“You mean the tower changed... metaphysically?” Zhao Lingyun tried to understand, still feeling weak in his wheelchair.Yingshu nodded slowly, her slender hand gently touching the map. “The Border Tower is now in an in-between state-not fully in the Human Realm, nor in the Demon Realm. It's like... floating in a dimensional gap.”“Our observers report strange phenomena,” the Tiger Clan Chief added, his golden eyes flashing sharply. “The tower sometimes disappears from view for a few hours, then reappears. The temperature around it fluctuates drastically, and time runs differently inside.”Zhao Lingyun pondered, recalling the strange sensation he felt in the tower before losing consciousness-a feeling of floating, as if gravity had lost its power.“Has anyone tried to enter the tower since that incident?” he asked.Yingshu's expression darkened. “Yes. Three exploration teams were sent out-one from the Fox Clan, one from the Tiger Clan, and one combined. None of them returned.”An eerie

Zhao Lingyun paused at the entrance to the main hall, taking a moment to compose himself. Through the tower's awakened connection, he could now sense the subtle streams of energy flowing through the compound—each cultivator's unique spiritual signature like stars in a constellation. He drew a deep breath, centering his thoughts before pushing open the ornately carved doors.Conversation died as he entered. A dozen pairs of eyes turned toward him—elders and senior disciples gathered around the large rosewood table that dominated the hall's center. At the head sat Lady Yingshu, his father's sister and current leader of the Fox Clan."Nephew," she said, surprise evident in her melodious voice. "Your return is unexpected."Lady Yingshu appeared as she always did—regal in her silver-embroidered robes, her hair arranged in an elaborate style befitting her station, face unlined despite her hundred and twenty years. Yet through his enhanced perception, Zhao Lingyun noticed something he'd neve

The blinding light from the brothers' fusion forced Lady Yingshu to shield her eyes, her sleeve pressed against her face as the tower chamber trembled with raw power. When the brilliance finally subsided, she lowered her arm, gasping at what stood before her.Where the brothers had been, a single figure now hovered—neither Lin Fengtian nor Zhao Lingyun, yet somehow both. Taller than either brother had been, with hair that shifted between midnight black and luminous silver, flowing as if underwater. The blue patterns covered half his body while ancient script in gold illuminated the other half. But most striking were his eyes—one the galaxy-filled obsidian of Lin Fengtian's transformation, the other a radiant amber that contained the wisdom of countless scrolls."Lin Fengtian? Lingyun?" Lady Yingshu whispered, her voice trembling.The figure regarded her with a gentle smile that carried echoes of both nephews. "Yes and no," he replied, his voice a harmonic blend of the brothers'. "We a

The dawn broke not with light, but with a crystalline fracture that seemed to slice through reality itself. Lingfeng stood at the convergence of multiple existential planes, his body a living testament to the complex negotiation happening within the cosmic fabric of existence.The nine aspects of Orochi were no longer separate entities seeking destruction. They had become something far more intricate—a living system of balance, with Lingfeng as their conductor, their bridge between chaos and order. His mismatched eyes—one a bottomless obsidian that consumed light, the other an amber beacon of profound wisdom—saw beyond the immediate physical realm.Miles away, in the hidden archives of the Healing Pavilion, Mei Lihua felt a tremor that had nothing to do with physical movement. The ancient scrolls around her seemed to breathe, their edges shimmering with a life force that predated human comprehension. She had discovered something profound—a connection that went beyond the traditional u

“Are you really sure about that?” the replica smiled sarcastically. “Or is that just what you want to believe?”Zhao Lingyun stared at his reflection intently. There was something that bothered him about the way the replica spoke-as if it knew something that Zhao Lingyun himself wasn't aware of.“I know myself,” Zhao Lingyun replied firmly, though there was a faint hesitation in his voice.“Really?” The replica stepped closer, each step making the room vibrate subtly. “Let's see how well you know yourself.”The replicant raised his hand, and one of the glass walls turned into a clear screen that displayed a series of images:Little Zhao Lingyun, standing at the door of his father's study, eavesdropping on a conversation about the Zero Point.Teenage Zhao Lingyun, secretly studying the forbidden scrolls on darkness cultivation in the clan library.Zhao Lingyun now, watching Lin Fengtian from a distance, with a gaze that was mixed between affection and... something darker.“Stop it!” Zh