The vast lands of Ruixi were once a fallen kingdom. But thousands of years ago, a plague swept through its cities, and it was abandoned.
Later, after the disappearance of Phantom Phoenix, inhumans began to lurk in the shadows, and mortals came to fear the place.
Since it lay closer to the rifts towards underworld, even cultivators rarely dared to cross it. Later, it became a paradise to demons.
At the heart of this land, there was a lake that stretched for leagues. In the distance, the tall mountains of Ruixi loomed, veiled in mist. To the east of the lake lay ruins.
Twelve years ago, this place had been a mountain. The ruins belonged to the prestigious Moon Devour Sect of demons. Now, its collapsed walls stood in desolation.
Only the tall moss covered stone pillars remained, untouched by weather or time.
Yu Zhanfeng stood atop one pillar, dressed in red and black, watching the lake with unwavering eyes.
His pale thin fingers threaded through red ribbons in his black hair. The redness in his pupils was faint but deep.
Between his brows spread a blood-red totem of an epiphyllum, vivid against his pale skin. Even in stillness, though handsome, he was terrible to behold, like a statue carved to tempt and kill.
This was one of the demons the world feared, the Lord of the Moon Devour Sect.
When he spoke, his voice was calm but cold. "Are you certain you did not mishear it, Wuye?"
The black figure that stood behind him was masked. He stepped forward and bowed. "The report must be accurate, Sect Master."
Yu Zhanfeng remained silent for a moment. The air seemed to freeze around him. "Though the poison is deadly, it will not kill him."
"But it will destroy his cultivation completely. That level of strength is nearly unheard of. It is... a pity."
Yu Zhanfeng laughed. "How foolish of you." His voice dripped with scorn. "Mingxuan is the Emperor. His elder brother was abducted by him. Younger brother was killed when he was just a baby. His son is still a child, and a hundred wolves circle that throne day and night. Do you truly believe he would act without caution?"
His gaze turned distant, as if seeing far beyond the mountains.
Emperor Xuan Huang... Xie Mingxuan...
Though Mingxuan ruled the empire flawlessly, whispers followed him like a shadow.
They said he had once devoured human flesh. That his lips had tasted warm blood. That the throne beneath him was not carved, but soaked in the corpses of a hundred thousand innocent souls.
Wuye lowered his head slightly. "You are right, My Lord. He would never act without being cautious. But why would he remain low? Is there anyway of escape from this? Jinghuo has no antidote. That's what they say."
"It must mean something, then, if even my shizun warned me not to provoke him."
A slow silence followed.
"What of our guests at Yunshan? Are they behaving?" Yu Zhanfeng asked.
"Hanxu and Lushen are dead," Wuye replied. "The others seem safe for now."
"Hanxu and Lushen conspired with us for ten years, and still failed when it was this close to success. Mingxuan guards that child with everything he has. How interesting."
Yu Zhanfeng's tall frame cast a long shadow across the ruins. His crimson sleeves wrapped tightly beneath black wrist guards, making his movements seem almost serpentine.
"The entire territory of Yunshan is sealed under a thousand layered enchantments. I can undo them, but not without drawing Mingxuan's attention."
"What are your plans, My Lord?"
"Since the initial plan failed, I'll do it by myself." Yu Zhanfeng's voice carried the venom that his expression didn't reveal. "But before that, I should repay his kindness, shouldn't I?"
Wuye looked confused. "What do you mean, My Lord?"
"Do you remember the day he razed my sect to the ground?" Yu Zhanfeng's smile was icy.
Wuye felt an inexplicable shudder run down his back.
Twelve years ago, Grandmaster Xi Chenming attacked Xuan Huang to capture the heir to the Lunar Throne, Prince Xuanji, who was only a child of seven.
But he was held back by Emperor Mingxuan at Duanhun Mountain Pass. No one saw or knew what happened inside the pass, and no one dared to ask. It was still one of the seven unsolved mysteries of the cultivation world.
After that incident, Grandmaster Xi Chenming disappeared without a trace. Everyone was forced to guess, that their high lord, Xi Chenming, the demon saint revered for millenniums of years, who once stood above all others, had been defeated by a mortal who had just turned twenty.
Mingxuan did not pursue Xi Chenming immediately. But not long after, he came to Ruixi alone, and left behind only a warning. The memory alone made cold sweat break across Wuye's back.
It was not just the Ruixi Moon Devour Sect. The entire mountain was flattened to earth by Mingxuan. And the most frightening part was that he did it alone.
The remnants of that destruction still lay beneath them. The once-mighty sect had become a field of shattered stone and moss.
After the battle at Duanhun Pass, no demon dared to openly set foot within the empire again.
Since that day, few dared speak Emperor Mingxuan's name lightly. Even among demons, Duanhun Pass became a place remembered in dread.
A few years later, the destroyed Ruixi Sect was rebuilt atop the opposite mountain beyond the lake.
Even now, demons rarely set foot near the ruins, wary of the faint trace of Mingxuan's spiritual energy that still lingered in the air. Cold, oppressive, and unforgettable.
Wuye had served the sect for thousands of years. He had seen things that made mortals lose their minds. But even now, standing on these ruins, the memory of returning to find a mountain flattened made his hands feel cold.
But none of that mattered to Yu Zhanfeng.
In truth, this place only deepened his hatred for Mingxuan. "It's time to see my old friend."
Wuye didn't dare to raise his head. His master's friend? There was only one.
Beneath the vast, ink-dark waters of Lake Ruixi, no one would have thought that something ancient stirred. It did not sleep. It simply waited.
They called it Heiyan, the Black Flame. Born of hellfire and lake-ash, its scales drank darkness, and its breath melted qi into dust. For two thousand years, it hadn't seen the sky.
Yu Zhanfeng had raised it from a hatchling, fed it without affection, taught it silence, taught it hatred. Now, it was large enough to coil through the entire lake. It only came when summoned by him.
Now that Yu Zhanfeng had spoken, Wuye shifted uneasily. "My Lord, is it truly all right to proceed... without informing the Grandmaster?"
Yu Zhanfeng's eyes dimmed.
Xi Chenming had vanished twelve years ago, retreating into silence. No one knew where he had gone, or when he would ever return.
And somehow, Yu Zhanfeng knew he should wait for him. As Xi Chenming's only disciple, and the current sect leader of the Ruixi Sect, Yu Zhanfeng now held absolute sway over the demons.
"Shizun won't oppose me this time," he said quietly. "I'm helping him."
Wuye bowed and stepped back. He was not certain of that. But he had learned long ago that uncertainty was not something his master welcomed.
Yu Zhanfeng's unfaltering voice echoed as he called. "Heiyan."
For a moment, nothing stirred.
Then the water moved, slow, massive, inevitable, like something the size of a small mountain rising. The surface darkened further before it broke in ripples.
A massive head emerged from the black waters, rising in silence. Clusters of horns curved back from its skull, catching the cold light. Water streamed from its black manes like a falling curtain.
The dragon rose slowly, its body long and enormous, blocking half of the sky, casting a heavy shadow across the lake. Its low growl rolled across the water like distant thunder.
Yu Zhanfeng stood on the pillar top, his red robes whipping like a flag stained with blood.
"Go."
He said.
"Destroy Yunshan."
Glossary
• Shizun (师尊): Master / teacher in Chinese.
• Duanhun Pass (短魂山关): [The Mountain Pass of Broken Souls]. A highly dangerous mountain pass with hundreds of deadly precipices and venomous snakes.