Chapter 15: The Forbidden Technique
Beneath the ruins of Xianshen, the hidden chamber pulsed with ancient light. Jin Yue knelt before the sealed scroll of the Art of Dual Rebirth, sweat beading his brow as the temperature of the air fluctuated unnaturally—part freezing, part blazing.
Lianhua and Meimei stood behind him, uneasy. Even Yue'er, usually calm and detached, had summoned a frost blade in caution.
> "Are you sure you want to open that?" Meimei asked, her voice trembling. "That technique is why the Soul Emperor fell, isn't it?"
Jin Yue nodded.
> "He tried to bind two souls—his own and the Demon King's. But he failed. I must understand why… and how I can do it right."
With a touch of his soulflame, the seal broke.
---
The scroll unfurled midair, glowing lines of ancient runes spiraling around the chamber. The technique didn't contain words—it invoked experiences. Jin Yue gasped as his consciousness was pulled into a realm of pure memory.
There, he witnessed himself as the Soul Emperor, standing in a temple surrounded by celestial flames, performing the ritual—pulling a corrupted fragment of his brother's soul into his own body. The result had nearly torn him apart.
The final image was brutal: the Soul Emperor screaming, his body exploding into millions of lotus petals, consumed by dual forces he could not harmonize.
Back in the real world, Jin Yue staggered, clutching his head.
> "It was… incomplete," he gasped. "The ritual requires a vessel of equal polarity—dark and light, male and female, yin and yang…"
He turned to the women behind him. His eyes were wild with revelation.
> "I need you. Not just as companions. You're my anchors."
Lianhua stepped forward first, resolute.
> "Then take my flame."
She placed her hands over his chest, and a soft, violet glow flowed into him. Her heartfire merged with his soulflame, soothing and stabilizing it.
Meimei followed, her illusion qi wrapping around them both like a dream made real.
Yue'er came last. She hesitated.
> "If I give you this… I give you everything," she said softly.
> "Then trust me," Jin Yue replied, eyes meeting hers.
She sighed—and surrendered her frost qi. It was cold, pure, and agonizing. His veins froze momentarily, but then pulsed with ethereal power.
The chamber shook. The scroll disintegrated, its essence absorbed.
> New technique acquired: Twin Ascension—Dual Rebirth Lotus.
Jin Yue collapsed, heart pounding—but alive. Changed.
> "I can now fuse with the Demon King's soul… and purify it."
---
But far to the east, the Demon King let out a long breath.
> "He remembers too much…"
He turned to Lady Raksha.
> "Then it's time to send a warning."
With a flick of his wrist, he unleashed a cursed sigil into the wind.
> "Let the First Maiden bleed."