The moon had risen high above the Soultear Plains, casting a silver pallor over the ruins of battle. The great rift in the sky quivered like a wound in the heavens, no longer expanding, yet not healed. Three radiant pillars of light from the reawakened divine anchors continued to stream into the sky, stabilizing the atmosphere, but a new tension had settled over the land.
The heavens were holding their breath.
Within the temporary command dome, reinforced by a dozen layers of spiritual formations and guarded by the best from the major sects, Li Yi stood before a floating map, his expression grim. A dark tide was approaching—faster than anticipated.
"The Abyss is retaliating," Elder Wen said. "The Void Heir is no longer acting alone."
"How many are coming?" Lan Qing'er asked, her brow furrowed.
Elder Jian flicked his wrist and caused the projection to zoom in. "At least three Abyss Generals have passed through the tear. One of them is said to be a soul reaver from the first war. Another, a beastmaster who corrupted an entire realm."
Li Yi narrowed his eyes. "And the third?"
Elder Jian hesitated, then uttered two words that turned the air frigid: "The Pale Maiden."
Mo Ruyan stepped forward. "That's impossible. She was sealed by the First Ancestors."
Elder Wen shook his head. "Seals weaken. And the Abyss is ancient. They do not forget."
For a long moment, no one spoke.
The march of shadows had begun.
---
Several Hours Later — Abyssal Wastes
Beyond the rift, in the withered lands of the Abyss, three figures knelt before a throne sculpted from bones and blackened crystal. A formless presence hovered above the throne, shrouded in mist and shadow. The Void Heir knelt in silence, his golden skeletal mask reflecting the flickering violet fires surrounding them.
To his right, the Pale Maiden stood—her eyes empty voids, her skin chalk white, and black blood dripping from her fingertips. Her hair moved as if underwater, trailing dark whispers wherever it brushed.
To his left, the Abyss Beastmaster, a creature covered in scaled flesh and bone armor, rested a clawed hand on a giant leashed serpent. The beast hissed, its twin heads gnashing at the air, impatient.
And behind them, like a tide of endless filth, the armies of the Abyss were rising. Tens of thousands of corrupted cultivators, void-born beasts, shadow-forged abominations, and soul-harvesting entities waited in perfect, hungry silence.
The formless presence spoke, its voice an echo from a forgotten age.
> "The Chaos-blooded child awakened the anchors. He is marked."
The Pale Maiden raised a hand, and tiny threads of black silk unraveled from her sleeve, spinning through the air.
> "I will collect his soul."
---
Qingxuan Alliance Headquarters — Final Preparations
Within the sealed mountain range just south of the Soultear Plains, the entire alliance had gathered. Sects that once waged war now stood side by side. Ancient grudges were buried—for now, survival was the only doctrine.
Li Yi stood atop a stone podium, overlooking thousands of cultivators, banners fluttering in the wind, their spiritual auras rising like waves crashing against an unseen storm.
He wore a new robe—deep black threaded with silver lightning, the emblem of the Divine Anchor glowing at his chest. His sword, reforged by the Chaos flames of the Crimson Flame Abyss, rested across his back. The newly forged blade had no name yet, but the runes on it pulsed with his bloodline's authority.
Xue Lian, Lan Qing'er, Mo Ruyan, and Elder Wen stood behind him, their expressions solemn.
"You've all seen the signs," Li Yi began, his voice carried by spiritual resonance across the mountainside. "The Abyss marches. They bring with them a tide meant to drown this world. But we are not so easily broken."
He paused, sweeping his gaze across the sea of cultivators—young and old, renowned and obscure.
"We are the blood of the past and the hope of the future. We will hold the line. We will forge our legacy not in safety—but in fire. If the heavens forget us, let the Abyss remember our wrath."
Cheers erupted, swords raised high, spirit beasts roaring into the wind.
The alliance had never been more united.
---
Nightfall — Soultear Plains Reclaimed
Under the ashen sky, lit only by moonlight and the glow of divine anchors, the alliance took formation. The plains had been transformed into a fortified battlefield—spiritual artillery towers, barrier arrays, and massive sealing formation circles carved deep into the earth.
Li Yi stood at the center, directly beneath the rift.
He could feel it now—not just the pressure of approaching enemies, but the strange rhythm of time itself shifting. His Chaos Core pulsed in sync with the divine anchors, drawing him closer to something deeper, older—something calling from beyond the stars.
A whisper reached him.
> "Son of the First Flame…"
His breath caught. The voice was not from the Abyss.
Lan Qing'er looked at him sharply. "What is it?"
Li Yi's eyes flashed. "Nothing. Yet."
Then the sky shattered.
---
The Invasion Begins
The rift exploded outward, violet light flooding the heavens. Black meteors streaked through the air, slamming into the earth like falling stars. Each one burst open, unleashing legions of Abyssal creatures.
The battle began.
Li Yi drew his blade and activated the Chaos Surge, his aura exploding to five times its normal size. His cultivation had climbed silently over the last few days, the chaotic energy refined and compressed. He was now firmly in the Heaven Ascension Realm — Middle Stage.
He vanished in a flicker, reappearing in front of a Void-Fanged Goliath, slicing upward and severing its head before it could finish roaring.
Xue Lian danced through the battlefield, twin sabers drawing arcs of flame and light. Mo Ruyan leapt from formation to formation, reinforcing allies and carving through corrupted beasts.
Elder Wen summoned a storm of ancestral talismans, turning the ground beneath the enemy into a sea of explosive Qi mines.
But it wasn't enough.
The Pale Maiden arrived.
She descended like a phantom, her presence freezing the spiritual flow of dozens of cultivators in an instant. Her gaze landed on Li Yi.
"You carry the blood of the Primal Source," she said. "How delightful."
She raised a hand, and the souls of the dead were ripped from the battlefield, swirling around her like a crown of screaming echoes.
Li Yi stood firm. "Then come claim it."
---
The Duel
She moved like a whisper, and he responded with a roar.
Their clash shook the plains.
Li Yi's blade met her silk threads, cutting them with chaotic precision. Her counterstrikes tore through space, forcing him to shift between dimensions using the Chaos Steps. They moved faster than most could follow—teleporting, reappearing, vanishing again.
Lan Qing'er shouted, trying to assist, but the Pale Maiden's aura blocked all interference. The duel was sealed.
Blades of thought and soul clashed in silence.
Then, with a scream, she unleashed her true form.
A thousand arms of shadow burst from her body, each holding a soul-blade, each striking at a different frequency of reality.
Li Yi bled.
He gritted his teeth, pushed past his limits.
> "Chaos Flame—Second Cycle: Devour."
A vortex of void-fire erupted from him, collapsing her assault into a singularity. The surrounding battlefield was momentarily flattened by the force.
He lunged, sword-first.
She screamed as the blade pierced her chest.
But she smiled.
Her body disintegrated, reforming behind him.
"I'm not bound to one form, Chaos Heir."
She stabbed him in the back with a dagger of crystallized void.
But instead of blood, golden flame erupted from the wound.
Li Yi turned, eyes burning.
"You're not the only one who's unbound."
He roared.
> "Chaos Flame — Final Form: Starforged Baptism!"
His entire body ignited, transforming into a silhouette of cosmic flame. He struck once more—this time not with sword, but soul.
And the Pale Maiden screamed as her body unraveled.
---
Aftermath
She vanished into dust.
The armies of the Abyss recoiled.
But the rift remained.
And far behind it, something ancient stirred.
The true enemy had yet to awaken.
But the cultivators of the Xuan Realm had shown the Abyss something they had long forgotten:
Defiance.
---
End of Chapter 35