The dense forest at the edge of the Lingxu Region was wrapped in a thin, cold mist, the air thick with the mingled scent of lush pine needles and a faint, almost imperceptible taint of dark corruption. The gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze was the only sound breaking the eerie silence, making the hidden malice lurking in the shadows all the more piercing—like a venomous snake coiling in wait, its breath barely audible.
Chen Fan and Wen Yanzhi walked side by side along the winding mountain path, their steps steady but their senses sharp. As they drew closer to the Forbidden Ancient Mountain's perimeter, the subtle shift in the spiritual energy around them did not escape Chen Fan's notice. The normally pure balance of the realm had been warped, a faint, greedy darkness seeping through every crack in the underbrush, identical to the corrupt aura of the black-robed forces that had terrorized the Lower Realm.
Wen Yanzhi, still immersed in explaining Qingxuan Pavilion's recruitment rules and the sect's focus on ancient balance-related scriptures, suddenly noticed Chen Fan's slight pause. His brows furrowed faintly, and his hand instinctively drifted to the hilt of the spiritual sword at his waist, finally picking up on the subtle, murderous auras hidden in the thick underbrush just a few feet away. "Something's off," he murmured, his voice lowering to a cautious whisper. "The air reeks of dark qi… could it be the Black Crown's minions?"
Before Chen Fan could respond, a sharp, hissing snarl erupted from the bushes. Three figures draped in tattered black robes shot out like shadows, their bodies swirled with churning dark spiritual energy, their faces hidden behind hoods that blocked all sunlight. Their fingers were long and sharp, black nails glinting with a poisonous luster, and they lunged straight for Chen Fan with ruthless speed, their movements swift and deadly, devoid of any hesitation.
"Hand over the Chaos Root and the pure Balance Dao aura within you, and this Lord will grant you a quick death!" the leading black-robed pursuer hissed, his voice rough and gravelly, filled with a greedy madness that bordered on frenzy. "The Black Crown Lord has been searching for a balanced Dao foundation like yours for decades—you are the perfect vessel to unearth the Chaos Fragment and fuel his grand plan for dominion over the Hengxiao Heavenly Realm!"
The other two black-robed cultivators attacked in tandem, their hands clawing outward, unleashing waves of corrupt dark spiritual energy that twisted the surrounding air into violent vortices. The energy aimed to seal Chen Fan's meridians, trap him on the spot, and strip away his Chaos Root by force. Their cultivation bases hovered at the Late Stage of the Spirit Cleansing Realm, far stronger than the rogue cultivators they had encountered earlier, their attacks ruthless and designed to kill without mercy.
Wen Yanzhi's face paled drastically, his eyes wide with shock and alarm. He had heard tales of the Black Crown's elite assassins, but he had never imagined they would dare launch an open ambush so close to Qingxuan Pavilion's territory—an act that bordered on open defiance of the sect's authority. He immediately mobilized his spiritual energy, his hands gripping his sword tightly, ready to draw and fight alongside Chen Fan, yet before he could move, a gentle, invisible wave of Balance Qi swept past him, holding him firmly in place.
There was no need for assistance.
Chen Fan stood motionless, his eyes calm and unwavering, not a trace of panic or fear on his face. He merely stirred the Chaos Root in his dantian, releasing a wisp of pristine, untainted Balance Dao power that spread outward in a silent, impenetrable barrier. The corrupt dark energy slamming into it did not clash or explode—it simply melted away, dissolving into nothingness as if it had never existed, the dark qi stripped of its malice and power in an instant.
The three black-robed cultivators froze mid-leap, their bodies suddenly stiff, unable to move an inch. The dark qi surrounding them evaporated instantly, their cultivation bases sealed tight by the invisible Balance Qi, their meridians throbbing with a dull, powerless ache. They stared at Chen Fan in utter disbelief, their hidden eyes filled with terror and confusion—they had never imagined that their target, who looked like an ordinary rogue cultivator in plain linen robes, possessed such overwhelming, crushing strength.
"You… how can your Balance Dao be so pure?" the leading black-robed cultivator stammered, his voice trembling with fear and frantic disbelief. "This is the power of the ancient Equilibrium Guardian… it's impossible! The Black Crown Lord said the balance Dao was lost in the Upper Realm ages ago!"
Chen Fan's gaze turned cold and sharp, a stark contrast to his earlier calm. He took a single step forward, his spiritual sense pressing down heavily on the three pursuers, forcing them to their knees with a soft, unyielding force. "Who is the Black Crown Lord? What does he truly want with my Chaos Root? And what is the connection between him and the black-robed forces that invaded the Lower Realm?" he demanded, his voice low and commanding, leaving no room for resistance.
He could feel a faint, familiar aura radiating from the black-robed cultivators' robes—a weak, fragmented aura of Chaos Qi, the same resonant energy that had pulsed from the Forbidden Ancient Mountain in the market. This confirmed his deepest suspicion: the Black Crown's forces were not just random marauders; they were hunting for Chaos Fragments, and his fully awakened, perfectly balanced Chaos Root made him their most prized target. The Forbidden Ancient Mountain held a Chaos Fragment, and the Black Crown Lord was racing to seize it before anyone else.
