News of the massacre at the Xiao Family Main Residence spread like wildfire through dry grass. In a single night, Xiao Chen's name became both a legend and the greatest source of fear throughout Fengyun City. The great clans that had once looked down on him no longer dared to puff out their chests, while the remaining followers of Xiao Tianhai chose to flee for their lives.
Yet amid the ruins of the main hall, where the screams were beginning to fade, Xiao Chen made his way toward an old building behind the compound—the former residence of his late mother.
Xiao Chen's footsteps slowed as he entered the dusty, wood-floored room. It was in this simple room that his mother had once embraced and encouraged him when everyone else cursed him as trash.
"Xue Ling'er," Xiao Chen whispered, breaking the silence.
Transparent white light blossomed beside Xiao Chen, revealing the graceful, floating form of the sword spirit.
"The Great Elder said earlier that my mother hid that treasure before she died," Xiao Chen said as he stared at the wooden floor in the corner of the room. "Do you sense any strange energy here?"
Xue Ling'er closed her crystalline eyes. Her soul sight swept across every corner of the old hut. The next second, she opened her eyes, their light filled with surprise.
"Under that wooden cot, Master," Xue Ling'er said, pointing. "There's a high-level illusion barrier concealing a secret room. This barrier was created using an ancient technique from the Divine Realm... It's impossible for an ordinary mortal woman to have set it up."
Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes. He walked toward the wooden cot and waved his hand.
*WUSH!*
A wave of golden Qi swept away the dust and shattered the wooden boards in the floor. A dark iron box engraved with lines of pure gold lay inside the hidden cavity. Right in the center of its lid was a keyhole shaped like a dragon-and-demon crown.
Xiao Chen touched his neck. The cracked pendant that had fused with his chest emitted a faint glow. When he brought his palm close to the box, threads of golden blood emerged from his finger and seeped into the keyhole.
*CLINK!*
The sound of an ancient mechanical mechanism echoed through the room. The iron box's lid slowly opened, releasing the fragrance of eternal sandalwood and revealing two objects lying inside: a sheet of ancient bark parchment and a bronze mirror engraved with dark flames.
"This..." Xue Ling'er floated closer, her expression turning tense. "The Dark Soul Mirror! This is one of the Demon Realm Ruler's Three Treasures!"
Xiao Chen picked up the bronze mirror. The moment his fingers touched its surface, it suddenly flashed and displayed a vision of the fractured night sky over the border of the Tianyuan Continent.
The sky over the borderlands was bloodred, and from gaps in the black clouds, thousands of shadows belonging to terrifying bat-winged creatures crawled down toward the earth.
"An invasion from the Demon Realm..." Xiao Chen muttered as he watched the memory projected from the mirror.
*"This isn't an ordinary invasion, Master,"* Xue Ling'er's voice sounded grave. *"The seal holding back the Demon Realm and the Mortal Realm is beginning to collapse. Demon King Mo Zun is attempting to defy it and cross into the Mortal Realm to seize the remnants of the Primordial God's energy. And the map inside this box... it's a map showing the location of the Main Seal!"*
Xiao Chen clenched his hand over the bark parchment. The mystery surrounding his mother's identity had only grown more confusing—how could a woman from a small city possess the Demon Realm's supreme treasure and a map to the seal of the universe?
Suddenly, the earth beneath Xiao Chen's feet shook violently.
*BOOOOM!*
The powerful tremor did not originate in Fengyun City. It was a tremendous shock wave from hundreds of miles to the north. The night air, cold only moments before, suddenly filled with the stench of sulfur and an overwhelming smell of blood. The sky north of Fengyun City turned a blazing red.
"They've begun breaking through the seal," Xiao Chen said coldly as he tucked the Dark Soul Mirror inside his robe and gripped the ancient map.
"Master," Xue Ling'er said. "Your cultivation is currently only at the Foundation Establishment, Third Level. Even with your God-Demon Physique, the Demon Realm army led by the Demon Generals is in the Pure Soul Realm and the Main God Realm. Facing them now would be extremely dangerous."
Xiao Chen gazed at the blood-red northern sky, his golden eyes blazing. A cold grin spread across his face.
"Dangerous for ordinary cultivators, perhaps, but not for me," Xiao Chen replied with determination. "The power within my body is the blood of the Ancient God-Demon Emperor. Demon King Mo Zun and his army think themselves the rulers of darkness... Then now is the time to teach them who the true Supreme Ruler they must worship is!"
With a single swift leap, Xiao Chen shot northward through the night, leaving Fengyun City behind as he began his journey to subjugate the Demon Realm and shake the entire order of the Tianyuan Continent!