Chapter 41 – Whispers in the Archives

  The air in the Nether Abyss District was thick with silence—a kind of hush that didn’t feel natural. Even within the inn, nestled deep in the sect’s outlying district, the shadows seemed to cling to the walls longer than they should have. Tianming sat by the window, fingers gently tapping the table, gaze fixed on the narrow alley beyond the wooden frame.

  Jiang Chen emerged from the back room, rolling his sore shoulders. “This place reeks of secrets. Even the innkeeper looked like he was hiding something.”

  Lei Xueyan, drying her hair with a towel, nodded. “It’s like the entire district is waiting for something. Or watching.”

  Just then, Tianming’s gaze sharpened.

  Outside the window, a figure in crimson moved quickly down the alley—too quickly for a passerby. She’d been there before. He was sure of it. The same presence had lingered near them since last night.

  “She’s following us,” Tianming said quietly.

  They exchanged glances. Without a word, the three slipped out of the inn through the back. They circled around, cutting through the alley in silence, and cornered the woman as she emerged from behind a dilapidated tea house.

  She didn’t flinch when they surrounded her. Instead, she brushed back a lock of vivid red hair and met their gaze with calm eyes.

  “I’m not here to harm you,” she said evenly. “I was assigned to watch… but I came on my own.”

  “Assigned?” Jiang Chen frowned.

  “To make sure the marked one stays in the district,” she answered, her eyes flickering to Tianming.

  Tianming’s heart slowed, then steadied. “The mark. You’re from the sect?”

  She nodded. “Zhen Luoyan. I’m a probationary disciple… barely above the line of acceptance. But I have my uses.” Her eyes softened just a little. “And I think you’ll need someone who understands how this place works.”

  Lei Xueyan stepped forward, arms folded. “And why would you help us?”

  Zhen Luoyan didn’t flinch. “Because there are things buried beneath this district—old things. Dangerous things. And the elders are digging them up again. I want to know the truth too.”

  Tianming studied her carefully. She was serious, but not cold. Reserved, but not unfriendly. There was no arrogance in her stance—only resolve.

  “…We’ll talk inside.”

  Back in the room, with the windows sealed and a single candle casting long shadows, Zhen Luoyan explained what little she knew.

  “The mark placed on you isn’t just a tracker,” she told Tianming. “It’s also a tether. If the Elders believe you’re getting too strong—or that you’re straying too far from their control—it could activate.”

  “Activate?” Xueyan echoed sharply.

  “Drain you. Or worse, pull your consciousness into the Abyssal Altar.”

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  Jiang Chen’s expression darkened. “So they want to control the jade through him.”

  Zhen nodded. “And they will. Unless you find out how to sever the connection or mask it.”

  Silence followed, heavy and sharp. Tianming leaned back against the wall, mind racing.

  “So, what’s next?” he asked finally.

  Zhen reached into her sleeve and pulled out a worn scrap of parchment. “You want the other fragments, right? There’s one rumor. The Abyssal Archives—deep inside the sect’s inner district. They hold old records. Names. Relics. Maybe even the coordinates left behind by the ones who sealed the jade.”

  “You’ll get us inside?” Tianming asked.

  She hesitated, then nodded. “I know someone who owes me a favor.”

  As they sat in the candlelight, preparing to move deeper into the abyss of the sect’s secrets, none of them noticed the shadow

  flicker just outside the sealed window—watching.

  Waiting.

  Night in the Nether Abyss Sect was not a peaceful time. The stars barely pierced the thick, looming fog that rolled like restless spirits through the crooked streets. The district was silent, but the silence itself throbbed with hidden tension.

  Zhen Luoyan moved swiftly ahead, her crimson cloak blending into the haze. Tianming, Jiang Chen, and Lei Xueyan followed close behind, careful not to draw attention as they weaved past narrow alleys and half-collapsed shrines etched with old, forgotten sigils.

