The hidden passage opened behind a cluster of ancient pine trees at the edge of the Technique Pavilion.
Lin Mo stumbled out, coughing as dust filled the air behind him.
The moment he looked up, his breath caught.
The peaceful Azure Cloud Sect had become a battlefield.
Hundreds of disciples ran in panic.
Explosions shook the floating mountains.
Flaming talismans streaked across the sky like meteors, colliding with the sect's defensive barrier.
The barrier rippled with golden light, but every impact caused another crack to spread across its surface.
"Everyone below the Inner Sect, evacuate immediately!"
Elder Mu's voice thundered across the mountains.
"Outer disciples, proceed to the eastern shelters!"
"Do not engage the enemy!"
Panic spread like wildfire.
Some disciples obeyed.
Others froze in fear.
Lin Mo spotted Chen Yu helping an injured disciple toward a shelter, while Han Qiu stood nearby, calmly directing younger disciples away from the fighting.
Relieved that his friends were safe, Lin Mo started toward them.
Then—
Tick...
The silver watch pulsed.
His newly awakened Chrono Sense flared to life.
A silver thread of fate stretched across the courtyard.
At its end stood a frightened little girl, no older than twelve, one of the servants who worked in the Outer Sect kitchens.
She had fallen among the shattered stones.
Above her, a massive section of a collapsing tower was beginning to fall.
No one else had noticed.
Lin Mo didn't hesitate.
He ran.
The stone slab crashed downward.
Tick!
Borrowed Second.
Time froze.
The dust stopped in the air.
The falling stones hung motionless.
Lin Mo reached the girl, lifted her into his arms, and sprinted clear of the impact zone.
The borrowed second ended.
BOOM!
The tower collapsed where they had been standing only an instant before.
The girl stared at him with wide, tear-filled eyes.
"You... you saved me..."
Lin Mo gently set her down.
"Go to the shelters. Don't look back."
She nodded and ran.
As Lin Mo caught his breath, a sharp pain spread through his chest.
The Guardian's warning echoed in his mind.
"Every borrowed second has a price."
Above the battlefield, Elder Han dueled three black-robed cultivators at once.
His flying sword split into dozens of shimmering blades, forcing the invaders backward.
But more enemies continued to arrive through the cracks in the barrier.
"This isn't a raid," Elder Han muttered.
"They're searching for something."
High above the clouds, the masked leader of the Eclipse Court watched calmly.
Beside him stood the crimson-eyed man who had confronted Lin Mo in the bamboo forest.
"The heir is somewhere below."
The masked leader's voice was cold.
"Do not kill him."
"Bring him to me alive."
"And if the Guardian still exists..."
"...we will finish what we started ten thousand years ago."
Back on the ground, Lin Mo finally reached Chen Yu and Han Qiu.
"You're alive!" Chen Yu exclaimed.
"I thought you were trapped in the library!"
"No time to explain," Lin Mo replied.
"We need to get everyone to safety."
Han Qiu looked toward the western cliffs.
"The enemy isn't attacking randomly."
"They're moving toward the central mountain."
Lin Mo's expression changed.
"The Sect Vault..."
Han Qiu nodded.
"Or something hidden beneath it."
Suddenly, the great bell at the heart of the Azure Cloud Sect rang.
DONG!
The sound rolled across every floating mountain.
Then again.
DONG!
The air itself trembled.
Every elder stopped fighting for a heartbeat.
Every invader looked toward the central peak.
Even the masked leader slowly raised his head.
"The Ancient Time Bell..."
A third chime echoed.
DONG!
Unlike the first two, this note carried a strange silver resonance.
The silver key hidden inside Lin Mo's robe grew warm.
A faint line of light extended from the key, pointing directly toward the forbidden peak at the center of the sect.
Lin Mo stared at it in disbelief.
"The key... it's guiding me."
Before he could move, Elder Han landed beside the three disciples.
His robes were torn, and blood stained one sleeve.
He looked directly at Lin Mo.
"Listen carefully."
"You must leave the battlefield."
"There is a hidden path beneath the Hall of Ancestors."
He reached into his sleeve and produced a small jade token engraved with a cloud and a bell.
"Take this."
"It will open the first seal."
Lin Mo hesitated.
"But Elder—"
"There is no time."
Elder Han's gaze hardened.
"If the enemy reaches what lies beneath the sect..."
"...everything will be lost."
Without another word, Elder Han shot back into the sky, where a massive black spear descended toward him.
Their collision lit the heavens.
Lin Mo clenched the jade token in one hand and the silver key in the other.
The two objects resonated with each other, emitting a faint silver glow.
For the first time since leaving Qinghe Village, he felt as though he was no longer reacting to events.
He was being led toward a destiny prepared long before he was born.
"Chen Yu. Han Qiu."
"I'm going to the Hall of Ancestors."
Chen Yu immediately stepped forward.
"Then we're coming too."
Lin Mo shook his head.
"It'll be dangerous."
Han Qiu gave a rare smile.
"When has that ever stopped true friends?"
Before Lin Mo could argue, the three of them began running toward the central mountain, unaware that a lone figure watched from the shadows.
The figure wore the robes of an Azure Cloud Sect elder.
But beneath the hood...
His eyes glowed crimson.
The traitor had finally revealed himself.