Night fell like an omen.
Clouds strangled the moon. Wind whispered of coming blood.
Xu Shen sat alone on the outer cliffs of Bone-Fist Pavilion, saber resting beside him, its edge stained with dried sweat. He felt it again—that pulse. The same pressure he'd felt just before the assassin came.
They're coming.
He rose to his feet, staring toward the shadowed valley. His spiritual sense—still weak compared to past lives—tugged at something heavy. A killing intent thick enough to choke the air.
He turned, running toward the sect gate.
At the base of the mountain, dark-robed figures gathered silently.
There were seven of them. Each marked by a twisted sigil etched in silver ash across their robes:
The Order of the Red Veil—a death cult that hunted reincarnated cultivators to prevent "soul aberrations."
A black-robed woman stood at their head. Her eyes glowed faint red.
"He bears the Mark of the Devourer. We end him here, before the seal fully breaks."
Her voice echoed. Her palm rose.
A red flame ignited—and then dozens of masked footsoldiers surged forward, scaling the cliffs like spiders.
Xu Shen arrived at the outer pavilion as the first alarm bell rang.
Flames had already begun to spread.
"Attack! We're under attack!" a disciple screamed.
Then an explosion shattered the front gate.
Three elders appeared mid-air, chi flaring wildly. Elder Mo Lin among them.
Too slow, Xu thought. This isn't a raid. This is a purge.
Xu drew his saber.
"I've hidden long enough."
He rushed into the fray.
The first attacker lunged toward him with a curved blade—masked, fast, Wind Path user.
Xu stepped aside and parried with a downward stroke.
Storm Fang Slash.
The wind howled. The cultist was sliced in half before he hit the ground.
The other footsoldiers paused—unnerved.
Xu dashed forward.
Three more came at once.
One from above—he ducked. One from the side—he spun. The third tried to strike his back—
Shadow Flame Footwork.
Xu flickered past, leaving a trail of heat behind him.
"Crimson Lotus Palm."
His fist glowed faintly red as it connected with the last attacker's chest.
Boom.
The body flew ten meters, chest caved in.
Above, Elder Mo Lin shouted commands, trying to hold the inner gate with a few remaining elites.
Xu leapt up to the courtyard wall, scanning for the leader.
He saw her.
The red-eyed woman stood calmly amid the chaos. Her aura rippled—Foundation Soul Stage, at least. Far above him.
But her eyes widened as she looked toward him.
"He's accelerated… The Devourer's core has begun to fracture."
She raised both hands.
A red lotus of flame formed in the sky.
Xu's vision blurred. His soul trembled.
He couldn't block that.
Not yet.
But something stirred within him.
[Memory Sync: 6.0%]
[Devourer Core Flare Triggered]
[Emergency Fragment Fusion Initiated — Lives #22, #77, and #402]
His breath stopped.
Time slowed.
He felt a hand on his shoulder—not real, but spiritual. One of his past selves.
"Burn. Cut. Break. Eat."
His spiritual sea ignited.
Xu raised his saber—flames licked the blade.
His skin shimmered with hardened chi—ironbone defense layered in spirit essence.
His right foot ignited—shadow flame streaking across the courtyard.
And as the red lotus descended—
He leapt.
Straight at her.
The woman's eyes widened. "Impossible!"
Their attacks collided.
A deafening roar shook the mountain.
The lotus shattered.
Xu crashed into her, blade-first.
Blood sprayed.
Her shoulder was split open—but she vanished mid-blink, retreating with a scream.
She landed on the far wall, panting, holding her shoulder.
"You—! You're not supposed to be this far along!"
Xu stood in the crater, smoke rising from his body, saber still burning.
"Tell your Order," he said quietly, "next time you send a purge—send someone ready to die."
Retreat horns blared.
The cult scattered.
The pavilion was scorched, but it still stood.
Xu Shen turned to the stunned elders, the bloodied disciples, the fires now dying in the wind.
"No more hiding."
🌑 That same night…
In the skies far above, a cloaked being stood atop a floating jade platform, gazing down at the Slag Realm.
They opened a scroll.
"Devourer Host: Xu Shen. Cycle #10,001. Soul compression accelerating. Mark resonance detected."
They snapped the scroll closed.
"Begin containment protocols. Do not let him reach the next realm."