The Gate of Eternity Curse of Heaven

A BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS

“Hurry!” Yingmei exclaimed, rushing towards the bridge of glowing light. “The Moon Bridge won't last long!”

Lin Fengtian swiftly helped Zhao Lingyun who was still panting. “Can you walk, little brother?”

Zhao Lingyun nodded weakly, trying to stand upright even though his vision was still blurry. Every step felt heavy, but the determination in his chest was far stronger than his physical exhaustion.

“The dragon army is almost here!” one of the soldiers shouted, pointing to the sky where black shadows were approaching.

“You three go first,” the commander of Yingmei's troops drew his sword. “We'll hold them off as long as possible.”

“But-” Yingmei was about to protest.

“Your Majesty,” the commander bowed respectfully, ”this is our duty. The fate of the two realms depends on your success tonight.”

Yingmei gazed at her soldiers with teary eyes behind the mask, then nodded firmly. “Your bravery will be forever remembered in the history of the Fox Clan.”

Without wasting any more time, Yingmei led her two sons onto the Moon Bridge. As soon as their feet touched the surface of the bridge, a strange sensation struck them-as if they were floating yet tethered to something solid. The surface of the bridge felt cold as crystal, yet soft as morning mist.

In the distance, the roar of battle could be heard. Yingmei's loyal warriors fought valiantly against the vastly outnumbered Dark Dragon army.

“Don't look back,” Yingmei commanded in a trembling voice. “Keep walking.”

They stepped quickly on the glowing prismatic bridge, looking like a rainbow path in the middle of the night sky. Below them, the landscape of the Demon Realm seemed to grow smaller-crystal forests, floating cities, and rivers glowing in the dark.

“How can this bridge take us straight to the Border Tower?” asked Lin Fengtian, his eyes vigilantly scanning the area around them.

“The Moon Bridge isn't just a road,” explained Yingmei as she continued walking. “It's an ancient dimensional construction that utilizes the energy of the three aligned moons. This bridge passes through the folds of space, shortening the distance of thousands of li to just a few hundred steps.”

“Why can't everyone summon it?” asked Zhao Lingyun, starting to regain his strength.

Yingmei glanced at her youngest son with a meaningful look. “Because the Moon Bridge is a legacy of the Fox Clan-created by the first Nine-Tailed Fox when it was still a living bridge between realms. Only those with the pure blood of the royal family can summon it, and only under certain astronomical conditions.”

Suddenly, the bridge beneath their feet shook. The crystals that formed it began to fade in places, creating small holes that revealed the bottomless darkness beneath.

“The bridge is weakening,” Yingmei quickened her pace. “The three moons will soon shift out of alignment.”

They hurried, leaping over the disappearing parts of the bridge. Zhao Lingyun felt his heart racing, not just because of the tension of the situation, but also because of something else-a familiar sensation that grew stronger as they neared the Border Tower.

“Something's strange,” muttered Lin Fengtian, who was running behind. “We haven't seen any other pursuing troops since earlier. It's as if they let us reach the tower.”

“Maybe that was their plan from the start,” Yingmei replied in a gloomy tone. “To bring you to the Border Tower just as the ritual begins.”

Suddenly, the bridge beneath their feet shook violently. A huge crack appeared behind them, swallowing part of the bridge quickly.

“Run!” yelled Yingmei.

They ran with all their might, while the bridge continued to collapse behind them, section by section. In front of them, the end of the bridge seemed to end at a high balcony on the side of the Border Tower-a distance still hundreds of steps away.

“We won't have time!” shouted Lin Fengtian, looking at the accelerating speed of the bridge's destruction.

Yingmei stopped abruptly, turning her body to face her two sons. “You have to get to the tower. No matter what.”

Before Lin Fengtian or Zhao Lingyun could react, Yingmei took off her white mask and raised both hands high. Silvery light emanated from her palms, forming intricate symbols in the air.

