The ashes landed on the windowsill, not yet cold. I pinched that bit of residue, mixed it with the Pendant Fragment in my sleeve, and my palm grew warm as the powder vanished. Lu Jiuxuan stood by the window, tracing a line on the window frame with his finger; a bloodstain seeped into the wood grain, and a talisman light flashed and died.
He turned to glance at me, said nothing, drew his sword three inches, the Sword Cry suppressed to a near whisper.
We climbed out the back window, landing silently. He walked ahead, I followed, our Footsteps treading in the shadows of the eaves. Suddenly, a spiritual light exploded in the east, blindingly Red Light, as if someone was activating a Formation Array there. The Soul Devouring Lamp’s light indeed shifted, sweeping toward that direction.
Taking advantage of those few breaths of distraction, we rushed out of the courtyard.
The wind from the north felt different, like it carried sand against my face. The further we walked, the thicker the fog became; it wasn't ordinary morning mist, but carried a fishy stench. Taking a breath made my throat dry. The Compass vibrated violently in my hand, the needle spinning wildly, as if being interfered with by something.
I tore open my sleeve cuff and pressed the Star Script wound on my palm against the back of the Compass. The moment the blood touched it, the needle paused with a *ka*, stabilized, and pointed directly toward the heart of the Woods.
Lu Jiuxuan looked down, Sword Tip Touching the Ground, and drew a circle. An invisible Barrier rose from the ground; stepping into it, our Footsteps vanished, and even our breathing felt muffled.
In the Depths of the Dense Forest, the fog was even thicker. Tree trunks were blackened, bark peeling away to reveal purplish-red wood underneath, as if they had been burned and then revived. There were no fallen leaves on the ground, only grayish-white Broken Bone, crunching softly underfoot.
We crawled past a fallen tree, and the ground ahead sloped downward, revealing an open space.
Thirty-six Black Stone Pillars formed a circle, each as tall as a person, engraved with Inverse Star Tracks on their surfaces—the pattern was identical to the one on my palm, only in the opposite direction. Dark Red lines connected the pillars, like threads solidified from blood, stretched taut.
A lamp hung suspended in the center.
The Soul Devouring Lamp.
The Lamp Flame was not still; it writhed, as if something was struggling inside. The Firelight reflected on the Stone Pillars, and the Shadows moved—not our shadows, but other, indistinct Humanoid figures, kneeling, raising hands, mouths open, yet silent.
I pulled out the Pendant Fragment and held it before my eyes. My vision shifted.
Those Shadows became clear.
They were people.
Some old, some young, wearing the old robes of the Star Gazing Clan, with the Star Disk Pattern embroidered on their collars. Their eyes were hollow; their souls had been drawn out and stuffed into the Lamp Flame. And that flame was solidifying strand by strand, as if a living person was about to step out of the fire.
My fingers grew stiff.
Lu Jiuxuan gently touched my Shoulder, then pointed toward his ear.
I held my breath and listened.
Whispers drifted from the Lamp Flame, intermittent:
“The Bloodline is not severed… the Star Disk will awaken…”
“Thirty years ago… he performed Heart Gouging to take the soul… all to wait for this day…”
“Pure Yang Blood… can split the two realms…”
I looked up sharply.
Lu Jiuxuan’s expression was grim. He spun his sword halfway in his hand, the Sword Hilt lightly tapping the ground with a very short chime. That was the Academy’s secret signal, meaning: **Confirmed, not an Illusion**.
I nodded and tucked the Fragment back into my sleeve.
The fog suddenly stirred.
It rolled in from the edge of the Magic Array, crawling along the ground. The Inverse Star Tracks on the Stone Pillars began to heat up, and Red Light climbed along the patterns, like flowing blood.
The High Platform was on the north side of the Formation Array, built from three Black Stones. A figure walked onto it.
His left face was covered by a Bronze Ghost Mask; his right face was charred black like charcoal. He held another lamp, identical to the Soul Devouring Lamp in the air, only smaller, as if it were the original.
Situ Lie.
He stopped, raised the small lamp, and pointed it toward the one hanging in the air.
The two lamps responded, and a burst of Blue Fire erupted simultaneously from the center of their flames.
“Enough,” he spoke. His voice wasn't loud, but it pressed down on the wind and fog, every word striking my ears. “Those hiding, you’ve seen enough, haven’t you?”
My breath hitched.
