The Immortal Plane knew countless nights, but few as heavy as this one. The skies stretched vast and silver, a placid dome where stars shimmered faintly. Yet the peace was false, a veil stretched thin over malice and intent. The wind moved too quietly, carrying the scent of blood yet to be spilled.
Feng Xieyun stood at the edge of a ruined forest, robe torn by the day's travels, his face half-lit by moonlight. His body radiated stillness, but his heart was a storm. The Jia Clan thought him reckless, a boy drunk on courage, unaware of the abyss he defied. But he knew better.
He had walked through hatred, betrayal, rebirth. Tonight, he would carve his truth into the land itself.
A sound stirred in the shadows. Not beasts. Not wind. Footsteps—many of them—silent as a predator's breath. Xieyun did not look up at once, but his hand curled against the hilt at his waist.
Then, from the black canopy of trees, they emerged.
Dozens of men dressed in black silks. Masks sealed their faces. Their bodies exuded neither warmth nor breath, as if they had long abandoned humanity. The Shadow Hall—assassins raised in darkness, the Jia Clan's hidden blade.
"Finally," Xieyun whispered, a smile brushing his lips.
The assassins said nothing. They spread into a circle, steps forming a silent rhythm. From the sky above, the moon dimmed faintly, as if recoiling.
And then, without warning, the first blade flashed.
Silver arced through the air, sharper than wind, faster than sight. Xieyun's hand moved as if it had always been waiting—his sword cut once, and steel shattered like brittle glass.
A hiss of poisoned qi followed, carried by the wind. But the young man did not flinch. The crimson lightning of the Heavenly Demon Dao shimmered around him, incinerating the toxic mist before it touched his skin.
The system's voice chimed in his ear, cold and mechanical.
> [Mission Activated: Survive the Dance of Shadows.]
[Failure Condition: Death.]
[Reward: Chaos Essence Fragment + 1 System Upgrade Slot.]
The assassins lunged.
Blades in every direction. Techniques layered like a storm. Each strike aimed not to test, but to kill. Shadows split into clones, poisoned needles whistled through the air, talismans ignited with cursed flame.
Xieyun's movements were merciless. His blade carved arcs of crimson light, each swing scattering sparks and bodies alike. When fists struck, bones splintered. When his qi surged, shadows burned.
Blood sprayed across stone. The assassins fell like cut wheat.
And yet, for every one that died, two more stepped forward. They were endless, an ocean of darkness swallowing the ruined land.
Still, Feng Xieyun only laughed. "Good. Let's see if shadows can swallow fire."
He drew deeper into his Heavenly Demon Dao. Crimson lightning raced across his skin, his eyes glowing like molten suns. With every movement, the air itself trembled.
Far from the battlefield, within the gilded chambers of the Jia Clan estate, a young woman stirred.
Lian Zhe.
She sat bound by golden chains, her wrists bruised, her body trembling under the suppression of dozens of sealing runes. The chains hummed with divine power, crafted to suppress what the Jia Clan feared most—the Chaos essence within her blood.
Yet her eyes snapped open suddenly. Her heart raced. Somewhere in the night, she felt it—his presence.
Xieyun.
His qi, his will, his pain. It reached her even across distance, vibrating through the sealed layers of her soul.
"Xieyun…" she whispered, tears spilling silently.
Within her chest, the Chaos Goddess stirred faintly. Memories not her own brushed her consciousness—hands that once held the Supreme Creator, a voice whispering eternity.
The seals quivered. The chains groaned. A faint light bled through, cracks spidering across the runes.
The Jia guards outside her chamber frowned. One leaned to the other.
"Did you feel that?"
"Quiet. The seals are perfect. She cannot escape."
But inside, Lian Zhe's soul trembled harder. For every strike Xieyun delivered in the ruins, her heartbeat thundered as if echoing his battle.
Back in the forest, the assassins had shifted tactics.
They no longer struck blindly. Instead, they formed a circle, stepping into positions like dancers in ritual. Blades glowed with cursed light, inscriptions weaving between them. A formation—the infamous Thousand Needles Cage, designed not just to kill, but to shred a man's soul into fragments.
The circle tightened. Needles of light rained down, shredding earth and air alike.
For a moment, it seemed as though Xieyun would be consumed. His robe shredded, his skin split. Blood painted the stones.
But his eyes burned brighter. He laughed, wild and unyielding.
"Good formation," he snarled. "But too small to hold me!"
He lifted his sword high, qi roaring like a storm. Crimson fire exploded outward, devouring the formation lines, burning assassins where they stood. Screams filled the night. The earth cracked beneath his feet.
When the flames cleared, only corpses remained, their shadows writhing in final agony.
The survivors stepped back, hesitation flickering in their eyes.
And then, from behind them, a figure emerged.
The Shadow Lord.
He walked slowly, each step precise. His cloak of black silk seemed woven from night itself, his blade a sliver of void, darker than darkness.
Unlike the others, he did not mask his presence. His qi was suffocating, refined through decades of killing. He was no mere assassin. He was the silence before death.
"Feng Xieyun," he said, his voice as cold as venom. "You've killed many of mine tonight. But arrogance ends here."
Xieyun grinned through blood. "Then stop talking."
The clash was instant.
Void met crimson. Blade tore against lightning. Every strike shattered stone, split trees, scarred the heavens.
The Shadow Lord moved like a phantom, each slash erasing light. Xieyun countered with ferocity, each strike burning brighter than the last.
Wounds carved across his body, but he did not falter. He struck again, harder, faster.
From the estate, Lian Zhe felt it. His blood, his pain, his refusal to fall. Her tears dried, her eyes sharp. She pulled against her chains once more, and this time, one rune cracked, light spilling into the chamber.
The duel raged on. The Shadow Lord's blade pierced Xieyun's side. Blood poured freely. The assassin sneered. "Why struggle? You cannot change fate."
Xieyun spat blood, eyes blazing. "Because she waits for me."
He raised his sword. Crimson lightning gathered. The Heavenly Demon Dao surged to its peak. His aura swallowed the battlefield whole.
"Die!"
His blade fell.
The Shadow Lord screamed as crimson fire devoured void, as lightning tore flesh and bone. His body twisted, burned, and vanished into ash.
Silence fell. Only Xieyun remained, bloodied but unbroken.
The system chimed coldly in his mind.
> [Mission Complete.]
[Chaos Essence Fragment Acquired.]
[System Upgrade Slot Unlocked.]
Xieyun dropped to one knee, breath ragged, blood dripping steadily. Yet his eyes were firm, turned toward the distant estate.
"Lian Zhe… wait for me. No matter how many shadows, no matter how many chains, I will break them all. You are mine."
And within the gilded cage of the Jia Clan, Lian Zhe's lips curved into the faintest smile as her chains cracked once more.
The night ended not in silence, but in a vow strong enough to shake heaven itself.
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