By ArkGodZ & DaoVerse Studio
The silence in the forest was heavy. A near-solid void surrounded Jian Yu as his breath struggled to find rhythm. The golden and purple dust left behind by his Qi eruption slowly settled, but the forest… did not return to normal.
It was suspended. Watching.
He felt it too. It wasn't just the wind that had stopped—it was the world. As if everything held its breath, waiting for the first move. And then he saw him.
Atop the hill, cloaked in darkness that fluttered without wind, the cultivator watched. His eyes glowed deep green, twin beacons of hunger in the shadow. There was no hesitation in his presence—only craving.
The old man had already vanished, as if his role had ended. Jian Yu was alone now.
The man descended slowly, his feet barely touching the ground. He made no sound. He didn't breathe heavily. It was as if he belonged to this forest just as much as the ancient, wordless trees.
Jian Yu tried to lift his arms naturally, but felt the weight in his muscles, his Qi still chaotic beneath his skin. His heart beat fast—not from fear, but alertness. Something in him knew: the hunt had begun.
The stranger stopped a few meters away, eyes sharp like blades.
"You're real…" he said. His voice was low, but it vibrated like a taut string. "The return of Desire… I thought it was myth."
Jian Yu said nothing. His eyes scanned the robe, the Qi, the posture. He didn't recognize the man—but something in his presence made his skin crawl. It was a broken energy, like a mirror glued together with blood.
"They said the heir had died," the cultivator continued. "That the lotus was consumed in judgment flames." He smiled. A crooked, fractured smile.
"And here you are… with the scent of the Li Clan engraved in your soul."
Jian Yu's blood froze. Not at the name—but at how he said it. As if he had been there.
The forest creaked around them. Branches bent as if trying to flee. The lotus within his chest tightened—not in fear. In hunger.
"Who are you?" Jian Yu asked, voice steady.
"One who watched the end," the man replied. "But I didn't participate… only enjoyed the feast."
Rage rose in Jian Yu like a storm. Not at the provocation—but because it made the pain return. The memory. The bodies. The fire. The altar.
And for a moment, the cell. Dark. Damp. Cold chains. A woman with silver eyes touching his forehead.
His gaze faltered.
That was all it took.
The enemy struck.
The enemy moved with impossible speed. A blink. A cut. The sound of the air splitting came before the impact. Jian Yu barely managed to shift.
The first blow hit his left side.
His body slammed against a tree. The trunk cracked. Pain exploded along his ribs. His shoulder nearly dislocated. The enemy's aura still lingered in the air—dense, sticky, like it wanted to cling to his soul.
But Jian Yu didn't cry out. Didn't groan. He simply rose, blood dripping from his lips, his eyes cold embers.
"You're tougher than you look," the man said, shaking his hand. "But not enough."
Something stirred inside Jian Yu.
Not his Qi.
Something deeper.
The Crimson Lotus.
It pulsed.
Not with rage.
With anticipation.
His body screamed, his thoughts reeled, but there was a center within him that remained untouched—and hungry.
The enemy rushed again, clawed fingers outstretched. Jian Yu closed his eyes for a heartbeat. And then… he heard it.
Not a voice.
A whisper.
Now.
He raised his hand. He didn't know the name. He didn't know the motion. But his body did.
Desire burst from his palm in silence. No thunder. No light. Just a breeze—like a kiss from something unseen.
The enemy's glowing eyes faltered. For an instant—just one—his body froze.
He saw something.
No one else would.
A memory, perhaps. Or a forgotten want.
Or maybe… himself, kneeling before a woman who never existed.
The strike halted mid-air.
"What… was that…?" the man whispered, staggering.
Jian Yu stood tall. Purple and golden embers danced around his hand, but didn't burn. They swayed, like veils.
"Crimson Whisper…" he muttered, not knowing where the name came from. "It's not a technique. It's an invitation."
The enemy roared and charged again, but his rhythm was broken. His aura cracked. His gaze wavered.
And for the first time, Jian Yu smiled.
The enemy staggered back, eyes wide.
"That… wasn't a normal technique," he hissed. "You touched me… from within."
Jian Yu said nothing. The violet-gold embers still flickered around his fist, as if the air itself clung to him. But inside, his body screamed. His energy vibrated like overstretched strings.
I'm still in Spirit Root – Stage 3...
But what I just summoned… was beyond that.
The enemy stared, almost afraid.
"You're still… Spirit Root – Stage 3," he muttered, disbelieving. "That's impossible…"
The forest trembled around them. Mist curled from the soil like seductive veils. Trees bowed. Even stones began to glow—recognizing something old, something that had begun to breathe again.
The man snarled and clenched his fists.
"No more games!"
He surged forward like lightning, aiming to kill.
But Jian Yu was ready.
He didn't move.
He simply whispered something he didn't understand.
And then… she came.
From the center of his palm, violet threads extended like roots, swirling through the air with seductive grace.
The enemy instinctively froze—too late.
The **Chains of Eternal Ecstasy** wrapped around him.
They coiled over his arms, his legs, his waist. Glowing gold and purple, they shimmered with charm—but weighed with ancient promises. They didn't crush. They caressed. Yet as they touched, the cultivator's strength evaporated.
His face twisted.
Pleasure.
Fear.
Confusion.
"What is… this…?"
Jian Yu breathed raggedly.
His Qi burned.
His body ached.
But the lotus… pulsed.
A single petal… opened.
He felt it.
The cell.
The chains.
The woman with silver eyes.
The lotus whispered.
**Do you wish to dominate… or lose yourself?**
The man struggled. Screamed. But the chains didn't crush. They made him *feel*. Every contact was memory, intimacy, a forgotten vow. He dropped to his knees.
Jian Yu stepped forward.
"You're in Spirit Root – Stage 4," he said between breaths. "But you've never been your own master."
The man looked up. Were those… tears?
Jian Yu raised his hand.
"Chains of Eternal Ecstasy… aren't meant to kill. They reveal. And you… weren't ready for what you saw."
With a flick, the chains dissolved into petals, and the man collapsed—unconscious, like one broken by a dream too sweet to bear.
Jian Yu dropped to his knees.
The petals were gone, but the energy that had held his body, his thoughts, his soul… had shattered. A low groan escaped as he tried to stay conscious. But the world spun.
His Qi was collapsing. Not unstable—broken. He had gone beyond the limits of Spirit Root – Stage 3. It was like trying to wear a sky too vast for his soul to contain.
Each breath felt like dragging in shards. His meridians screamed. Spiritual veins trembled—some already torn.
The forest stilled around him. But not in fear. In reverence.
Roots shifted slowly. Branches bent. Leaves spiraled down around him like a natural veil. A single black flower bloomed beside his knee. A crimson lotus—one that hadn't been there before.
He saw it before blacking out.
And he smiled.
Because it smiled back.
Hidden Epilogue – Whispers Beyond the Veil
Far, far away—beyond the Violet Mountains and the Eternal Sea—stood a forgotten tower.
Nothing lived inside it. But something… existed.
At the deepest part of its sealed chamber, a candle long burned out ignited on its own. Not with fire. But with desire.
The walls lit up with inscriptions—symbols of an ancient language no sect dared speak. Echoes rippled through the void. And then… a voice.
Feminine. Ancient. Unbreakable.
**"He has returned."**
End of Chapter
Next Chapter: The One Who Watched Him Fall