The heavens rumbled. Rain outside struck the earth like war drums beaten by the sky.
Inside the narrow hallway of the inn's second floor, the air had become thick with darkness and the stench of blood. Ten… twenty… even more parasitic creatures crawled out from the rooms. Some still wore scraps of human clothing, remnants of the bodies they once inhabited. But now their forms bent unnaturally—extra arms sprouting from their ribs, eyes lining their cheeks and foreheads, mouths torn up to their ears and filled with needle-black fangs.
"Don't let them get close!" one of the elite guards shouted, his sword wrapped in a dark violet aura—Qi.
Hun Yao stood at the center of the formation, calm amidst the chaos. The jade artifact in his hand pulsed faintly. He tucked it back into his belt and drew his sword.
The first clash began.
A parasitic creature leaped toward him, but the right-side guard slashed it midair. The creature's body split, black smoke curling from the pieces. Three more lunged from the left, but the second guard spun, unleashing a spiral slash. His Qi formed a razor wind, shredding the creatures and sending heads rolling across the floor.
Hun Yao stepped forward. "Don't get too defensive! They're linked to the building itself—we must cut off the source!"
With speed too fast for ordinary eyes, Hun Yao kicked off the wall, vaulting to the ceiling before diving down with a heavy strike toward a room emanating dense killing intent.
CRAACK!
The wall burst open, revealing a ritual circle etched into the floor. Three parasites surrounded it, their long tongues wrapped around wooden poles, channeling dark energy.
With one heavy blow infused with Severing Qi, Hun Yao shattered the circle and cut off the flow.
BOOM!
A violent tremor shook the entire building. Several parasites staggered; some even burst apart from internal backlash. But then—footsteps echoed from the stairs.
Slow. Steady.
"Tap… tap… tap…"
Everyone turned.
Through the haze of darkness and rain, the old innkeeper emerged. The wine gourd was gone. His clothes were no longer ragged—they were clean, a tidy grey robe of fine linen. His hair was neatly tied, his eyes sharp—far too sharp for a drunken receptionist.
He stood at the stairwell, wiping blood off the railing with his sleeve.
Hun Yao raised his sword. "Who… are you?"
The old man smiled faintly. "You disturbed the upper floor sooner than expected."
A crushing aura exploded outward. Cold wind swept through the entire hall. The elite guards immediately shifted into defensive stances.
Behind the old man, something rose from the shadows. Something not like the other parasites. Not something inhabiting a human body. Something older. Aware.
A pillar of black mist shaped like a man emerged from the walls and floor. Two eyes glowed within the darkness—dark gold, with spiraling pupils like inverted divine eyes.
The old man nodded toward it. "I've guarded this gate for decades. But now its time has come. And you… brought the key."
Hun Yao narrowed his eyes. He pulled out the jade artifact.
"So this is the key you mean… or is it Xiao Cao?" he muttered.
The old man chuckled. No longer the laugh of a drunkard, but a deep resonance that shook the bones.
"We didn't sense the key. The key called to us."
BOOM!!
The wall behind them shattered as more parasites poured in—larger, winged, dripping black mucus.
"DO NOT BREAK FORMATION!" Hun Yao commanded.
The guards shifted, forming a double-line corridor while channeling Qi into a demon-sealing battle pattern.
One guard summoned his Spirit Weapon, the Forged Firebird, and launched a blazing orb of flame upward, illuminating the entire floor. Shadows recoiled. But the old innkeeper remained unmoving, calm.
"If you wish to live…" he said, voice low and heavy, "…return the key to where it belongs. Otherwise… you will witness the true surface of this world."
Hun Yao stepped forward.
"No. I want to know what lies beneath… and why the sky never stops speaking."
Then he leaped toward the shadow creature.
"Break the seal. Shatter the illusion."
The guards charged again.
Qi explosions tore through the building. Walls peeled apart. The Firebird's glow flashed against writhing silhouettes of the parasites.
Hun Yao cut, thrust, spun—his blade a storm of steel and fury. Black blood coated the floor. Guard One, Si Wu, roared his technique and drove his spear through a winged creature's chest, freezing it in crystalline black shards before shattering it.
"Formation! Hold the center!" the third guard shouted, while the fourth cast a protective barrier around Hun Yao.
But the enemies kept coming.
And then… he moved.
The old innkeeper stepped forward. One hand behind his back, the other drawing slow, deliberate mudras into the air. Every step caused tiny cracks to form in the floor.
"Heh…" he chuckled softly. "So this is all the strength of the elite guards?"
Hun Yao felt as though a mountain pressed on his chest. The old man's aura wasn't that of a parasite or demon—it was the aura of someone who had swallowed too many secrets of the world.
Guard Four, Liu Shen, sensed the old man's intent.
"I'll take him! Handle the seal!"
Without hesitation, Liu Shen charged. His blade shone with silver light, forming a roaring wind dragon.
