The journey back to Crimson Dawn Sect took only two days instead of four. The elders pushed everyone to their limits, maintaining a punishing pace that left even the strongest disciples exhausted. They traveled through the night without stopping except for brief rest periods to prevent complete collapse. Food was eaten while walking. Cultivation exercises were abandoned in favor of pure physical movement.
No one complained. The image of that darkness emerging from the pit was burned into everyone's memory. The voice promising consumption and freedom echoed in their thoughts. Even disciples who typically joked and maintained good spirits were silent and grim during the forced march.
Yan Kai's legs burned with fatigue by the second day. His spiritual energy was running low from maintaining enhanced movement techniques for extended periods. Around him, other disciples showed similar signs of exhaustion. Chen Wu stumbled several times, caught each time by Liu Wei or another nearby cultivator. Jiang Mei's face was pale and drawn, her eyes unfocused from overextending her detection abilities to watch for threats.
Bai Huang, despite his greater strength and higher cultivation, was breathing heavily and sweating profusely. His defensive techniques consumed enormous amounts of energy, and he had been maintaining protective barriers around the weaker disciples throughout the march.
"How much further?" Shui Ling asked during one brief rest stop. She was using her healing techniques on disciples who had injured themselves through overexertion, but her own spiritual energy was clearly depleted.
"Six more hours at this pace," Elder Feng replied. He looked tired but not exhausted, his higher cultivation level providing reserves that disciples couldn't match. "We must reach the sect before nightfall. I want walls and defensive formations between us and that thing before darkness comes."
"Do you really think it will follow us?" Ming Yue asked. The Golden Lotus disciple had been maintaining purification barriers throughout their travel, protecting the group from the lingering chaotic energy of the Void Mountains. The constant effort had aged her face, adding lines of stress around her eyes.
"I know it will follow. Void Touched entities exist to consume spiritual energy. We represent the largest concentration of such energy within hundreds of miles. It will track us like a predator following wounded prey." Elder Feng gestured for everyone to stand. "Up. We move again."
They reached Crimson Dawn Sect as the sun touched the western horizon. Guards on the walls saw them approaching and immediately sounded alarm bells. Not the bells indicating attack, but the emergency summons that called all sect members to defensive positions. The massive gates opened to allow their passage, then slammed shut the moment the last person crossed the threshold.
The sect's Sect Master, an imposing woman named Hua Lingxiu, was waiting in the main courtyard with her senior leadership. She was at the Eternal Dao Heart realm, the seventeenth level of cultivation, making her one of the most powerful cultivators in the entire region. Her presence alone created pressure in the air that made weaker disciples struggle to breathe.
"Elder Feng, report," she commanded. Her voice carried absolute authority, the tone of someone accustomed to instant obedience.
"The expedition is dead, Sect Master. All fifty-five members consumed by a Void Touched entity that was sealed beneath ancient ruins. The seal is failing. Based on the rate of chain breakage we observed, the entity will be free within twelve hours, possibly sooner."
Sect Master Hua's expression didn't change, but the spiritual pressure around her intensified momentarily before she regained control. "A Void Touched. You're certain?"
"Elder Han identified it based on historical records. The pre-Collapse facility's own recordings confirmed the presence of Void Touched research subjects." Elder Feng paused. "Sect Master, this entity has consumed fifty-eight cultivators. Their combined spiritual energy has strengthened it significantly. I estimate its power is equivalent to at least the Origin Sovereign realm, possibly higher."
The fifteenth level. A cultivation realm that only a handful of people in the entire region had achieved. Yan Kai felt his heart sink. How could they possibly fight something that powerful?
"Summon representatives from all allied sects immediately," Sect Master Hua ordered. "Every Sect Master, Patriarch, and Palace Mistress within five hundred miles needs to know what's coming. And activate the Crimson Dawn Formation. Full power. I want every defensive array this sect possesses running at maximum capacity."
Disciples and elders scattered to carry out her commands. The sect transformed into organized chaos as thousands of members rushed to battle stations. Formation masters began activating defensive arrays that had lain dormant for decades. The treasury was opened and powerful artifacts were distributed to core disciples and elders. The alchemy hall started producing combat pills at emergency pace.
Elder Tian gathered his four Silver Moon disciples in a quiet corner of the guest quarters. "Pack your belongings. As soon as I can arrange transportation, you're returning to our sect."