“Yuanqi Fengbi, the Nine-Tailed Fox summons blood inheritance!” she called out in an ancient language.

Yingmei's body shone brightly, a silvery light enveloping her. Slowly, her silhouette changed-her bones crackled, her skin faded to transparency, and from her back emerged nine huge, glowing tails that swept through the air with incredible power.

“Mother!” Zhao Lingyun cried out in horror.

“Run, my children,” Yingmei's voice echoed, no longer sounding entirely human. “I will withstand the destruction of the bridge for as long as I can.”

Without waiting for their response, Yingmei-who was now half giant fox-stretched her nine tails back, creating an energy barrier that held back the bridge's destruction.

“Lin-ge,” Zhao Lingyun looked at his brother with teary eyes, ”we can't leave him.”

Lin Fengtian, with a hurt expression that he tried hard to hide, grasped his brother's shoulder. “We have to, Xiao-Yun. If we fail tonight, mom's sacrifice will have been in vain.”

Reluctantly, they turned around and continued their run towards the end of the bridge, while behind them, the figure of a half-human half-fox struggled to resist the destruction with all its strength.

“Dao Xin Zhuan Yi!” shouted Lin Fengtian suddenly, unleashing the Heart Seed-The Tiger Clan's legendary technique. His body emitted a golden aura, and in an instant his speed increased dramatically. He grabbed Zhao Lingyun's body, carried him on his back, and ran at a speed that was almost impossible for ordinary humans.

Step by step, they were getting closer to the end of the bridge. Behind them, Yingmei was increasingly overwhelmed by the destruction. Some of her tails were starting to fade, a sign that her spiritual energy was running out.

“Just a little bit more,” Lin Fengtian panted, although his running speed didn't decrease.

Suddenly, a huge energy explosion sounded from behind them. Zhao Lingyun turned his head, only to see his mother enveloped in blinding white light. For a moment, he could see his mother's true form-the Nine-Tailed Fox in its full glory-before the light was extinguished and her figure disappeared along with the bridge that eventually collapsed completely.

“MOM!” he cried out, his voice broken by grief.

Right at that moment, Lin Fengtian jumped with all the strength he had left, taking them flying over the empty abyss below them. For a few tense seconds, they floated in the air without a foothold-before finally landing hard on the stone balcony of the Border Tower.

Lin Fengtian staggered, falling to his knees with a gasp. Zhao Lingyun rolled off his back, his eyes still staring wide-eyed in the direction where his mother had disappeared moments ago.

“She's... gone...” whispered Zhao Lingyun, his chest tight with grief.

Lin Fengtian, with trembling hands, gripped his younger brother's shoulders. “No, he didn't. He sacrificed so that we could get here. Don't let his sacrifice go to waste, Xiao-Yun.”

With difficulty, Lin Fengtian stood up, extending his hand to help his younger brother. “We have to stop the ritual before the three months are completely aligned.”

Zhao Lingyun grabbed his brother's hand, getting up with a new determination burning in his eyes. “For mother,” he murmured.

“For both realms.” Lin Fengtian nodded.

They stepped into the Border Tower through the open balcony doors. The interior of the tower was much more spacious than it looked from the outside-as if the rooms inside followed the rules of a different dimension. The walls were made of glossy black stone filled with ancient carvings, each glowing with a faint, colorful light.

They walked down the spiral corridor that led to the top of the tower. Surprisingly, there were no guards or troops to intercept them-reinforcing Lin Fengtian's suspicion that their arrival was expected.

“Lin-ge,” Zhao Lingyun whispered as they approached an intersection, ”I feel something.”

Lin Fengtian looked at his younger brother with raised eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

“Spiritual energy... I can see it just like mom said,” Zhao Lingyun pointed towards one of the corridors. “There's a very strong concentration of energy from that direction-red and purple in color, swirling like a storm.”

Lin Fengtian looked at his younger brother in amazement. “Your abilities are getting stronger here. Is it because we're in the Border Tower?”

