Chapter Eighteen: The Broken Talisman
The mountains wept ash. The Azure Heaven Pavilion's banners lay torn, its temples reduced to rubble. Yet the storm had not passed.
Though Heaven's lightning withdrew, the air still hummed with fury. The sky bore a scar, a wound from the clash of crimson flame and golden law. From that wound, pressure seeped like poison. It would not stop hunting him.
Feng Xieyun staggered down the broken steps, Lian Zhi steady at his side. His robes were torn, his arm scorched black, but his eyes burned with crimson fire that refused to dim.
Behind them, disciples gathered what survivors they could. Some cried for vengeance, others whispered his name like a curse.
"Feng Xieyun…" one spat, blood in his teeth. "Demon child… Heaven will damn you…"
He did not answer. He had no strength left for words.
---
By nightfall, they found shelter in a hollow cave, half-collapsed by the tribulation's fury. The walls still trembled from aftershocks, stone dripping with molten veins.
Lian Zhi sat across from him, her violet eyes cool despite her bloodied lips. "You defied Heaven itself. That mark will never fade. They will send storm after storm until you fall."
Xieyun's breath was ragged. "Then I'll rise storm after storm until they break."
She tilted her head, studying him. "Bold. Foolish. But perhaps… fated."
Her words lingered, but his attention drifted downward—to the object in his palm.
A talisman.
It was small, jade cracked with age, bound by a cord of golden silk. On its surface, faint runes glowed—the protective charm his mother, Lin Fei Lie, had placed in his cradle the night he was born.
She had pressed it against his swaddled chest, whispering: "Even if Heaven strikes, may this shield you."
He had carried it ever since.
Now, it pulsed faintly, as though answering Heaven's fury.
---
The System chimed.
> [Critical State Detected.]
[Survivability: 17%.]
[Option Available: Sacrifice Treasure — "Mother's Jade Talisman."]
[Effect: Convert Bloodline Protection into System Authority.]
[Warning: Irreversible. Legacy of Lin Fei Lie will be consumed.]
Xieyun froze. His hand tightened around the talisman, veins trembling.
Consume it? His mother's last gift? The only piece of her that had remained after fire, ash, and blood?
The whispers in the Demon Bone hissed eagerly.
Sacrifice. Power is worth more than sentiment. She gave you life—give her memory to the flame.
He shook his head, gritting his teeth. But the System chimed again, merciless.
> [Without sacrifice, survival odds against next Heavenly Tribulation: 0%.]
He looked at Lian Zhi. She was silent, watching. Somehow, he knew she saw the choice burning in his palm.
"Do it," she said at last. "Heaven has no mercy. To survive, you must show none—even to yourself."
Her words cut, sharp as a blade.
He closed his eyes. His mother's face flickered in his memory—pale, radiant, whispering lullabies by candlelight. The warmth of her arms, the softness of her smile.
Then the fire that had consumed her body the night he was born.
Tears stung his eyes. He pressed the talisman to his lips, whispering hoarsely:
"Forgive me, Mother. I will live. I will conquer. And I will remember you… even if your gift is gone."
---
He placed the jade talisman in his palm. Crimson flame coiled from his fingers, devouring it.
The jade cracked. The runes flared desperately, resisting, then shattered with a cry that echoed like a mother's wail. The golden cord turned to ash.
The flame consumed all.
The System's voice thundered through his mind.
> [Sacrifice Complete.]
[Bloodline Seal Broken.]
[Lin Clan Demon Bone Purity: 100%.]
[New Authority Gained: Demon Sovereign's Step.]
His body convulsed. Crimson fire erupted from his veins, burning so hot the stone walls liquefied. Lian Zhi shielded her eyes as the cave lit like a second sun.
When it faded, Feng Xieyun knelt in the ashes of the talisman, his chest heaving, eyes burning brighter than before.
Something had changed. The weight of Heaven's gaze remained, but no longer did it crush him. Instead, it recoiled, as if wary.
For the first time, Heaven flinched.
---
Lian Zhi stepped closer, her eyes unreadable. She looked at the ash in his palm, then into his crimson eyes.
"You sacrificed love for power," she murmured. "Few can do that. Fewer still survive it."
He met her gaze, his voice raw. "I will survive everything."
Her lips curved faintly, though sadness lingered in her eyes. "Perhaps. But every sacrifice you make… will shape what you become. Be wary, Feng Xieyun. One day, you may no longer recognize yourself."
He said nothing.
For he already felt it—the hollow where his mother's blessing had been. The wound was invisible, but it bled more than fire ever could.
And yet, as the night deepened and the mountain wept molten tears, he knew there was no turning back.
He had chosen power.
He had chosen vengeance.
He had chosen the path of demons.
And the heavens themselves would pay the price.
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✨ End of Chapter Eighteen ✨
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