After the devastation, only smoke and piles of debris remained. The Master of the Holy Sword Sect, dressed in glowing white robes without a single drop of blood on them, walked swiftly toward the Heavenly Court Messenger. He bowed in deep respect and spoke in a grave tone:
"Lord Messenger, we have captured all the rebels who were hiding in this hellhole—the Blood-Refining Sect—committing forbidden acts. What we discovered in the initial interrogation is bone-chilling. These people... they were trying to resurrect the Heavenly Demon!"
The moment the name 'Heavenly Demon' reached the Messenger's ears, his face turned pale. His Quasi-Immortal power suddenly began to boil. Without a word, he flicked his wrist, and a golden wave of energy surged toward the captured Elders.
BOOM!
In an instant, their bodies turned to dust. The Messenger had erased even their very souls.
His eyes burning with fury, the Messenger roared, "Fools! They had no idea what fire they were playing with. That cataclysmic monster was defeated and destroyed by Ye Fang at the cost of his own life! If that demon returns, all three realms will become a graveyard!"
The Messenger cast a cold glance at the pile of ash and turned to the Sect Master. "You have no idea how close you were to total annihilation. Ye Fang killed him, but his terror is still felt across the stars. Clean up whatever mess remains here, but remember... if even a fragment of that demon is left behind, the Heavenly Court will erase this entire region from the map!"
With those words, the Messenger vanished into the sky with a bolt of lightning, leaving behind the trembling warriors of the Holy Sword Sect. They finally understood they weren't just fighting a common enemy, but a conspiracy to end the world.
Meanwhile, LeeHan was running like a madman through the rugged forest paths. His feet were blistered, his clothes were in tatters, and his body groaned in agony, but his face wore a smile that hadn't been seen in over ten years. He would stop occasionally, panting, and look back at the burning Sect.
"Free... I am free!" he screamed, his voice piercing the silence of the woods. "Finally! After twelve years in that hell... today, I am free! This is freedom!" Tears of joy streamed down his face. He felt like the luckiest man in the world, believing a new life was finally beginning. He shouted in devotion, "Thank you, Great Buddha, for hearing my plea!"
But destiny had other plans. In his state of euphoric blindness, he failed to see the path ahead. His foot slipped on a steep slope, and he tumbled straight into a fast-flowing, jagged river. The current was so fierce that LeeHan had no chance to steady himself. His exhausted body was tossed about by the waves until his consciousness finally faded.
The river eventually washed his lifeless body onto a quiet bank. LeeHan lay still amidst the mud and sand.
Just then, an elderly man was passing by on a nearby path—his face etched with the wrinkles of experience and his eyes filled with kindness. His name was Hao Chen. With him was a young, lively girl—his granddaughter, Hao Lin.
"Grandpa, look!" Hao Lin shouted, pointing toward the bank.
Hao Chen's gaze fell upon the half-dead boy. He rushed over to LeeHan's side. Looking at the boy's condition, his soul shuddered. There were lash marks across his body, his face was horribly swollen, and his breathing was shallow and ragged.
"Poor child..." Hao Chen said, checking LeeHan's pulse. "Lin, come quickly! We must take him away from here. If we delay, he will surely slip into the jaws of death."
Hao Lin looked at LeeHan with fearful eyes—a boy who had fallen into a new disaster on his very first day of freedom. Together, they supported him and began leading him toward an unknown place where a new chapter of LeeHan's fate was about to unfold.
Hao Chen and Hao Lin carried the nearly lifeless body away from the riverbank. LeeHan didn't weigh much—years of hunger and slavery had reduced him to little more than a skeleton. As they carried him toward their small hut, the blood dripping from his wounds stained the soil of the path.
"Grandpa, look at all the wounds on his body!" Hao Lin sobbed, her voice trembling with innocent fear. "Someone has beaten him so cruelly. Will he survive?"
Hao Chen sighed deeply and quickened his pace. "We must save this child's life, Lin. Otherwise, he will draw his last breath right here. These lash marks, these burn scars... he has escaped from a living hell."
Upon reaching home, they laid LeeHan on an old stone bed. The hut was simple, but the air was filled with the calming scent of medicinal herbs. Hao Lin didn't sit idle. Knowing her grandfather was a healer, she ran inside and brought the special bowl used for grinding medicines.
She worked hard to prepare a herbal paste and a special essence. "Here, Grandpa, this will heal his internal injuries." She gently rested the unconscious LeeHan's head in her lap and began to trickle the medicine through his cracked lips with a spoon. Even in his unconscious state, LeeHan groaned in pain, but as the medicine went down, his body slowly began to settle.
Two days and two nights passed. LeeHan's ribs began to knit together, and the swelling on his face subsided.
On the morning of the third day, as a thin ray of sunlight fell across the stone bed, LeeHan's eyelashes flickered. His eyes opened, but everything was a blur. He could only see a wooden ceiling and the glow of a nearby fire. He thought he was dreaming.
As his consciousness fully returned, he saw two shadows nearby—a tall old man and a girl. Instantly, the memories of that hell flashed through LeeHan's mind. He thought he had been recaptured. He feared that Kai Fu and Wang Bo had found him, and that these people were the new executioners of the Blood-Refining Sect.
He tried to bolt upright, but his body betrayed him. He nearly fell off the bed and began to shake violently.
"No! Please forgive me!" LeeHan screamed, his voice cracking with hysteria. "I... I won't try to run away again! Master, please don't kill me! I didn't mean to escape... I just lost my way. Please, don't whip me!"
He scrambled across the floor, pressing himself into a corner of the wall. His eyes held that raw terror found only in those who have stared death in the face. He expected someone to walk over and kick him in the mouth at any moment.
"Child, calm down..." Hao Chen said softly, taking a step toward him.
"Stay back!" LeeHan shrieked. "I know you're going to throw me back into the dungeon. I know I'm just a slave worth ten coins. But please... I don't have the strength to endure anymore. I'll die!"
Seeing his desperation, tears welled up in Hao Lin's eyes. She said softly, "You are safe. No one will hit you here. We are not from that Sect."
But LeeHan heard nothing. He simply buried his head between his knees and shook uncontrollably, convinced that his freedom had been a cruel trick and that he was still a prisoner in that hell.