“Maybe,” Zhao Lingyun nodded. “Or maybe it's because my blood reacted to the summoning of the Moon Bridge earlier. I don't know, but I can see the energy flow clearly now.”

Following Zhao Lingyun's indication, they turned to the right corridor. Ritual sounds began to faintly sound-mumbling in an ancient language and the tinkling of small bells.

The deeper they went into the corridor, the clearer the voices became. Finally, they came to a large double door with carved dragons and foxes facing each other. The doors were slightly open, revealing a reddish light from inside.

Carefully, Lin Fengtian peered through the crack of the door. Inside, a large circular ritual room unfolded. The floor was carved with intricate symbols that emitted a blood-red light. In the middle of the room, an octagonal-shaped stone altar stood majestically, surrounded by eight crystal columns glowing with different colors.

Around the altar, about two dozen red-robed priests knelt in formation, chanting incantations in an ancient language. Above the altar, a purple-black ball of energy hovered, spinning slowly and occasionally emitting flashes of black electricity.

“The ritual has already started,” whispered Lin Fengtian, his eyes narrowed observing the situation. “But I don't see Elder Zhang or Zhao Liangyu there.”

“They're there,” Zhao Lingyun pointed at the two black-robed figures standing on the far side of the altar, half-hidden by a crystal pillar. “I can see their auras-black with a red tinge for Elder Zhang, and dark blue with a golden hue for Zhao Liangyu.”

Lin Fengtian looked at his younger brother in awe. “You can really see people's auras now?”

Zhao Lingyun nodded. “And not only that. Look up at the altar.”

Lin Fengtian turned his gaze in the designated direction. Above the energy ball, floated a very familiar bronze badge-the Nine-Tailed Fox Badge.

“How come?” Lin Fengtian reached for his waist in panic, only to find his badge was still there. “I still have my original badge.”

“It's fake,” Zhao Lingyun realized. “The badge you're carrying is fake. They managed to swap it out sometime.”

Lin Fengtian's face hardened. “That means they've been one step ahead of us from the start.” He clenched his hands until his knuckles turned white. “But we still have one advantage-they don't know that we already know the truth from mom.”

“How do we stop the ritual?” asked Zhao Lingyun, observing the intricate formation of the priests.

Lin Fengtian thought for a moment. “We need to disrupt their ritual formation and destroy the badge on the altar. But to reach the altar, we need to get past all those priests.”

“I have an idea,” Zhao Lingyun ducked down, drawing symbols on the dust floor with his finger. “Look carefully. The ritual they perform uses the Eight Reverse Trigrams-an ancient forbidden form that opens portals by reversing the flow of natural energy.”

“How did you know?” Lin Fengtian stared at his younger brother in amazement.

“I don't know... this knowledge just seemed to pop into my mind,” Zhao Lingyun shook his head, equally confused. “Maybe it's the ancestral memories in my blood? I don't know. But I know how to mess with it.”

Zhao Lingyun explained his plan quickly. Lin Fengtian listened carefully, occasionally nodding. After they agreed, both of them took a deep breath, preparing for the execution.

“Remember.” Lin Fengtian held his younger brother's shoulder, “we only have one chance. If we fail...”

“We won't fail,” Zhao Lingyun cut in, his eyes radiating a determination that Lin Fengtian had never seen before. “For mom.”

Lin Fengtian nodded. “For mom.”

With a quick movement, Lin Fengtian kicked the double doors wide open. A loud bang startled the priests, stopping their ritual for a moment.

“Now!” shouted Lin Fengtian, jumping in with his sword drawn.

Zhao Lingyun followed behind him, his hands forming intricate seals while chanting incantations in a language that even he didn't fully understand. The blood on his still wounded palm glowed silvery, resonating with the carvings on the floor of the ritual room.

The priests rose up in shock, some of them taking out hidden weapons from under their robes. Elders Zhang and Zhao Liangyu, who had finally come into view, looked surprised at Lin Fengtian and Zhao Lingyun's presence.

