The town stood in stillness.
What had once been a quiet border settlement of no significance was now cloaked in myth. The beast tide that should have reduced it to ashes had instead vanished beneath a celestial lotus—silver moonlight burning atop crimson flame—leaving the town untouched. Not a single life was lost.
In the taverns, people whispered in reverence and fear.
Some claimed it was the work of an ancient immortal reborn. Others swore they had seen a lone figure standing at the heart of the storm, robes fluttering in the moonlight, wielding heaven's own power.
The land itself bore the tale: craters lined the outskirts, charred earth still steaming beneath the daylight. The defensive formations had been enhanced and reshaped with divine precision. Spirit beasts now avoided the region entirely.
But this silence was only the beginning.
Across the Tianyuan Empire, ripples spread.
In the Central Imperial Capital, Tianjing—beneath golden spires and storm-wreathed towers—the Celestial Court convened in emergency session.
"The report is verified," intoned Minister Zhao, laying down a jade slip. "A beast tide of three thousand spirit beasts was neutralized in under an hour. The town remains intact. No casualties."
A murmur rose among the robed officials and clan envoys seated within the Vermillion Phoenix Hall.
"The eastern border is home to minor sects. Could one of them be testing a new artifact?" a skeptical noble asked.
"No," replied the Prime Astrologer. "Our stargazers recorded a celestial fluctuation that night. A lotus formed in the firmament—a divine-grade phenomenon."
Emperor Xuanlong, seated on the throne of nine thrones, said nothing for a long while. His gaze settled on a sealed scroll marked with the Eastern Kingdom's royal crest.
"Dispatch the Black Phoenix Envoy," he finally said. "Unseen. Unnamed. If a power rises without imperial sanction, we will not allow another Heaven-Seizing Sect to emerge."
In the Eastern Kingdom, local rulers held crisis councils.
King Jialin, ruler of the Stormjade Dominion, stared out at the thunderclouds surrounding his sky palace. "My kingdom's easternmost town became a focal point for divine phenomena," he muttered. "Why was I not informed earlier?"
A trusted general replied, "We believed it was sect interference—perhaps the Iron Wind Sect. But the scouts report no known cultivators near the epicenter. Someone erased their presence."
"Then that someone wields divine-grade concealment arts," Jialin said, his eyes narrowing. "Dispatch a diplomatic envoy. Pretend we seek alliance—while collecting every scrap of intelligence possible."
In the Northern Frost Kingdom, the Queen of Ice Petals received word of the event through mirrored ice crystals. Her court of snow-clad nobles debated whether this marked the return of a long-buried prophecy.
"If this is the return of the Moonfire Legacy..." one elder whispered, "then the Nine Heavens Moon Sect may yet breathe."
Far above the clouds, within the Royal Dao Academy, the Headmaster of Stars convened the Circle of Heaven.
Flames flickered in copper braziers as his voice echoed through the marble chamber. "The lotus has returned. Sword Intent of Moonlight was confirmed by our seers."
The gathered elders nodded gravely.
"Dispatch the Starveil Operatives," he commanded. "We do not act—yet. But we will watch. The stars are shifting."
Major sects reacted with both dread and ambition.
The Iron Wind Sect fumed at losing control of their own territory. Their Sect Master ordered all elders in the eastern territories to submit updated spiritual trace maps.
The Heavenly Jade Pavilion interpreted the spiritual herb resonance in the region as signs of ancient medicinal veins reawakening. Their alchemists dreamed of breakthroughs.
The Abyssal Void Sect, cultists of dark prophecy, declared the "Moon-Blood Sovereign" had awakened. Their seers wept in twisted joy.
The Skyshroud Sect debated sending their top disciples to "make contact before enemies do."
Even foreign powers stirred.
In the desert oases of the Burning Sand Empire, flame oracles muttered of moonlight in the fire.
In the distant jade forests of the Verdant Phoenix Archipelago, the Spirit Empress of Rebirth saw a vision of a silver lotus—and an exiled child.
