The valley wind blew gently, carrying fragments of ash and dried blood that danced in the air. Atop a flat rock overlooking a sheer cliff, Ye Tian sat in silence. His eyes gazed far ahead, yet his mind was lost in the past.
The sky above appeared gray—not because of clouds, but because of the remnants of Heaven's will, shaken by the rise of the celestial blood curse.
Ye Tian's hands trembled slightly, not from injury, but because the spiritual fire within his body continued to surge, trying to merge with the faintly glowing Nirvana Blood Symbol on his back. The curse was no longer hidden… but slowly merging with his soul.
"This world has never given a place to those who are different… but I am the world they will fear," he thought to himself.
Suddenly, amidst the thin mist that enveloped the valley, the sound of footsteps was heard. Soft… yet firm. Not the stealthy steps of an approaching enemy, but someone who came with conviction and without fear.
Ye Tian didn't need to turn. The aura was familiar.
"Ye Tian…" A flat voice broke the silence. "The heir of the curse that shook the heavens."
From behind the mist, emerged a young man in a dull brown robe, his face cold with an old scar on his left temple. On his back hung a long sword in a dark blue scabbard—named Qinghua, the heirloom of the North Star Sword Sect, which he had long abandoned.
Ye Tian replied without looking, "Li Fan. The outcast disciple from the North who never bowed to Heaven's will."
Li Fan offered a faint smile, then sat cross-legged a few steps away. The wind blew gently, fluttering their robes. There was no tension… only a silence that felt sharper than a sword.
"I saw your destruction in last night's sky," Li Fan said. "Spirits wept. The mist moved against the wind. They say the celestial blood has risen… and the old curse will destroy the balance of the seven realms."
Ye Tian nodded slowly. "I did not awaken this curse. I only inherited it… and the world forced me to choose between submission and destruction."
Li Fan stared intently at him. "Then, perhaps… I can help you destroy that world. Until then… until we fight."
In an instant, the two figures sat in silence. But in that silence, two curses, two powers, and two futures met in the same place.
The sky above them began to open, and the hanging mist, like a curtain, slowly parted. From the east, a strong aura emerged—not one, but five great powers, each bearing the emblem of an ancient sect that had long disappeared from the world's power map:
The Eastern Snow Soul Clan
The Heaven's Eye Assembly
The Black Dagger Alliance
The Southern Ancient Sword Sect
…and the Nameless Void Gate
Ye Tian stood up.
"The show has begun."
And among the newly arriving shadows… a mysterious figure mentioned his name in a whisper.
"Ye Tian… your blood does not belong to you alone. It belongs to us all."
The mist enveloping the valley began to thin. But not because of the wind… but because of the spiritual pressure from the five great powers that were now slowly approaching. Their footsteps were unheard, but the aura they carried was enough to suppress the heavens and cause the earth to tremble slightly.
Ye Tian stood still. Behind him, Li Fan also rose, his fingers touching the hilt of the Qinghua sword. Neither of them spoke. They knew—whoever emerged from behind the mist this time, did not come for peace… but to assess, to spy, or to kill.
The first silhouette appeared—a young woman in a shimmering blue dress that rippled like water. Behind her, six crystal petals floated, spinning slowly like ice petals that could not melt. She was the representative of the Eastern Snow Soul Clan, possessor of the Eternal Dew Illusion Technique that could mislead spirits and freeze blood in seconds.
"So cold…" Li Fan whispered, half in awe, half in vigilance.
The second came like a shadow. No sound. It simply appeared—a figure in black robes, wearing a single-eyed mask that slowly rotated. They did not speak. But the eyes emanating from the mask radiated the spiritual power of Heaven. They were the seer from the Heaven's Eye Assembly, a sect known for being able to read someone's destiny with a single glance.
Followed by two twin figures—male and female—in black leather clothing, carrying daggers in both hands, and smiles that never reached their eyes. They belonged to the Black Dagger Alliance, a group of assassins who only moved for "karmic payment," not money, not lives… but the deepest secrets of their victims.
