The winds of war had shifted. Not with the clang of swords nor the blare of horns, but with silent oaths sworn beneath ancient banners.
The newly-formed Celestial Alliance, comprising handpicked elites from the Four Great Sects, began preparations for an unprecedented expedition—an assault not on a rival sect, but on a corrupted god-seed said to dwell in the heart of the Forgotten Abyss.
And leading it... was a young man reborn from a world that had long since passed into legend.
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Void Spirit Temple – Starfall Courtyard
Xuantian stood on a platform surrounded by a circle of grandmasters, elders, and elite disciples. Spiritual banners floated above them, bearing marks of unity—Void Spirit's lotus sigil intertwined with the blade of Iron Sky, the crescent of Jade Moon, and the flame of Heaven's Echo.
In the days following the conclave, trust was still thin, tension high. But the threat of the Corrupted Lotus was undeniable. Even the most conservative sects realized: if they delayed, they'd become prey.
Grandmaster Yunlong's voice rang out. "Today we seal our pact. Tomorrow, we march toward the edge of the known world. The Abyss awaits."
Disciples bowed in unison.
Among them, Ruyue, clad in silver battle robes embroidered with starlight patterns, stood at Xuantian's right.
On his left, Jing Hao sharpened his twin sabers, still wearing his trademark smirk. "A war against fate, huh? About time something interesting happened."
Xuantian took a deep breath. Though his heart remained calm, he could feel the third seal beginning to stir inside him—just as the chained prisoner had warned.
That night, under the full moon, he sat alone by a spirit lake, reflecting.
Consume fate, the prisoner had said.
He clenched his fists.
"I'm not afraid of fate," he murmured. "I'm afraid of what I'll become if I follow it blindly."
---
Elsewhere – A Hidden Sect in the Northern Wastes
The Demonic Lotus Sect moved silently, like a shadow behind every major event. Their agents were embedded in dozens of minor sects, noble families, and trading guilds.
In a subterranean chamber, a tall woman clad in bone-white armor knelt before the Lotus Seed, which now pulsed like a beating heart.
"Grand Matron," a servant whispered, "the Celestial Alliance has begun mobilization."
The Matron's lips curled into a cold smile.
"Let them come."
She stood, revealing glowing black veins beneath her armor—signs of complete corruption, but also immense power.
"Release the First Petal," she ordered. "Let them see what it means to tread into divine soil."
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Journey to the Abyss – Day One
The Celestial Alliance's march began at dawn.
Thousands of cultivators, spirit beasts, and flying ships moved in formation, protected by divine wards and weather control formations. Their destination: the Forgotten Abyss, a region so ancient it had been erased from every map, its existence buried by divine decree.
As the landscape shifted from verdant plains to jagged deadlands, Ruyue broke the silence.
"We're not just walking into a battlefield," she said. "We're walking into a graveyard of gods."
Xuantian nodded. "Which means we'll find more than just enemies there. We'll find truths."
Jing Hao snorted. "Great. I love dying for philosophy."
Despite the levity, they all felt it—the air grew heavier the farther they traveled. Birds avoided the skies, and the wind whispered words that made no sense yet echoed with uncanny familiarity.
On the third night, the Alliance camped near the edge of the Dead Sea Plateau. Ancient statues, half-buried in sand and time, stared blankly at the stars.
Ruyue approached one such statue, brushing off its surface.
"It's… crying," she said.
Indeed, a faint stream of glowing liquid flowed from the statue's eye socket. Xuantian touched it, and an image flashed in his mind—a woman in white, chained to a black lotus, screaming.
He staggered back.
"It's a memory fragment," he muttered. "A remnant of the War of Heaven."
Yunlong appeared behind them. "The Abyss isn't just cursed—it remembers. And it will try to make you remember as well."
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Seven Days Later – The Abyss Breach
At last, the Alliance reached the edge of the Forgotten Abyss.
It was unlike anything they'd seen.
An endless chasm, miles wide, ringed with petrified trees the size of towers. From its depths rose black mist, filled with whispers and crimson lights. No birds flew here. No life dared breathe.
Floating above the chasm was a shattered temple, held together by spiritual chains—the last known outpost before the void below.
Xuantian stepped forward. His eyes flared golden.
He could feel it.
The third seal within him pulsed wildly.
"It's here."
Suddenly, the earth trembled.
The sky cracked—and from the chasm, a monstrous being erupted.
It had no flesh—just bones woven into a massive humanoid form, draped in lotus petals as black as night. Its core glowed red, and from its many mouths came a single word:
"Return."
Chaos erupted.
Spells were cast, blades drawn. Cultivators took to the skies in formation, while spiritual cannons from the flying ships roared.
But nothing touched it.
Every attack was absorbed by the petals, which closed around the being like a shield.
Yunlong shouted, "That's the First Petal—a guardian created by the Lotus to guard its roots! Don't engage directly. We need the Seal Bearers!"
Xuantian stepped forward, but the chained energy of the seal within him threatened to burst.
"I'm not ready," he gasped.
Ruyue caught him. "You don't have to be. Just stand, and let it awaken."
The third seal responded.
A crimson sigil flared on Xuantian's back, shaped like a burning lotus intertwined with stars.
The chained energy burst forth—not as destruction, but as light. It spiraled into the sky, forming a massive array that locked onto the First Petal's core.
The creature screamed.
And for the first time, it bled.
Yunlong's eyes widened. "Incredible… he didn't just awaken the seal. He synchronized it."
Jing Hao flew beside him. "Then let's not waste the opening!"
He and a dozen elites launched a synchronized strike into the creature's chest.
With a final scream, the First Petal shattered into black ash.
But as the dust settled, Xuantian collapsed, blood leaking from his nose and ears.
The third seal had awakened—but it had come at a cost.
---
Aftermath
Camp was reestablished near the breach.
The mood was mixed. The Alliance had won a battle—but they now understood the depth of what they faced.
The Abyss held more than petals. It held an entire Garden of God-Corruption—and at its center, the true Lotus, still sleeping.
Xuantian awoke two days later, his body barely responding, but his mind sharper than ever.
"I saw it," he whispered to Ruyue. "The center of the Lotus. It's not a flower… it's a person."
Ruyue frowned. "What do you mean?"
He looked her dead in the eye.
"It's a reincarnated god. One we killed a million years ago. And now it wants revenge."
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