In the shadows, enemies watched.
The Zhao Clan, whose schemes had led to Li Xuan's exile, raged in confusion.
"The boy was crippled," a spy groaned as his elder slammed him into a wall.
"He vanished in the forest—and now a divine lotus appears from that very place?!" the Zhao Elder roared. "Find him. Kill him. Or we'll all kneel to him soon."
In the Mistshroud Peaks, a crimson-robed figure stood atop a blade-shaped cliff, eyes glowing like bloodstone.
"He is moving," the assassin murmured. "The Nine Heavens Moon Sect breathes again. I must bury it before it draws breath."
Far away, the one at the center of it all moved silently.
Li Xuan stood beneath the moonlight, a calm wind brushing his robes. The System whispered again in his mind:
[New Mission Unlocked]
"Restore the Nine Heavens Moon Sect."
Destination: Veiled Spirit Mountains, Central Region.
Rewards: Sect Revival Sequence | Hidden System Functions | Legacy Access.
He smiled faintly.
For seven days, he prepared.
He layered multi-tiered formations around the town's outskirts—barriers, traps, and alarm glyphs all linked to spiritual anchors only he could sense.
He visited the Li Clan vaults one final time, removing crates of ancient relics: jade slips, abundant medicinal herbs sealed in large jade containers, medicinal seeds, sect robes, rare pills, crates of spirit stones, flying boats, and preserved beast eggs. Among them, a cracked moon-disc glowed faintly—it responded to his touch. He stored everything in his system storage space, quietly wondering how such treasures had remained hidden for so long. Though the clan had lacked access due to sealed formations, they had no idea what lay beneath their feet.
He returned to the satellite cave deep in the forest and cleared the remaining inheritance—formation disks, celestial maps, a dormant sect token that pulsed in recognition, elder tokens, more spiritual weapons, and cultivation techniques.
On the third day, while combing through the dense reaches of the ancient forest in search of lingering inheritances, Li Xuan's senses picked up a faint but erratic spiritual signature—weak, flickering, but undeniably human.
Following the source, he arrived at a fog-laced glade hidden beneath a canopy of ancient moon-barked trees. There, collapsed near a shallow spring, lay a young woman barely conscious. Her robes, though tattered and stained, were clearly of refined make—stitched with spiritual silk and faint protective runes, many of which had been violently disrupted.
Around her lay the broken remnants of suppression chains and shattered talismans, as if she had forcibly broken free from captivity. Her body was bruised, her breathing shallow—yet her spirit had not been extinguished. She had escaped, but only just.
Li Xuan stepped forward cautiously. The woman's eyes fluttered open—deep violet irises sharp despite exhaustion. Her gaze darted toward him, unsure, then softened faintly.
"You're… not them," she whispered.
"No," he said evenly. "You're safe now."
Her lips parted as if to speak more, but only a name passed through them before darkness overtook her again.
"…Yue…"
Li Xuan gently lifted her, his brows knitting slightly. Her cultivation had been forcibly sealed—her meridians bruised but recoverable. She was not from around here. That much was clear.
A mystery wrapped in danger. But one he could not ignore. He took her home, and his mother fed her a healing pill, bathed her, and changed her into Li Xioran's clothes. After two days, the girl recovered nearly eighty percent.
Then came the night of departure. He did not leave alone.
Li Zheng and Lady Mei, once shamed, now walked beside him proudly.
Li Xioran, sharper than ever, carried the fire of vengeance and vision.
Yuan Fei, now at the 5th stage of Qi Refinement—his first disciple.
His Phoenix companion.
Four children, each with latent talent, followed him after he rescued them from evil cultivators who had destroyed their entire village.
The girl he rescued in the forest watched him with silent understanding.
That night, beneath a star-drenched sky, a flying boat shaped like a silver crescent rose from the earth and vanished into the heavens.
It flew toward the Veiled Spirit Mountains—toward destiny.
Toward rebirth.
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