The world trembled with anticipation.
After Xuantian's defiance in the Celestial Hall, whispers spread like wildfire. Across the Mortal Continent, the Forbidden Wastes, the Frozen Heavens, and even the isolated islands of the Void Archipelago, cultivators began to look up, not with fear—but with hope.
But the gods were not the only ones watching.
Far beyond the known realms, buried in a corner of the cosmos forgotten by history, a land shrouded in endless dusk stirred for the first time in ten thousand years.
The Forsaken Realm.
A place where fallen gods, banished immortals, and ancient sealed beings rotted away in madness. And yet, from this land, something stirred. Something… woke up.
---
Meanwhile, in the Mortal World
Xuantian returned to the Earth Flame Sect with his allies, greeted not with ceremony but with silence. The disciples bowed in reverence, their eyes wide with awe. For many of them, he was no longer just a senior—they viewed him now as a legend.
A living myth.
Even Grand Elder Qingshi, who had once doubted Xuantian's path, lowered his head slightly in respect.
"You stood before the gods and endured a thousand strikes," Qingshi said. "Do you understand what that means?"
"I'm not looking for worship," Xuantian replied. "I'm looking for freedom. For everyone."
Ruyue stepped beside him. "Then we need to start preparing."
Yunlong nodded. "The world won't stay silent for long. The sects are watching. So are the kingdoms. And there are others… beings who don't fear the Divine Court."
"Like the Forsaken Realm," muttered Bai Zhen.
Everyone turned to him.
Bai Zhen narrowed his eyes. "Something moved. I felt it the moment you withstood the Titan's strike. A ripple. As if a seal… cracked."
---
The Forgotten Prophecy
Inside the deepest chamber of the Earth Flame Library, Ruyue discovered an ancient scroll sealed behind eight layers of formation. It was written in a script older than any mortal tongue, but her divine senses—sharpened through her bond with the Lotus Heart—could read it.
"When the Thousandth Strike falls upon the Unbroken Mortal,
the seal of the Exiled Crown shall shatter.
And the Chained God shall rise,
bringing dusk upon both Heaven and Earth."
Her fingers trembled. "The Chained God…?"
Jing Hao, reading over her shoulder, paled. "You don't think it means Him, do you?"
Yunlong muttered, "The one who once ruled the Forsaken Realm before being erased from all records."
Shenyue, her voice quiet, added: "I've heard his name only once, whispered among the Divine Court's oldest relics. They call him… Yuehuang the Fallen Light. A former god who devoured his own realm in pursuit of transcendence."
Xuantian clenched his fists. "And now that I've disrupted the divine order, his prison has weakened."
---
The Arrival of the Herald
That night, under a blood-red moon, a strange figure arrived at the Earth Flame Sect.
A young man in rags, blindfolded, his hair white as frost. He collapsed at the sect gate, clutching a broken blade wrapped in celestial chains.
Elder disciples rushed to him, but before they could touch him, he muttered:
"The door is opening… he sees again… the moon has no mercy…"
He convulsed. A dark mark appeared on his chest—an ancient sigil that shimmered with twisted divine energy. It pulsed once, and a voice echoed in the minds of all within a hundred miles:
"He has broken the order.
And now… the Forsaken shall march."
The boy screamed once more and then turned to ash.
Silence followed.
Then, drums began to beat in the Forsaken Realm.
---
Xuantian's Choice
The next morning, Xuantian stood before the core elders.
"If the Forsaken Realm rises, they won't just come for me. They'll devour everything—sect, kingdom, realm, god. This is no longer about me. It's about all of us."
"Then what do you propose?" asked Elder Yuxian.
"I'll go there," Xuantian said. "To the edge of the Forsaken Realm. I want to see the cracks myself. Before they become a flood."
"That's suicide," Yunlong protested.
"I'll go too," Ruyue said firmly.
"And me," said Jing Hao.
Shenyue stepped forward. "The Lotus Heart can sense the void. I can guide us."
Xuantian looked to Bai Zhen. The beast-sage simply grunted. "You'll die without me. Count me in."
---
The Journey Begins
They left at dawn, disguised, traveling by foot and shadow. Their journey took them through ruined kingdoms and ghost towns, where legends of Xuantian had already morphed into divine tales. Children bowed at his feet. Cultivators offered him relics. Old sect masters pledged their allegiance.
But they pushed on.
For days, the sky grew dimmer. Birds stopped singing. Trees withered. Even the wind sounded like whispers.
Then, on the fourteenth day, they reached it.
A canyon of black stone. No stars above. No air. Just a wall of mist, thick and alive.
The Border of the Forsaken Realm.
And from within it, a single voice emerged:
"I remember you, Heavenbreaker.
The one who defied the thrones.
Come. Enter.
Let us speak of the future you've unknowingly set free."
---