Chapter 6 - Chapter 6: The Curse of the Blessed Dagger

Xiao Feng clutched the parchment Old Shen had given him tightly. The map led him far from the Dragon's Breath Valley, to a dark and desolate region. He had left his clan behind to find the enchanted, blessed dagger capable of killing Immortals. "I'll return," he had told the 350 clan members he left in the caves, but his heart was uneasy. Zhao Hu's wrath grew with every passing second, and Xiao Feng knew time was running out.The map guided him to the Ashen Mountains, a remnant of a volcanic landscape. The ground was covered in gray ash, and the air reeked of sharp sulfur. Xiao Feng had been traveling for days; his weary body still bore the scars of battle. The wound on his chest throbbed, but Zhang Tao's memory gave him strength. "I couldn't save you, my love," he whispered, his eyes welling with tears. "But I'll save my clan. I'll destroy Zhao Hu and the Immortals."The map directed him to a spot deep within the mountains, a barren patch of land in the shadow of a withered tree. The soil was black and lifeless; there wasn't a single sign of life around. But at that moment, a raven swooped down from the sky and landed on the ground. It began pecking at the soil, as if saying, "The dagger is here." Xiao Feng looked at the raven and murmured, "Are you guiding me?" He started digging, his hands scraping against sharp rocks until they bled. Finally, deep in the earth, he found an ancient stone box. When he opened it, the enchanted dagger lay inside.The dagger was forged from pure silver, its hilt adorned with dragon motifs, and its blade glowed with a faint blue light. When Xiao Feng took the dagger in his hand, a powerful energy surged through his body. The dagger hadn't been used in thousands of years, and now, it had an owner—Xiao Feng. But there was something Old Shen hadn't mentioned: the dagger didn't just kill Immortals; it also bestowed a dark power upon its wielder. Xiao Feng felt this power; his shadow qi merged with the dagger's energy, filling his body with a strength he had never known. "This… this power," he murmured, his eyes gleaming. But this power also began to pull his soul toward darkness.Xiao Feng took the dagger and returned to the Dragon's Breath Valley. But when he reached the caves, a horrific sight awaited him. All that remained of his clan were corpses. The cave entrance was drenched in blood; the 350 clan members had been brutally slaughtered. Zhao Hu had found the clan in Xiao Feng's absence and wiped them out. Feng Xiu's body lay beside a rock, her wind qi no longer swirling around her. Wang Shu's corpse was surrounded by shattered jade talismans. Even Old Shen hadn't survived; the wise elder had taken his last breath, a parchment still in his hand.Xiao Feng fell to his knees, the dagger slipping from his grasp. "No… No!" he cried, his voice echoing through the caves. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he looked at the bodies of his clan. "I should have sacrificed my clan… If I had the power, I could have protected them," he whispered, his voice heavy with regret. Zhang Tao's memory surfaced in his mind; her smiling face urged him to protect the clan, but the clan was gone. "I couldn't protect you… I lost all of you," he murmured, covering his face with his hands. His heart shattered with grief; his clan had been his family, and now, nothing remained of them.But then, his anger overshadowed his regret. He thought of Zhao Hu's betrayal—the traitor who had handed Zhang Tao over to the Immortals, the one who had destroyed his clan. "Because of his betrayal, the Immortals took my love," he murmured, his voice trembling with rage. "But whether he betrayed me or not, the Immortals are just as guilty in this. I'll kill him, and I'll kill the Immortals!" Xiao Feng picked up the dagger, his eyes burning with the fire of vengeance. He had nothing left to lose; his clan was gone, and now, he lived only for revenge.Xiao Feng tracked Zhao Hu down. The reflection of the Immortals had returned to the temple, where the outer realm army, under his command, had fully taken over the sacred grounds. When Xiao Feng arrived at the temple, he found Zhao Hu in the courtyard. Zhao Hu was surrounded by shadow qi, his eyes glowing like flames. "So you've returned, Xiao Feng," Zhao Hu said with a mocking smirk. "I destroyed your clan. Now it's your turn."Xiao Feng gripped the dagger tightly, his shadow qi merging with the dagger's energy. "Your end has come, Zhao Hu," he said, his voice cold with fury. Their shadow qi clashed, the temple shaking with the force of the explosion. Zhao Hu attacked Xiao Feng with his shadow qi, a storm of darkness, but