Yue Yan walked alone through the quiet halls of the Divine Flame Pavilion — one of the oldest
and most guarded places in the Celestial Realm. Few entered without permission. Fewer still left
with the truth.
But Yue Yan wasn't looking for approval.
She was looking for answers.
Her dreams had grown darker. The stars she once saw with peace now shimmered with warning.
And the more she listened in the halls, the more she heard whispers of a secret — one tied to the
loss of a Divine Lord centuries ago.
No one spoke of it clearly. But one name kept appearing in ancient records.
Lord Qingxiao.
A Divine Lord who had vanished… and never returned.
Some said he was destroyed in a war against the Demon Realm.
Others said he betrayed the Celestial Realm — and was erased from history.
Yue Yan pushed open the tall wooden doors of the archive chamber. Her footsteps echoed.
Scrolls lined the shelves like sleeping dragons. Dust floated in the golden light.
She moved to the section marked "Celestial Disciplinary Records."
She unrolled a scroll.
Nothing.
She reached for another.
Blank again.
And then… one scroll, sealed with a red thread, pulsed faintly beneath her fingertips.
The seal burned slightly when she touched it — not enough to harm, just enough to warn.
She undid the thread.
The scroll opened.
And there, in elegant silver writing, were the words:
> "Lord Qingxiao — charged with crimes of forbidden awakening. Sealed by order of the Divine
Lords. Judgment incomplete."
Yue Yan stared.
"Forbidden awakening…?" she whispered. Before she could read more, a presence stirred behind
her.
She turned sharply, her fox spirit growling softly.
A High Immortal stood in the doorway — face calm, voice cold.
"You shouldn't be here."
Yue Yan narrowed her eyes. "Neither should silence."
The immortal's lips tightened. "Some truths should stay buried."Yue Yan held the scroll tighter.
"No," she said. "Some truths are waiting to rise."
Outside the Pavilion, storm clouds began to form — far too early for a divine season.
And in the distant corner of the Celestial Realm…Wen Shouye stood on a peak of black stone,
watching the sky turn.
"She's getting close," he said quietly.
Then he smiled.
She'll come to me soon enough.