The night in the Western Region was never gentle.
The wind blew like an invisible blade, dragging dry dust through silent valleys and cracked mountains. The sky, normally vast and indifferent, now seemed closer… as if pressing the earth down from above, reducing the entire world to a narrow space where everything struggled to breathe. Han Feng walked slowly but with absolute attention, following a barely visible trail, guided not by maps or rumors, but by the subtle sensation his Celestial Diagram emitted every few hours.
It was a pulse.
A vibration that came from within.
At first, it was like the tremor of a distant string. Then it became more frequent, more insistent. And now, as he advanced under the pale moonlight, Han Feng realized that it was beginning to behave like a kind of instinct. It was as if his blueprint, which was supposed to be merely a cultivation foundation, was becoming a living entity, reacting to the world like a predator would to the scent of blood.
He didn't like it.
But he also couldn't deny it: this kind of reaction could only mean one thing.
The sky was drawing closer.
The collision between universes was leaving increasingly deeper marks, and Han Feng's foundation, for reasons he didn't yet fully understand, was directly connected to the process. It wasn't coincidence. It was fate or manipulation—and in either case, both were equally dangerous.
He paused for a moment atop a rocky elevation and looked down.
The valley ahead was shrouded in mist.
But it wasn't ordinary mist.
It had a slightly reddish glow, as if illuminated by a distant bonfire. And within it was something else… a presence.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
His aura remained sealed, but his instinct screamed.
Danger.
He descended slowly, step by step, making as little sound as possible. The stones beneath his feet were cold and damp, and the air carried a metallic smell, like blood mixed with old rain. When he finally reached the edge of the valley, he saw…
A man.
Or rather… someone who looked human.
He lay slumped against a rock, breathing heavily. His clothes were long, made of gray fabric, but torn in several places, stained with dark blood. His left arm seemed burned by some corrosive energy. The skin was cracked, as if struck by a technique that didn't exist in the Gu World.
But what caught Han Feng's attention wasn't the blood.
It was the aura.
It was an aura that didn't belong to this world.
It was different from the qi of the Gu World, different even from the energy he had felt in the fragment of the Three Echoes Mountain. This aura had a cold depth, a feeling of emptiness and karma mixed together. It was as if that man carried within him the very law of a distant universe.
Han Feng stood motionless for a few moments.
His mind calculated.
If that man was there, it meant that dimensional rifts were already allowing cultivators to cross—even if in an unstable way. If cultivators were crossing… then others, far more dangerous, might be doing the same.
But Han Feng wasn't one to be driven by curiosity without reason.
He assessed the situation.
The man's breathing was weak, uneven. His gaze was half-closed, but there was a cold glint in his eyes, like that of a wounded beast that still has enough teeth to tear the throat out of a careless hunter.
Han Feng walked slowly until he was a few meters away.
The man raised his head.
And his eyes met Han Feng's.
For a moment, the entire valley seemed to freeze.
The man's gaze was… silent.
It wasn't arrogant, nor desperate, nor aggressive.
It was the gaze of someone who had seen the sky fall and kept walking.
He spoke in an unknown language.
Han Feng didn't understand immediately, but the golden seal on his chest pulsed, and the words translated within his mind as if they were an echo.
"You… are you from this world?"
Han Feng kept a calm face.
"I am."
The man took a deep breath and coughed up blood.
He looked at the sky for a moment, as if listening to something Han Feng couldn't hear.
Then he spoke again:
"The tear… threw me here."
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
"You came from another universe."
The man didn't deny it.
He only nodded slowly, as if it were too obvious to say.
Han Feng remained silent for a while, observing.
He wasn't a fool. He knew that, even wounded, this man could be more dangerous than an entire sect of the Gu World. But he also knew it was a unique chance. An opportunity to obtain real information, instead of rumors, about what was happening.
He crouched down, keeping a safe distance.
"Who are you?"
The man hesitated, as if his name wasn't something one would give to strangers.
But then he replied:
"Jun Mo."
Han Feng didn't recognize him.
And that was good.
If it were a famous name, it would be even more dangerous.
Han Feng looked at his burned arm.
