The demon was fast—scary fast. His four arms were a blur of jagged bone daggers, all aimed directly at the back of Xiao Yan's neck. He was already grinning, his orange-peel skin wrinkling in a disgusting way as he imagined the spray of blood.
CRACK!
The sound wasn't the wet slice of a blade through skin. It was the sound of a heavy, solid object meeting a piece of cheap glass.
Without even turning his head, Xiao Yan's hand had moved. It was like his body knew exactly where the threat was coming from before his brain did. He drew the Sword of Heaven and Earth in one fluid, heavy motion, swinging it behind his back. The massive dark blade met the demon's daggers mid-air. The demonic weapons didn't just stop; they shattered into a thousand tiny white splinters.
The demon froze, his four arms still extended, clutching nothing but empty air and broken handles. He blinked, his glowing eyes wide with pure shock.
"Waiitt..." the demon stuttered, his voice trembling. "Aren't you... aren't you blind? You're wearing that silk wrap!"
Xiao Yan sighed, finally turning his body to face the monster. He adjusted the silk ribbon across his eyes, which was glowing faintly with the red energy of his inner spirit. He looked messy, his clothes were torn from the spider cave, and he had dirt on his face, but his grip on the heavy sword was steady as a mountain.
"Well, I have the silk on," Xiao Yan said, his voice flat and bored. "But I never said it was because I couldn't see. Maybe I just like the fashion? Or maybe I just don't want to look at your ugly face."
"Ahhhaa! It is no use!" the demon shrieked, his pride wounded. "I am a Hunter of the Abyss! I will eat you piece by piece!"
The air around them grew heavier. The demon's spirit energy flared up, a sickly purple mist leaking from his pores. He lunged again, but Xiao Yan didn't even use a technique. He just swung the heavy sword like a giant bat.
BAM!
The side of the blade caught the demon in the chest, sending him flying across the clearing. The monster hit a black tree so hard the trunk snapped, and for a second, the only sound was the crackling of red electricity on Xiao Yan's sword.
"Now dieeeee!" The demon scrambled up, losing his mind. He channeled all his energy into his remaining claws, charging in a straight line to pierce Xiao Yan's heart.
"You're too annoying," Xiao Yan muttered.
He didn't move until the demon was a foot away. Then, the red lightning on his sword flared. In less than a minute, the fight was over. The demon didn't even see the swing. There was a faint shink sound, and then the head of the demon fell to the grass, followed shortly by his body.
Xiao Yan let out a long breath and slowly slid his sword back into its sheath. He stood there for a second, the silence of the forest pressing in on him.
"Come out already," he said, looking toward a thick patch of frost-covered bushes.
"Oh... so you saw me," a cold, melodic voice replied.
Yan Bingxue stepped out from behind a tree. She looked as perfect as ever, her white veil completely clean despite the chaos of the mountain. She looked at the dead demon, then at Xiao Yan's blindfold, her eyes filled with a mix of curiosity and something else he couldn't name.
"No, I did not see you," Xiao Yan said, crossing his arms. "But I have good senses, even with the silk. You're not exactly subtle when you're standing in the middle of a frost patch in a humid forest."
Bingxue shifted slightly. "Well, sorry. You can't know my identity yet. It's for your own safety... and mine."
"But wait, who are you? Why are you following me?" Xiao Yan stepped forward, wanting an answer for once. He was tired of being the only one in the dark—literally and figuratively.
Bingxue didn't answer. She didn't even say goodbye. With a slight shimmer of white light, she vanished into the trees. She wasn't ready to tell him that she was the one he'd been hearing about in legends, or why she felt a pull toward a "trash" disciple from a fallen empire.
The forest was getting dark now. The sun was dipping below the peaks, and the black smoke from the demon fires was mixing with a thick, unnatural mist. The sounds of birds and insects had completely stopped.
"Well," Xiao Yan grumbled, feeling a bit lonely. "I gotta find the others. I don't know what happened with that teleportation, but it is strange. This part of the mountain feels... wrong."