"Master, we should stay and help," Yan Kai protested. "If this threat is as serious as Elder Feng suggests—"
"It's more serious than he suggests. Elder Feng is trying not to cause panic, but that entity will come directly here first because this sect is closest to the ruins and represents the most concentrated gathering of spiritual energy." Elder Tian's expression was harder than Yan Kai had ever seen. "When it arrives, this sect will become a battlefield. You four are talented disciples with promising futures. I won't risk your deaths in a fight that isn't ours."
"With respect, Master, any fight against something that threatens the entire region is ours," Liang Shu said quietly. "If that entity destroys the Crimson Dawn Sect, it will move to the next closest concentration of spiritual energy. Which is either the Iron Mountain Sect or our Silver Moon Sect. Running now just delays the inevitable."
Elder Tian was silent for a long moment. Finally, he nodded slowly. "You're not wrong. But I still want you prepared to evacuate at any moment. If the defensive formations fall, you run. No heroic last stands, no attempts to buy time for others. You survive and return home to warn our sect. Understood?"
"Yes, Master," they replied in unison.
The emergency council convened two hours later in the sect's largest meeting hall. Yan Kai and his companions were allowed to attend as witnesses who had seen the Void Touched directly. The hall was filled with powerful cultivators from multiple sects, all of them looking worried and grim.
Sect Master Hua stood at the center of the room, her presence dominating the space. "Thank you all for responding so quickly to our summons. What I'm about to tell you will sound impossible, but I assure you every word is verified truth. Four days ago, a rescue expedition discovered the fate of our missing disciples and elders."
She gestured, and a formation activated to display images in the air—recordings that disciples had made using memory jade during their exploration of the ruins. The assembled leaders watched in silence as the stone guardians attacked, as the ancient recording played, as the bodies were discovered, and finally as the Void Touched entity emerged from its weakening prison.
When the recordings ended, the hall erupted in discussion. Some leaders refused to believe what they'd seen. Others demanded more information. A few immediately declared they would withdraw their sects to more distant territories.
"Silence," Sect Master Hua commanded. The hall fell quiet instantly. "I understand your shock and fear. But we must focus on practical matters. The entity will emerge from the ruins within hours. It will come here first, drawn by the spiritual energy of my sect. The question is not whether we fight, but how we fight and whether we can win."
"Can we win?" asked the Patriarch of Iron Mountain Sect, a grizzled old man named Tie Shan. "You said this thing has the power of an Origin Sovereign. How many cultivators at that level do we have present? Three? Four?"
"Three," Sect Master Hua confirmed. "Myself, Palace Mistress Bai of the Frozen Eternity Palace, and Ancestor Wu of the Shadow Wind Sect. Everyone else present is at lower cultivation levels."
"Three against one should be sufficient odds," said Palace Mistress Bai. She was a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her thirties but was actually over six hundred years old. Ice element energy surrounded her constantly, lowering the temperature in her immediate vicinity. "Particularly with the support of our combined forces."
"Under normal circumstances, yes," Elder Han spoke up. He had been given permission to address the council due to his expertise on ancient history. "But Void Touched entities are not normal opponents. They don't fight like cultivators or spirit beasts. They consume spiritual energy directly, growing stronger as they feed. Every technique we use against it, every formation we activate, provides it with energy to absorb."
"So we're supposed to just give up?" someone called from the back of the hall.
"No. But we need to understand what we're facing. Historical records indicate that Void Touched entities were only defeated through specific methods. Overwhelming physical force without spiritual energy. Sealing formations that contained rather than destroyed them. Or sacrificing enormous numbers of cultivators to exhaust the entity's ability to process absorbed energy."
"How many cultivators would 'enormous numbers' require?" Patriarch Tie Shan asked.
Elder Han's expression was bleak. "The most successful recorded battle involved three thousand cultivators at Core Formation realm or above. Two thousand of them died, but the entity was eventually sealed."
The hall fell silent again. No one present commanded forces of that magnitude. Even if they gathered every cultivator from every sect in the region, they might manage one thousand at most.
"There must be another way," said the Sect Master of the Flowing River Sect, a middle-aged woman named Liu Yun. "Some technique or artifact that could help."
