The village was gone behind him, but Xu Yang still found himself looking back every now and then. After three days in the forest, he finally stopped beneath a fallen tree and let out a long breath. The wild was quieter than the village.Rainwater dripped from the moss-covered bark onto his back. Xu Yang looked up at the branch above him, then slowly pulled his paws closer. His black fur blended into the shadows, but he still kept his ears alert. Every small sound made them move.
Xu Yang stared blankly into the forest. "I hate survival logic." Rain slid from a leaf directly onto his ear. He twitched hard and shook his head. "And I hate this forest." His stomach tightened painfully. He pressed one paw against it and sighed. "I especially hate being hungry in this forest." Another rustle came from nearby. His body immediately shifted, his ears turning toward the sound before he could stop himself. Then he froze. "No..." he whispered, almost offended with his own body. "We are not leaving suspicious half-eaten animal evidence all over the wilderness." His stomach answered with another painful twist.
Xu Yang's ears lowered. "You are being incredibly unsupportive." He glanced down at his stomach before looking back into the trees. Then he said, "I know I can hunt." He paused and rubbed one paw against the wet ground. "I just... don't know who's tracking what anymore." His tail curled tighter around himself. A bird landed briefly on a nearby branch. Xu Yang slowly lifted his head and stared at it. The bird stared back. A long pause passed. "Don't test me." Xu Yang muttered. The bird flew away immediately. Xu Yang watched it disappear through the trees, his expression turning deeply offended. "Rude."
That night, Xu Yang dreamed. Not clearly only fragments.Claws scraping against stone and darkness everywhere. A voice asking the same question again and again. Why won't you end? Xu Yang woke suddenly, his heart racing. He stayed still for a moment, breathing hard, then lowered his head until his forehead touched the dirt. "Not yet." he whispered, unsure who he was speaking to.
Miles away, above layers of clouds no demon could reach, Heaven stood high in the sky. It looked like a great royal palace. White halls covered the clouds, with tall golden pillars and wide silver roofs. Long steps led to the main hall. Golden lights burned along the walls, but there was no fire. White clouds moved slowly around the palace. Everything was quiet. It felt like a place where even the smallest sound had to be allowed.
At the center of the palace was the Heavenly Registry. Thousands of golden pages floated in the air. Each page carried names, laws, and records of fate. Thin lines of light moved between them. Then one page trembled. A small ripple passed through the Registry. The names did not change. The laws did not move. But one absence and one strange mark appeared among the records. No one touched the page. No one spoke.Far above the palace, behind layers of white clouds, something spoke without a voice. "Continue." The command passed down through the Heavenly Court and into the worlds below.
Across the world, certain beings paused without knowing why. A cultivator's brush stopped above a half-finished character. A spirit beast lifted its head from the grass. At the edge of the Demon Capital's outer gate, Wang Xiao stopped walking. His fingers tightened slightly around the sleeve of his robe. That pressure was behind his eyes again. Faint, but impossible to ignore. He drew a slow breath and looked toward the distant mountains.Heaven was not commanding him directly. It was only suggesting. Wang Xiao closed his eyes. Something surfaced in his mind, but he could not see it clearly. His eyes opened slowly. "So you noticed." he murmured. He stood there for another moment, then turned east without another word.
High above, Wang Xiao stopped again. The pull in his chest had weakened. He looked toward the horizon for a moment, then raised one eyebrow. "You're hiding." he said, sounding almost impressed. He stood there for a long time, his robe moving slightly in the wind. Heaven was still urging him forward, but the feeling had become faint. Instead of following it, Wang Xiao stepped to the side and chose a slower path through the mountains. His gaze remained on the horizon. "You're impatient today." he murmured. A small smile appeared on his face. "Interesting." He looked up at the quiet sky. "Even Heaven can't see clearly from here." He stayed there for another moment before finally turning away.
Deep inside the mountains, the spiritual currents twisted in strange ways.Some flowed backward.Others stopped completely before moving again. Cultivators avoided the place without knowing exactly why. Spirit beasts often lost their way after entering. Even Heaven's guidance became unclear here.Xu Yang lay beneath a stone overhang, his black fur pressed against the cold ground. He had barely moved for hours. Then his stomach twisted so sharply that it ruined the silence completely.
Xu Yang opened one eye. "Can I eat now?" he thought weakly. His stomach growled again. He closed his eye. "Seriously." His tail twitched once against the dirt. "I cannot tolerate this anymore."He slowly lifted his head and looked at the empty ravine. "If I survived cosmic nonsense just to starve under a rock, I'm going to be furious." He lowered his head again, then lifted it almost immediately. "I don't even need luxury." His stomach growled. Xu Yang stared at it in disbelief. "At this point, I would accept suspicious berries." He paused. "Actually, no. That's probably how things get worse." He let his head fall back onto his paws. "Just one meal," he thought miserably. "One decent, non-cursed, non-spiritually significant meal." His claws moved weakly against the dirt. "Is that too much to ask?"
Then faint sound came from the other side of the ravine. Xu Yang's ears moved, but he did not lift his head. Then he felt it. A familiar heat entered the cold air, followed by a faint ripple that did not belong to Heaven. Xu Yang slowly opened his eyes. "You're terrible at hiding." Yan Luo said casually. "Good at choosing places, though." Xu Yang sighed and pushed himself upright. His fur was covered with dirt, and his ears stayed flat. "You followed me." Yan Luo leaned against the ravine wall with his arms crossed, looking far too relaxed for someone standing inside a dead zone. The blue markings near his wrist glowed faintly as the strange spiritual currents moved around him. "I followed the mess," Yan Luo corrected. "Heaven's pull snapped like a bad thread the moment you came here. That doesn't go unnoticed."
Xu Yang's eyes narrowed. "Then leave." Yan Luo's faint smile disappeared. "Too late." Xu Yang's tail stopped moving. "What do you mean?" Yan Luo pushed himself away from the wall and took a few steps closer."Heaven escalated." Xu Yang's chest tightened. "How?" "Quietly." Yan Luo said. He glanced toward the sky above the ravine, though nothing could be seen through the thick clouds. "They issued a layered directive." He looked back at Xu Yang. "It doesn't name you. It doesn't need to. It changes the chances around you."
Xu Yang stared at him for a moment. Then his expression slowly changed. "So..." He swallowed. "I won't die quickly." Yan Luo nodded. "You'll starve. Or bleed. Or fall beneath something at exactly the wrong time. Something that looks like an accident." Xu Yang was silent for a few breaths. Then he gave a small, tired laugh. "That sounds like Heaven." Yan Luo watched him carefully. "You're not afraid." Xu Yang looked down at his paws and flexed his claws once. "I've already died once." Yan Luo's eyes narrowed slightly. Xu Yang looked back at him. "I'm more annoyed than afraid."