The Hidden City faded behind them like a vanishing illusion. Its lantern-lit alleys, the heavy silence, and the wary eyes of cultivators had left a strange imprint on Yun Qianyu's thoughts. She walked beside Fenghua, their footsteps light but unwavering as the forested trails gave way to steep ridges and stone paths lost to time.
They journeyed east, crossing beyond the lands of men into something more ancient—Netherwind Ravine, a fractured canyon carved by forces older than the Heavenly Courts. The air grew cold, heavy, and quiet. Even the wind seemed reluctant to speak here.
Qianyu paused at the edge of the chasm, the cliffs plunging into mist below. "Why here?" she asked, her voice barely audible over the stillness.
Fenghua didn't hesitate. "Because the past we both buried waits for us in places like this. And perhaps… something that belongs to you."
Her brows furrowed. "I don't remember ever coming here."
He gave a small smile. "Not in this life."
Before she could question him further, a tremor rippled beneath their feet. Symbols buried in stone began to glow—a forgotten seal awakening. A pulse of power surged through the canyon.
From the rising mist emerged two familiar figures.
Rong Xianzhi, clad in dark silver armor, stepped forward with his usual solemn grace. Beside him walked Mo Lianxue, the Demon King's daughter, her crimson robes flowing like fire, her lips curled in a mocking smile.
"You've come far, sister," she said softly. "But blood calls to blood. You were never meant to leave us."
Qianyu's jaw tightened. Her heart thudded painfully.
"I didn't escape. I chose my path."
Xianzhi's eyes searched hers—not with the jealous fire from before, but a deep ache.
"I searched for you everywhere. You vanished, and I thought—"He stopped, then looked at Fenghua. "Why him? He doesn't know you like I do."
Fenghua remained calm, his stance quiet but resolute. He didn't argue or defend himself. He didn't need to.
Suddenly, a terrible crack tore through the ground. A broken seal beneath the canyon split open, and a jagged creature of shadow and bone surged upward—its roar like a chorus of the damned.
Mo Lianxue laughed, her voice dripping venom.
"You really did it, Qianyu. You broke the ancient binding. This was always inside you. This… is what you were meant to become."
The beast lunged—straight for Qianyu.
But before it could reach her, both Fenghua and Rong Xianzhi moved. One shone with brilliant white light, the other with burning demonfire. Their powers clashed in perfect rhythm, a brief unity that forced the monster back with a thunderous shockwave.
Qianyu stood still, eyes wide.
Memories not of this world stirred: a voice echoing her name in starlight, a celestial garden, a fall through the heavens not from betrayal—but from choice. Her choice.
She stepped forward.
"I am not Heaven's relic," she said slowly. "And I am no longer the Demon King's shadow."
Her aura shimmered for the first time in centuries—a soft glow of rebirth, not destruction.
Even Mo Lianxue faltered, her smile cracking.
"You dare deny both realms?"
"I claim myself," Qianyu said firmly.
The beast recoiled, and Mo Lianxue narrowed her eyes.
"So be it. You've chosen your side. But don't think we won't be there to catch you when you fall."
She vanished in a spiral of smoke.
Rong Xianzhi remained for a moment, looking at Qianyu—not with anger, but a quiet pride tinged with grief. Then, without a word, he turned and followed Lianxue into the mist.
Silence returned to the ravine, but the air still hummed with lingering echoes of the seal's break.
Fenghua stepped beside her.
"You've awakened something, Qianyu. Whatever path lies ahead… it begins now."
She looked to the horizon—no longer trying to escape her past, but ready to meet her future.