The night was heavy, cloaked in a dense, moonlit stillness that draped itself over the mountain valley like a silken shroud. Not a single breeze stirred the leaves, not even the crickets dared to sing. The Avindra Manor sat quietly atop the hills, its high, jade-tiled roofs glowing faintly beneath the cold silver gaze of the moon. Inside, most of the household lay in peaceful slumber—unaware of the schemes about to unfold in the shadows.
Avinash stood alone upon the eastern balcony, clad in a dark robe that shimmered with faint spiritual threads. His gaze stretched into the distant wilderness, where the horizon kissed the edge of the heavens. His fingers tightened slightly on the railing, knuckles whitening.
It had been a month since the Awakening Ceremony. A month since he stood before the awakening stone, only to awaken a seemingly low-grade talent—one that left his adoptive father disappointed, and his so-called mother silent with disdain. Not a single cultivation technique. Not a single spirit stone. Not even a word of guidance.
He hadn't expected anything.
After all, they hadn't adopted him out of kindness. They hadn't welcomed a falling boy from the sky with love in their hearts—they had taken him in because they thought he was an opportunity. A pawn from the heavens. A falling star.
Back then, he had fallen from the upper realm—cast down by the Immortal Sun Clan. His true Sun Physique ripped from his body, his identity erased. To the public, it was claimed he had descended to the lower realm for "tempering." A farce. A joke played on the heavens.
In truth, the clan sent an assassin with him. A trusted retainer who turned traitor the moment they crossed into the lower world, aiming to erase the last evidence of their sin.
The servant died.
But Avinash survived.
When he was found by the so-called Mayor Family—when his cheap parents took him in—they thought him a divine chance. A stray scion of the heavens. But when his Awakening showed nothing of value, they gave up. Their ambitions dissolved like mist before the sun.
"How amusing," Avinash muttered to himself, eyes cold and void of warmth. "They call themselves parents, yet the moment profit fades, so does their affection."
His fingers twitched slightly as a wisp of Qi spiraled around them. The stars above were especially clear tonight. The silence wasn't ordinary. A subtle stillness lingered, almost... expectant.
He turned away from the railing and stepped into the room, where silence ruled like a king. Tonight… tonight was the beginning of a new chapter.
And it had to be flawless.
There were too many unknowns. Too many eyes he couldn't see.
—
"System," he called inwardly.
[Ding! How may I assist the host?]
"Can I kill Abhimanyu and seize his Chaos Qilin bloodline directly?"
[Ding! Negative. The destiny tied to Abhimanyu far surpasses the host. Should the host attempt it recklessly, fate shall intervene. Be it a sudden Demonic cultivator, an ancient weapon, or the spontaneous awakening of his bloodline—Heaven will find a way to stop it.]
"Tch. What bullshit."
"Alright, if I use a Foundation Building Cultivation Card and activate my Celestial Reincarnation Eyes to store his body in the timeless dimension, how long can I hold the effect?"
[Ding! One second. Host must kill Abhimanyu within one breath and seal his corpse. If even a hair remains, Heaven's Will might revive or destroy it.]
"One second is enough."
He exhaled softly, eyes sharpening like blades drawn from a sheath.
Tonight wasn't just about seizing a bloodline.
His so-called parents—those cheap parasites—were already en route to the tomb. Their greed for treasure far outweighed their supposed affection. That was fine. Let them play their little game of cultivation and legacy.
But they couldn't know he was alive.
He suspected others were watching him. Perhaps even other regressors.
This was a warning from his celestial reincarnation eyes,the anomalies in spiritual pressure… they reminded him of other lives. Other timelines.
He wasn't the only one who had returned from the river of time.
So he needed to disappear.
Let the world think he was dead.
Let the tomb become his grave—so he could be reborn, unseen and unrestrained.
—
He had told Abhimanyu earlier about the tomb. A grand inheritance left behind by a Nascent Stage cultivator—three realms above Foundation. "If we reach it early," he had whispered, "we can seize treasure that would change your fate."
It wasn't a lie.
But Abhimanyu was not the one meant to inherit anything.
The true prize was his bloodline.
Dormant now, yes—but within that stillness was a Chaos Qilin's bloodline. A divine beast bloodline powerful enough to overturn heavens, a fate strong enough to crush entire destinies.
If harvested correctly… it could become his.
—
Just as predicted, his cheap parents had left for the tomb ahead of schedule, blinded by their thirst for power. They sought resources for their "real" son—unaware that tonight, their steps would help lay the foundation of their adoptive son's ascension.
The manor was empty.
The perfect chance.
The door creaked open.
Abhimanyu stepped into the room, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He was dressed in a simple black robe, his frame lean but muscular. "Brother… are we really going tonight?" he asked, trying to suppress the tremble in his voice.
Avinash turned, his expression calm and unreadable. "Yes. Now or never."
Abhimanyu hesitated, then nodded. "Okay… if I can just get strong… I don't want to be left behind."
Avinash tossed him a black cloak and pulled one over himself. "Put this on. It hides our spiritual fluctuations. We'll take the mountain route. City teleportation arrays cost spirit stones."
"I… I don't have any…"
"Then follow me."
They slipped into the night like ghosts, their figures shrouded in the shadow of the hills.
The mountain path was treacherous and narrow, coiling through the dense forest like a serpent slumbering beneath the canopy. Every step was a dance between silence and peril—wet leaves slick with dew, roots waiting to trip the careless, and distant howls from spirit beasts that roamed freely at night.
Avinash moved with practiced ease, each motion deliberate. His Qi spread out in a thin net, bending the surrounding spiritual essence to veil their presence. Even the nocturnal predators sensed something wrong and kept their distance.
Abhimanyu struggled to keep up, his breath uneven, his footing uncertain. "Brother… how much farther?"
"Not far," Avinash said quietly. "We're not using any city teleportation arrays. Too visible. Too traceable."
They reached the edge of a ravine veiled by brambles and time. Avinash parted the dense underbrush with a flick of his sleeve, revealing a hidden stairwell carved into the stone—crumbled, worn, and ancient.
"Down here."
The staircase spiraled downward, its steps coated in moss and cracked with age. At the bottom lay a clearing—a stone basin surrounded by broken obelisks, with a large circular formation etched deep into the earth.
Time had nearly buried it. Ivy tangled over runes. Fallen leaves caked its sigils. But Avinash knelt with reverence and pressed his palm to the stone. A pulse of Qi flowed out like a heartbeat.
The formation stirred.
Dust lifted. Light surged.
Faded glyphs rekindled to life—ancient characters glowing in gold and silver, spinning slowly like celestial wheels. Wind screamed as the world twisted. Spatial currents crackled, distorting the air into shimmering veils.
"This is a relic of the Blood Eclipse War," Avinash murmured. "Back when saint realm cultivators fought over Immortal-tier inheritances like children over sweets…"
Abhimanyu blinked, awed. "You found this yourself?"
"I've always had a knack for unearthing buried things."
He took one final glance at the manor in the far distance, its towers barely visible behind the veil of trees.
Then he stepped onto the platform.
And vanished.