Blood.
The scent of it hung heavy in the air, thick and suffocating, drowning out even the divine radiance of the Ascension Altar. Xian Ye stood at the heart of it all, his once-majestic robes drenched in crimson, his body trembling—not from pain, but from sheer, soul-rending betrayal.
Before him, the Grand Dao Heavens trembled, watching the greatest powerhouse of the age prepare to ascend beyond mortality. Countless beings knelt outside the celestial halls, their prayers rising like incense, their eyes filled with awe.
But within the Ascension Chamber, there was only deception.
"You should have never trusted us, Xian Ye," a voice sneered.
Xian Ye lifted his gaze, his golden eyes dimming, his vision flickering. A sharp pain throbbed in his chest—where a divine spear had pierced through him, impaling him against the very altar that was meant to grant him eternal godhood.
He recognized the weapon. It was his own.
His Heaven-Severing Spear, wielded now by the very people he had once called his sworn brothers.
Standing before him were four figures, their faces once familiar, now distorted by greed and ambition.
Zhao Yun, his most trusted general, who had once sworn to follow him to the ends of the world.Jiang Yue, the woman he once loved, who had whispered promises of eternity into his ear.Elder Mo, the sect master who had raised him, who had guided him toward ascension.And Lei Tian, the arrogant prodigy he had once defeated, now smiling with triumph.
Xian Ye chuckled weakly, blood trickling from his lips. "You… you truly believe you can take what is mine?"
Lei Tian smirked, stepping forward. "Why shouldn't we? You held all the power, all the knowledge. You were a god among mortals, Xian Ye. Did you really think the heavens would allow you to keep it all for yourself?"
"The heavens?" Xian Ye spat, his voice ragged. "Don't insult me with that excuse. This is not the will of the heavens… this is your greed."
Jiang Yue's expression flickered, but she quickly looked away. "It's for the greater good. Your power is too dangerous to exist. If you ascend, no one will ever be able to stop you."
Xian Ye laughed. A hollow, bitter sound. "So, what? You divide my power among yourselves and call it justice?"
Zhao Yun's grip on his sword tightened. "It doesn't matter what you think. Your time is over, Xian Ye."
The divine runes on the Ascension Altar flared, their light turning from golden radiance to a cold, merciless crimson. The ceremony had been hijacked, twisted from a moment of divine rebirth into a ritual of execution.
The heavens were not granting him godhood.
They were ripping him apart.
Xian Ye clenched his fists, his spiritual core cracking, his once-limitless cultivation unraveling thread by thread. Agony unlike anything he had ever felt surged through him. The power he had spent millennia accumulating was being forcibly stripped away, devoured by the altar itself.
And then, he heard it.
A whisper.
A voice beyond the veil of mortality.
"This world has no place for you anymore, Xian Ye."
"But there is another fate that awaits you…"
"You will die… but you will not be gone."
The moment those words echoed in his soul, a dark storm erupted across the heavens. The skies, once filled with celestial brilliance, were now drenched in shadow, swirling with the wrath of an unseen force.
Even his traitors felt it. Lei Tian took a step back. "What's happening?! This isn't—this isn't how the ritual should work!"
Jiang Yue gasped. "He's—his soul—it's resisting!"
Xian Ye refused to let go.
He had climbed higher than anyone. He had forged his own destiny. And now, in his final moment, they expected him to accept this?
Never.
"You… you think I will fade away…?" His voice was weak, but the hatred within it burned like an eternal flame. "No. No matter where I go, no matter what happens to me… I will never forget this day."
His trembling fingers clawed at the altar, leaving behind deep cracks in the divine stone. His own blood stained the sigils meant to erase him.
Jiang Yue looked horrified. "If he curses us in his final breath—!"
Lei Tian snarled and drove the spear deeper.
"Just die, Xian Ye!"
A surge of energy exploded through him. The altar shattered. His body burned from the inside out. His very soul was being ripped from existence.
And yet, he did not pray for another chance.
He did not beg the heavens for mercy.
He did not hope for reincarnation.
He only wanted one thing.
"To return."
"To rip them apart."
"To make them kneel before him and drown in their own regret."
His vision faded into darkness, but his will did not fade.
His hatred would never fade.
And somewhere, beyond the cycle of death and rebirth, beyond the broken chains of fate… something answered him.
Something ancient. Something powerful. Something that should not exist.
And it whispered…
"Then rise, Forsaken One."