[Master, stay alert,] Michael's voice suddenly echoed in his head, clearer than before. [I smell a strong dragon scent. A very old, very grumpy one. We might be close to the Azure Dragon.]
Xiao Yan's eyes (under the silk) widened. "Oh, system? Little apprentice? You're back! Then let's check it out. If the dragon is near, the girls might be there too."
While Xiao Yan was hunting dragons, Shi Lieya was having a minor panic attack. She was used to punching things she could see, but this forest was full of shadows that moved when she wasn't looking.
"It's so scary here, omg!" Lieya stated loudly, hoping the sound of her own voice would keep the ghosts away. She was stomping through the underbrush, her orange flames flickering in her palms. "Xiao Yan? Jinyao? If this is a joke, I'm going to break both your legs!"
She turned a corner and bumped straight into a solid chest.
"Hey! Watch it!" she yelled, raising a fist.
"Well, if it isn't the young, beautiful girl, Lieya," a smooth, arrogant voice said.
Lieya's face went from scared to annoyed in point-two seconds. Standing in front of her was Shi Wuheng, a disciple from Iron Mountain. He had been chasing her for months, and he was the last person she wanted to see. He had a smug grin on his face and a polished spear on his back.
"Mhhmmm. Sorry, I'm on my way to find my friends," Lieya said, trying to push past him. "I don't have time for your poetry or whatever you're about to do."
"Well, you can't be like that, Lieya," Wuheng said, stepping into her path again. He reached out and took her hand, his grip a bit too tight. "The mountain is dangerous. You need a real man to protect you, not that loser you were walking with earlier."
"Let go," Lieya growled, her hand starting to heat up.
THWACK!
A sword made of pure ice slammed into the ground between them, missing Wuheng's toes by an inch. The cold was so intense that the grass around it turned to glass.
High above on a branch, a white-veiled figure looked down. It was Bingxue again. She didn't say a word, but the message was clear: Touch her again and you lose the hand.
"Well, well, well," Wuheng said, jumping back and drawing his spear. He started to get mad, his face turning red. "Who are you? Showing your face is too much to ask, I guess?"
But before a fight could break out, the forest changed. The last bit of sunlight vanished instantly, replaced by a deep, suffocating darkness. A low, vibrating hum started to come from the earth itself.
On the other hand , a place where no one has ever seen called the forbidden zone , Xiao Yan had stepped past a line of ancient, crumbling pillars. The air here was so thick with energy he could barely breathe. He didn't know it yet, but he had entered the Forbidden Area—the place where the Azure Dragon had been sealed for millions of years. His presence, combined with the "Balance Breaker" aura hidden deep in his soul, was acting like a key in a lock.
The mountain began to groan. Rocks tumbled down distant cliffs, and the teleportation arrays across the forest began to glitch out, making the entire mountain more troublesome than ever.
"What is this place?" Xiao Yan whispered. He could see a massive cave entrance ahead, glowing with a faint, ghostly blue light. The walls were covered in chains the size of tree trunks.
[Master, keep going. No stopping,] Michael urged, his voice sounding uncharacteristically serious. [We've crossed the point of no return.]
Deep inside the cave, amidst a pile of ancient gold and rusted weapons, a massive eye opened. It was the color of a summer sky, but filled with the wisdom and coldness of eternity.
The Azure Dragon shifted. His scales, each as large as a shield, scraped against the stone floor like grinding metal. He felt an aura he hadn't felt in eons—something that didn't belong to this world.
(After millions of years... someone finally found my sealed place,) the dragon thought, his consciousness rippling through the air.
He took a long, deep breath, and when he spoke, his voice was a rumbling thunder that shook the very foundations of the mountain.
"BUT WHO DARES DISTURB MY TIME?"
Xiao Yan stopped in his tracks, his hair blowing back from the sheer force of the dragon's voice. He gripped his heavy sword, his heart hammering against his ribs.
"Well," Xiao Yan whispered to himself. "I asked for a story. I guess I'm getting one."
To be continued!!!