Lu Jiuxuan didn't move, his Sword Tip resting on the ground, utterly still.
Situ Lie didn't look in our direction, as if he knew we wouldn't reveal ourselves. He raised his hand, fingers spread, and pressed down toward the Soul Devouring Lamp in the air.
The Lamp Flame suddenly contracted, then expanded, bursting out with a ring of Red Light.
All thirty-six Stone Pillars trembled. The light from the Inverse Star Tracks merged into one sheet, fine cracks split the ground, and Black Qi surged up from below.
He stood in the center of the High Platform, his voice cold as iron:
“Thirty years ago, I personally slaughtered the entire Star Gazing Clan, gouged out your Star Cores, and burned your scriptures. But I couldn't open the Passage—because that child survived.”
He paused, and the mouth beneath the Mask seemed to move slightly.
“She swallowed the Star Disk Fragment and fled into the mortal world. I thought she would die wandering, rot in the mud. But she entered the Academy, touched a Forbidden Book, and awakened her Bloodline.”
He looked down at the lamp in his hand.
“Now, she is nearby. I can smell her blood—the blood of the Star Gazing Clan, awakening once every hundred years, rich today.”
My palm burned, and the Star Script began to tingle again.
Lu Jiuxuan quietly shifted half a step, positioning himself in front of me.
Situ Lie didn't stop:
“I will not wait any longer. The Blood Sacrifice does not need to be complete; as long as her blood drips into the Magic Array, using the Pure Yang Blood as a guide, the Barrier between the two realms will surely break. The Gate to the Demon Realm will open today!”
He raised the lamp and chanted an incantation loudly.
The Inverse Star Tracks on the Stone Pillars began to rotate, in the opposite direction of the Heavenly Dao Star Track. The Black Qi gathered more and more, condensing into a Vortex above the Magic Array.
I bit my wrist, making no sound.
Lu Jiuxuan slowly pulled a Jade Talisman from his robe, drew a line across it with his Sword Tip, and inscribed the preceding words onto it. The Jade Talisman grew hot; he put it away and made a gesture to me: **Retreat**.
We backed away, pressing against the tree trunks, inching backward.
Just then, my foot slipped.
I stepped on a dry branch.
*Crack.*
The sound wasn't loud, but at that moment, it was like thunder.
I immediately crouched down, holding my breath.
Situ Lie didn't turn around, but the Lamp Flame in his hand flickered once.
He continued chanting, as if he had heard nothing.
We kept retreating until we were a hundred paces from the Magic Array, and the fog thinned slightly.
Lu Jiuxuan stopped, leaning behind a tree, his hand resting on his sword, his breathing very light.
I took out the Compass. The needle was still, lying flat, as if it had completed its mission.
“What he wants isn't power,” he finally spoke, his voice low and husky. “It’s the Passage. Once opened, the air of the Demon Realm will overwhelm the current world's Barrier, leading to widespread devastation.”
I stared at the Star Script on my palm. It was still pulsing, as if responding to something.
“He thinks the Star Disk is inside me,” I said. “But he doesn't know the Star Disk shattered long ago. The Pendant swallowed the Fragments, not the whole thing.”
Lu Jiuxuan glanced at me.
“And you?” he asked. “What are you planning to do?”
I didn't answer.
The wind blew out from the depths of the Woods, carrying the scent of blood and fire.
I clenched the Fragment in my sleeve.
It felt slightly warm, not as cold as before.
As if it were alive.
We walked back the way we came, speaking no more. The Academy was to the south, but we dared not take the main road, having to cut through the Woods and circle the slopes. The fog never dispersed, but when we reached the edge of the Woods, sunlight pierced through, shining blindingly white on the Stone Steps.
Lu Jiuxuan walked in front, I followed behind. As we neared the mountain gate, he suddenly stopped.
“The Compass,” he said. “Keep it safe. Don't let it leave your person.”
I nodded.
He reached out as if to say something more, then withdrew his hand, only saying: “Don't leave your room tonight.”
I looked at him: “And you?”
“I’m going to the Sword Pavilion to check something.” He turned to leave, then paused. “…Be careful of your cuff.”
I was startled and looked down.
The cuff had a bit of ash on it, seemingly fallen from the Pendant Fragment. But that ash was slowly drilling into my skin, as if being absorbed.
I shook my sleeve violently.
The ash was gone.
But a sharp itch suddenly spread across my palm.
As if something had gently moved inside.