The cave trembled with every breath the Blood Demon took.
Sitting cross-legged upon a mound of dried weapons—twisted blades, rotted staves, and splintered spears drained of every ounce of essence—he looked like a king upon a throne of corpses. Scarlet energy pulsed from his pores, each beat warping the very air around him. He had reached it—the Peak of the Spirit-Shattering Realm. Yet his fingers, sharp and blackened with demonic corruption, tapped the arm of his bone-chair in restless agitation.
The memory of that one palm strike would not leave him.
One palm.
One casual motion.
One instant dismissal that crumbled the Lian Emperor like wet clay.
Even he—the Blood Demon, whose name made elders shiver—would not have emerged unscathed from such a blow.
He sucked in a deep breath, eyes glowing with unease.
That masked one… what monster lurks beneath that disguise?
Before he could sink deeper into that dread, a frantic voice echoed from the tunnel.
"Master! Master!"
A servant—thin, pale, and trembling—rushed inside and fell onto one knee.
The Blood Demon did not move. "Speak."
"Th-the Lian Emperor was defeated… not simply defeated, MASTER—he was destroyed in one move! Completely helpless!" The servant swallowed. "Even you, master, at your peak… you wouldn't be able to—"
The Blood Demon raised a hand.
The servant choked his words, shaking violently.
But the demon did not strike him. Instead, he closed his eyes and whispered, "You state the truth… and I already know it."
Silence pressed down like a mountain.
After a long moment, the Blood Demon finally spoke again. "That mysterious individual… he is tied to the Qin Clan. Perhaps even one of their hidden monsters."
"Master, then should we still move on the Q—"
"No." The Blood Demon's snarl shook the cavern. "We avoid them. Completely. The Qin Clan is a nest of ancient vipers. Even I cannot judge how many sleeping monsters they hide."
The servant lowered his head immediately.
The Blood Demon leaned back, eyes narrowing with dark calculation.
Peak of Spirit-Shattering.
A realm that made him a calamity in human form.
A level where he could crush sects with bare hands, and clans with a glance.
And yet… he still felt small.
As long as the masked one existed, his peak meant nothing.
He needed more power.
Not gradual growth.
Not slow cultivation.
Something drastic.
Something forbidden.
Something buried.
His gaze drifted toward the ancient map carved into the cavern wall—a region marked only with chaotic scribbles and crude bone ink:
THE ABYSSAL BONE MARSH
A place older than empires and feared more than demonic sects.
A place whispered of in the oldest records as:
"Where heavens drowned, and bones still remember."
No one knew its true origin. Some claimed it was where an ancient divine beast's corpse had decayed for ten thousand years, rotting the land into a poisonous mire. Others said it was the battlefield of forgotten gods—where the shattered remnants of fallen titans sank and merged with the soil. But all legends agreed on one truth:
Nothing that enters the Abyssal Bone Marsh returns unchanged.
It was a land of bone-mists and blood-ponds, of warped spirits and skeletal beasts roaming beneath crimson fog. Rare relics—fragments of divine marrow, cursed artifacts, shattered remains of ancient bone doctrines—were said to be scattered throughout. But even the greatest demons feared to tread there.
For the marsh was alive.
And it was hungry.
The servant followed his master's gaze and shuddered uncontrollably. "Master… you can't mean to enter that place. That is—"
"The only path left to me." The Blood Demon's voice rolled like thunder. "I stand at the peak of Spirit-Shattering… yet even now I am not unmatched. The world is changing. Monsters are awakening. Clans reveal power that should not exist."
His eyes darkened, reflecting a glint of obsession.
"If I do nothing, that masked one will crush me beneath his heel and never know my name. If I retreat, I become prey. If I hesitate—"
His aura erupted, cracking the bone floor.
"—I DIE."
The servant's breathing hitched.
The Blood Demon rose to his feet. The cave groaned and the dried weapons surrounding him disintegrated into dust with each step he took.
"Prepare the sacrificial gear." His tone was cold. "We depart for the Abyssal Bone Marsh at dawn."
"Y-yes, Master!"
The servant scrambled up and ran to carry out his orders.
Alone again, the Blood Demon stared at the map one last time.
"To reach the next realm… to surpass all living beings… I must consume the marrow relics hidden within." His lips curled into a wicked smile. "Once I do, neither the Qin Clan nor that masked monster will match me."
His fingers curled into a tight fist.
"And the Wu Clan… their ancestral heirloom will be the first sacrifice."
He licked his lips. "Their ancient marrow pearl… with it, I may break the boundary in a single night."
But even as he imagined his ascension, the image of the masked figure flashed again.
That cold indifference.
That effortless superiority.
That one palm that shattered a ruler.
The Blood Demon's smile faded.
"…But caution remains. Until I succeed, I do not provoke the Qin Clan. A single misstep…"
He shook his head.
He could not afford a single mistake.
Not now.
Not when the world was tilting toward chaos.
The night sky above the Qin Clan estate glimmered like polished obsidian, starlight threading through its courtyards and pavilions. From the balcony of Yuan Ai's residence, warm candlelight spilled softly onto the jade floor, carrying with it the faint scent of sandalwood and something sweeter—her lingering warmth.
Qin Su stepped out from behind the silk curtains, adjusting his robes, his expression calm yet faintly amused. Behind him, within the quiet room, Yuan Ai lay beneath embroidered sheets—golden hair tousled, cheeks flushed, and breathing soft with exhaustion.
He paused at the doorway, watching her rest.
Even for a woman of her cultivation, her maturity, her fiery nature… she had been thoroughly undone by him tonight.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"This was good… more than good," he thought, stretching his back lazily. "But I should let my beauty rest. After such 'exercise,' she deserves her sleep."
He closed the curtains gently, letting her drift into a satisfied slumber.
With quiet steps, Qin Su walked through the moonlit garden outside her residence, hands folded behind him, his expression relaxed and almost carefree. Servants bowed as he passed, unaware of the storm contained within his veins—or the monstrous figure he had crushed earlier that day while in disguise.
Tonight, he was simply Qin Su.
Calm.
Unhurried.
Walking home after pleasuring the most alluring woman in the clan.
He stepped onto the stone path leading back to his courtyard, exhaling lightly as a breeze rustled the leaves overhead.
"Mm. A fulfilling day indeed."
His thoughts drifted briefly to Yuan Ai's flushed expression, her trembling breaths, the way she had whispered his name in tones only lovers shared.
A lazy grin crossed his face.
"Rest well, my phoenix."
He continued down the path, unaware that faint, distant ripples of demonic energy were starting to shake the world's balance.
Across the world—far beyond the safe walls of the Qin Clan—dark mists churned above a nightmarish landscape.
The Abyssal Bone Marsh.
A land of sinking bones, blood-soaked fog, and forgotten relics buried beneath cursed soil.
And deep within its hollowed pits…
a figure moved.
The Blood Demon, newly ascended to the peak of the Spirit-Shattering Realm, stepped into the marsh's depths, the bone-mist sliding across his skin like eager serpents. His aura pulsed violently—half fear, half hunger.
"Masked one…" he whispered, recalling Qin Su's disguised form.
"That power… I must surpass it. No matter the cost."
The marsh growled in response, as if recognizing fresh prey.
He disappeared into the crimson haze.
While Qin Su leisurely returned home under the quiet moon, satisfied and utterly at peace…
…a calamity was preparing itself deep within a forbidden land.
A storm the world was not ready for.
A threat that even ancient clans had forgotten to fear.
And as the Abyssal Bone Marsh awakened—
the world remained blissfully unaware of the darkness preparing to rise.