The six members of the Qingling team—bloodied, breathless, but alive—flew through the dusk skies, flanked by the elite disciples who had answered the emergency call. The bloodshed and madness of the Infernal Hall had been left behind, but the fear it stirred still coiled around their hearts.
They flew until stars crowned the heavens and landed at the edge of an isolated cliffside grove—secluded, peaceful, and spiritually balanced.
Here, they finally rested.
They had survived.
One by one, the cultivators collapsed into meditation poses or reclined beneath the swaying trees. The wounded sealed their bleeding meridians with Qi threads, while others consumed spirit-recovery pills.
But all eyes occasionally flicked to one figure—Ling Xuanye.
He sat cross-legged beneath an old moonflower tree, its petals glowing faintly in the starlight. His expression was unreadable. A strange calm.
Everyone wanted to ask.
How had his wounds vanished?Why was the Demon Empress injured?Why had she let them flee?
But no one spoke. Not even Shui Lin.
Xuanye himself had no answer. Only fragmented glimpses—flashes of smoke, a twisted laugh, a hand that both hurt and healed. The memory flickered in the back of his mind like an incomplete dream.
Then, suddenly—
A tremor burst from his body.
A pillar of golden-blue light erupted from where he sat, surging skyward like a reversed waterfall.
The earth shook beneath him. Leaves scattered in the wind. Birds startled from the trees and fled toward the sky.
His body rose several feet into the air.
A deep thrum resonated within his chest—his spiritual core was forming.
Core Formation. Essence Integration Realm: Early Stage.
The breakthrough radiated purity, raw force, and something more… something ancient. The Qi swirling around him was dense, almost primordial.
Feng Ruo gasped. "His core… it's not like ours…"
Indeed, where most cores manifested as crystal spheres of elemental resonance, Xuanye's formed as a spiraling void lotus—petals of black, outlined in threads of lightning and spiritual gold.
He landed silently, eyes still closed.
Everyone cheered—clapping lightly, offering genuine congratulations. He opened his eyes slowly and smiled.
"Guess I finally caught up," he said.
Su Feilí, who had been watching him quietly, narrowed her eyes. She had sensed it. This core… wasn't just advanced. It was different. Dangerous. Divine.
But she said nothing.
The night deepened, and the group made camp under a moonlit canopy. After some discussion, watches were divided among them:
First half: Huo Shan and two elite disciples—Lin Zeyu and Bao Liang
Second half: Su Feilí, Feng Ruo, and elite disciple Jiang Yan
Final shift: Xuanye, Shui Lin, and Yue Chányīn
🌙 First Watch: Laughter Beneath the Leaves
Huo Shan, still bruised but beaming, grinned like a mischief god.
"Ever seen a flying pig demon trip over its own tusks?" he asked.
Lin Zeyu and Bao Liang chuckled.
"Next thing you'll say is you fought it barehanded."
"I did!" Huo Shan exclaimed. "Well… almost. I used my belly."
The three burst into laughter, the night finally giving them a moment of peace.
🌙 Second Watch: Cold Winds and Soft Shadows
Jiang Yan kept to himself. Su Feilí cleaned her phoenix-spear silently. Feng Ruo stared at the stars, her fingers gently glowing with remnant fire essence.
Few words passed between them.
But in the silence, a certain calm reigned. Duty first.
Time passed like falling leaves.
🌙 Final Watch: The Bloom of Unspoken Questions
Xuanye, Shui Lin, and Yue Chányīn stood beneath a waning moon. None of them had truly rested, but vigilance demanded presence.
"Go lie down," Xuanye told Su Feilí before she could argue. "You took care of me enough for ten lifetimes."
She frowned but obeyed, throwing a blanket at his head before stomping off.
Now only three remained.
Yue Chányīn sat quietly, sword in her lap, her eyes reflecting the moon. She kept glancing toward Xuanye, though her expression remained unreadable.
Shui Lin, ever direct, finally broke the silence.
"That shadow," he said. "Do you… remember anything about it?"
Xuanye shook his head. "Not clearly. It felt like… something was calling me. Familiar, but distant. I saw war… flames… blood covering the stars."
He looked down at his hands.
"I don't know what it means. I don't even know if it was real."
Shui Lin patted his back lightly. "Probably just dreams. You've been through hell. Even cultivators have nightmares."
Xuanye nodded, though his heart disagreed.
The three of them fell into silence again—until Shui Lin's stomach growled like a beast.
"Oh for the love of—" he muttered. "I saw a fruit tree earlier."
"Then go before you eat your sword," Xuanye said with a smirk.
They both stood and walked toward the glowing tree at the grove's edge.
As they picked its crystal pears, Xuanye muttered, "You think Yue's mad at me?"
"Nah," Shui Lin said. "She's just cold. It's her love language."
They returned and offered fruit. Yue took one without looking and bit into it. Slowly. Expression unreadable.
Then, just before dawn, they all drifted into sleep.
☀️ Morning: A New Sky
One by one, the others woke and packed their satchels.
The team, now whole, lifted into the skies.
Demons still lurked on the path. They faced three attacks from scattered remnants—fang-toothed ghouls, vine-limbed beasts, and shrieking bone bats.
But together, the group moved like a machine.
Flames burned. Blades danced. Earth rose. Ice pierced. Thunder flashed.
And finally, the spires of the Tournament Hall appeared in the horizon.
They landed.
Nine cultivators of the Qingling Sect.
All alive.
The plaza fell silent.
All the elders and disciples across the plaza turned in stunned silence.
Their eyes widened. Murmurs rippled like wind across water.
"Why do they have nine?"
"Weren't only five cultivators allowed per sect?"
"The other four… those aren't juniors—look at their Qi presence!"
"Those aren't ordinary disciples... they're elites. High cultivation levels. Even their aura distorts space."
Gasps spread. Some sect leaders narrowed their eyes. Others began whispering with furrowed brows, their expressions unreadable.
Nine cultivators.Six young talents. Four unseen forces.Qingling Sect had broken expectations—perhaps rules—and returned alive.
And at the front walked Ling Xuanye, with an aura that didn't just provoke curiosity—it disturbed the heavens in silence.
To be continued...