“How on earth did you guys get here?” growled Elder Zhang, his wrinkled face contorted in anger.

“It doesn't matter how we got here.” Lin Fengtian replied coldly, his sword raised in a fighting stance. “What matters is that your ritual ends tonight.”

Zhao Liangyu, a middle-aged man with facial features reminiscent of Zhao Lingyun, smiled faintly. “My naive younger siblings. Your arrival is precisely part of the ritual. The pure blood of both clans flowing in your bodies is the perfect catalyst.”

Lin Fengtian didn't waste time arguing. With incredible speed, he attacked the nearby priests, creating chaos in their ritual formation. His sword danced with deadly movements, cutting through robes and scraping the skin with perfect precision.

Meanwhile, Zhao Lingyun concentrated on his task. Capitalizing on the chaos his brother created, he moved along the edge of the room, touching the crystal columns one by one with his bloody palms.

“Stop him!” shouted Elder Zhang, realizing what Zhao Lingyun was doing.

Too late. Zhao Lingyun had touched the fourth crystal pillar, changing its color from blue to red. The energy patterns in the room began to change, the once orderly flow becoming chaotic.

The energy ball on the altar shook unsteadily, emitting increasingly wild flashes of black electricity. The Nine-Tailed Fox badge hovering above it began to resonate strangely, spinning faster and faster.

“You guys don't know what you're doing!” Zhao Liangyu ran towards the altar, trying to save the ritual.

Lin Fengtian, who had defeated half a dozen priests, jumped up to intercept Zhao Liangyu. “Not so fast, Elder Brother.”

Lin Fengtian's sword clashed with the short spear that suddenly appeared in Zhao Liangyu's hand. Sparks of spiritual fire ignited every time their weapons touched.

“You think you can beat me?” Zhao Liangyu hissed, parrying Lin Fengtian's attack with ease. “I've been studying the Seventy-Two White Tiger Stances since before you were born.”

Lin Fengtian didn't answer, focusing on his fight. Every attack, every parry-all calculated with precision. He knew there was no need to defeat Zhao Liangyu; he just needed to hold him off long enough for Zhao Lingyun to finish the job.

On the other side of the room, Zhao Lingyun kept moving, dodging the priests' attacks while heading towards the fifth crystal pillar. Elder Zhang, realizing the real threat, began to recite the binding spell.

“Baihuzhi Shen, Nine-tailed Fox, listen to my command-bind your descendants with shackles of ancestral blood!” exclaimed Elder Zhang in an ancient language.

Suddenly, Zhao Lingyun felt like his body was burning from within. The blood in his veins seemed to boil, forcing him to fall to his knees with a cry of pain.

“Zhao Lingyun!” Lin Fengtian shouted in alarm, almost losing focus-a mistake that Zhao Liangyu took advantage of to launch a deadly attack.

Zhao Liangyu's spear shot towards Lin Fengtian's heart. At the last second, Lin Fengtian managed to dodge, but the spear still cut deeply into his shoulder, creating a gaping wound that immediately drenched his robe in blood.

“Xiao-Yun...” Lin Fengtian staggered, trying to maintain his balance despite the blood flowing profusely from the wound.

Zhao Lingyun, hearing his brother's sounds of pain, found strength out of nowhere. With a stifled groan, he forced his body up, resisting Elder Zhang's binding spell.

“No way!” Elder Zhang stared in disbelief. “No one can resist the Blood Binding Spell!”

Zhao Lingyun looked at Elder Zhang with eyes that were now glowing silvery. “You forgot one thing, Elder Zhang. Our mother's blood-the pure blood of the Nine-Tailed Fox-flows in our bodies. And mother just sacrificed herself for us.”

With faltering yet determined steps, Zhao Lingyun continued his mission, touching the fifth, sixth, and seventh crystal pillars in quick succession. Each touch changed the color of the crystals, creating more and more energy chaos in the room.