Fifth, an old man appeared with long white hair, a golden yellow robe, and a large sword wrapped in dark red cloth on his back. His eyes were wide open, yet lacked pupils. With each step, the earth resonated like an echo. He came from the Southern Ancient Sword Sect, a blind wanderer who had once cleaved a mountain with a single swing.
They all stopped in a circle surrounding Ye Tian and Li Fan.
None of them spoke—until a sixth voice, emanating from no body, appeared as a whisper directly in their heads:
"You have all come… only to see what you will never understand."
Instantly, the mist in the center of the circle exploded—and from behind it, emerged a hooded figure with no face. They had no clear form, but their shadow was imprinted on the ground. On their chest, there was a symbol that made Ye Tian's chest throb: the symbol of the celestial blood curse, but in a reversed version.
"You… who are you?" Ye Tian asked, his eyes narrowed.
"I am… what will happen to you if you fail."
The voice was not heavy, yet piercing.
"My name has been erased from history, but my blood is the same as yours. I once fought… but I failed. Now, you—Ye Tian—stand where I once fell."
Instantly, the heavens thundered.
The leaders of the five great powers looked at each other. Even Li Fan took a step forward.
"What does that mean?"
The figure raised their hand, pointing towards Ye Tian's chest.
"Within your blood, the last unsealed inheritance is sealed. When that time comes, the entire seven realms will shake. But before that…"
"...you must choose. Will you be the bearer of destruction… or the destroyer of destiny?"
Instantly, the mist exploded and the figure vanished.
Ye Tian stood stiff.
Li Fan murmured softly, "One inheritance… two paths…"
Meanwhile, from afar, the spirits whispered again. Not to Ye Tian this time, but to the five great powers:
"What you seek… is not him. But what is embedded within him."
The mist slowly dissipated, leaving a suffocating silence. There was no longer a mysterious hooded figure. Only the silent earth, the still cloudy sky, and six figures now standing in the same field—without ties, without alliances, but also without open hostility.
Ye Tian stood in the center. But this time, not as a victim of the curse… but the center of the world's attention.
Li Fan glanced around. Although not a single word was spoken, the pressure emanating from the five sects had begun to clash. High-level auras intersected, creating a faint pulsation in the air—a sign that no one truly trusted each other.
The representative of the Eastern Snow Soul Clan stepped forward. Their voice was soft, but full of spiritual pressure.
"Ye Tian… the spirit of the curse you awakened earlier is not something that can be ignored. I want to know… what exactly are you hiding in your blood."
Ye Tian replied in a calm, almost cold tone.
"What is hidden… is not something that can be understood by those who only see with their eyes."
The owner of the Heaven's Eye Assembly raised one finger. The single eye in their mask spun rapidly, until a purplish glow emerged that pierced space and time.
"I can read the future… but your future is a fog. You are not a branch of the tree of destiny… you are its poison."
Ye Tian narrowed his eyes, but remained silent.
Then, the twins from the Black Dagger Alliance chuckled softly. The woman said, "If you are truly a threat… wouldn't it be better for us to finish you off now, before something worse comes out of your body?"
But before anyone could move, the hoarse voice of the blind man from the Southern Ancient Sword Sect cut in:
"No… not now. This curse is not yet complete. Whatever he inherits… is still sealed. Killing him now will only spread his inheritance into the air. And you all know… what that means."
The tension subsided slightly. But their gazes did not leave Ye Tian. He looked at them one by one. Within himself, he knew—they all wanted something from him. Not his body. Not his soul. But what was hidden deep within his blood: the final seal of the Celestial Blood.
Li Fan took a step closer to Ye Tian's side.
"Whatever happens… I think your time in the silent world is over."
Ye Tian only replied with a murmur:
"If they want to taste this curse… then let them drink it to the last drop."
The heavens rumbled softly. Deep within his body, the final blood seal began to crack. And the world would never be the same after this.
