Part 1
A month had passed since the expedition to Fusang Valley.
It was the fifteenth night—the full moon. In a secluded valley on the outskirts of Ten Thousand Demon Ridge, Ning Ning idly toyed with a wisp of demonic flame at her fingertips. Her four fox tails swayed restlessly behind her.
"You're late." She suddenly looked up, her gaze fixed on an empty patch of shadow before her.
The air rippled faintly, and Su Yan, clad in black, emerged like a ghost. Without preamble, he tossed her a jade slip. Ning Ning caught it, swept her spiritual sense over it, and her pupils contracted sharply—inside was the first half of a top-tier demon body refinement technique (purchased from the System Exchange, of course).
"This is a deposit." Su Yan's voice was utterly flat. "In three days, the Azure Cloud Sect's Grand Elder will lead a team into the Falling Star Secret Realm. I want you to set a death trap on the 'Life Gate' route leading to the underground palace. You don't need to kill anyone—just create enough chaos to create a situation of inescapable mortal danger."
Ning Ning narrowed her cunning fox eyes, studying this boy whose cultivation appeared to be merely at Qi Condensation Stage. "The Falling Star Secret Realm is unclaimed territory. Your Grand Elder is a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator. You want me to walk into that?"
"There are restrictions deep within the realm—anyone above Golden Core will be suppressed by thirty percent. Besides, the Grand Elder won't take that route." Su Yan's gaze was dark. "The one who will take that route is Lin Yue."
Ning Ning sneered coldly. "You want to use my blade to eliminate your own sect's senior disciple?"
"That's none of your concern." Su Yan turned, his figure slowly merging into the darkness. "After it's done, I'll give you the second half of the technique."
Back in his cultivation cave, Su Yan immediately sat cross-legged and summoned the System interface.
[Exchange for one-time killing technique: Meridian Severing Finger. Cost: 5000 points.]
[Host's current points insufficient. Initiate advance borrowing?]
"Confirm."
[Points advance successful. Current points: -4110 (debt).]
[Skill loaded. Note: This finger technique is extremely cold and yin in nature. Externally, the victim appears unharmed, but internally, their dantian and meridians shatter inch by inch. No immortal can save them.]
A thread of icy-cold power coalesced at the tip of Su Yan's right index finger, then vanished beneath his skin.
Everything was in place. Only the trigger remained.
Part 2
Three days later, the Falling Star Secret Realm.
The expedition was led personally by the Azure Cloud Sect's Grand Elder. The team included several personal disciples—Lin Yue, Chu Yanran, Su Yan—along with over a dozen elite inner sect members.
The initial phase progressed smoothly. The Grand Elder's profound cultivation smashed through the outer restrictions with overwhelming force.
"We've struck gold! This is ancient Spirit-Gathering Herb!"
"Grand Elder! Two well-preserved low-grade magical artifacts over here!"
Excitement rippled through the group. Even the normally composed Lin Yue allowed a hint of pleasure to show on his face. The sect had been struggling with resource shortages lately; the bounty from this secret realm would significantly improve the disciples' cultivation conditions.
"Do not let your guard down," the Grand Elder said, stroking his beard with a smile. "Though this realm has been abandoned for ages, ancient formations may still linger in the depths. We have now reached the core of the underground palace, and three paths lie before us."
After a moment's consideration, the Grand Elder gave his orders: "We split into three groups. I will take five people down the central main path. Zhang Qisheng, you take the right path. Lin Yue, you take Yanran and Su Yan down the left path. Remember, the left path has the weakest spiritual energy—it appears to be the 'Life Gate,' but it is also the easiest to lose your way. If you encounter danger, crush your jade slip immediately and call for reinforcements!"
"This disciple obeys!" Lin Yue clasped his hands.
He turned, naturally positioning himself to shield Chu Yanran and Su Yan. Though the left path had thin spiritual energy and seemed safe, he remained vigilant. After all, he was protecting the sect leader's daughter and his "most fragile" fourth junior brother.
The groups dispersed.
As they entered the dim left-side passage, Su Yan walked at the rear. In a spot no one noticed, his fingertips crushed a colorless, odorless "Demon-Luring Incense." On the System's map display, crimson dots representing Ning Ning and her demon ambush waited silently in a massive stone chamber not far ahead.