The energy ball on the altar was now spinning wildly, emitting waves of negative energy that made the remaining priests fall to their knees, screaming in pain. The Nine-Tailed Fox badge spun faster and faster until it was almost invisible.

“You have to stop this!” Zhao Liangyu yelled at Zhao Lingyun, still fighting with Lin Fengtian who was now starting to get overwhelmed from blood loss. “The portal will explode if you break the ritual halfway through!”

“Just let it explode,” Lin Fengtian replied coldly, deflecting Zhao Liangyu's attacks with the rest of his strength. 

. “It's better than letting you guys pave the way for the destruction of both realms.”

Zhao Lingyun finally reached the last crystal pillar. With a gasp, he raised his bloody palm, preparing for the final touch that would destroy the entire ritual formation.

But before his hand touched the crystal, a familiar voice stopped him.

“Wait, my son.”

Zhao Lingyun froze. That voice-the same voice he heard a few hours ago at the Red Leaf Pavilion. His mother's voice.

From the direction of the altar, a luminous figure began to take shape-a female silhouette with three star-shaped birthmarks on her right cheek.

“Mother?” Zhao Lingyun whispered in disbelief.

Yingmei's figure smiled gently, but there was a deep sadness in her eyes. “Not entirely, my son. I am merely a fragment of consciousness left behind in the Nine-Tailed Fox Badge-a remnant of the spiritual energy I cultivated as a last reserve.”

“How is that possible?” Elder Zhang looked shocked. “I've already purified the badge with a purification ritual!”

“You underestimate blood ties too much, Zhang Weishan,” Yingmei's figure replied calmly. “The bond between a mother and her child transcends the spiritual boundaries you understand.”

Yingmei turned back to Zhao Lingyun. “My son, you can't stop the ritual this way. The portal is already too unstable. If you touch the last crystal, the energy blast will destroy not only this tower, but also most of the Demon Realm and Human Realm.”

“Then what should I do?” asked Zhao Lingyun, his voice full of desperation.

Yingmei floated over to Zhao Lingyun, her transparent hand almost touching her son's cheek. “You must complete the ritual, but the right way-the way it should have been done in the first place.”

“Don't listen to her!” shouted Elder Zhang. “That's not your mother! That's an illusion created by the chaotic energy of the portal!”

Zhao Lingyun ignored Elder Zhang's shout, his eyes glued to the figure of his mother. “How?”

“The Sky Portal should be opened by the 'Children of the Border' with sincerity,” Yingmei explained. “Not forced with ritual sacrifices. You and your brother are natural keys-the pure blood of the Fox Clan and Tiger Clan united in harmony, born of true love.”

Zhao Lingyun turned his head towards Lin Fengtian who was still fighting with Zhao Liangyu, despite his weakened state due to his injuries.

“Lin-ge!” called Zhao Lingyun. “We have to complete the ritual properly!”

Lin Fengtian looked at him confused in the middle of the fight. “What do you mean?”

“Trust me!” Zhao Lingyun exclaimed, then turned back to his mother's figure. “What should we do?”

“You two should stand at the altar, on either side of the badge,” Yingmei instructed. “Place your hands on the badge together, and open your hearts to the bond of blood that flows within you. The rest will happen on its own.”

Zhao Lingyun nodded, then shouted at his brother. “Lin-ge! We have to get to the altar! Now!”

Lin Fengtian, although he didn't fully understand, decided to believe his brother. With a surprising move, he kicked Zhao Liangyu in the stomach, giving him the distance and time to jump back.

“No!” Zhao Liangyu shouted angrily, trying to catch up. However, the energy waves from the increasingly unstable black ball knocked him into the wall.

Lin Fengtian hobbled towards the altar, joining Zhao Lingyun who was already waiting for him there. Together, they positioned themselves on either side of the badge that was still spinning wildly on top of the black ball of energy.

“What should we do?” asked Lin Fengtian amidst the increasingly chaotic roar of energy.