The winds over the Celestial Capital had not calmed.
Despite the triumphant unmasking of General Feng Zhen, despite the emperor's official recognition and the rising acclaim, Tianming knew the battle had merely shifted—from the courts and chambers of the empire to the depths of shadowed prophecy and fractured fate.
He had seen it in the system notification.
"Voidbane Flame acquired."
"Second Awakening available."
And then…
"New Threat Identified: Abyssal Cult – Gate Preparation in Progress."
The words were sterile, clinical. But behind them lay a truth that sent shivers down even a Sky Realm cultivator's spine: the Cult was preparing to summon something ancient, something banished by the first Celestial Emperors. A gate leading directly into the Abyss—a realm where laws broke down and night devoured stars.
Tianming couldn't let that gate open.
---
Northern Provinces – Ruins of Blackfall
Three nights later, under a crescent moon bleeding pale gold, Tianming stood among shattered pillars and broken altars. The Blackfall Temple had once been a sacred place for star worshippers, but now, twisted vines choked the runes, and black fog oozed from the cracks in the earth.
"This is where they'll summon the Gate," Zhao Yueyin murmured. Her breath was visible, though it was summer. "Can you feel it? The air—it's... wrong."
Tianming nodded. "It's saturated with void essence. Too strong to be natural."
Behind them stood their loyal companions—Lan Mei, her dual blades humming with qi, and Bai Rui, the silent monk from the Jadewind Order. They were Tianming's closest circle now, each one stronger than when they first met, honed by trials, united by loyalty.
And they would need each other more than ever.
From the temple's depths came a slow chant. Foreign syllables laced with intent so dark they seemed to claw at the soul.
"Too late," Bai Rui whispered. "The ritual has begun."
"No," Tianming replied, eyes narrowing. "It ends here."
---
The Descent
They entered the ruins.
Every step was war. The corridors twisted on themselves, space warped by abyssal influence. One hallway looped back to the entrance until Lan Mei sliced open the wall with her blade, revealing a false illusion.
The cult had turned this place into a labyrinth.
At its center, in the former sanctuary of the Moon Oracle, now a desecrated altar of void flame, stood Master Corvus. His cloak rippled like ink in water. Around him knelt thirteen robed acolytes, each bearing a mark on their forehead—the brand of the Abyss.
A swirling vortex floated above the altar. Black and gold light danced like a storm held in place by sheer will.
The Void Gate.
"You should've stayed in the Capital," Corvus said, turning to Tianming. "Power makes fools bold. And yet, here you are."
Tianming raised Starpiercer, starlight flaring from his core. "And yet here you fall."
Corvus smiled—a sharp, cruel smile.
"Kill them."
---
The Battle for the Gate
The chamber exploded into motion. The cultists summoned shadow beasts—creatures stitched from nightmares and bound by void chains. The beasts shrieked, warping sound itself, but Bai Rui silenced one with a single chant, sending a pulse of sacred wind that erased it from existence.
Zhao Yueyin unleashed the Phoenix Seal, her flames turning blue as they clashed with the void fog, forming a dome around the summoners to disrupt their chant.
Lan Mei dueled with twin scythe-wielders, dancing between death strokes with elegance born of countless battles.
But Tianming… Tianming moved straight for Corvus.
"You carry a seed of divinity, boy," Corvus said as they clashed. "I can smell it in your blood."
"I carry a promise," Tianming said, slashing with a spiral of starlight. "To burn your darkness away."
Their fight ripped through space. Every strike from Corvus summoned arms from the void, spectral blades of ancient horror. Tianming answered with starbursts, each one resonating with his system-enhanced core.
> System Activation: Second Awakening – Celestial Pulse Ignited
Power surged. Time slowed.
Tianming saw everything. Each breath, each movement—Corvus' future and past laid bare for one perfect instant. In that window, he struck.
Heaven's Shatterfall.
A move no mortal should wield.
Starlight ruptured the void.
The altar cracked. The gate shuddered. Corvus screamed.
"No!" the cult master shrieked. "We were promised eternity! We were—"
He never finished.
Tianming's blade passed through him like judgment through sin.
---
Aftermath – Sealing the Gate
The cultists fled or perished. The remaining acolytes were captured by Bai Rui's bindings of sacred silk, chanting wards that banished lingering shadows.
But the Gate still pulsed, unstable.
"It's not sealed," Lan Mei said. "It's wounded."
Zhao Yueyin bit her lip. "If it remains, the Abyss will find another way."
Tianming stepped forward.
"I'll seal it."
He planted his sword into the altar, summoning all his cultivated essence.
> System Override: Celestial Core Conversion in Progress
> Warning: Essence loss imminent. Lifespan may be reduced.
He didn't hesitate.
Starlight poured into the Gate. The swirling black and gold began to contract. The runes on the altar lit up one final time, then shattered like glass.
And the Gate was gone.
Tianming collapsed, his body smoking with burned qi lines.
Zhao caught him before he hit the floor.
---
Later – The Reckoning
They returned to the Celestial Capital under moonlight.
Tianming spent three days unconscious in the Pavilion of Stars. When he awoke, he found a strange peace had settled over the empire—but not within himself.
He had sealed a Gate. Killed a master of the Abyss. But the war was not over.
In the imperial court, news spread like wildfire. Cults were rising in the western mountains. Strange tides were reported in the Mirror Lakes. The darkness was still moving.
And the system confirmed it:
> Main Quest Completed: Prevent the Abyssal Gate
> New Quest Unlocked: "Trial of the Seven Lights"
> Global Alert: Abyssal Energy Detected in Seven Provinces
---
Closing
In the Garden of Silence, Tianming sat once more, this time flanked by all three women—Zhao Yueyin, Lan Mei, and Bai Rui's silent presence in the shadows.
He looked up at the stars.
"We sealed the Gate. But the world is cracking."
Zhao placed a hand on his.
"Then we'll seal it piece by piece."
And far away, in a place no stars shone, something ancient stirred.
A voice echoed through the dark:
"The Light has moved. The Abyss will answer."
---
To Be Continued in Chapter 40: The Shattered Sky Prophecy