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  Ancient fragment #4

  The beast devoured eras and shattered heavenly dynasties. Yet together they felled it and restored balance beneath the heavens. This truth was etched into the ancestral tablets.

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  "Ah... two more have arrived."

  The voice did not echo, nor did it carry emotion. It simply existed.

  "Let's see how long you last."

  He remembered the others.

  An old decrepit human cultivator, he lasted for a good while, a crippled human cultivator who screamed until his soul burned away. A beastkin who lasted three lightning cycles before dissolving into ash. All of them begged. All of them died.

  “Ants always struggle harder when they realize there is no ground beneath them.”

  Azurythax, The Godslaying Beast, observed as the two mortals were hurled up and down in the endless grey storm and eventually their bodies were dragged into the roaring sea of lightning. In this forsaken and everlasting prison this was the only thing that could entertain him. The deaths of ants.

  So it is the Eternal Thunder Punishment Prison that will kill these two. What a pity, it lasted for such a short while, they were truly weak.

  All of the sudden a bright light flash from the sea of lightning and the two ants he was waiting to see die somehow ended up crashing into him. Long Tianyu and Hua Qingqing coughed blood before fainting from the violent impact. Azurythax also felt Long Tianyu's gaze on him before he lost consciousness.

  Azurythax lowered his gaze and looked closer on the two mortals.

  A man. A woman. Barely adults according to human standards.

  Paired souls, he noted. How inefficient.

  He reached out with his soul force. The prison resisted him, grinding against his will, yet still it obeyed, even if only slightly. That fragment of power was enough. More than enough to do what he wanted.

  He wrapped the two in his soul force, intending to cast them back into the lightning abyss they had escaped.

  If I needed someone to help me escape it definitely wouldn't be these two mortals.

  Then—pain. It was something powerful. Something that did not belong here.

  Azurythax recoiled.

  Impossible!

  Even the Eternal Thunder Punishment Prison, an artifact forged to flay gods had never wounded him like this.

  How can such a presence exist in a lesser world?

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  His perception sharpened, cutting through flesh and bone, peering directly into their blood and souls.

  The Soul-Reaping Melody Bloodline!

  His soul stirred.

  …And the Nine Heavens Sword Bloodline.

  The Godslaying Beast fell silent and contemplated what to do, and eventually the beast devised a plan, a plan to escape this prison.

  The majestic soul force of The Godslaying Beast changed shape, carrying no killing intent as it acted gently upon the bodies of Long Tianyu and Hua Qingqing. A small, invisible mark was etched onto each of their foreheads, forming a soul anchor between them and Azurythax. Through this soul anchor, they were granted profound knowledge far beyond what they previously possessed.

  With this, I can observe them, offer guidance, and maybe, just maybe, it will become my fortune, if only they can find Nine Tribulations...

  Azurythax took a good look at the two mortals. Even now, they were still hugging each other.

  The man was handsome, stubble lining his chin, with short black hair and eyebrows like swords. The woman was beautiful, her silky, long black hair tied into a ribbon behind her. They were dressed as though they had escaped from someone, or something.

  They possessed nothing of value, at least not compared to what Azurythax had seen and known.

  Damn this woman's bloodline. The nemesis of all souls. Azurythax thought as he performed one final favor before sending them away, activating their bloodlines.

  The soul force surged, greatly amplified, and poured into the hearts and minds of the two, imprinting within them important information and the knowledge of how to cultivate from this moment onward.

  Both groaned as the soul force continued to flood their bodies. As their bloodlines awakened, their bodies grew scorching hot, expelling dirt, impurities, and medicinal residue through their pores. Eventually they stopped groaning as the process finished.

  Azurythax felt weaker than ever. He had used a lot of his last remaining soul force that kept him alive. I am doomed if my plan fails me...

  The soul force once again covered the two of them, this time protecting them and with a loud explosion they were flung in the opposite direction from where they had entered.

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  As Azurythax awakened the bloodlines within Long Tianyu and Hua Qingqing, the heavens above The Godslaying Abyss stirred.

  The sky trembled and thundered.

  In Moondragon City, people froze mid-step, this time not because of another herald, but because a much more grand event, the heavens had changed.

  Clouds formed and twisted violently as radiant colors erupted across the firmament, crimson, gold, azure, and violet colliding like warring stars. Celestial zither music descended from the heavens, clear and ancient, its melody carrying across nearby mountains and rivers.

  Cultivators looked up in shock. Merchants dropped their wares. Children pointed skyward as the light reflected in their widened eyes.

  High above the city, immense sword phantoms took shape within the heavens. They were towering, peerless blades of pure sword intent, so vast that they seemed to dwarf Moondragon City itself. Each sword radiated an authority and power that made knees tremble and souls shiver.

  "This... this must be a heavenly phenomenon."

  "Such sword intent... Did a divine sword emerge from something nearby?"

  Elders from the various clans of the city emerged, their expressions pale as they gazed toward the direction of The Godslaying Abyss. The City Lord and nearby clan masters hearts pounded as an invisible pressure descended upon the city.

  The Nine Heavens Sword Bloodline and The Soul-Reaping Melody Bloodline had been awakened.

  Within a secluded courtyard at the Hua Clan, Hua Shen stood motionless, staring into the sky. The celestial music pierced his heart, stirring memories buried deep within his blood.

  His hands clenched.

  "That direction... The Godslaying Abyss," he murmured, his voice hoarse, he looked pale and much older now that his daughter was said to be dead.

  Fear, hope, and guilt churned violently within him. He had sent his daughter away to survive, yet fate had dragged her toward the most dangerous place of all.

  "Qingqing," Hua Shen whispered, eyes reddening. "Please, just let me know you're still alive."

  Though he could not see her, his heart beat in time with the heavenly phenomenon. Deep within his soul, he prayed that this miracle was not a herald of her death, but proof of her survival.

  Far below in The Godslaying Abyss, unseen by all, Azurythax went silent as the heavens continued their dance.

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  End of chapter 4 - Azurythax