The old man raised a single finger.
"Jin Lian: Single Breath."
The world froze.
The dragon technique stopped midair—erased from existence.
Wind died. Qi stilled.
Then Liu Shen exploded. No scream. No blood. His body shattered like glass in a storm.
Hun Yao stiffened. The remaining guards backed away in horror.
"One move… and he…" whispered the second guard, trembling.
The old man kept walking. "The key cannot leave this land. Not even with a wounded child like you."
Hun Yao clenched his teeth. "We can't win here. FALL BACK!"
The guards reversed formation, creating a spiraling Qi wall to open an escape route. Hun Yao grabbed the jade artifact.
"Fine. I'll try this."
He slammed it into the wall and unleashed his spiritual energy.
BOOOOM!
The building erupted. Rain crashed in through the newly shattered wall. They leaped out from the second floor, crashing onto the muddy courtyard.
Hun Yao rolled, rising quickly despite the blood dripping from his brow.
"That wasn't a human," one guard gasped. "He's… something else!"
The old man did not chase. Instead, he shouted:
"I am Yao Ji! I will plunge this land into eternal darkness!"
His voice echoed.
"Yao Ji…" Si Wu muttered, face pale. "I've heard that name… a Sleepless Warden. One of the Eleven Night Shadows of the Lower World."
Hun Yao stared, confusion flickering in his eyes.
Eleven Night Shadows… what does that mean?
Behind them, the inn began to transform.
What looked like an ordinary building twisted—black roots burst from the ground, wrapping the wooden pillars. A massive eye opened atop the roof.
"He's opening a gate," whispered the third guard. "If we don't stop him, this city will…"
"We will return," Hun Yao cut in sharply. "But not now. We need information. We need Shen Xue. And before that…"
One guard nodded. "Right. I'll report this to the palace."
Hun Yao glanced toward the clinic where Xiao Cao was recovering.
"…I have to make sure that child survives."
Three guards arrived at the palace.
Thunder still rumbled as Meng Qiu—one of the three surviving guards—stood before the palace's main gate. His robes were torn, stained with mud and blood. The two gatekeepers lowered their spears, then froze upon recognizing the elite guard emblem at his waist.
"I bring an urgent report," Meng Qiu said hoarsely. "A gate to the Lower Realm… has appeared in this nation."
The guards exchanged horrified looks. One immediately released a Qi messenger bird into the sky.
Minutes later, Meng Qiu was brought into the inner hall.
The room was filled with high-level cultivators. Artifacts hummed along the walls. Dozens of sect leaders and masters stood within the heavy aura.
At the far end, on a bronze-lined throne, sat a figure shrouded behind a thin veil. Their robe of black and gold marked the highest authority in Xiao.
"Has something happened?" a senior advisor asked.
Meng Qiu clenched his fist. "The Xian Ni Inn has become a nest of corruption. Ancient parasites have emerged. We lost one elite guard. But more importantly… a being calling himself Yao Ji has awakened. He can erase Qi with a single gesture."
Shock rippled across the room. A Snow Sky Sect master gasped.
"Yao Ji…? That's only a legend among artifact hunters…"
The veiled figure did not react, but the hall grew heavier—air thickening with their silent pressure.
"Continue surveillance," the veiled ruler finally said. The entire hall fell quiet.
Meanwhile—
Hun Yao reached the clinic.
The rain had eased, but the earth was still wet, and the sky still heavy with clouds. He entered the small room with unsteady steps. His face was pale. The jade artifact, wrapped in black cloth, hung at his waist.
In the front room, Shen Xue rose from her seat. She wore a white healer's robe, her hair neatly tied, her eyes sharp though weary.
"You're alone?" Shen Xue asked, voice tight with concern.
Hun Yao nodded. "One guard has fallen. The parasites… have evolved. And Yao Ji… he is no ordinary being."
Shen Xue stared at him for several seconds, then whispered, "Come. Xiao Cao's fever has worsened."
Hun Yao followed her into the back room.
The lantern's soft glow lit a small, tidy space. On the bed lay Xiao Cao, trembling in restless sleep. His forehead burned with sweat. His tiny fists clenched the blanket tightly.
Shen Xue lifted the cloth, placing her palm on the boy's forehead. Her expression hardened.
"A spiritual fever… but not merely from his weak body. Something inside his meridians has awakened."
Hun Yao sat beside the bed.
"He… might be the key," he whispered.
Shen Xue looked at him sharply.
"I know it's only a possibility," he continued, "but for now… we have no choice but to protect him."
Shen Xue gritted her teeth, then nodded. "I'll summon a Soul Guardian from the Spirit-Shielding Sect. But it will take time."
"And time…" Hun Yao murmured, "is something we may not have."
He looked at Xiao Cao's pale, sweating face.
Beyond the rain and darkness, something inside Hun Yao stirred—a growing certainty.
Yao Ji was not the end.