"Actually, there might be," a new voice said. Everyone turned to see who had spoken. It was Wu Chen, the Crimson Dawn disciple whose brother had died in the original expedition. He stepped forward nervously, clearly uncomfortable speaking before so many powerful individuals. "Forgive my interruption, honored Sect Masters and elders. But I've been researching ancient texts since learning about the Void Touched, and I found something potentially relevant."
Sect Master Hua gestured for him to continue. "Speak, Wu Chen. All information is valuable right now."
"Pre-Collapse texts mention weapons specifically designed to fight Void Touched entities. They called them Null Blades—weapons forged from a special material that couldn't be corrupted or absorbed. The blades could cut through Void Touched essence without feeding it energy." Wu Chen pulled a jade slip from his storage ring. "I found partial forging instructions in our restricted archives."
"Partial instructions aren't sufficient to create functional weapons," Palace Mistress Bai pointed out.
"No, but they tell us what material is needed. Void Iron, sometimes called Star Metal. It's a rare material that falls from the sky during meteor showers. And according to sect records, we have a small quantity in our treasury. About twenty pounds, acquired thirty years ago when a meteor struck near our territory."
Sect Master Hua's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Twenty pounds. Enough for perhaps two or three weapons, depending on size. But even if we could forge Null Blades, the process would take weeks that we don't have."
"Unless we have a master smith present who specializes in rapid forging," Patriarch Tie Shan said. "My sect's Grand Elder is precisely such a specialist. Elder Forge can create basic weapons in hours rather than days, though the quality suffers somewhat."
"Basic functionality is all we need," Sect Master Hua decided. "Wu Chen, take Elder Forge to our treasury and provide him with all the Void Iron we possess. Also give him the forging instructions. Elder Forge, can you create at least one functional weapon before the entity arrives?"
The elderly smith who had been standing quietly near Patriarch Tie Shan stepped forward and bowed. "I can create three weapons, Sect Master. Short blades about two feet in length. They won't be masterworks, but they'll hold an edge and won't shatter on first impact."
"That will have to suffice. Begin immediately." Sect Master Hua turned her attention back to the assembled leaders. "Now we discuss defensive strategy. The entity will arrive from the east based on the ruins' location. We'll establish our primary defensive formation on the eastern wall and courtyard. All non-combat personnel will evacuate to the western sections of the sect. Children, servants, and disciples below Spirit Refinement realm will be sent to allied sects further away for protection."
The planning session continued for three more hours. Every possible contingency was discussed. Formation specialists proposed defensive arrays. Combat experts suggested battle tactics. Healers calculated casualty estimates and prepared treatment areas. Supply masters organized food, medicine, and equipment distribution.
Yan Kai listened to it all, absorbing information and trying to understand the scope of what was coming. These were some of the most powerful cultivators in the region, commanding resources and knowledge he couldn't imagine, and they were genuinely uncertain whether they could survive the next day.
When the council finally ended, disciples were dismissed to rest while the sect leaders continued private discussions. Yan Kai returned to his quarters feeling exhausted and troubled. He found Chen Wu already there, sitting on the floor and staring at nothing.
"Are you alright?" Yan Kai asked.
"My brother is dead. Consumed by that thing along with fifty-four other people." Chen Wu's voice was flat and empty. "And tomorrow we're going to try fighting it, which means more people will probably die. Maybe us. Maybe everyone in this entire sect. And I can't stop thinking that there's nothing we can do to prevent it."
Yan Kai sat down beside him. "There's always something we can do. Even if it's just standing our ground and refusing to give up. Your brother died because he was trying to improve the sect's resources and knowledge. That was a worthy goal. If we run now and let that entity destroy everything, his death becomes meaningless. But if we fight and somehow win, his sacrifice will have protected future generations."
"You really believe we can win?"
"I believe we have to try. And I believe that trying with everything we have is better than accepting defeat without fighting." Yan Kai stood and extended his hand. "Come on. We should practice our techniques while we can. Tomorrow we need to be at our absolute best."
Chen Wu took the offered hand and pulled himself up. "You're right. Sitting here feeling sorry for myself doesn't help anyone."
They spent the next few hours in the training grounds, working through combat forms and coordination drills. Other disciples joined them, everyone instinctively seeking the comfort of preparation and practice. The sound of weapons clashing and spiritual energy crackling filled the night air.
