By the time Zhang Jiuxuan reached Kuala Lumpur, the sky over the city was streaked with thick, unnatural purple clouds.
Traffic had ground to a halt across the entire downtown area, and crowds gathered in the streets, staring up in fear at the Petronas Twin Towers.
Where the two steel and glass spires once stood bright and gleaming, they now looked dull and grey.
Shadowy black smoke coiled around their peaks, and a low, thrumming hum hung in the air, heavy enough to make teeth ache.
Lin Weiyao met him at the edge of the KLCC park, his face tight with worry.
“Thirteen of the most powerful dark sorcerers in Southeast Asia checked into a hotel nearby three days ago.
No one has seen them leave.
And every night, strange lights gather around the towers’ foundations.” Zhang Jiuxuan pulled the complete Celestial Master’s Seal from his bag.
It glowed faintly, the warmth in it sharp and urgent.
“The towers sit right on the central meridian of the Malay Peninsula’s dragon vein,” he said.
“They built them to channel prosperity.
Now they’re turning them into a needle to drain the whole land dry.” They walked toward the base of the towers.
The closer they got, the colder the air grew.
Around the perimeter fence, faint red lines snaked across the ground, forming a massive thirteen-pointed star.
At every point stood a small stone bowl, each filled with dark, clotted blood.
“Thirteen Dukes’ Blood Curse,” Zhang Jiuxuan murmured.
“They’re sacrificing the life force of every person in the city to fuel it.” Before he could step closer, the ground shook.
Thirteen figures in crimson robes stepped out from behind the pillars, their faces hidden behind carved wooden masks, their hands stained black with old blood.
“Trespasser,” the tallest one rasped.
“This land belongs to the Black Cross.
The dragon’s breath is ours to take.
Leave, or be the first to feed the curse.” Zhang Jiuxuan adjusted his flip-flops, then lifted the seal high.
“The dragon does not belong to thieves,” he said.
“And this land does not belong to those who spill its people’s blood.” The lead duke threw back his head and chanted.
The blood in the bowls boiled over, and the red lines flared bright.
Shadowy chains shot upward, wrapping around both towers, pulling tight as if to tear them from the earth.
The glass facades cracked, and thousands of voices screamed all at once—the collective fear and pain of every soul caught in the curse’s grip.
Zhang Jiuxuan didn’t shout.
He simply slammed the Celestial Master’s Seal down onto the center of the star pattern.
“Seal the evil.
Anchor the earth.
Let the true dragon rise!” Golden light exploded outward, shattering the red lines like glass.
The shadow chains burned away in an instant, and the screaming voices fell silent, replaced by a deep, steady hum that felt like the heartbeat of the land itself.
The thirteen dukes staggered back, their masks cracking and falling away to reveal faces twisted with disbelief.
“Impossible!” one shrieked.
“No mortal can break the blood bond of thirteen masters!” “Your bond is built on stolen pain,” Zhang Jiuxuan said, stepping forward.
“It never had any real strength to begin with.” He swept his hand through the air, and golden talismans rained down.
Each one struck a duke, and the crimson robes burst into harmless, glowing flame that burned away only their dark magic, leaving them unharmed but completely powerless.
“Where is the final key fragment?” Zhang Jiuxuan demanded.
“Where do they plan to open the main gate?” The former dukes fell to their knees, trembling.
“The Golden Triangle!
The border where Malaysia, Thailand, and Myanmar meet!
They’re gathering the last piece at the old blood altar in the jungle!
If they finish before the moon sets, the whole region will be swallowed by shadow!” Zhang Jiuxuan nodded.
He looked up at the Twin Towers, where the purple clouds were already fading, the steel and glass shining bright once more.
“Tell your masters this,” he said quietly.
“They can run.
They can hide.
But they cannot hide from the earth itself.
And they cannot hide from me.” He turned to Lin Weiyao, who stared up at the towers in awe.
“Get your fastest jet ready,” Zhang Jiuxuan said.
“We’re heading north.
To the place where even maps fear to go.”