"What technique did this?"
Jun Mo laughed, but the laughter lacked joy.
"It wasn't technique. It was law."
Han Feng felt a chill in his chest.
Law.
In the Gu World, laws existed, but they were treated differently. Here, Gu were fragmented laws, condensed into insects. In the other universe, laws seemed to be something more direct, more cruel, more absolute.
Han Feng took a deep breath.
"Can you survive?"
Jun Mo was silent for a moment, then replied:
"If I stay here, I will die."
Han Feng nodded.
"Then why don't you cross back?"
Jun Mo looked at the sky with disdain.
"The rift doesn't open when you want it to."
Han Feng felt his Celestial Diagram vibrate slightly.
It was as if it were confirming it.
As if the diagram itself were connected to the mechanism of the rifts.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
"Do you know why the worlds are colliding?"
Jun Mo remained motionless.
For a moment, his eyes seemed to carry a different emotion.
A rare emotion: unease.
"Because someone… messed with the order."
Han Feng fell silent.
This phrase was similar to what the man with the broken sword had said.
"Someone pulled the strings."
Two people, from different worlds, confirming the same thing.
This was not a coincidence.
It was certainty.
Han Feng felt an invisible pressure in his chest.
Then he asked, in a low voice:
— Who?
Jun Mo didn't answer.
He just closed his eyes for a moment and whispered:
"You shouldn't ask that out loud."
Han Feng felt a shiver run down his spine.
It was as if space itself had heard.
As if the question had vibrated in the Dao and awakened something.
The silence became heavy.
And then…
A laugh arose.
Not a close laugh.
A distant laugh, but perfectly audible, as if it came from the wind itself.
It was a calm, light laugh… almost amused.
Han Feng froze.
Jun Mo opened his eyes immediately.
His expression changed for the first time.
Fear.
A contained, deep fear, like someone who recognizes a predator that has hunted them before.
The laugh continued, echoing through the valley.
And then a voice appeared, smooth as silk, but cold as ice:
"Interesting… very interesting." Han Feng turned slowly.
The valley was still covered in reddish mist, but now the mist moved as if it had a will of its own. It parted like a veil.
And a figure emerged.
A young man.
Very young.
He wore a simple robe, without sect symbols, without ornaments, without obvious arrogance. His face was ordinary, almost banal, but his eyes…
His eyes were too deep.
They didn't have the empty arrogance of a young master.
They had calculation.
Coldness.
A serenity that didn't come from peace, but from absolute certainty.
Han Feng felt his heart clench.
The aura of that man was almost nonexistent.
But precisely because of that… it was terrifying.
Because Han Feng couldn't measure it.
Jun Mo, standing beside him, clenched his teeth and murmured softly,
"He… crossed over too…"
Han Feng stood motionless.
The young figure smiled.
And the smile was dangerous.
It was a smile that seemed innocent… but carried the weight of someone who would trample on millions of lives without hesitation.
He looked at Han Feng first.
Then he looked at Jun Mo.
And then he spoke calmly:
— So this is the Gu World…
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
He spoke the language of this world perfectly.
Without difficulty.
Without translation.
As if he had lived here for a long time.
The young figure took a few steps, and the mist moved obediently around him.
He looked at Jun Mo.
— You seem injured. What a pity. I hoped you would survive longer.
Jun Mo's eyes widened.
— You… you are…
The figure smiled wider.
— Yes. It's me.
Jun Mo turned pale.
Han Feng observed.
He didn't know who that man was, but the fact that Jun Mo—a foreign cultivator—reacted like that meant that this being was known and dangerous.
The young man turned to Han Feng.
His smile remained.
— You don't seem to be from this world either.
Han Feng kept his face expressionless.
— I was born here.
The figure laughed softly.
— Born here… but you carry a foundation that doesn't belong to this Dao.
Han Feng felt his Celestial Diagram vibrate violently.
As if it had been pricked by a needle.
His chest ached.
The golden seal glowed for an instant.
And the red flame inside him stirred, as if it wanted to explode.
Han Feng clenched his fists.
The young figure watched with interest.
"Oh? A foreign flame. And a Dao seal… how curious."
