The night before dawn was unusually quiet.
No wind moved through the trees.
No insects sang beneath the mountain stones.
Even the Earth Vein that had whispered to Xiao Tu for months remained silent.
As if the entire world already knew what tomorrow would bring.
Xiao Tu sat alone atop a weathered stone platform within the restricted mountain grounds.
His legs were crossed.
His eyes were closed.
The Blessing of the Earth Vein flowed gently through his damaged soul, repairing what little it could.
Yet both he and the Earth Vein understood the truth.
Some wounds could be healed.
Some fates could not.
Within his consciousness—
the familiar golden-brown world appeared once more.
Endless soil stretched beyond sight.
Gentle winds drifted through fields of glowing grass.
And standing before him was the towering figure of the Earth Vein Spirit.
The Spirit looked at him silently for a long time.
Then it spoke.
"Child of Pure Love..."
Its voice carried grief.
Deep grief.
The kind that only appeared when parting could no longer be avoided.
"I have come to ask you one final time."
The Spirit's eyes seemed older than mountains.
"Leave this place."
"Leave the Earth Sect."
"Leave tonight."
"I can conceal your presence."
"I can guide you beyond these mountains."
"I can protect your path."
"For as long as I remain."
Silence followed.
The wind moved softly across the grasslands.
Xiao Tu lowered his gaze.
Then smiled.
A warm smile.
The same smile he had worn since arriving at the Earth Sect years ago.
"I know."
The Spirit's expression darkened.
"You know?"
Xiao Tu nodded.
"I knew long ago."
"I knew Lan Yue was hiding things."
"I knew the elders feared me."
"I knew the Vice Sect Leader viewed me as a threat."
The Spirit remained silent.
Xiao Tu continued quietly.
"I knew my fate was moving toward death."
The Spirit's massive body trembled faintly.
Then anger appeared within its voice.
"Then why remain?"
"Why continue trusting them?"
"Why continue loving them?"
The winds grew stronger.
The ground shook beneath its emotions.
"WHY?"
For the first time—
the Spirit could not understand him.
Xiao Tu looked toward the endless horizon.
His eyes were peaceful.
Because he had already accepted the answer.
"I stayed because my trust was real."
"I stayed because my feelings were real."
"If I run away now..."
"...then everything I believed in becomes a lie."
The Spirit stared at him.
Unable to understand.
Unable to agree.
Yet unable to refute him.
After a long silence—
it sighed.
A sigh so heavy that the entire spiritual world seemed to dim.
"Then your fate cannot be changed."
The Spirit slowly raised one hand.
A crystal appeared.
Golden-brown.
Ancient.
Containing countless memories.
Countless years.
Countless truths.
"This is my inheritance."
Xiao Tu looked surprised.
The Spirit continued.
"It contains my origin."
"The history of the Earth Vein."
"The truth of this mountain."
"The truth of myself."
The crystal floated toward him.
Entering his consciousness.
Settling beside the Memory Crystal already hidden within his soul.
Yet Xiao Tu did not open it.
Instead—
he sealed it.
Carefully.
Gently.
The Spirit frowned.
"You will not examine it?"
Xiao Tu shook his head.
"No."
"Then why accept it?"
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"It was never meant for me."
The Spirit froze.
Xiao Tu touched the sealed crystal lightly.
"My brother will need it one day."
"Little Water."
"He walks a path much longer than mine."
"So let him inherit it."
For a moment—
the Earth Vein Spirit simply stared at him.
Then something inside its ancient eyes softened.
Perhaps...
for the first time in countless ages...
it understood why it had chosen him.
Not because he was strong.
Not because he was talented.
But because his heart remained pure where others had long surrendered to greed.
Slowly—
the Spirit lowered its head.
"Then hear my decision."
Xiao Tu looked up.
The Spirit's voice echoed throughout the world.
"If you die..."
"I will die with you."
The words stunned him.
"Senior..."
The Spirit interrupted.
"No."
"I have already decided."
"You were the first person in thousands of years who understood me."
"The first who listened instead of demanded."
"The first who loved without asking for anything in return."
Its eyes carried endless sorrow.
"If the Child of Love falls..."
"Then I shall accompany him."
The spiritual world fell silent.
Neither spoke again.
Because both understood.