Xiao Feng, empowered by the dagger, blocked the assault. "What… what is this power?" Zhao Hu shouted, his eyes wide with shock.Xiao Feng plunged the dagger into Zhao Hu's chest. The dagger was made to destroy the reflection of the Immortals; Zhao Hu's body glowed with a blue light and turned to dust in an instant. "This is for my clan," Xiao Feng whispered, his eyes filled with rage. But Zhao Hu's death triggered an unexpected consequence. The sky darkened instantly, and familiar, terrifying screams echoed. The Immortals had descended to the mortal realm.Old Shen's warning echoed in Xiao Feng's mind: "If the reflection of the Immortals dies, the Immortal Realm will spiral out of control and attack our world." Shadows surrounded the temple; thousands of them descended, destroying everything in their path. But Xiao Feng had fully absorbed the dagger's power. His shadow qi reached an unimaginable level, his body glowing with dark energy. Xiao Feng charged at the shadows; each strike obliterated one of them. Terrified of Xiao Feng's power, the shadows fled to the sky, toward the sun. But the sun, overwhelmed by their energy, turned pitch black.Xiao Feng stood alone in the temple courtyard. The shadows had fled to the sun, plunging the world into darkness. Holding the dagger, Xiao Feng was aware of his power. He was now stronger than even the Immortals, but this power came with solitude. He was the last surviving member of his clan.Xiao Feng left the temple. His clan was gone; Zhang Tao, Feng Xiu, Wang Shu, Old Shen—they were all dead. "I'm… all alone," he murmured, his voice filled with sorrow. But the threat of the Immortals still lingered; the shadows waited within the pitch-black sun, and Xiao Feng needed to find a way to destroy them completely. The dagger in his hand gave him power, but it also pulled his soul toward darkness.He walked for days, weeks, until he reached a far-off land and an exotic settlement: Moonlight Mirage. The place was like a dream; the sky was locked in perpetual twilight, and the structures shimmered as if made of crystal. The streets were filled with strange, glowing plants, and the people lived in a serene peace, untouched by time. As Xiao Feng gazed at the settlement in awe, a young man suddenly appeared before him.The man looked to be in his twenties, with long silver hair and deep golden eyes. He wore a robe adorned with star motifs, and a faint sense of time's flow emanated from him. "I am the Time Sovereign," the man said, his voice both youthful and brimming with ancient wisdom. "I've been in this world for 4000 years, but time does not touch me. I've been waiting for you, Xiao Feng."Xiao Feng stared at the man in shock. "You… know me?" he asked, his voice cautious. The Time Sovereign smiled faintly. "I know your story," he said. "Come, let's talk." Xiao Feng followed him, and they arrived at a crystal temple in the heart of Moonlight Mirage. Inside the temple was an hourglass that seemed to show the flow of time—but the sand flowed upward.Xiao Feng told the Time Sovereign everything: the loss of Zhang Tao, the destruction of his clan, Zhao Hu's betrayal, how he killed the reflection of the Immortals, and the descent of the shadows. The Time Sovereign listened silently, his golden eyes piercing into Xiao Feng's soul. "Your loved ones… Would you want to save them?" the Time Sovereign asked, his voice calm but laden with deep meaning.Xiao Feng paused for a moment. "What do you mean? They're gone," he said, his voice filled with pain. The Time Sovereign smiled. "The dagger you used to kill the reflection of the Immortals… Where is it?" he asked. Xiao Feng pulled the dagger from his belt and showed it. The Time Sovereign looked at the dagger and said, "If you give me that dagger, I can change time for you. I can bring your loved ones back. Zhang Tao, your clan… I can restore everything to how it was."Xiao Feng froze in shock at these words. Change time… Bring back his loved ones… It was something he couldn't even dream of. But at the same time, he didn't know if he could trust the Time Sovereign. This man claimed to be 4000 years old yet looked to be in his twenties, and there was an unfathomable depth in his eyes. Giving up the dagger meant giving up all his power, but the chance to bring back his loved ones… It was an offer he couldn't easily refuse.Xiao Feng gripped the dagger tightly, his mind turning into a storm. Should he trust the Time Sovereign, or was this another trap? Should he risk everything to bring back his loved ones, or keep the dagger and continue his fight against the Immortals? As he was about to make his decision, his eyes met the Time Sovereign's golden gaze.