The Celestial Alliance had crossed the threshold.
Beyond the shattered temple and the breach into the Forgotten Abyss, a new realm unfolded—neither part of the mortal world nor fully divine. The Garden of Lost Deities was a place severed from the cycle of life and death, a pocket dimension built atop the bones of forgotten gods and fueled by the Corrupted Lotus's blooming hatred.
Everything here pulsed with an eerie rhythm.
Petals of black and crimson drifted through the air like ash. Trees bore fruits shaped like screaming faces. Rivers shimmered with blood-tinged spiritual energy, and the sky overhead—if it could be called a sky—twinkled with fractured constellations, each representing a god that had fallen long ago.
This place was not meant to be found.
And yet… they had arrived.
---
The First Steps Into Madness
Xuantian walked at the head of the vanguard, his expression calm but unreadable. Behind him, Ruyue held her staff ready, her senses expanded in all directions. Jing Hao whistled, though his blades never left his hands. Hundreds of elite cultivators followed, divided into formations from all four major sects.
"I can feel the seal inside me reacting," Xuantian murmured. "It's as if this place is… unlocking something."
Grandmaster Yunlong, who now floated beside him, nodded. "This realm was once part of the Divine Garden—a plane for divine beings to ascend through tribulation. But when the Corrupted Lotus took root, it infected the foundation of the realm, twisting it into something unholy."
"What happened to the gods who once lived here?" Ruyue asked.
"They were either consumed… or sealed. And the worst of them lie ahead."
The path forward was no longer linear. Bridges floated midair. Ruins hovered above inverted mountains. They had to leap, fly, or manipulate gravity just to proceed. Space and time twisted without warning. Sometimes, two moons would rise. Other times, the stars would blink out altogether.
Every few hours, the group halted to rest and realign their spatial compasses.
And that's when the whispers started.
---
Dreams of Deicide
That night, as the cultivators camped within a dome of protective talismans, Xuantian dreamed.
But it was no ordinary dream.
He stood again as the Ancient Sect Master of the Void Sky Pavilion, in a time when the Divine Garden still flourished. He was surrounded by celestial disciples—warriors with wings of flame, scholars who carved laws into the stars, and beasts that could devour entire dimensions.
At the center of the garden was her.
A girl of white robes, with hair like ink and eyes like galaxies.
He remembered her name now.
Shenyue.
She was once the Child of the Garden—a divine entity prophesied to unify the gods. But the gods feared her potential. They betrayed her, tried to strip her of divinity. In response, she reached out to the one being who still trusted her:
Himself.
He had given her sanctuary. Knowledge. Power.
And in doing so, had inadvertently seeded the very corruption that now threatened to devour the world.
He awoke, gasping.
Ruyue rushed to his side. "Xuantian?"
"I remember now…" he whispered. "She didn't choose the path of corruption. She was forced into it. And I—"
He couldn't finish.
---
Trial of the Garden
The next day, the group reached the Sanctum of Fallen Names, a cathedral made of divine bones. Inside, dozens of colossal statues stood, each one missing its head. On the walls were written ancient oaths in a language long lost.
As soon as they entered, the door vanished.
They were trapped.
A voice echoed within the cathedral—neither male nor female, young nor old.
"Only those who have faced their truth may walk forward."
Suddenly, every cultivator found themselves isolated in a spiritual illusion.
Xuantian stood alone in a space of stars. Before him floated three versions of himself:
One was the Mortal, trembling and powerless, overwhelmed by the world.
The second was the Ancient Master, cold and unfeeling, wielding cosmic power without compassion.
The third was the Sealed Self, bound in golden chains, his eyes crying blood.
Each one accused him.
"You ran from the truth."
"You betrayed love for power."
"You watched the world burn and called it balance."
Xuantian dropped to one knee, clutching his chest as the weight of a million years of guilt bore down on him.
But then… he looked up.
"I'm not any of you," he said. "But I am all of you."
He stood.
"I was powerless. I was cruel. I was a coward. But now… I choose a new path."
He stepped forward—and light enveloped him.
In that moment, the third seal fully unlocked.
Golden lotuses bloomed beneath his feet, and his eyes turned silver. A mark shaped like a fractal star appeared on his forehead. His cultivation base surged—not just in power, but in depth. It wasn't mere spiritual energy anymore. It was understanding.
He had stepped beyond the Mortal Realm.
Beyond the Saint Realm.
He had become a Heavenbreaker—a realm thought lost to time.
---
The Real Trial Begins
As the illusions shattered, cultivators emerged, some broken, others enlightened.
Jing Hao stepped out, his clothing torn, his eyes distant. "Remind me never to face myself again. I was an ass."
Ruyue, calm as ever, simply said, "I saw a life where I never became a cultivator. It was… quiet. But I chose this instead."
Yunlong emerged last. "This trial… it wasn't meant to test our strength. It was to remind us of who we used to be. Who we must become to defeat what lies ahead."
Xuantian looked ahead. The Sanctum doors opened to reveal a single path—one that led deeper into the divine roots of the Corrupted Lotus.
"I think I know what's waiting," he whispered.
Ruyue turned to him. "The girl?"
He nodded. "Shenyue… she's still alive. Trapped. Twisted. But alive."
Yunlong's face darkened. "Then we must decide. Is this a rescue… or an execution?"
Xuantian didn't answer.
Because deep down, he still didn't know.
---