The air felt heavy, as if the heavens themselves were holding their breath. After Ye Tian's calmly echoing words, the five great powers remained silent—not out of fear, but out of doubt. They knew that before them stood a young man… who was no longer an ordinary human. He was the guardian of something that had not yet been fully awakened. Something that even the grand elders of ancient times wanted to forget.
But time did not stop just for fear.
The representative of the Heaven's Eye Assembly slowly retreated, their spinning eyes finally stopping.
"I cannot read this child's future… and if the future cannot be read, it means the world is not yet ready."
They disappeared in a purple flash, leaving the mist that suddenly thickened again.
The Eastern Snow Soul Clan drew the dew around them into ice flowers, then placed them on the ground.
"I want to know more about your curse, Ye Tian. Not out of fear… but because of destiny. We will meet again at the Eternal Dew Palace."
Then they walked away, graceful as the shadow of the moon on a frozen lake.
One by one, the representatives began to disappear. Even the twins from the Black Dagger Alliance did not attack. They only chuckled softly and said:
"We prefer to kill targets that are sure to die. You are still too alive, Ye Tian… and too interesting."
Only Li Fan remained.
Ye Tian looked at him without a word.
Li Fan smiled faintly.
"You know, I usually don't stick around in chaos. But this time… I think I'll follow you."
Ye Tian turned his gaze to the sky, which was beginning to brighten.
"I don't need followers."
"I didn't say I'd be your follower," Li Fan replied. "But someone has to make sure you don't lose yourself… before the curse consumes everything."
The two stood in silence for a long time, before finally their footsteps began to leave the valley. Behind them, the place was covered in mist again—not ordinary mist, but the spiritual mist of a world that had changed because of a single encounter.
And deep in the peaks of the spirit mountains, an elder in gray robes opened his eyes from his meditation. Before him lay an ancient scroll coated in blood, inscribed with:
"Eternal Shadow: The Celestial Blood Inheritance Must Not Rise."
His lips murmured softly…
"The curse has broken… and history is rewriting its path."
Ye Tian and Li Fan's footsteps echoed in the crevices of the rocks. The valley they left behind was no longer the same—the air there was now filled with the remnants of high-level power auras, and the sky seemed darker, as if unwilling to forget what had happened.
Neither of them spoke. But in that silence, each was trapped in their own thoughts.
Li Fan glanced at Ye Tian.
"I didn't think you could withstand the pressure from five great powers without lifting a finger."
Ye Tian continued walking without turning. But his voice, though soft, vibrated the air:
"They didn't come to fight. They came to make sure… that I haven't become a threat yet."
"And you?" Li Fan asked again. "Do you feel that threat… has already grown within you?"
Ye Tian stopped for a moment, looking at the pale sky.
"I don't know if I am a curse… or the last hope of this world. But one thing is certain—I am no longer just myself."
A faint flash appeared in his eyes. In his inner vision, the celestial blood seal began to crack its second circle—out of seven total layers.
Two seals have cracked… five remain.
And each seal that breaks will bring a catastrophe to the mortal world.
They finally arrived at a steep peak, where ancient ruins greeted them. Stone pillars towered like giant fangs, and illegible emblems were carved into the ruins. This place… was the First Gate of the Curse Inheritance, written in Ye Tian's blood memory.
"This place…" Li Fan looked around cautiously. "It's not an ordinary place, is it?"
"No," Ye Tian replied softly. "This place… is the beginning of everything."
Suddenly, the wind stopped.
The air froze.
And amidst the ruins, a faint blood-red light appeared, bound within the pattern of an ancient magic formation. As Ye Tian stepped inside, the symbols on the floor lit up, and a heavy voice echoed from the ground:
"Heir of blood… welcome to the first trial."
Li Fan immediately grabbed his sword hilt.
"What is that?!"
Ye Tian only said one thing…
"The first step to unlocking the inheritance… is to fight against myself."
From the shadows cast by the symbol's light, emerged a figure identical to Ye Tian. But his eyes blazed a deep red, and the aura he emitted… was not the aura of a human, but a pure entity of curse.
Ye Tian faced him with an emotionless face.
"Let's see… if I can truly defeat my old self."
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