Part 3
The passage widened until the three stepped into a vast, empty underground chamber.
"Senior Brother, there's nothing here," Chu Yanran said, holding up a luminous pearl to scan their surroundings.
Lin Yue did not respond. His brow furrowed deeper and deeper. A sword cultivator's instincts screamed warnings—the air here was too still, too silent. There was no sound of wind, no whisper of movement.
"Something's wrong! Get back!"
Lin Yue's sword flashed from its sheath as he grabbed Chu Yanran's arm and pulled her backward!
In that instant—CRASH! —a massive stone slab slammed down behind them, sealing their escape route!
Green demonic light flared from the chamber walls as a blood-red inverted barrier descended, trapping all three within.
"My, my. Azure Cloud Sect guests have come so far to visit. Won't you stay awhile?"
Ning Ning's seductive laughter echoed from above. On cue, four massive Bloodthirsty Demon Bears—each radiating the terrifying presence of mid-Foundation Building—burst from the shadows with earth-shaking roars!
"Ten Thousand Demon Ridge?!" Chu Yanran's face went pale.
"Yanran, Fourth Junior Brother—stay behind me! No matter what happens, do not leave my side!"
Lin Yue's voice cracked like thunder. His late-Foundation Building cultivation erupted without reservation. Brilliant cyan sword energy formed an impenetrable web, forcing the first two charging bears to retreat.
But within the barrier, the demons held the advantage. Though Ning Ning remained hidden, her foxfire struck like vipers from the shadows, steadily draining Lin Yue's spiritual energy.
Su Yan gripped an ordinary iron sword, standing tensely beside Chu Yanran. Occasionally, he clumsily deflected a stray wisp of foxfire.
His performance was flawless. His eyes even held the right amount of "fear" and "anxiety."
But on his retina, the System coldly calculated:
[Target: Lin Yue—Spiritual Energy Remaining: 40%.]
[Target: Lin Yue—Physical strength declining. Burning through life force.]
[Optimal kill window estimated in thirty breaths.]
Part 4
The battle was devastating.
Lin Yue fought four demons while shielding two behind him. His green robes were soaked in blood; his left arm hung with a chunk of flesh torn away by a bear's claw—bone visible beneath.
But he stood like an immovable mountain, planted between Su Yan, Chu Yanran, and death. He did not retreat a single step.
"Senior Brother! Leave us! Get out while you can!" Chu Yanran sobbed, watching Lin Yue's aura grow fainter by the moment.
"Silence!"
Lin Yue coughed up blood mixed with shreds of internal tissue. His eyes were bloodshot, wild.
The Grand Elder's rescue was at least an incense stick's time away. They could not last ten more breaths.
Lin Yue cast one final glance at the two behind him—and made a decision.
He bit through his tongue, spraying a mouthful of essence blood onto his blade. The fading cyan sword light exploded with brilliance surpassing the sun itself!
"Azure Cloud Art—Dawnbreaker!"
A suicidal strike—burning life force and cultivation foundation! Sword light coalesced into a roaring azure dragon, crashing into the three demon bears before him with irresistible force!
BOOM—!
The explosion tore the three Foundation Building bears into bloody mist. Even the suppressing blood-red barrier cracked open, gaping wide!
"GO!" Lin Yue roared.
But the strike had drained him completely. His body lurched forward uncontrollably. His back—utterly exposed.
The fourth bear, lurking in the shadows, raised a paw the size of a millstone and brought it crashing down toward Lin Yue's spine!
[Kill window reached.]
The System's chime was a death knell.
"Senior Brother, LOOK OUT!"
Su Yan's scream was raw with terror. He lunged forward as if throwing himself recklessly to shield Lin Yue from the fatal blow.
Chu Yanran's heart nearly stopped—a moment of despair and hope intertwined.
But in that split second between Su Yan reaching Lin Yue's back and the bear's paw descending—
Su Yan's right index finger, hidden in Lin Yue's blind spot, struck with surgical precision into the "Life Gate" pressure point at the small of Lin Yue's back.
