The pond was silent, but the silence was heavier than thunder.
Feng Xieyun remained kneeling at its edge, the sleeve of his robe soaked in blood, his broken arm trembling as the black lotus flame sputtered weakly around him.
She was gone.
The chains had taken her.
The ripples across the pond blurred his reflection, but he saw his eyes—crimson, wet with unshed rage. For the first time since his rebirth, he felt something alien clawing at his chest.
Not vengeance. Not fury.
Loss.
The System's cold chime filled the silence:
> [Mission Active: Path of the Unbroken Chain.]
[Objective: Retrieve Lian Zhi from the Immortal Plane.]
[Time Limit: 365 days.]
[Failure Condition: Subject permanently bound. System Growth locked.]
Xieyun's lips twisted, his breath harsh. "Three hundred and sixty-five days… You bind me as well."
> [Correction: Host binds himself. The System only guides.]
His nails dug into the soil, black flames curling across the ground, scorching roots, searing stone.
He thought of her violet eyes, shimmering with pain and defiance as she was pulled away.
He thought of her words—"I will not be their dog again."
And worst of all, he thought of her scream: "Don't follow me into the abyss—!"
But he would.
He must.
---
The next day, the sect buzzed with whispers that spread like poison.
"Did you see? The Immortal Clan came for her!"
"They tore open the skies themselves… if they return, the sect will be destroyed."
"It's all because of Feng Xieyun. He draws calamity like a cursed star."
By dusk, even elders gathered in hushed council. Some slammed their palms against the table, voices laced with fear.
"We cannot afford to provoke Immortals! Cast the boy out—better yet, kill him quietly before they demand his head!"
"Do you dare?" another elder snapped. "He carries the Demon Bone! Do you think his death would not ripple across realms?"
"He is already cursed. The heavens themselves hunt him. Must we all perish for his defiance?"
The Sect Master sat silently on his throne, watching the debate with unreadable eyes.
But Xieyun did not attend their council. He was already walking alone through the sect's shadowed courtyards, his presence heavy enough that disciples shrank from his path.
---
That night, he returned to the pond.
The moon was pale, but its reflection was crimson in his eyes.
"System," he whispered. "Tell me how."
> [Accessing Demon Lotus Codex.]
[Requirement to breach Immortal Seals:]
– Host must awaken the Third Bloom of the Black Lotus.
– Host must acquire three Soul Treasures to sustain cross-realm passage.
– Host must withstand Heaven's Interference.
Xieyun exhaled, the words burning into his mind like scripture.
"Third Bloom. Three Treasures. Heaven itself."
The System pulsed again, softer this time, almost like a whisper in his skull.
> [Host must understand: The path forward requires more than blood. It requires loss.]
Xieyun's lips curved into a bitter smile. "I have lost before. Family. Betrayal. My life. And now… her. What more will you take?"
> [Whatever remains.]
---
Three nights later, disciples found him in the outer training grounds.
He stood shirtless, his body lined with wounds, lotus flames devouring every strike that came against him. He had challenged not one, but ten inner sect disciples at once.
They fell, broken, their swords melted, their spirits crushed. He did not gloat. He did not sneer. He simply turned away, the flame wreathing his body like a silent vow.
By the seventh night, he had stopped sleeping.
By the twelfth, rumors spread that even the elders avoided his gaze.
---
But agony is a strange thing—it does not only crush, it also sharpens.
Each night at the pond, Xieyun whispered to the water. Not prayers. Not pleas. Promises.
"Lian Zhi, you are not fallen. You are stolen. And I will steal you back."
His voice grew colder each time.
"Chains cannot hold you. The Immortal Plane cannot keep you. Not while my fire still burns."
And once, as the moon dipped low, his crimson eyes glowed so fiercely that the pond itself steamed, lotus petals curling in flames.
---
The System chimed at dawn on the thirtieth day.
> [New Mission: Bloodpath Catalyst.]
[Objective: Acquire the first Soul Treasure — The Crimson Dragon's Heart.]
[Warning: Treasure location guarded by an ancient beast. Success chance: 11%.]
[Failure consequence: Death.]
Xieyun's lips curved, the ghost of a smile.
"Eleven percent is enough. I only need one."
He looked once more at the pond, his reflection wreathed in shadow and fire.
"Wait for me, Lian Zhi. One year. One year, and I will climb into the Immortal Plane itself if I must. And when I arrive…" His eyes blazed. "…I will burn their chains to ash."
The blood moon rose again that night, brighter, fiercer, as if Heaven itself leaned closer, watching, waiting.
And for the first time since her capture, Feng Xieyun no longer trembled with loss.
He trembled with hunger.
---
✨ End of Chapter Twenty-Eight ✨