  “The Archives are beneath the old Bone-Spire Hall,” Zhen murmured without looking back. “It’s technically forbidden territory unless you're part of the Elder circle or granted temporary access for a sanctioned task.”

  “So, we’re sneaking in,” Jiang Chen muttered.

  “You wanted answers,” she replied calmly.

  Eventually, they reached a crooked gateway sunken into the ground, flanked by twisted statues of eyeless serpents. The scent of iron and incense hung in the air. Zhen knelt by the door, running her fingers across an inscription. “Help me with this,” she whispered.

  Lei Xueyan moved forward, helping Zhen lift the gate. Beneath, a narrow staircase spiraled into darkness.

  “Who built this place?” Tianming asked, stepping down first.

  “The original founders,” Zhen replied. “Before even the current elders. They say the sect was born from betrayal… and it never forgot.”

  Inside the Abyssal Archives

  With Zhen’s guidance, they infiltrated a forgotten annex buried under the bone crypts of the sect. Guards rarely came here—only shadows dwelled in the catacombs beneath.

  Zhen led them to a sealed door—one layered with illusions and arrays only someone touched by the Sect’s mark could pass.

  Tianming stepped forward, the sigil on his wrist glowing. The seal unraveled like threads of mist.

  Inside was a celestial mural, faded with time but glowing faintly when Tianming's jade resonated.

  “There,” he whispered, drawn to a sealed vault behind layers of shadow-veined glass. A sigil on its door matched the one engraved on his jade.

  “It’s responding to you,” Zhen said quietly.

  Before they could speak further, a scraping noise echoed from the far end of the chamber. They ducked behind pillars just in time to see two robed figures passing through—a pair of Nether Sect disciples murmuring about a new order from the upper elders.

  “...if the jade fragment reacts again, initiate the connection… no more delays.”

  Tianming held his breath. Once the disciples passed, they returned to the vault. He placed his hand on the sigil.

  Light flashed—and the vault hissed open.

  Four ancient figures loomed over a glowing sphere. One wielded a frozen lotus, another flames wrapped in divine scripture. A third held a coiling black serpent, while the fourth bore a dragon insignia split into four fragments.

  Jiang Chen’s voice dropped. “The founders… Heavenly Dao Sect, Everfrost Immortal Palace, Obsidian Flame Monastery, Azure Dragon Pavilion.”

  They stood united in the mural—channeling their power into the jade at the center.

  “It’s the original sealing ritual,” Lei Xueyan whispered. “This… this is where it all began.”

  But there was one more figure—shadowed, twisted, standing behind the others. It was unclear whether this figure aided the seal or tried to disrupt it.

  “A fifth,” Tianming murmured. “Unrecorded in any history.”

  Below the mural, celestial script began to flicker on an ancient scroll. Tianming knelt and read:

  “The Sovereign of Chaos cannot rise again. Split the core. Seal the chaos. Watch the fragments. Control the successors.”

  Lei Xueyan’s face paled. “They’re not just hiding it… they’re controlling anyone who inherits it.”

  The realization hit them all at once.

  “This jade… it wasn’t protected. It was sealed,” Tianming said slowly. “To stop it from awakening… or to stop someone from using it.”

  Jiang Chen’s voice was a whisper. “They feared something.”

  “No,” Tianming corrected. “They feared someone. The Sovereign of Chaos.”

  He stepped closer to the mural, and the jade flared. In that moment, Tianming wasn’t just a seeker of power—he was a flame walking into a storm. This was no longer just about revenge, or strength.

  It was about awakening a forgotten legacy.

  Next up in chapter 42

  Preview

  They emerged under cover of darkness, silent and swift.

  But as they reached the alley leading back to the inn, Zhen suddenly stopped. “Wait.”

  A figure stood ahead, arms folded, half-shrouded by shadows. His voice rang out coldly.

  “You shouldn’t be here.”

  A mysterious figure appears, would Tianming have to push his powers of the jade even while being marked?

  Find out next because

  Tianming is not just a rogue cultivator

  He is the sovereign of celestial ascent