The end had already begun.
---
Before dawn arrived—
another visitor came.
The Heaven Enlightenment Ancestor.
Unlike the elders...
he did not arrive with suspicion.
He did not arrive with accusations.
He simply sat beside Xiao Tu upon the stone platform.
For a long time—
neither spoke.
Then the old man suddenly asked:
"When you first entered the Earth Sect..."
"Were you happy?"
Xiao Tu blinked.
Then laughed softly.
A genuine laugh.
"Very happy."
The Ancestor listened quietly.
And for the next several hours—
the old man heard stories.
Stories not about cultivation.
Not about power.
Not about glory.
But about repairing gardens.
Helping disciples.
Watching rainstorms.
Walking mountain paths.
Sharing meals.
Finding companionship.
Finding belonging.
Finding love.
As dawn slowly approached—
the Ancestor's expression grew increasingly complicated.
Because everything Xiao Tu described was ordinary.
Simple.
Pure.
There was no greed.
No ambition.
No hidden scheme.
Just a young man who had wanted a place to call home.
When the first sunlight appeared over the horizon—
the Ancestor stood.
For the first time—
he bowed slightly toward Xiao Tu.
Then he turned and left.
Not knowing that before the day ended...
the Earth Sect would commit a sin it could never erase.
---
The dawn sunlight had barely touched the mountains when the atmosphere of the Earth Sect changed.
The air became heavy.
Oppressive.
Unnatural.
Xiao Tu sat alone upon the stone platform.
His eyes remained closed.
His expression remained peaceful.
As though he were simply cultivating beneath the morning sky.
Yet beneath the mountain...
hidden formations began awakening.
One after another.
Ancient runes illuminated.
Spiritual veins connected.
Earth Qi surged through channels built centuries ago.
The formation that had supposedly been created to "contain" him...
was finally activated.
Inside the Council Hall, the Vice Sect Leader slowly opened his eyes.
A cold smile appeared on his face.
"It is time."
His hand descended.
BOOM.
The entire mountain shook.
The formation beneath Xiao Tu erupted.
Thousands of earthen chains burst from the ground.
Not to imprison.
To kill.
Xiao Tu's eyes opened.
He immediately understood.
"So this is the choice..."
Golden-brown Earth Qi exploded around him.
The formation transformed into countless spears of condensed Earth Essence.
They pierced directly toward his dantian.
Toward his cultivation core.
BOOOOM!
A deafening explosion echoed across the mountain.
Xiao Tu's body trembled violently.
Cracks spread throughout his meridians.
Then—
CRACK.
A sound that every cultivator feared.
His cultivation core shattered.
Completely.
The foundation of his cultivation...
destroyed.
Blood burst from his mouth.
His aura instantly collapsed.
The late Split Soul expert who had once been blessed by the Earth Vein...
became a cripple.
Disciples watching from afar gasped.
Several elders lowered their heads.
Even some of the formation masters turned pale.
Yet Xiao Tu...
did not scream.
Did not curse.
Did not struggle.
Blood flowed from the corner of his lips.
His breathing weakened.
But his eyes remained calm.
Gentle.
Almost relieved.
"So..."
"It has finally happened."
Far away—
inside a hidden chamber—
the Vice Sect Leader formed another seal.
Dark Qi surged from his fingertips.
The pills Lan Yue had consumed over the past months suddenly activated.
Dark lines spread through her meridians.
Invisible chains wrapped around her soul.
Her body froze.
Her eyes widened.
"No..."
"No..."
"Father..."
She tried to move.
Tried to resist.
Tried to scream.
But her body no longer belonged to her.
The Vice Sect Leader's voice echoed inside her mind.
"Go."
"KILL HIM."
Her body moved.
Against her will.
Back on the platform—
Xiao Tu knelt weakly.
Blood stained his robes.
His cultivation path had ended.
Yet he simply looked toward the sky.
The same sky he had admired countless times before.
The same mountains.
The same sect.
The same home.
Footsteps approached.
Slow.
Mechanical.
Trembling.
Xiao Tu lowered his gaze.
Lan Yue stood before him.
Tears streamed down her face.
Yet her body moved unnaturally.
Like a puppet.
Like a prisoner trapped within her own flesh.
In her trembling hand—
a dagger appeared.
