Through Heavenly Might : Part 3

"Huh, where is he? Why did that guy vanish?"

The one who said this was a woman dressed in elegant pink silk robes adorned with white crane patterns and rose-red winds, faintly dusted with glittering threads. She was tall and slender, with a modest bust and a delicate figure. Her black hair was neatly tied, accented by a black hairpin. Though her long bangs—white at the edges and sides—framed her face, her features were hidden behind a pale, expressionless mask.

"Is it possible that he became aware of our presence?" asked the tall, handsome man beside her. He wore flowing black robes and held a dark umbrella in one hand and a black flute in the other. His voice was calm, yet carried a note of caution as his gaze remained fixed on the shifting surface of the scrying basin—a wide, obsidian pool shaped like unfurled wings, its surface shimmering faintly with distant, distorted images.

The woman paused for a while, the wheels of her mind turning as she ran through all the possibilities. The only answer she uttered was, "That's impossible. We're standing atop Death Grave Mountain, which is hundreds of kilometers away from GreatSilk Embroidery City. There's no way he could sense us. Not only have we concealed our Qi, but we're using a viewing mirror layered with multiple veils of suppression—besides, we're not the only ones watching him, after all."

"Perhaps you're correct," the man said, "though I have to say—the guy really is incredibly powerful… and a total mystery. Just the fact that he resurrected the dead—that alone suggests he has transcended natural laws."

His expression darkened as he gripped both his flute and umbrella tighter.

"He is on a level much higher than us."

"That may be," Bíezí replied, "but remember—he used some kind of item to achieve that. It's possible he isn't as strong as he appears, just lucky enough to get his hands on an incredibly valuable treasure that could bring someone back from the all-consuming grasp of Death."

"Still, we can't be sure," she continued, "and not to mention that weird Qi he radiates—it's neither demonic nor divine, and definitely not mortal... It's something that's never been seen or heard of. Even we, after living for over 600 years, have never come across anything like it. It feels like this guy came out of nowhere."

"Well," Fengshí said with certainty, "he could be much older than us. I mean, Nascent Realm cultivators can live from 500 to even 1,000 years. And if he's on a realm above that… he could be far older than we can imagine."

However, just as Fengshí finished speaking—

The sky suddenly turned crimson as a colossal, flaming meteor came crashing toward them. The two barely managed to escape, leaping high into the sky. In utter horror, they watched as the impact tore through the very range of Death Grave Mountain, sending a devastating shockwave rippling across the land.

"What power?!" Bíezí exclaimed, her eyes wide with disbelief. Her brother swallowed hard. "It destroyed an entire mountain range—over a thousand kilometers—in a single attack?!"

But that wasn't all.

As the meteor struck, the true geological consequences began to unfold. The land cracked violently, magma burst from the earth like boiling blood, and the sky turned black with smoke. The ground trembled as ash and fragments of the meteor rained down across the landscape, slowly spreading destruction in all directions.

"Bíezí—now!" her brother shouted.

She understood instantly. Clapping her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, a soft pink aura radiated from her body, swirling around her like petals in the wind.

"Seal of Rejuvenation," she chanted.

As she unleashed her Qi technique—one possessing the rare properties of purification and restoration—the surging destruction began to lessen. The lava cooled, the ash settled, and the fractured land stilled. Though the catastrophe could not be undone, her seal successfully suppressed its advance and sealed the devastation from spreading any farther.

"The impact was too powerful to fully undo at my current stage," Bíezí said, panting slightly. "It drained more than half of my Qi."

"I see... Now then, whoever threw that attack at us—" Fengshí began, his eyes narrowing, "—whoever they are, it's better we just run."

Before he could finish the thought, another attack descended from the sky.

A torrent of ice rained down upon them, accompanied by winds so fierce that even their combined strength couldn't resist. The cold was unlike anything they had ever known—an unnatural, biting freeze that pierced deeper than bone. The ground, already cracked and laced with cooling lava, was instantly flash-frozen into jagged sheets of white.

They crashed onto the frozen surface with a sickening thud.

Blood sprayed from their mouths. Bíezí's mask shattered on impact, fragments scattering across the ice as she coughed violently. Fengshí was in only slightly better shape, but both his umbrella and flute snapped under the force of the landing.

Both of them groaned in pain as they struggled to rise. Fengshí glanced at his sister and asked, "Are you okay?"

Bíezí panted, wiping blood from her lips. "I don't know if 'are you okay' is the right thing to ask. I can only say… I'm still alive."

Then, a voice echoed from above.

