The Chains of Frostveil Sect

The chains were cold.

They clung to Xiao Yun's bare skin like frostbite, each link humming with spiritual suppression seals. Forged from star-iron laced with white jade inscriptions, they wrapped around his wrists, ankles, neck, and chest—layered like a cocoon meant to cage something inhuman.

His body twitched.

But the chains held.

He was strapped to a wooden carriage pulled by two massive spirit oxen, each exhaling mist with every breath. Guards in matching sky-blue robes rode on either side, hands never leaving the hilts of their spirit-forged sabers. Overhead, talisman kites floated, scanning for void traces with flickering runes.

Above them, mountains loomed like jagged blades. Mist coiled around the path as the convoy wound through narrow cliffs and across icy ridgelines. Somewhere far ahead, at the peak of Frostveil Mountain, sat the headquarters of the Frostveil Sect.

Xiao Yun's vision remained blurry.

Every heartbeat was a storm.

Every breath a blade.

Pain had become his new skin. His body hadn't just been broken—rebuilt wrong. The Third Gate had warped his energy flows to a dangerous degree. His left side was slower. His qi was unstable. His missing leg had begun regenerating unnaturally fast, sprouting veins of black mist where flesh should be.

The Void was eating him from the inside out.

He needed to stabilize soon or lose control completely.

"Still breathing?" a voice asked.

He opened one eye.

Riding beside him was her—the woman called Yue.

Now he saw her clearly.

She couldn't have been older than twenty, but her eyes held the precision of a sword that had drawn blood many times. Her hair was silver-white, tied in a high braid that shimmered like silk. Robes of sky-ice blue wrapped tightly around her slender form, layered in defensive runes and frost-weave threads. A long, elegant sword rested across her back.

She wasn't just anyone.

She was a core disciple.

"I didn't think you'd wake up this soon," Yue said, voice cool but curious. "Most people don't survive being impaled by Celestial Tribunal spears. But you're not most people, are you?"

He didn't answer.

His mouth was dry. His tongue tasted metal.

Still, he smiled.

That made her frown slightly.

"You're chained, broken, drugged, and your dantian is barely holding together," she said. "Why are you smiling?"

His voice came out raw. "Because you don't know what you've brought home."

The air chilled.

Yue narrowed her eyes. Her sword shifted slightly in its sheath, reacting to her qi.

"I know exactly what you are," she said coldly. "You're a danger."

He laughed—short, broken, more cough than sound. "To you? No. Not yet."

She didn't reply.

Instead, she made a subtle hand gesture.

The carriage stopped.

Yue dismounted and approached.

"Let me guess," Xiao Yun rasped. "Now comes the interrogation. The righteous scolding. Maybe a few cultivation-blocking pills?"

"No," she said simply.

Then she plunged her hand into his chest.

He gasped as her palm pressed against his heart—no pain, no blood. Her qi was surgical, slipping between skin and bone, weaving through his meridians like frostbite on silk.

She wasn't killing him.

She was reading him.

"Your qi paths are unstable," she murmured. "You've absorbed something… ancient. Not just demonic—Void-infused. But it doesn't reject you."

Xiao Yun's eyes sharpened.

She could sense that?

Most so-called geniuses wouldn't detect Void Essence unless it exploded in their faces. But this woman had found it through sealed chains and suppressants.

He shifted slightly.

Her fingers twitched—and instantly, the chains tightened around his ribs, forcing the air from his lungs.

"Don't," she said softly. "I'm not like the others."

"No," he wheezed. "You're worse."

She pulled back, and the connection severed. For a moment, her pupils flickered—an aftershock from touching a soul like his.

"You've been to the other side of the veil," she said, breathless.

"I've lived there," he replied.

The carriage resumed moving.

Yue returned to her mount but didn't take her eyes off him.

They rode the rest of the way in silence.

---

Frostveil Sect was a fortress carved into the mountain face.

Sprawling towers of white stone pierced through mist, linked by hanging bridges and glowing talisman barriers. Disciple courts lined the cliffs, while vast cultivation chambers pulsed beneath the surface with soft spiritual resonance.