The leading black-robed cultivator's body shook violently, his mind fighting against Chen Fan's spiritual pressure. He knew he could not escape, and a twisted, vicious smile spread across his hidden face, his voice rising to a mad snarl. "You'll never stop the Lord's plan! The Forbidden Ancient Mountain's seal is crumbling by the day, and the Chaos Fragment inside will be his within the moon! Your Chaos Root is the key to unlocking its power—without it, you're just a pawn, a stepping stone for the Black Crown to rise to godhood!"
Before he could finish speaking, a surge of violent dark qi erupted from within his body, a self-destructive trigger set by the Black Crown to silence failed minions and eliminate all clues. His body collapsed to the ground, dissolving into a cloud of acrid black smoke that vanished without a trace, leaving only a faint residue of Chaos Qi hanging in the air. The other two black-robed cultivators met the same fate, their bodies disintegrating into smoke before they could reveal any more secrets, their greedy eyes frozen in terror.
Wen Yanzhi rushed to Chen Fan's side, his face filled with shock and grave concern, staring at the empty ground where the ambushers had stood. His hands trembled slightly, his voice urgent and laced with worry. "Those were the elite assassins of the Black Crown faction… I've only heard whispers of them in remote sect legends. They're supposed to be ruthless, but they've never acted so brazenly, not in broad daylight near a major sect's territory. They're targeting you specifically—not just any cultivator—because of your Chaos Root and perfect Balance Dao."
He paused, swallowing hard, his gaze lingering on the faint Chaos Qi residue in the air. "The Black Crown Lord is a shadowy figure who's been terrorizing small sects and rogue cultivator groups near the Lingxu Region for over a century. He's never shown his true face, only a crown-shaped shadow in the sky, and he's always after ancient treasures and rare Dao foundations. No one knows his real identity, but many sects suspect he's a former cultivator who turned to dark arts, obsessed with gaining ultimate power."
Chen Fan nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the Forbidden Ancient Mountain shrouded in black fog in the distance. The Chaos Root in his dantian still hummed softly, the resonance with the Chaos Fragment inside the mountain growing stronger by the second, a gentle pull that he could not ignore. The Black Crown's forces were racing to seize the fragment, and he could not afford to fall behind—nor could he let the dark power fall into their hands, lest it tip the balance of the Hengxiao Heavenly Realm into chaos.
"We must reach Qingxuan Pavilion immediately," Chen Fan said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "The sect's ancient scripture pavilion holds records of the Upper Realm's origins, the legacy of the Equilibrium Guardians, and the true nature of the Chaos Fragments. Only there can we find the answers we need about the Forbidden Ancient Mountain and the Black Crown Lord's true plan."
Wen Yanzhi did not hesitate for a moment. He knew there was no time to waste—staying out in the open would only bring more Black Crown assassins down on them, and the longer they delayed, the closer the Forbidden Ancient Mountain's seal would break. "I know a secret path through the forest that bypasses the main roads," he said quickly, turning to lead the way. "It's less traveled, and we can avoid any more ambushes. We'll reach Qingxuan Pavilion's outer gates by sunset."
The two quickened their pace, stepping into a narrow, overgrown trail hidden between ancient trees. The path was rough, lined with thorny vines and gnarled roots, but Chen Fan moved with ease, his Balance Qi softening the thorns and clearing the way without effort. As they walked, the air grew denser with the scent of corruption, the black fog from the Forbidden Ancient Mountain creeping closer, wrapping around the trees like a dark shroud.
Chen Fan's Chaos Root stirred once more, the resonance with the Chaos Fragment growing sharper, clearer. He could feel the fragment's energy pulsing deep within the mountain, a primal, ancient force that yearned to merge with his own Chaos Root. And hidden in the shadows, he sensed another presence—one far stronger than the three assassins they had just defeated, a presence that watched their every move, patient and hungry.
Unbeknownst to them, high atop a jagged rocky cliff overlooking the secret path, a tall figure draped in a flawless black robe stood silently, his face hidden beneath a hood woven with intricate dark runes. On his head, a faint, half-formed black crown flickered into existence for a split second, its edges sharp and menacing, before vanishing back into the shadows.
His cold, piercing gaze, sharp as a blade, followed Chen Fan's retreating figure, and a low, sinister chuckle echoed in the empty air, soft and menacing, carrying a hint of triumph.
"Chaos Root bearer… you've finally walked into my trap. The Forbidden Ancient Mountain's seal will break at dawn, and the Chaos Fragment will be mine. And your perfect Dao foundation? It will be the final piece to complete the Black Crown's power."
The figure melted back into the shadows, vanishing without a trace, leaving only a faint wisp of dark qi that lingered in the air, a silent warning of the darkness to come.