The return was silent.
Han Feng crossed the metallic gate of the Three Echoes Mountain without any grand flash, without explosions of light or thunder that tore through the firmament. Yet, the instant his foot touched the ground of the Gu World again, he felt as if he had been crushed by an invisible difference, as if heaven and earth themselves were rejecting something that shouldn't be there.
The wind blew again, cold and harsh, carrying dust and dry leaves. The smell of dead earth and ancient stone filled his nostrils, but for a brief moment he had the strange sensation that the air was "weak." It wasn't a lack of spiritual energy—on the contrary, the qi there seemed even denser than before—but the quality was different. Compared to the fragment of the other universe, the Gu World seemed less pure, more raw, as if the Dao here were incomplete.
Han Feng stopped on the plateau, facing the dark metal gate. The golden inscriptions had lost their luster, as if they had been sucked away, drained by the passage. For a moment, he observed the gate intently, and a cold thought crossed his mind: if that place continued to exist, it would inevitably attract cults, demons, and monsters.
And when that happened…
The Western Region would become a battlefield.
He had no intention of lingering around when the great sharks began to swim.
Han Feng turned around and began to descend the mountain, but before taking ten steps he felt the first sign.
A vibration in his chest.
Subtle.
Almost like a small internal spasm.
He frowned and slowed his pace. It wasn't pain, nor injury, nor cultivation instability. It was something else. A strange feeling of "echo," as if some deep part of his foundation was responding to something external.
The Celestial Diagram.
Han Feng felt it.
He didn't need to close his eyes to know that the diagram in his sea of primordial essence was… agitated. Not like a realm advancement, but as if he were hearing a distant sound, an imperceptible music that only he could pick up.
It was a resonance.
A resonance with what was happening in the sky.
Han Feng paused for a moment and took a deep breath. His gaze slowly rose to the firmament. The clouds were moving in gentle, almost imperceptible circles, and the glow of the three stars—red, purple, and gold—was still there, faint because of the daylight, but present like a mark.
And then he understood.
It wasn't the world that was changing and his diagram reacting by chance.
It was as if his Celestial Diagram had a direct connection to the collision process.
As if it were a piece of the same puzzle.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes, and a slight chill ran down his spine.
"This isn't good…"
But it wasn't something he could ignore either. The diagram was his foundation. His essence. His root. If it began to destabilize, he could lose everything.
And yet…
He felt something else mixed with the discomfort.
A feeling of expansion.
As if the diagram were… anxious.
As if it were preparing to grow.
Han Feng continued descending.
The further he moved away from the gate, the more the vibration diminished, but it didn't disappear completely. It was like a hidden pulse, waiting for the right moment to manifest itself.
When he finally left the Three Echoes Mountain behind, the sun was already higher, and he entered the dry forests of the Western Region once more. The world seemed normal, but he knew it wasn't. There was something in the silence of the trees, something in the way the birds avoided flying, something in the behavior of the wild Gu—who were now more aggressive, more unstable, as if they had lost harmony with the laws of nature.
Han Feng traveled for two days, moving quickly and avoiding larger cities. He didn't want rumors about the "red fire" and the death of Elder Yin Mo to reach him directly. Still, however much he tried to remain invisible, he knew the world was already moving. The sects were slow, but inevitable. When a large sect smelled a treasure connected to the Dao, nothing would stop its elders from traveling thousands of kilometers.
On the third night, Han Feng arrived at a lower mountainous region, full of ravines and natural caves. There, he decided to stop to rest and test something that had been bothering his mind since he emerged from the fragment.
The golden seal.
He didn't know exactly what that symbol was that the man with the broken sword had left on his chest. He felt its presence clearly, as if it were a second spiritual heart beating slowly, but he couldn't classify it as a Gu. It didn't have an insect form. It didn't have a will of its own. It was more like a mark of the Dao.
Han Feng sat on a rock and closed his eyes. His primordial essence moved carefully, touching the seal.
The instant he did…
His consciousness sank.
He saw a red sky again, but this time the vision was different. It was clearer, sharper. He could smell dried blood in the wind, he could hear a distant sound of clashing swords, and he could feel the vastness of that world crushing his soul.
Then, as if a door had been opened, a stream of golden energy entered his body.
Han Feng shuddered.
The energy was powerful, refined, and at the same time aggressive. It was as if each strand of that energy carried a will, an intention to cut and dominate.
But the golden seal filtered everything.
It transformed that energy into something his body could withstand.
And most importantly…
That energy fueled his Celestial Diagram.