The moment Xiao Tu saw her...
he understood everything.
His expression softened.
"Lan Yue..."
Her lips trembled.
"No..."
"No..."
"Run..."
"Please run..."
But her body continued forward.
The dagger rose.
Her tears fell endlessly.
"I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry..."
"I'm sorry..."
The dagger struck.
PUCHI.
Steel pierced flesh.
Straight into his heart.
For a moment—
the entire world became silent.
Blood bloomed across his chest like a crimson flower.
Lan Yue froze.
The control shattered.
The dark chains finally broke beneath the overwhelming shock.
She regained her body.
And immediately collapsed.
"No..."
"No..."
"NO!!"
She grabbed Xiao Tu as he fell.
Her entire body shook violently.
Tears poured from her eyes.
Her voice became hysterical.
Broken.
Destroyed.
"I didn't want this!"
"I didn't want this!"
"I'm sorry!"
"I'm sorry!"
Blood flowed from Xiao Tu's lips.
His heartbeat weakened.
Yet somehow...
he smiled.
The same gentle smile.
The same warm smile.
The smile that had trusted her from the beginning.
He slowly lifted one trembling hand.
Touching her cheek.
"It's alright..."
Lan Yue broke completely.
"No..."
"No..."
"It's not alright..."
His voice was weak.
Almost gone.
"I know."
She stared at him.
Frozen.
Confused.
Heartbroken.
"I know you were controlled."
"I always knew."
More tears fell.
Xiao Tu's gaze softened.
"Thank you..."
"For the happy moments."
"For the memories."
"For letting me believe..."
"...I belonged somewhere."
Lan Yue screamed.
A scream filled with grief.
Filled with regret.
Filled with a pain that would never heal.
At that exact moment—
a terrifying pressure descended.
The Ancestor had returned.
He landed upon the platform.
Then froze.
His eyes widened.
The shattered cultivation core.
The blood-covered robes.
The dagger buried in Xiao Tu's heart.
The crying Lan Yue.
Everything became clear instantly.
His body trembled.
For the first time in centuries—
the Heaven Enlightenment Ancestor felt rage.
Pure rage.
His spiritual pressure erupted.
BOOOOM!
The Sect Leader and Vice Sect Leader instantly fell to their knees.
The entire mountain shook.
"You..."
The Ancestor's voice thundered.
"You actually did it."
His eyes burned with fury.
"You murdered the only person the Earth Vein ever chose."
The Vice Sect Leader turned pale.
The Sect Leader lowered his head.
Unable to speak.
Unable to justify anything.
Unable to deny the truth.
Then—
the Earth itself roared.
The ground split.
Mountains trembled.
Ancient formations shattered.
Every disciple looked toward the heavens.
And saw it.
The Earth Vein Spirit.
Its body towered above the Earth Sect like a living mountain.
Endless Heaven and Earth Qi surrounded it.
The winds became storms.
Trees bent beneath its grief.
The Spirit looked down at Xiao Tu.
And sighed.
A sigh filled with sorrow.
A sigh filled with regret.
"I told you."
Its voice echoed across the entire sect.
"I told all of you."
"He was the Child of Love."
"He was the one I chose."
"He was the one who could have led this sect into a greater future."
No one dared speak.
No one dared breathe.
The Spirit's eyes swept across the Earth Sect.
Then its voice thundered once more.
"Hear the future I once saw."
The heavens darkened.
The winds screamed.
The mountains shook.
"The Child of Love Dies."
A pause.
Then—
"The Devil Will Be Born."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Only Xiao Tu understood.
His fading eyes closed slowly.
Little Water.
It was talking about Little Water.
Yet he said nothing.
Around him—
fear exploded throughout the sect.
"The Devil?"
"What Devil?"
"What does that mean?!"
The Spirit remained silent.
Its gaze remained fixed upon Xiao Tu.
And slowly...
the Child of Love took his final breath.
His body began dissolving into countless particles of Earth Qi.
Returning to the earth that had loved him.
Returning to the world that had failed him.
And at that exact moment—
the sky split apart.
CRAAAAACK.
Space shattered.
Void storms descended.
Reality itself tore open above the Earth Sect.
A terrifying presence crossed the Void by force.
And the true calamity...
finally arrived.
---Waiting---