"Huh? I'm surprised you two pair of mice actually survived two of my most lethal attacks. Then again, I should've known—it's never easy to squash pests to get rid of them."

They both looked up.

A man floated above them. Strikingly handsome, he had snow-white hair and a fair complexion. His eyes were golden, like polished limestone, glowing with faint malice. He wore clothes like no one else—white pants of an unknown material, blue thigh-high boots, a layered red tunic, and over it all, a pristine white cloak that fluttered in the wind.

It's him?!

Both of them thought the same thing, though they kept their expressions calm and quickly wiped the blood from their faces as the figure descended slowly toward the ice.

"Now now," the man said with a lazy smile, "don't bother hiding your real reactions—I can feel what you're feeling."

He paused, his tone darkening.

"Not that it matters. You made a grave mistake spying on me… Lylias. And let me make something very clear—I detest being watched, and I already know the fact that you two are not the only ones. There was one guy before you; they were spying through the moon. Fortunately, I blocked their gaze for some time."

"You... blocked the gaze of Chang'e the Moon Goddess?!" Bíezí said.

"Is that what they're called? Chang'e—a woman, huh? And also a deity. Though I have to say, I've also fought a Moon Goddess before," Lylias said, "and her name was also Chang'e, but not the one you know."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Fengshí said in a confused tone.

"Nothing, it's none of your concern," Lylias said, and then he drew out his Dao sword from his inventory. At the same time, both Bíezí and Fengshí immediately shifted into fighting stances, bracing themselves for the clash to come.

"I'll make an example out of you two," Lylias said coldly, and then his gaze lifted to the sky. "And soon… all of you will share the same fate."

His voice echoed with fury.

"Don't think I haven't noticed you, you cowardly bastards! There is no divination I cannot detect—do you hear me?!"

He turned his attention back to the siblings. He leapt backward and raised his hand, and the mana in his body began to ionize the air around him at high speed. The charged particles surged, and with a focused motion, he threw a concentrated lightning bolt into the sky. The sky quickly darkened, and then several thunderbolts came crashing down toward the siblings.

This was Lightning Orb—one of the few spells he could use without chanting. It allowed him to cast magic instantly, without invoking the aria.

Seeing the attack coming, Fengshí quickly slammed his leg into the ground. Several stone walls rose from beneath them, forming layer after layer to shield them from the attack. However, the walls were not strong enough. They quickly crumbled, and the lightning was about to strike them directly—until Bíezí stepped forward.

"Wheel of Fate!" she called.

At that moment, all the lightning attacks were instantly bent and thrown back toward Lylias. He took the full brunt of them head-on. But since he hadn't used his full power, the damage was easily nullified by his passive magic damage reduction.

That's absurd, he thought. When used with my Dao sword, my attacks can't be reflected... How... how did she manage to do it?

Then he realized something.

Wait… didn't that woman say 'Wheel of Fate' or something like that? Could it be… that the technique allows her to redirect the flow of fate itself—so that I become the target of my own attack, instead of them? Just like the name suggests?

He had to admit—that was a totally overpowered technique. But how the hell did someone learn it? Was it a secret passed down in their family? Or was she born with a special core or rare bloodline?

Too many questions.

"Heavenly Fist!" Fengshí suddenly appeared in front of him, throwing a Qi-charged punch straight at him. But to Fengshí's shock, the punch stopped—just inches from hitting Lylias in the face.

"What happened?! Why can't—?! Why did I suddenly stop?!"

"Fool..." Lylias muttered. He calmly walked past him and toward Bíezí. "First I'll deal with you. Then comes this moron. You're the bigger threat."

"What… what the hell did you do to my brother?! Why can't I undo what you did by turning fate?!" Bíezí shouted.

"Before I answer, tell me this: if you had such power, why didn't you use it when I hit you two with [Meteor] and [Blizzard]?"

"You just attacked us out of nowhere, so I was a little off guard… I didn't have time to think clearly."

"I see..." he said. "Now, here's my answer. You may wield the power of fate. But I control something far greater."

"Far greater?" she echoed.

"Yes. Tell me, what is the force that binds everything to its chain? A simple mortal's life, for example—who is born, how they're born, under what conditions, what they do, what they become, what their fate is… Even if they try to escape it and succeed, it's that same force that allows them to be given a new fate."

He looked her in the eyes.

"No matter how much one tries, they cannot escape it. And even if they do—it will always claim them in the end. It existed before there was anything, and it will exist even when there is nothing."

He raised his sword at her.

"Now tell me, what is this power?"

Bíezí stood frozen, thinking deeply. Then her eyes widened. Her voice trembled.

"Time?"