The night atmosphere in the forest grew increasingly chilling; the wind began to pick up, and the creaking of the trees intensified, as if a great danger was approaching. Gu Tian, still wounded from his fight with Zang Bai, decided to recover his strength first. Gu Tian also pondered how he had managed to unleash an array formation he had never learned before. While he was recovering, he was startled by a strange occurrence: Zang Bai's desiccated corpse suddenly transformed into a tree. Wary and panicked, he tried to rise and move away from the spot, limping. Before he could escape, a voice echoed through the forest.
"Where do you think you're going?"
The voice echoed, cold and bone-chilling. Instantly, the animals in the forest scattered in terror, as if sensing an aura of death lurking.
Gu Tian continued to move away from the spot with heavy steps, as if his feet were weighed down by iron, clutching his chest, which ached from Zang Bai's attack.
Gu Tian swallowed hard, muttering to himself, "Damn it! How could there be someone else here?"
Sweat poured down his face as he muttered to himself, "I made sure earlier that no one else was there."
Gu Tian felt an immense pressure, his breath catching in his throat. This person... their level far surpassed Zang Bai's!
As Gu Tian tried to move away, his leg was suddenly pulled by something like a snake, trying to wrap around his leg tightly. When Gu Tian looked at his leg, he saw that it was being coiled by the roots of the tree that had been Zang Bai's corpse. Gu Tian's heart pounded, sweat pouring down like rain. His breath was ragged, each inhale feeling like a knife slicing his throat. His eyes widened, watching the roots crawl like snakes. A figure suddenly appeared before Gu Tian. The gentle breeze abruptly ceased. The night insects, which had been chirping, now fell silent. Even the mist seemed afraid to approach the figure. The figure wore a mask with a demon's face carved into it, his hair was ashen gray, and his clothes were pitch black.
"You won't be going anywhere after killing my disciple," he said, staring at Gu Tian with a cold, yet resentful gaze.
The figure slowly walked towards Gu Tian. The roots that had grown from Zang Bai's body formed a chair, and he sat down, staring intently at Gu Tian. Gu Tian, still entangled in the roots, panicked. Suddenly, the time rift mark on Gu Tian's neck glowed brightly.
The figure chuckled softly and spoke slowly in a low tone, "So, you've found your successor?" The figure looked up at the night sky.
"Senior..." the figure continued.
"You're lucky, boy," the figure said.
Gu Tian was confused and didn't understand what was happening, but he remained wary of the figure.
"You don't need to be wary now," he said softly, as if he were an ally.
Gu Tian looked at the figure in confusion. "What's really going on?" he murmured.
"Who are you?!" Gu Tian shouted, remaining vigilant.
The figure smiled faintly at him and spoke slowly, "I am Shen Mu, an elder of the Star Valley Sect."
Suddenly, Gu Tian's head throbbed with pain, as if pierced by thousands of swords. The pain in Gu Tian's head intensified. Amidst the fog of memory, he saw a young figure with a cynical smile, ashen gray hair, and sharp, eagle-like eyes. It was Shen Mu, but... different. In the Star Valley Sect, he stood atop a pile of corpses, his sword dripping blood, while the sect elders bowed in reverence.
The memory shifted to an arena, and Gu Tian saw Shen Mu defeated by someone with a mark identical to the one on Gu Tian's neck, the 'Time Rift' mark. Strangely, he couldn't see the person's face in the memory.
Gu Tian snapped out of the memory, his breath ragged, sweat pouring down his body, and the time rift mark on his neck glowing brightly.
When he regained consciousness, Shen Mu had vanished from the forest. The wind suddenly picked up. The insect sounds, which had disappeared, returned. The surrounding mist slowly dissipated, illuminated by the light of the full moon that suddenly appeared from behind the clouds. Gu Tian gasped for breath, his hand feeling the warm spot on his neck where the 'Time Rift' mark remained.
"What... what just happened?" he murmured, his eyes scanning his surroundings. Zang Bai's corpse, which had transformed into a terrifying tree, was now a dried, pale body again, no longer sprouting demonic roots. Even his wounds had healed, leaving only a thin scar on his chest.
He clenched his fist, feeling the strange energy flowing through his body. "Is this the power of that mark?"
His head still throbbed with pain. Fragments of memory from the battle between young Shen Mu and the other 'Time Rift' mark bearer still flickered like a fragmented nightmare.
"Who was that person? Why can I see memories that aren't mine?"
But one thing was clear: Shen Mu was afraid of this mark.
At the spot where Shen Mu had sat, a thin piece of paper made from tree bark remained, turning to dust when touched. However, before it completely disappeared, Gu Tian managed to see a brief message:
"If you want to know the truth, find the Forgotten Time Temple at the peak of Mount Ming Chen."
Gu Tian sighed deeply. Tonight, he had faced death, miracles, and memories that weren't his.
Gu Tian finally continued forging the soul sword, drawing symbols around Zang Bai's corpse, and placing a sword within them. The night wind whispered softly as Gu Tian completed the formation circle around Zang Bai's corpse. His hands trembled as he etched ancient symbols into the frozen ground symbols he had never learned but suddenly appeared in his memory like a flood.
"Fallen soul... become fertile ground..." he murmured unconsciously, ancient words flowing from his lips as if another force were controlling him.
The old sword he had planted in the center of the formation suddenly vibrated. The dried blood on Zang Bai's body began to drip again, flowing through the etched symbols on the ground, forming intricate patterns that emitted a reddish glow.
BOOM!
Lightning struck without a cloud in the sky. Zang Bai's corpse exploded into golden dust, completely absorbed by the sword's blade. Instantly, the sword transformed its color became pitch black with red veins like blood vessels, while its hilt was adorned with self-moving tree root motifs.
Gu Tian stumbled backward. "What... what did I just create?" he asked, slightly afraid. "In my past life, I never forged a soul sword with such strange incantations."
Suddenly, a voice that wasn't his own echoed in his head:
"Soul Sword Stage One - Memory Devourer."
From the remaining dust, Zang Bai's shadow appeared, transparent but clear. "Gu Tian..." his voice echoed. "Be careful of Shen Mu..."
Before he could continue, the shadow was sucked into the sword's blade. Gu Tian felt a surge of foreign memories in his head fragments of Zang Bai's journey, his pain, and... a location.
"The Forgotten Time Temple..." Gu Tian groaned, clutching his head. Now he understood. It wasn't just a name it was a prison for all the failed successors of the Time Rift mark.
Trembling, he gripped the newly born Soul Sword. Its blade pulsed like a living heart, as if synchronizing with his own heartbeat.
"If Shen Mu is hiding something in that temple..." he thought, staring east where Mount Ming Chen stood. "...then I must become stronger before I go there."
But as he was about to step forward, the ground beneath him suddenly trembled. From his own shadow, a dark figure crawled out human-like but too thin, with white eyes without pupils.
"14th successor..." its voice was like torn paper. "We are waiting for you..."
Gu Tian was startled as the figure slowly vanished.
Gu Tian thought hard, pondering where he should go first, the Sunken Temple or the Forgotten Time Temple. He gripped the Soul Sword in his hand tightly, and the sword glowed red as if mirroring his emotions.
"Sunken Temple... Or the Time Temple," he murmured, frowning.
"Two choices, two dangers," he continued.
The Soul Sword in Gu Tian's grasp pulsed faster, as if sensing the turmoil in his heart. The red veins on its blade glowed like living bloodstreams, casting a crimson light amidst the forest's darkness.
"Ming Chen Mountain... Temple of Time..."