The convoy passed through several checkpoints manned by armored guards and hovering sentries. As the gates opened, waves of qi pressure washed over them—Frostveil's grand formation, ancient and vigilant.

They entered the inner ring.

And everything stopped.

Xiao Yun's senses lit up.

Someone… was watching him.

Not Yue.

Someone else.

Someone strong.

He turned his head slightly, eyes scanning the crowd of disciples gathering to gawk at the prisoner in chains.

Then he saw him.

A man standing on the highest terrace.

Robes black and blue. Hair tied in a warrior's knot. His eyes—deep green with flecks of gold—watched Xiao Yun with cold calculation.

Xiao Yun's breath caught.

That man's aura—

He recognized it.

It was nearly identical to one of the elders who'd stabbed him in the back before his last death.

Different name. Different face.

Same blood.

Reincarnation… or descendant?

Either way, fate had a sick sense of humor.

The man turned and disappeared into the clouds without a word.

The carriage entered a stone courtyard surrounded by cultivation towers and ancient pines. The disciples dismounted. Yue gave orders.

"Prepare the binding chamber. Notify Elder Mei. Only she can contain him."

One of the guards hesitated. "What if he escapes?"

"He won't," Yue said.

They moved quickly.

The carriage was pushed into a circular hall lined with celestial chains. Runes lit up along the walls—barrier formations designed to suppress even nascent soul cultivators.

Xiao Yun was unchained and dropped onto a formation plate in the center.

He groaned, coughing up blood.

But his eyes never closed.

He scanned the room. Every detail. Every seal. Every blind spot.

He was calculating.

Waiting.

Plotting.

Then the doors opened again.

And Elder Mei entered.

She was beautiful.

Ageless. Regal. Long black hair cascading behind her like smoke, eyes silver and sharp. She wore simple robes but walked like a queen among insects. Her presence silenced the entire hall.

Even Yue bowed low.

"Elder Mei."

She nodded.

Then looked at Xiao Yun.

And froze.

Their eyes met.

Something between them clicked.

Not recognition.

Not hatred.

Something older.

Elder Mei stepped closer. Her eyes didn't blink. She raised her hand and pressed two fingers to Xiao Yun's forehead.

His entire body locked up.

She peered into his soul.

Then whispered:

"…Impossible."

Xiao Yun smiled.

"You see it now, don't you?"

Elder Mei jerked her hand back. "He has the Void Seed. It's fully rooted."

The guards gasped.

Yue stiffened. "Then… is it true?"

"He's not just dangerous," Mei said. "He's an extinction-level threat."

A massive pressure filled the room.

Every formation trembled.

Then Mei raised her voice.

"As of this moment, prisoner Xiao Yun is no longer a detainee. He is to be sealed and prepared for the Frostveil Cleansing Ritual."

Xiao Yun's eyes narrowed.

He didn't know what that ritual was.

But the name alone was enough.

If it was what he suspected…

It meant soul destruction.

Yue took a step forward. "Elder Mei, I—"

"Your hesitation is noted," Mei interrupted. "But not accepted. You brought him here. Now finish your duty."

Yue's jaw clenched.

Guards moved in.

They began resetting the chains, this time glowing crimson—meant for sacrificial bindings, not suppression.

Xiao Yun smiled faintly.

Good.

This was the moment.

He let his head fall slightly, eyes closing… focusing inward.

Inside his core, the Fourth Gate cracked open.

Void winds howled in his soul.

He whispered to himself.

"Break."

A silent pulse radiated from him—unseen, unheard.

But felt.

Instantly, the formation dimmed.

The chains twitched.

One of the guards shouted, "Something's wrong!"

Xiao Yun opened his eyes.

They were black.

Completely.

And glowing.

A shadow erupted behind him—vague, massive, shaped like a throne of teeth and flame. The Void had taken form.

Elder Mei's expression turned to horror.

"No—!"

Xiao Yun stood.

The chains shattered.

And the mountain began to scream.