The eruption of chaos flame from the Eastern Trench did not go unnoticed.
From isolated sects hidden in the clouds to ancient families buried deep in the earth, countless cultivators turned their gazes eastward. Even those in closed-door seclusion awakened with wide eyes and trembling hearts.
A phenomenon like this — the fusion of elemental flame with Primordial Chaos — had not occurred in this lower realm for tens of thousands of years.
---
Upper Realm – Li Family Branch Pavilion
Within a towering hall carved from spirit jade, an elder wrapped in silver robes held a glowing pearl in his palm. The pearl trembled violently before bursting apart.
He rose to his feet, voice echoing through the ancestral chamber.
> "Send word to the main house… The Chaos Lineage has surfaced."
Gasps filled the room.
> "In the lower realm?" a junior asked.
The elder's eyes narrowed. "Yes. And if left unchecked, it could become... unstoppable."
---
Qingye Sect – Inner Court
Lin Ho returned from the Eastern Trench, robes torn, eyes glowing faintly. His return was silent. The sect elders had ordered his presence to be kept secret — not even Bai Qing had been informed.
Within his personal cultivation chamber, he sat cross-legged, breathing steadily.
The flame sigil on his chest had faded, but its essence remained.
His cultivation was no longer at the Meridian Forging Stage.
He had unknowingly stepped into the Core Formation Realm — but it was unlike any known progression. His core was not crystalline or golden. It was a swirling singularity of golden-black Qi — a microcosm of Chaos.
He focused.
The Primordial Spiral Breathing had evolved. With each cycle, he felt the world around him respond — not just spiritually, but elementally.
Wind bent toward him.
Fire hummed in resonance.
Even the soil outside trembled faintly.
> "If I cannot hide this for long… I'll control the narrative myself."
---
Elder Qiu's Peak
A secret council had been called.
Elder Mo, Elder Qiu, and the Sect Master sat within a formation-shielded hall. In the center hovered a memory crystal — displaying a projection of Lin Ho's awakening inside the Vault.
> "He fused with the Forgotten Flame," Elder Qiu muttered.
> "No… the flame fused with him," Elder Mo corrected grimly.
The Sect Master stood, hands clasped behind his back.
> "Prepare the inheritance trials. We cannot delay. Lin Ho will either become our sect's sharpest sword…"
> "…or the blade that cuts our own throat."
---
Outside Qingye Sect
In the distance, a robed figure stood atop a tree, watching the mountain.
Their eyes shimmered with ancient light, and their breath turned to mist.
> "Chaos… you've chosen a vessel again. Will this one fall like the last?"
They vanished with the wind.
---
End of Chapter 66