The sky above the western ridge fractured like cracked glass. A circular distortion hung in midair, ten meters wide, its edges flickering with jagged streaks of black-red light. Demonic qi bled outward in thin streams, staining the clouds a faint gray. Below it, dozens of Crimson Cloud disciples stood in defensive formation, robes whipping violently in the unstable wind.
"Stabilize the perimeter!"
A Foundation Establishment captain shouted as two inner disciples were dragged backward by the suction force radiating from the portal. Then something flew out. Not something. Someone. A figure erupted from the portal like a broken projectile and smashed into the rocky slope below, carving a trench across stone.
"Elder Liang!"
Three disciples rushed forward. The elder tried to rise. Failed. His right arm was gone from the elbow down. The flesh at the severed edge was not bleeding normally — it looked shriveled, blackened, as if drained dry. Behind him, the portal convulsed violently. Two more figures stumbled out almost simultaneously. One collapsed instantly. The other fell to his knees, coughing violently, black mist escaping his mouth with every breath.
"Close it! Close the stabilizing formation!" someone screamed.
"We can't the inner anchor is lost!"
The portal surged again. A final body was thrown outward. It did not move. Silence fell for half a breath before the portal's violent fluctuations subsided slightly, stabilizing into a pulsing, malignant circle of darkness. No more emerged, only wind and the smell of something rotten.
The surviving High Golden Core elder who had escaped staggered forward, eyes bloodshot but steady.
"Withdraw outer perimeter. No one enters without sect master's command."
The body of the fallen Peak Foundation Establishment elder lay twisted on the ground, his spiritual aura completely gone — not dispersed, but consumed. Above them, the portal pulsed once, then twice, as if breathing.
Hours later, within the Crimson Cloud main hall, the atmosphere was suffocating. Five figures stood at the center. At the head was Sect Master Han. To his right stood the Grand Elder, Han Zhenyu — Peak Golden Core, face lined with age but eyes sharp as steel. To his left stood the Supreme Elder, Han Qiming — long in seclusion, aura deep and unfathomable, rumored to have one foot in Nascent Soul threshold. Below them stood the First Elder, Han Licheng, and the Third Elder, Han Yao. Kneeling before them was High Golden Core Elder Liang, pale but composed despite the missing arm.
Sect Master Han's voice was even. "Report from the beginning."
Elder Liang inhaled slowly.
"The outer ring appeared to be a corrupted spiritual ground. We encountered demonic beasts at Mid Foundation level. Manageable."
"And the inner layer?"
"A suppression altar. Ancient. Damaged."
Grand Elder Han Zhenyu narrowed his eyes. "Damaged how?"
"The anchoring runes were eroded. Demonic qi was not contained it was circulating."
Supreme Elder Han Qiming finally spoke, voice calm but heavy.
"Circulating… outward?" asked others
"Yes."
Silence tightened the air.
First Elder Han Licheng stepped forward. "And the deaths?"
Elder Liang's jaw tightened, "The altar destabilized when Elder Shen advanced to reinforce the forward anchor. Shen was Peak Foundation."
"And he failed?" the Third Elder muttered. "He was not destroyed. He was drained."
Even the Supreme Elder's eyes sharpened slightly.
"The formation reacted to stable cores. The more stable the foundation, the stronger the backlash."
Grand Elder Han Zhenyu folded his hands behind his back. "So it punishes strength."
"Or requires it," Supreme Elder Qiming murmured.
Sect Master Han's gaze flickered briefly toward him. "You believe it is a failing seal?"
"Yes. Not a birth. Something was sealed. And the seal is degrading."
The Third Elder's voice lowered. "If it ruptures?"
"The demonic qi will not remain localized," Supreme Elder Qiming replied, his expression unchanged.
A cold weight fell across the hall.
Sect Master Han broke the silence. "How long before outer regions detect it?"
"Months, if leakage continues," the First Elder replied. "Days, if another surge occurs."
"We cannot conceal this," Grand Elder Han Zhenyu said sharply.
"Nor can we allow every minor sect to flood the site," the Third Elder added.
Sect Master Han turned slightly. "What of Azure Wind?"
The room's attention shifted subtly.
"Their Sect Master has not revealed full strength," First Elder Han Licheng responded. "But our scouts report improved discipline. Recruitment increased."
"A declining sect breathing again," Grand Elder Zhenyu snorted faintly.
"I felt fluctuation from that direction months ago," Supreme Elder Qiming said calmly.
The room grew quiet. "Level?" Sect Master Han asked.
"High Golden Core. Unconfirmed, but probable."
The words landed heavily. "Impossible," the Third Elder frowned.
Sect Master Han began walking slowly across the hall.
"If we attempt sealing alone, we risk further depletion. If we conceal it and it spreads, we lose authority. If we invite cooperation, we lose monopoly."
He stopped. "But we preserve legitimacy."
"Regional assembly," Grand Elder Zhenyu nodded slowly. "Yes."
"And if Azure Wind refuses?" the Third Elder asked.
"They will not," Han said calmly. "And if they attend, the realm reacts to stable cores."
A faint understanding spread among the elders.
"Do not rely on coincidence," Supreme Elder Qiming said.
"I do not." Sect Master Han looked toward the western horizon through the open hall doors.
"Send invitations. All major sects. Publicly. We frame this as regional responsibility. And we observe."
The hall remained silent for several breaths. Outside, far beyond the sect's protective formations, the portal pulsed again in the darkening sky. And somewhere beneath that unstable seal, something waited.