Yun Lintian held the silver seed in his palm, its gentle warmth pulsing like a heartbeat. He turned to the serpent, his voice steady but curious.
"What is this seed for?"
The serpent's golden eyes glead with ancient knowledge. "The World Tree never truly disappeared. When it was destroyed, it scattered its essence across the world." Its gaze pierced through Yun Lintian. "The Tree of Life inside your body... is one of its fragnts."
Yun Lintian's fingers tightened slightly around the seed.
So that's why...
He had always sensed that his Tree of Life wasn't an ordinary entity. Now, it made sense—it was a remnant of sothing far greater.
The serpent continued, "This seed in your hand is the Seed of Ti. It carries the World Tree's authority over ti itself."
Yun Lintian's breath hitched.
Ti.
The one power he had been missing.
The serpent's lips curled into a knowing smirk. "You've been searching for it, haven't you? The power to control ti."
Yun Lintian's eyes narrowed. "Who exactly are you?"
Instead of answering, the serpent chuckled. "Tell , Yun Lintian... doesn't this tiline feel familiar to you?"
mories flashed through Yun Lintian's mind—
The inheritor of the Moon God, who looked exactly like Lin Xinyao.
Su Xinyue, whose presence felt hauntingly familiar despite never eting her before.
The anomalies he had noticed but couldn't explain.
"What's the aning behind this?" Yun Lintian demanded.
The serpent flicked its tail lazily. "Refine the Seed of Ti first. Answers will co... but ti waits for no one."
Yun Lintian stared at the seed, his mind racing.
He knew what he had to do.
Closing his eyes, he channeled his divine energy into the seed—
And the world around him shattered…
***
**
*
Inside a dark, watery cavern, Xiong Ba, Long Chen, and Ling Xuan slowly regained consciousness.
Xiong Ba was the first to wake. His eyes snapped open, imdiately locking onto Long Chen and Ling Xuan nearby. His aura flared violently, crimson energy swirling around him like a storm.
"You!" he roared, staggering to his feet. "This ends here! I'll bury both of you in this damned cave!"
Long Chen and Ling Xuan reacted instantly, falling into battle stances. The air between them crackled with tension.
Long Chen's voice was icy. "You can't take us both, Xiong Ba. Don't be a fool."
Xiong Ba's face twisted with rage. He raised his axe, muscles coiling for a lethal strike—
ROOOOAR!
The cave trembled violently. A deafening roar echoed through the tunnels, so deep it made their bones vibrate. The sound carried an ancient, terrifying pressure—sothing far beyond their level.
All three froze.
For the first ti, genuine fear flashed in Xiong Ba's eyes.
Ling Xuan swallowed hard. "There... there are no records of anything living under Mirror Lake." Her voice was tight. "We might not even be under the lake anymore."
The roar ca again, closer this ti.
Long Chen made a decision. "We move. Now."
He turned and began walking down the nearest tunnel, sword drawn. Ling Xuan followed without hesitation.
Xiong Ba hesitated, glaring at their backs. Another earth-shaking roar decided for him. He cursed under his breath and followed, keeping his distance but moving in the sa direction.
The cave was unnatural—its walls smooth as if carved by water over millennia, glowing faintly with bioluminescent moss. The air was thick with moisture and sothing else... an ancient, oppressive aura.
Long Chen led the way, senses sharp. Every few minutes, the roar would sound again, sotis distant, sotis alarmingly close.
Ling Xuan's fingers tightened around her dagger. "This place... it doesn't feel right."
Xiong Ba scoffed from behind them. "Scared, Frost Moon Valley's genius?"
Before Ling Xuan could retort—
Drip.
A drop of water fell from the ceiling... except it wasn't water. It was thick, black, and sizzled where it hit the stone.
All three looked up.
The ceiling was covered in them—countless black droplets clinging like inverted rain, trembling with each distant roar.
"Don't touch them," Long Chen said quietly.
They quickened their pace.
The tunnel opened into a vast cavern. At its center stood a stone platform, atop which rested a massive, weathered stele covered in primordial runes.
But what drew their eyes was the water.
An inverted waterfall rose from the platform, defying gravity as it stread upward into the darkness above. The black droplets floated around it, suspended in the air like stars.
Ling Xuan's breath caught. "That's... impossible."
Xiong Ba's arrogance was gone, replaced by wary tension. "What kind of formation is this?"
Long Chen approached the stele cautiously. The runes were ancient, but one phrase stood out:
"The Mirror reflects not the present... but the lost."
A new voice spoke suddenly—soft, echoing, and utterly terrifying:
"Visitors... after so long."
They whirled.
From the inverted waterfall, a figure erged—humanoid but wrong, its body made of the sa black liquid, its eyes voids of endless depth.
The roar they'd heard earlier hadn't co from so beast.
It had co from this.
The being smiled, revealing needle-like teeth.
"Shall we play?"
Long Chen, Ling Xuan, and Xiong Ba froze as they didn't dare to move.
The black-water entity's smile widened as it studied the three stunned cultivators. Its liquid form rippled with amusent.
Long Chen was the first to regain composure. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Senior, this junior and my companions an no harm. We were accidentally pulled into this place and humbly request your guidance to leave."
The entity sighed dramatically. "Tch. I thought you all were sothing. I didn't expect to et three frightened mice instead." It waved a dripping hand. "But no matter. Tell ... where do you co from?"
"From the Eastern Continent's Frost Moon Valley and Blazing Sun Sect," Long Chen answered truthfully.
The entity's void-like eyes sharpened. "How many years has it been since the Primordial War ended?"
The question struck like thunder.
Xiong Ba's grip on his axe tightened. Ling Xuan's breath hitched. Even Long Chen's calm deanor cracked slightly.
This being... it's from the Primordial Era!
Long Chen composed himself. "Senior, it has been approximately a million years since the Primordial War's conclusion."
ROOOOAR!
The cavern trembled as that earth-shaking roar erupted again. The black droplets floating in the air vibrated violently.
The entity chuckled, though its expression showed annoyance. "This damn woman... after all these years, she still won't stop trying to break free."
Damn woman? That creature?
Long Chen, Ling Xuan, and Xiong Ba exchanged deep glances… What kind of identity the creature was?
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