Chapter 6: The Road to Dawnriver City
Golden light filtered through the forest canopy as dawn broke over the Dawnriver Kingdom, casting patterns on the dirt road. Lin Xuan led the way, his gray robes rustling softly, his jet-black hair tied back, revealing sharp, resolute features. Beside him, Liu Yue's sapphire robes were torn at the hem, but her grace was undimmed. Her mother, Luo Shuang, walked with a weary dignity, her silver hair gleaming in the sunlight as she held her son, Liu Yang's, hand.
The involvement of the Hei Clan weighed heavily on Lin Xuan's mind. They sought the Scriptures of Severed Unity, a forbidden art. He understood their motive—power—but they were ignorant of the art's true nature. Lin Xuan's dark coin was now a permanent part of him, a searing brand on his back that mirrored the Celestial Unity Crest on Liu Yue's golden coin. The Crest—a crown wreathed in yin-yang swirls, twin phoenixes of fiery gold and icy silver, a lotus with a void core, orbiting stars, and subtle sword patterns—marked them both. The boy's emotions bound him to Liu Yue, a tether he could not sever.
That morning, Luo Shuang paused and turned to Lin Xuan, her voice heavy with the weight of her family's legacy. "Lin Xuan, you have risked everything for us." She extended a small scroll. Its qi aura was faint but ancient. "My husband, Liu Ren, left this for such a time as this. The Scriptures of Severed Unity. It could save or destroy our clan." She met his eyes, her trust absolute. "I entrust it to you."
Lin Xuan's heart pounded. The runes on the scroll were an exact match for his memories of the Human Emperor's Records. He had been so focused on the Records, he hadn't considered that the Liu Clan held a piece of it. "I'll protect it," he said, his voice a low promise.
That night, in a secluded grove, Lin Xuan unrolled the scroll. Its runes pulsed with a power far beyond this world. As he practiced the basic forms, his demonic qi resonated with the art. A searing pain struck his back as the dark coin fused deeper, etching the Celestial Unity Crest into his flesh. His qi surged, breaking him through to the 4th Layer of Qi Gathering. The sheer depth of the art left him trembling. This power… it's beyond this realm, he thought, his hands shaking as he sealed the scroll.
Liu Yue approached, her coin's sigil glowing faintly. "You're practicing it?" she asked, her voice soft with worry. "Father said it was dangerous."
"It is," Lin Xuan said, handing her a pill refined in secret. "But it's our only weapon." Her gratitude—"Thank you"—stirred that familiar ache, and he turned away.
As they neared Dawnriver City, they found their path blocked. A group of Crimson Claw Sect cultivators—allies of the Zhi Clan—were harassing a merchant caravan. Their leader, a broad-shouldered man at the 6th Layer of Qi Gathering, sneered. "Scram, kid. This road is closed."
Lin Xuan's crimson eyes narrowed. He lunged, Tooth Dagger manifesting on his knuckles. He dodged a qi spear with Celestial Glide, a blur of motion. He tore the leader's arm, blood spraying. The other cultivators' qi blades flashed, but his Iron Body Art deflected their blows. He used Energy Devour to weaken their strikes, then felled them with relentless punches. The leader stared in shock as Lin Xuan stood over him, an unspoken question in his eyes. He devoured their qi, stabilizing his cultivation.
The merchant, Wei Chen, a portly man with a nervous twitch, gave Lin Xuan a pouch of spirit stones as thanks. Liu Yue's gaze of admiration—"You're incredible"—sparked that ache again, but Lin Xuan ignored it, leading them onward.