Liang Shu appeared at some point and began teaching formation activation techniques to anyone who would listen. "If the defensive arrays start failing, some of you may need to help maintain them. Even basic knowledge could make the difference between a formation holding or collapsing."
Jiang Mei worked with Shadow Wind disciples to set up detection arrays throughout the sect. "We need early warning when the entity approaches. The more time we have to prepare, the better our chances."
Bai Huang organized groups of defensive specialists to practice coordinated barrier techniques. "We'll be protecting weaker cultivators during the battle. Our timing needs to be perfect or people will die."
As dawn approached, Elder Forge emerged from the smithy carrying three newly forged blades. They were simple weapons, straight swords about two feet long with plain handles wrapped in leather. But the metal itself was remarkable—dark grey with subtle patterns that seemed to shift in the light, like looking at a night sky filled with distant stars.
"Null Blades," Elder Forge announced, his voice hoarse from hours of work. "Not my finest creations, but functional. They'll cut Void Touched essence without feeding it energy. They'll also cut through normal matter and spiritual defenses quite effectively. These are dangerous weapons even without their special properties."
Sect Master Hua examined each blade carefully. "Who will wield them?"
"The three highest realm cultivators present should carry them," Palace Mistress Bai suggested. "Ourselves and Ancestor Wu."
"No," Ancestor Wu said. The ancient Shadow Wind cultivator looked almost mummified, his skin thin and papery over prominent bones. But his eyes were sharp and alert. "I'm old and my combat skills have deteriorated. These weapons need to be in the hands of people who can use them effectively in close quarters. Give them to younger cultivators with excellent martial skills."
After brief discussion, the decision was made. One blade went to Liu Wei of the Crimson Dawn Sect, who was renowned for his sword techniques. One went to Bai Huang, whose defensive style would allow him to get close enough to strike effectively. The third blade was offered to Yan Kai.
"Your spear techniques adapt well to different weapons," Elder Tian explained. "And you have the discipline to use such a powerful tool without becoming overconfident."
Yan Kai accepted the weapon with both hands and bowed deeply. "I'll wield it with honor, Master."
The blade felt strange in his hands. Lighter than it should be given its appearance, and somehow cold despite being freshly forged. When he channeled spiritual energy through it experimentally, the weapon seemed to absorb the energy without growing warmer or glowing. It was like pouring water into an endless pit.
"Don't channel energy through it," Elder Forge warned. "That's the whole point. Null Blades work by being spiritually inert. They can't be enhanced with energy, but they also can't be corrupted or absorbed."
"Understood."
As full morning light broke over the mountains, every cultivator in the Crimson Dawn Sect took their assigned positions. The strongest elders stood on the eastern wall. Combat disciples formed ranks in the courtyard behind them. Support specialists prepared healing stations and emergency evacuation routes. Formation masters activated layer after layer of defensive arrays until the entire sect glowed with protective energy.
And then they waited.
The sun climbed higher in the sky. Morning became midday. Tension built with every passing minute. Some disciples maintained perfect discipline, standing motionless at their posts. Others fidgeted nervously, checking weapons repeatedly or adjusting their stances.
Yan Kai stood in the third rank of combat disciples, the Null Blade secured at his waist and Piercing Heaven in his hands. He breathed slowly and evenly, keeping his mind calm and focused. Fear was natural. Panic was deadly.
Beside him, Chen Wu gripped his broad sword with white knuckles. On his other side, Liang Shu had her eyes closed in meditation, gathering her energy for the coming battle.
"It's here," Jiang Mei called out suddenly. She stood at the wall's edge, her detection abilities extended to their maximum range. "Coming from the east. Moving fast. Very fast."
Everyone looked toward the eastern horizon. At first, Yan Kai saw nothing. Then a darkness appeared in the distance, like a storm cloud that moved against the wind. The darkness grew rapidly, eating across the landscape and leaving dead vegetation in its wake.
The Void Touched had broken free. And it was coming straight toward them.
"Steady!" Sect Master Hua's voice carried across the entire sect. "Remember your training! Remember why we fight! For our families, our friends, and everyone who cannot defend themselves! We hold this line!"
The darkness reached the sect's outer walls. The first defensive formations activated automatically, creating barriers of pure spiritual energy. The Void Touched entity struck the barriers like a tidal wave hitting a seawall.
And the battle for Crimson Dawn Sect began.