The night was cold and bitter, pierced by the shrill screams of battle.
The Veilwither Sect, once a bastion of shadow cultivation, stood defiant on the cliff's edge overlooking the Sunken Continent. Their banners—black and crimson—flapped wildly in the gale, now soaked with blood and rain.
Elder Ji Wuhen's blazing swords descended like falling stars, slicing through the outer disciples as if they were nothing but weeds. The light of the Celestial Tribunal was merciless.
Within the central hall, the sect's master—the Hollow Fiend—stood shrouded in shadow, his bone flute emitting a haunting melody that twisted the very air into a choking haze. His disciples fought desperately, their hands weaving forbidden runes and shadow threads, but their strength was fading.
Xie Kairo, then a mere boy with unsteady Qi, watched from the altar steps, clutching the Twinblight—the sickle-chain weapon that had been his father's last gift.
"Run!" a senior disciple shouted, but the exits were already blocked.
A crimson spear pierced the heart of the elder, and the floor was slick with blood. The Hollow Fiend's eyes, hollow and eternal, fixed on Kairo.
"Your scream will shatter their lies, child," he whispered before vanishing into the darkness, leaving only the mournful notes of his flute.
The sect fell to ash that night.
No one survived to tell the tale. The Celestial Tribunal's purge was total.