58. The Chains of a Forgotten Past

As the Shade of Oblivion vanished into the void, the weight of its final words lingered in the air.

"Not all forgotten things wish to be found."

Ling Tian stood still, his azure-golden aura dimming as his grip on Heaven's Edge tightened. The Vanquished Throne… The name echoed through his mind like a decree from fate itself.

Xu Qing'er stepped beside him, her silver eyes scanning his expression. "Ling Tian… what does this mean?"

He exhaled, forcing himself to remain calm. "It means the truth of the Ling Clan's fate is even deeper than I thought." His voice was steady, but the storm brewing inside him was anything but.

Qing'er frowned. "The Vanquished Throne… it's something beyond the Myriad Worlds, isn't it?"

Ling Tian nodded. "The Shade didn't say 'who' erased the Ling Clan. It said 'what.'" His gaze turned sharp. "This wasn't the work of an enemy faction or a rival sect. It was something… greater."

A silence fell between them.

Then, suddenly—

CRACK!

The ground beneath them trembled. The realm had not stabilized. The chaotic remnants of the Fate-Null Realm had seeped into reality, twisting the space around them.

Ling Tian's instincts screamed—something was wrong.

Xu Qing'er's hand shot forward, but before either of them could react—

A chain erupted from the void.

Not just any chain. A chain of fate itself.

It gleamed with an eerie silver light, pulsating as if it were alive.

"Ling Tian!" Qing'er's cry was filled with urgency.

The chain moved with unnatural speed, coiling around Ling Tian's wrist before he could dodge.

An overwhelming force surged into his body.

Ling Tian's vision blurred. His divine qi clashed against the chain's power, but something was different—this was not a suppression of cultivation.

It was a call.

A whisper, ancient and relentless, seeped into his mind.

"Come back… come back to what was lost…"

A thousand images flashed through his consciousness—visions of places he did not recognize, memories that did not belong to him, voices calling his name from an era long erased.

And among them—

A single, fleeting image.

A girl.

Serene. Beautiful. Voluptuous.

Her long, flowing hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall of moonlight. Her eyes, a deep, sorrowful violet, shimmered with longing.

Her lips parted, and a single word escaped them.

"Ling Tian…"

His heart stopped.

Bai Xue.

Then, as suddenly as the visions came, they shattered.

BOOM!

Ling Tian's body jerked violently, his golden aura erupting in defiance. The chain cracked apart, dissolving into fragments of light.

He staggered, panting.

"Ling Tian!" Xu Qing'er caught his arm. "What was that?! What did you see?"

He didn't answer immediately. His mind was still reeling.

Bai Xue…

Why? Why was she in those visions? And why did it feel like she had been calling out to him from beyond time itself?

Ling Tian clenched his fists.

The answers were no longer just about the Ling Clan.

Now, they were tied to Bai Xue.

The Weight of Memory

Ling Tian steadied himself and turned to Qing'er. His expression was unreadable.

"We need to move." His voice was calm, but his heart was anything but. "Whatever that chain was… it was trying to pull me toward something."

Xu Qing'er narrowed her eyes. "Something—or someone?"

She had noticed.

Ling Tian hesitated. "I don't know yet."

But he would find out.

As they prepared to leave, a voice echoed in the depths of his soul—

"Ling Tian… will you find me?"

And for the first time in his journey, he felt something he had long buried beneath his unwavering will.

Fear.

Because some fates… were never meant to be uncovered.

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