moving.
Back in the pavilion, Yanzhi finally closed her eyes. But before darkness claimed her, a voice stirred in her mind, not echoing, but softly spoken.
"You held me back… until your body nearly broke."
"Why?"
There was no answer. Yanzhi stayed silent.
But the voice didn't leave. Its tone shifted, no longer harsh.
"…Very well. I'll wait. But remember this, girl. You're strong because of me. You're strong be
cause you chose to restrain something that couldn't be controlled."
"Don't make me regret staying quiet."
Then silence.
And for the first time… the spirit called her not a vessel, but you.