The skies over the Mortal Realm were unusually quiet.
Too quiet.
Yue Yun stood near the edge of a dried riverbed, where dark vines had begun to curl around
broken rocks. The corruption was spreading again, this time faster — more violent.
He and Lan Zhi had spent days tracing its path. It always circled back to the same place: the old
shrine hidden deep in the mountain forest.
That's where Yue Yun went now.
Alone.
As he stepped beneath the twisted trees, the air turned colder.
He didn't draw his sword — it was still sealed by the bracelet — but his senses were sharp. The
presence was near. Watching.
Then, just as before, the air shimmered — and the masked figure appeared in front of him.
Same black robes. Same hollow silence.
But this time, it didn't attack.
Instead, it spoke. Its voice was like ice scraping glass.
"You are not ready to face what sleeps."
Yue Yun narrowed his eyes. "What are you?"
The figure tilted its head. "I am what your gods buried."
Then it raised its hand.
The air rippled — and Yue Yun fell to one knee. A heavy pressure crushed down on his
shoulders like a mountain.
No… not again.
But just when the weight began to overwhelm him, a sudden roar echoed across the forest.
The skies opened.
Ao Xuan, the Azure Dragon, surged down from the clouds — eyes blazing, scales glowing. He
crashed between Yue Yun and the masked figure, spreading his wings like a shield.
Yue Yun gasped. "Ao Xuan… you remembered me?"
The dragon turned, his eyes glowing softly. I never forgot.
Then, something happened.
A deep, ancient mark on Ao Xuan's chest began to shine. It pulsed — not with blue fire, but with
something older… something from before even the Divine Lords.
The masked figure stepped back.
Its voice cracked. "The Primordial Seal… still lives?"
Ao Xuan growled.
The wind exploded around them — and the masked figure vanished like smoke. ---
Yue Yun stood slowly, heart pounding.
He placed a hand on Ao Xuan's side. "What was that seal?"
Ao Xuan's voice echoed in his mind. A secret the Celestial Realm buried long ago. A power
born before the realms divided.
Yue Yun's thoughts swirled.
If that power still lived…
Then his tribulation was never just a test.
It was a warning.