Demon Palace was peaceful again.
Too peaceful.
Mo Yanluo had recovered.
At least— that's what everyone believed.
He could walk.
He could speak.
His aura had stabilized.
But something inside him… was wrong.
At first, it was just a slight dizziness.
While training lightly with Xu Tianming, his steps would falter.
His breathing would become uneven faster than before.
"You're overdoing it," Xu Tianming muttered.
Mo Yanluo only smiled faintly.
"I'm fine."
But he wasn't.
That night—
He woke up coughing.
A sharp metallic taste filled his mouth.
He covered his lips—
And when he looked at his palm—
Blood.
Dark red.
Thick.
He stared at it quietly.
He didn't tell anyone.
The next few days grew worse.
He couldn't train for long.
Spiritual energy felt heavy inside his body.
Like something was resisting it.
One afternoon, while walking through the palace corridor—
The world spun violently.
His vision blurred.
His legs gave out.
A servant screamed.
By the time Xu Tianming arrived—
Mo Yanluo was kneeling on the floor.
Blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"Yanluo!"
He caught him immediately.
Mo Yanluo tried to speak.
"It's… nothing…"
But another wave hit him.
His body trembled.
And he lost consciousness.
Back to the healing chamber.
Again.
But this time—
The atmosphere was different.
More tense.
More afraid.
Dark, faint vein-like patterns had begun appearing beneath Mo Yanluo's skin.
Almost invisible.
But wrong.
Very wrong.
Mo Zhu stood silently near the bed.
His aura suppressed the entire room.
Li Feng watched the healers carefully.
"Find it."
The physicians examined everything.
Pulse.
Blood.
Meridians.
Spiritual core.
Hours passed.
Finally—
The lead healer stepped back.
His face pale.
"…This is poison."
Xu Tianming froze.
"Poison?"
The healer nodded slowly.
"It was planted inside him."
"Not recently."
"It has been there since the parasite attack."
Li Feng's eyes darkened.
"So they didn't just drain him."
The healer continued carefully.
"The creatures injected a slow-acting toxin."
"It remained dormant while his body was weak."
"Now that his strength is returning—"
"It has activated."
Xu Tianming's fists trembled.
"Remove it."
Silence.
The healer lowered his head.
"We cannot."
Mo Zhu's voice turned ice cold.
"Explain."
The healer swallowed.
"This poison is not ordinary."
"It reacts to demonic energy."
"If we try to force it out—"
"It will spread faster."
Xu Tianming stepped forward.
"So what do we do?!"
The healer hesitated.
"There is… one possibility."
All eyes turned to him.
"There exists a purification elixir."
"Created long ago to neutralize corrupted spiritual toxins."
"It is the only thing capable of cleansing this kind of venom."
Li Feng's voice was calm.
"Where?"
The healer's answer came slowly.
"…Heavenly Sect."
The name felt heavy in the air.
Xu Tianming's eyes sharpened.
"But that sect was destroyed."
Mo Zhu answered coldly.
"It was."
The healer nodded.
"Yes. The sect itself is gone."
"But their treasury vault was protected by ancient formations."
"Many treasures were never retrieved."
"The purification elixir should still be there."
Silence filled the chamber.
Heavenly Sect.
The place drenched in blood and history.
The place that started everything.
Xu Tianming looked down at Mo Yanluo.
His breathing was shallow now.
Unstable.
Another thin trail of blood slipped from his lips.
"How long?" Xu Tianming asked quietly.
The healer didn't hesitate this time.
"…One month."
"If the poison fully spreads through his meridians—"
"His core will collapse."
Xu Tianming closed his eyes briefly.
Then opened them.
Cold.
Determined.
"We're going."
Mo Zhu didn't object.
Li Feng didn't argue.
There was no debate.
Only decision.
Later that night—
Xu Tianming sat beside Mo Yanluo's bed.
The room was quiet.
Moonlight filtered through the window.
Mo Yanluo stirred slightly.
His eyes half-open.
"…Tianming…"
"I'm here."
Mo Yanluo's fingers weakly gripped his sleeve.
"…Don't… do anything reckless…"
Xu Tianming forced a smile.
"Too late."
Mo Yanluo almost laughed.
But it turned into a cough.
Blood stained the cloth again.
Xu Tianming's expression hardened.
"Rest."
"You'll wake up when we're back."
Mo Yanluo didn't respond.
He had already drifted into unstable sleep.
Outside—
Mo Zhu stood on the palace steps.
Looking toward the distant mountains.
Li Feng approached.
"Heavenly Sect," he murmured.
Mo Zhu's voice was emotionless.
"We will retrieve what we need."
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Behind them—
The Demon Palace gates slowly began preparing for departure.
No one knew what awaited them there.
No one suspected anything beyond ruins and old formations.
To them—
The Heavenly Sect was dead.
Completely erased.
And the only thing waiting there—
Was a treasure.
But fate had already begun to shift.
And the past…
Was not as buried as they believed.