Han Feng felt the diagram vibrate, and for a brief instant, bright lines appeared in his inner vision. The diagram seemed to reorganize itself, as if absorbing new laws, redesigning its own structure.
Han Feng opened his eyes abruptly.
His heart pounded.
The wind around him felt colder.
He looked at his hands and saw something strange: small, almost invisible golden particles floated around his fingers before disappearing.
Han Feng remained silent for a long time.
—This…this is otherworldly energy.
He took a deep breath, feeling his blood boil. It wasn't just a surge in power. It was a transformation of essence. If he continued to absorb that energy carefully, his cultivation could surpass the ordinary limits of the Gu World.
But there was a problem.
He felt that this wasn't without purpose.
Each time he touched the seal, a feeling of observation arose. As if someone, somewhere, was watching him through that symbol.
Han Feng narrowed his eyes.
"You… are you using me?"
He had no answer.
The night continued.
Han Feng remained cultivating in silence, absorbing small amounts of that golden energy. He didn't dare overdo it. He knew that forces too great could break his foundation. Still, even absorbing little, his sea of primordial essence became denser and heavier, and his body gained unusual resistance.
He felt it.
His power was becoming more dangerous.
When he finally opened his eyes again, the sky was already dark and the stars shone brightly. And there they were: the red one, the purple one, and the golden one.
But this time…
The golden star shone brighter.
For an instant, an invisible wave swept across the world.
Han Feng felt his Celestial Diagram throb forcefully, as if it had been struck by a hammer.
He coughed up blood.
The pain was quick, but deep.
Han Feng slowly stood up, calmly wiping away the blood, and looked at the sky with a cold expression.
—The fusion is accelerating again…
And then…
A sound echoed.
An impossible sound.
As if someone had struck a sword against the firmament itself.
The sky above trembled for an instant, and a tiny crack appeared… just from a breath.
Han Feng saw.
On the other side, a vast red landscape.
And he saw a silhouette.
A man.
Long hair.
Cold eyes.
A broken sword on his back.
He stood still, staring at the same point in the sky.
The man didn't speak.
He didn't gesture.
He only observed.
And then the crack closed.
Han Feng remained motionless.
His heart pounded.
He knew.
That person wasn't an illusion.
He was real.
And he was as close as the golden star itself.
Han Feng took a deep breath.
—So… you're waiting too.
The wind blew, and the cold intensified.
Han Feng turned to the darkness and began to walk again. His black cloak billowed behind him, and his purple eyes shone with an even greater depth than before.
Now he was sure.
No matter how much he tried to hide.
He was already at the center of the chessboard.
And the game that was beginning was too big for ordinary sects.
The next day, he arrived near a main road where caravans and cultivators traveled. Han Feng decided to approach, keeping his aura sealed. He needed information. He needed to know how far the phenomena had already spread.
He found a stopped caravan, with dozens of people gathered, looking at a man kneeling on the ground.
The man was trembling.
His skin was pale.
And he repeated the same words, like a madman:
— The sky… the sky has eyes… the sky has eyes…
Han Feng observed in silence.
A cultivator nearby murmured:
— He returned from the Blood Mountains. He said he saw a hole in the sky and a giant hand coming out of it. Now he's gone mad.
Another replied:
— Nonsense. But… I heard that spiritual energy is disappearing in some regions. Some small clans have lost their sources.
Han Feng stood motionless.
Spiritual energy was fading.
This was serious.
Very serious.
The Gu World was sustained by spiritual energy. If it began to fail on a large scale, entire sects would collapse, and war for resources would become inevitable.
And when the war began…
He would have to choose: hide deeper… or climb even faster.
Han Feng walked away unnoticed, following the road.
But before disappearing completely, he heard one last sentence, spoken by an old merchant:
— They say even the Gu Immortals are restless. Some secret gates have been closed. Some patriarchs have disappeared. As if everyone were preparing for something.
Han Feng didn't react.
But his mind grew as cold as ice.
If even the Gu Immortals were preparing…
Then the real storm hadn't even arrived yet.
He walked for a few more hours, until he reached a secluded valley.
There, he stopped.
He sat on a rock.
He looked up at the sky.
The three stars shone like distant eyes.
And within him, his Celestial Diagram pulsed again, softly, as if responding to an invisible call.
Han Feng closed his eyes.
His face was calm.
But his intention was as firm as steel.
"I will survive."
He opened his eyes again, and in them was a dangerous light.
"And I will take advantage of this collision… to rise above everyone."
The wind blew.
And the world continued to spin.
But the Dao… was already cracked.