The morning mist still clung to the treetops as Ye Tian stepped onto the lonely path that cut through the northern wilderness. His steps were steady, yet within his chest, a storm refused to settle. Ever since his encounter with Bai Ningxue, his mind had been haunted by questions—about who he truly was, and what awaited him at the end of this bloodstained road.
Beneath his tattered black robe, still stained with the dust of ruins, Ye Tian's body was slowly adapting to the new power flowing through his blood. The meridians in his body expanded, branching in strange, unnatural directions, forming patterns found in no cultivation manual he had ever read. The Heavenly Blood Codex was not merely a technique—it was a legacy.
The night wind crept through the forest, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and lingering ash. The small campfire in front of Ye Tian was fading, now just a cluster of glowing embers—like the eyes of a beast lurking in the dark.
Beside him, the young child he had rescued earlier curled up in exhausted sleep, his face still pale but slowly relaxing. Perhaps for the first time since the tragedy, the boy could dream... without screams and blood.
Ye Tian gazed at that innocent face for a long time, as though searching for something he once possessed—but had long since lost.
"They shouldn't have to see a world this cruel," he whispered softly.
But the world didn't care who deserved to suffer. The world only knew power—and the weak would become prey. That was a law written long before the sects were founded, before the heavens granted Qi to the world, before mankind even understood cultivation.
Ye Tian took a deep breath.
He then pulled a cloth roll from within his robe. Inside was an old, weathered map, filled with red ink markings denoting key locations known only to secret clans and legacy hunters. One point on the map had begun to glow faintly—the Black Bone Valley, said to house the second piece of the Heavenly Blood Codex.
"It's time to move again," he murmured.
But before he could rise, the sound of light footsteps echoed from the west. Ye Tian immediately stood and turned, ears catching the rhythm of the steps—unhurried, but clearly belonging to an unusual cultivator.
From behind the night fog emerged a young man in dark gray robes, the emblem of the Cracked Shadow Temple emblazoned on his chest. His eyes were sharp, and a cold aura surrounded his body—like ice that would never melt, even under firelight.
"Ye Tian..." the man spoke in a flat tone, clearly recognizing whom he faced. "I've finally found you."
Ye Tian knew that face.
Qin Wuying.
Once, they had been wandering disciples from different sects. But Wuying had sold his soul to darkness in exchange for faster cultivation. He believed that in this world, only those who embraced shadow could survive.
"You haven't changed," said Ye Tian, staring straight at him.
"I've grown," Wuying replied coldly. "But not to be a hero. I want to know... if you're strong enough to walk your own path."
Wuying unsheathed his sword, which immediately released a slithering shadow aura like a serpent.
Ye Tian said nothing more. He gently laid the sleeping child down by a tree, then rose and stood beneath the moonlight.
Two former disciples of different sects.
Two diverging paths.
Two shadows staring at each other in the silence of night.
"Very well. If the heavens reject us both..." Ye Tian spoke slowly, his voice once again deep and resonant, "...then let's see who will shatter the heavens first."
Sword and shadow clashed in a flash of lightning.
And the night fell silent once more, bearing witness to the clash of two men who had abandoned the light… in search of truth within darkness.
The battle between Ye Tian and Qin Wuying raged without words, but every strike shook the earth, every step left craters behind. No speeches, no threats—only two wills locked in destruction.
Qin Wuying moved like a shadow sculpted from night itself, his steps cracking the ground in utter silence. He was a deadly dancer, his blade arcing in slashes so sharp they seemed to slice the dimensions themselves. But Ye Tian was not one to be swallowed by night.
With bare hands, he parried the shadow strikes, letting sparks of Qi dance around his body. Every motion was part of a dance older than the world itself—a dance of curses, suffering, and defiance against the heavens.
"Why do you keep walking this painful path, Ye Tian?!" Qin Wuying shouted amidst the clash.
Ye Tian met his gaze, his eyes glowing crimson-black, then replied in a low but shattering voice:
"Because I want to live as myself... not as a puppet of a sect, nor a slave to prophecy."
Blood dripped from Ye Tian's lips, but he did not retreat. Qin Wuying launched his ultimate technique: Fractured Shadow Splits the Soul—a forbidden move once outlawed by the six great sects for directly targeting the spirit.
But just as the strike neared Ye Tian's chest—a spiritual explosion erupted from within his body.
WHOOOSH!!
The curse mark on the back of his hand lit up completely, creating a divine blood formation that shook the ground beneath them. In an instant, an indescribable aura of eternity filled the air.
Qin Wuying was flung five zhang away, coughing blood, and stared at Ye Tian with trembling eyes.
"That... what technique is that...?" he asked, gasping for breath.
Ye Tian did not answer. He stepped forward slowly, letting the shadow behind him swell into the silhouette of a black-winged creature with three eyes—a symbol of the curse that could not be silenced.
Seeing this, Qin Wuying let out a bitter laugh.
"I understand now... You really are different. Not of this world." He rose shakily, then sheathed his sword. "I'll be waiting... for when we meet again—when the world must choose between light and darkness."
And then he left, leaving a trail of blood behind him. Ye Tian stood alone once more amidst the silent ruins of a forgotten village.
Behind a tree, the child awoke and looked toward Ye Tian, but dared not approach.
"Don't be afraid," Ye Tian said more gently this time, his voice soft and soothing. "No one will hurt you again."
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That night, before dawn broke, Ye Tian walked northward, following the mark on the map that now pulsed with a deep red glow. The Black Bone Valley awaited—and within it, the next secret of the heavenly blood curse etched into his soul would slowly be revealed.
But one thing was now certain:
Ye Tian's footsteps had shaken fate itself.
And his shadow… would never again be swallowed by night.
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