He looked at the sky.
"Time is accelerating faster than I expected."
Han Feng felt his blood run cold.
"I expected it."
As if that man were planning it.
As if the fusion was something calculated.
Jun Mo, trembling, spoke in a hoarse voice:
"You… you are the demon…"
The young man smiled.
"Demon? No."
He shook his head, as if he found the word funny.
"I'm just someone who seizes opportunities."
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
The style.
The speech.
The behavior.
Everything about him reminded him of something.
A kind of existence that was neither heroic nor villainous.
She was pragmatic.
Cruel.
A being who would trample on anything for a purpose.
Han Feng finally understood.
He didn't know how.
But his instinct screamed the name.
Fang Yuan.
Or at least… someone with the same essence.
The young figure looked at Han Feng and smiled as if he had heard the thought.
"You're intelligent."
Han Feng stood motionless.
Jun Mo tried to move, trying to get away, but the mist around him solidified like invisible chains.
He couldn't stand.
Fang Yuan approached Jun Mo and crouched down.
"You came from the other side. You know things."
Jun Mo clenched his teeth.
"I won't speak…"
Fang Yuan laughed softly.
"No need to speak."
He raised his hand and touched Jun Mo's forehead.
The gesture was simple.
But the air became heavy as lead.
Jun Mo screamed.
Not a scream of physical pain.
A scream from the soul.
Han Feng felt his own spirit tremble at the sound. It was as if something was being forcibly ripped away, as if memories were being shattered and devoured.
Fang Yuan remained calm, as if he were picking a flower.
The scream lasted only a few breaths.
Then Jun Mo fell, his eyes empty.
Dead.
Han Feng clenched his fists.
His expression became as cold as ice.
Fang Yuan slowly stood up and looked at Han Feng.
"You have something interesting."
Han Feng didn't answer.
Fang Yuan smiled.
"Don't worry. I won't kill you now."
Han Feng felt a chill.
"Now."
Fang Yuan turned to the sky again.
"So… that side is moving too."
Han Feng froze.
That which was said as if it were trivial.
As if it were just a piece on a chessboard.
Fang Yuan looked at Han Feng and spoke softly:
"The collision of worlds will happen. It's inevitable. But what matters isn't the impact…"
He smiled.
"What matters is who will reap the rewards after everything turns to ruin."
Han Feng felt his Celestial Diagram vibrate even more strongly.
The pressure in his chest increased.
Fang Yuan walked until he was a few meters away from him.
And then spoke, in a low, almost friendly voice:
"I like people who have potential. If you survive until the end of Volume… maybe we can really talk."
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you?"
Fang Yuan laughed.
"You already know."
He turned around.
The mist parted.
And before disappearing, he spoke one last sentence, as light as a falling leaf:
"Don't trust the golden seal on your chest. It wasn't given out of kindness."
And then…
He vanished.
Without an explosion.
Without any visible technique.
As if he had never existed.
The valley fell silent again.
Han Feng stood still, breathing slowly.
His body was tense.
His heart pounded.
His Celestial Diagram felt like it was about to explode.
He felt a cold sweat trickle down his neck.
That encounter…
It was short.
But heavy enough to crush the mind of any cultivator.
Han Feng finally understood the scale of what was happening.
It wasn't just sects.
It wasn't just Gu Immortals.
It wasn't just fissures in the sky.
It was a chessboard where true monsters were beginning to move.
And he…
He was just a small piece. But a piece that had been marked.
Han Feng looked at Jun Mo's empty body and closed his eyes for a moment.
When he opened them, his purple eyes were even colder.
"Fang Yuan…"
He murmured the name like a blade.
The wind blew.
The red flame within him calmed, as if it had understood that it had found a true enemy.
And the golden seal on his chest pulsed, as if it were alive.
Han Feng clenched his fist.
"Then I will survive."
He turned and walked into the darkness.
And as he walked, his Celestial Diagram vibrated softly, like a distant drum announcing an inevitable war.
In the sky, the three stars continued to shine.
And, somewhere far away…
a man with cold eyes stared into the void and sensed that fate was changing.