The heavens split—quietly, reverently.From the Astral Vein's highest sky, two figures stepped through the seam between worlds, their presence wrapped in light thin as breath.
Sect Master Jian Wuya and Grand Elder Mei Xuan crossed the threshold.
The moment their feet touched the void above Earth, both halted.
Below them stretched oceans vast as spirit seas, cities glowing like constellations carved upon stone. Metal birds cut across the air; glass towers caught sunlight like sword-edges. Mortal lights, countless and ordered, pulsed in rhythm—an imitation of the stars themselves.
Jian Wuya's golden eyes softened, the faintest flicker of awe behind their calm."So this is the mortal world Yuan spoke of… untouched by qi, yet rich in motion."
Mei Xuan's voice came as a whisper of wind."They build wonders without spirit stones. Their Dao is… unique."
He nodded once. "It's beautiful—and fragile."
A single thread of his aura escaped as he breathed. Instantly, the clouds twisted, thunder rolled across continents, satellites trembled in orbit. Half the planet's birds took to the air, shrieking.
Jian Wuya's eyes widened slightly. "…Careless."
He drew his breath inward, folding every spark of might until even the winds forgot to stir.
Mei Xuan glanced down at the quivering world."Sect Master—another slip like that, and the mortal souls will crumble."
He gave a wry smile. "Then we walk in silence."
But the ripple had already crossed infinity.
In the Dao Realm, Tianxu rose from meditation, his golden pupils flaring."What pressure is this? A will so vast—yet it vanishes at once."With only a thought, he tore the void and strode toward the source.
Across distant planes, ancient sovereigns stirred—the Seraph Lords of the White Heaven, the scaled kings beneath the Abyssal Sea—each turning their gaze toward the trembling blue sphere.
Near the rift, Grand Elder Yuan felt the pulse and stiffened.
"That aura… he came himself?"
The summit of Kailas erupted in light.Snow did not melt—it vanished, displaced by spiritual density.From that radiance, Jian Wuya emerged.
Even restrained, his presence bent space; his shadow stretched for miles, yet his face was calm as moonlight.
"Grand Elder Yuan," he greeted, voice deep as a temple bell.
Yuan exhaled slowly, half-relieved, half-furious."I expected a messenger, not the Sect Master of all Azure Edge. Are you planning to bury us in the Great Void with your arrogance?"
Jian Wuya's lips curved. "Relax, Grand Elder. I know my limits."
"Oh? Is that why you announced your arrival by shaking half a realm?"
He only smiled and turned, surveying the plateau—the trembling Su guards, the rift's pale shimmer, the faint brand of Tianxu's will still etched upon the sky."This plane… is alive."
"Alive," Yuan agreed, "and volatile. Which is why you should not have come."
"Perhaps," Jian Wuya said lightly, "but I had to see it with my own eyes."
The space above them quivered—gold upon gold.Tianxu descended, his aura matching Jian Wuya's for a heartbeat before both suppressed their power to keep the world intact.
The air screamed in silence between them; every creature for miles froze mid-breath.
"So," Tianxu said, landing a dozen paces away, "the Upper Realm finally shows its hand."
Jian Wuya inclined his head. "And the Dao Realm shows its patience. A rare virtue."
Yuan stepped forward. "Peace, both of you."
Tianxu's gaze flicked toward him. "This is your superior?"
"My Sect Master," Yuan said evenly. "Jian Wuya of Azure Edge Pavilion."
Yuan quickly recounted the truce—the disciple exchange, the one-year watch, the shared guardianship of the rift.
When he finished, Jian Wuya said quietly, "You have done well, Yuan. Balance without blood—few can claim that."
Yuan inclined his head. "I did what was necessary."
Jian Wuya's tone turned curious."Tell me, Tianxu—this lower plane, which Upper Realm is it bound to?"
For a heartbeat, Tianxu simply stared. He had believed himself peerless beneath heaven; no being had ever spoken to him with such calm certainty.
Then Jian Wuya smiled slightly, eyes glinting like drawn steel. "You are Half a step to Immortal Ascension, aren't you? I want to know why you haven't ascended."
Shock cut through Tianxu's composure. "You… can see that?"
Jian Wuya said softly. "You are close—close enough to smell eternity—but not enough to open the gate."
The Dao Lord's jaw tightened. The admission was silent but real. At last he said, voice low, "The realm this hinge touches is the Heavenly Vein Domain—one of the ancient Upper Skies. A million years ago it shone like a second sun. But the path there has withered. Even our brightest prodigies fail to breach the barrier now. The heavens themselves… have grown distant."
Jian Wuya's expression darkened, thoughtful. "Perhaps this bridge was meant for remembrance."
Tianxu said nothing. His eyes, once golden and unshaken, flickered with reluctant respect.
At last after some discussion, Tianxu turned. "Then the truce stands. Until the year's end."
"Agreed," Jian Wuya answered.
After a little private conversation with Jian Wuya, The Dao Lord vanished in a shimmer of gold, leaving the mountain hushed and trembling.
Jian Wuya remained a moment longer, gaze sliding to the horizon where mortal cities glimmered like constellations."These mortals," he murmured, "move without qi, yet their rhythm mirrors cultivation itself. Progress without essence—ambition without limit. Dangerous, Grand Elder. In time, they will reach heaven with machines alone."
Yuan followed his gaze. "Then we teach them balance before they teach themselves hunger."
Light gathered around Jian Wuya's feet. "Keep the bridge stable. I'll return soon—the Pavilion must prepare."
Yuan bowed. "Understood."
With a final nod, the Sect Master stepped into the rift and vanished, leaving only silver sigils drifting in the thin mountain air.
When calm returned, the Su Clan slowly rose.Su Liana approached her master, awe still bright in her eyes."He came himself," she whispered. "The strongest of the East."
Yuan gazed toward the fading light. "Yes. And if he moved in anger…" He let the thought die. "But he saw beauty here—that is enough."
Far below, in his lab, Karma felt the tremor fade from his bones.He looked up through the skylight. "Power surge…? No—something else."
Mira's voice whispered inside his mind, thin as breath. Host… that was not a fluctuation.
That was Heaven itself looking down.