[Meridian Severing Finger]—ACTIVATE.
Thump.
A sound so faint only the two of them could hear.
A torrent of yin-cold demonic energy—ancient, corrosive, annihilating—flooded into Lin Yue's body like poisoned water!
His dantian, already emptied of spiritual energy, fragile as glass, shattered instantly under the assault—crumbling into pieces! His broad, resilient meridians were shredded to pulp by the devastating force!
At the exact same moment—
CRASH!
The bear's paw slammed into both Lin Yue and Su Yan. Two forces, perfectly superimposed—the most seamless cover Su Yan could have asked for.
Lin Yue flew like a broken kite, crashing into the stone wall ten zhang away.
Blood sprayed from his mouth—mingled with fragments of golden light. Shards of his shattered foundation.
"SENIOR BROTHER—!!!"
Chu Yanran's scream tore through the chamber.
Su Yan also "fell" nearby, clutching his chest and coughing blood. His face was deathly pale, his eyes filled with despair as he stared at Lin Yue.
In the shadows, Ning Ning sensed the Grand Elder's terrifying spiritual pressure closing in. Seeing the battle resolved, she withdrew her foxfire and slipped into an escape tunnel with her remaining forces.
Part 5
Silence fell over the chamber, broken only by Chu Yanran's desperate sobbing.
"Senior Brother... please... I have a Revival Pill. Take it!" Her hands trembled as she tried to force the pill between his lips, but blood welled up and washed it away.
Lin Yue lay amidst the rubble, drenched in blood. His body convulsed violently. His cultivation—once so abundant—drained like water from a shattered vessel.
Late Foundation Building... Early Foundation Building... Qi Condensation Stage Six... Stage Two...
Ruined. Completely ruined.
Lin Yue's eyes opened with difficulty.
His gaze passed over the weeping Chu Yanran and landed on Su Yan—"grievously wounded" as well, using his sword to prop himself up, crawling toward him with a face twisted in "anguish."
Their eyes met.
Su Yan's expression was filled with self-blame and pain—the perfect image of a junior brother devastated by his own helplessness, by the tragedy that had befallen his senior.
But beneath that flawless mask, Su Yan's heart was cold as ice. He was looking at a threat that had been eliminated.
And Lin Yue?
Lin Yue did not look at Chu Yanran. His eyes were fixed on Su Yan.
Those eyes—once warm and clear—held no rage, no fury. Only a bone-deep shock and sorrow that was far more chilling.
In the moment his meridians shattered, his body had memorized the touch of that yin-cold energy. That stealthy, ancient demonic force—it was not the work of a demon bear's brute strength.
It had come from behind. From the fingertip of the boy who called him Senior Brother.
BOOM!
The Grand Elder's sword shattered the stone slab sealing the chamber. The old man burst in, his face twisted with fury, but to Lin Yue, everything around him blurred and faded.
He stared at Su Yan.
His lips moved. No sound came out, but Su Yan read the words.
Lin Yue said: "It was you."
Su Yan's pupils contracted—a microscopic, involuntary spasm.
[Warning: Target has detected Host's actions! Immediate elimination recommended to prevent future threats!]
Su Yan's fingers curled again. But under the crushing pressure of the Grand Elder's presence, there was no chance to deliver a final blow.
Lin Yue's gaze lingered on Su Yan's face for three final breaths. Then, in the depths of agony and despair, his eyes closed.
The Grand Elder gathered Lin Yue's blood-soaked body. The moment he probed the shattered meridians, tears streamed down the half-step Nascent Soul elder's weathered face. His hands shook uncontrollably.
"The dantian is shattered... the meridians destroyed... How could this happen?!"
Su Yan lay on the ground, listening to the Grand Elder's lament. He slowly closed his eyes.
In his mind, the System coldly tallied the results:
[Threat eliminated successfully.]
[Target: Chu Yanran—Affection surged to 95 (Bonded by Life and Death).]
Su Yan took a deep breath. He swallowed the last traces of nausea and unease—together with the taste of blood in his throat—and crushed them deep within.
The last thread called conscience had snapped.
From this moment onward, he was no longer a person. He was merely a demon—a demon carrying out his mission to drain this world dry.