Myth Beyond Heaven

Yue Yun didn’t waste time talking. She lunged again, this time weaving a complex series of slashes—each one faster than the last. The God Slaying Sword left afterimages in its wake, its dark edge carving through the void itself.

Yun Lintian parried each strike, the Heaven Sunderer clashing against the obsidian blade in a shower of sparks. The sheer force of their exchanges sent shockwaves rippling outward, threatening to destabilize the pocket dimension.

BOOM!

A particularly fierce collision sent Yue Yun skidding backward, but she recovered instantly, flipping midair and landing gracefully.

“Not bad,” Yun Lintian remarked.

Yue Yun snorted. “Then let’s stop holding back.”

Her aura exploded—silver light erupting from her body as she activated her full power. The God Slaying Sword responded in kind, its black blade now wreathed in crimson energy.

Yun Lintian’s golden eyes gleamed. “Now we’re talking.”

He raised the Heaven Sunderer, and the greatsword’s bloodlust surged. The air around them thickened with killing intent as the two True Gods prepared their next move.

“Heaven Sundering Slash!”

A crescent of golden energy tore through the void, aimed straight at Yue Yun.

She didn’t dodge.

Instead, she swung the God Slaying Sword in a perfect arc—”Sever!”

The two attacks collided.

CRACK!

Space itself shattered like glass. The pocket dimension trembled violently, unable to withstand the force of their clash. Cracks spread across the void, revealing glimpses of the real world beyond.

Yun Lintian waved his hand, stabilizing the dimension before it collapsed entirely.

Yue Yun exhaled, lowering the God Slaying Sword. “This sword… it really is a monster.”

Yun Lintian nodded, sheathing the Heaven Sunderer. “Tie Muqiu poured everything into it. It’s no wonder it can contend with a Primordial God’s weapon even in its initial state. I can’t imagine how strong it will become in the future.”

Yue Yun looked at the God Slaying Sword for a moment and let it fly towards Yun Lintian. “What’s your next plan?”

Yun Lintian gently grabbed the sword and said, “I seem to have hit a dead end. The whereabouts of the last part of the God of Death’s body are unknown. I have no clue. I plan to visit Senior Si. Perhaps he knows something.”

Yue Yun frowned slightly. “This is truly troublesome.”

“Indeed,” Yun Lintian nodded. “There is no choice anyway.”

Swoosh!

At this moment, a long-lost figure suddenly appeared beside Yun Lintian. She was none other than Lin Yitong.

“You are here,” Lin Yitong looked at Yun Lintian. “Come with me. I’ve discovered something.”

Yun Lintian and Yue Yun exchanged confused glances.

“What’s going on?” Yun Lintian asked curiously.

“The remnant of the God of Life’s realm,” Lin Yitong said in a deep voice.

Yun Lintian’s expression changed slightly. “Lead the way.”

Lin Yitong tore open a spatial rift with a flick of her wrist, revealing the endless void of the Western Expanse. Without hesitation, she stepped through, Yun Lintian and Yue Yun following closely behind.

The moment they emerged, a decaying star filled their vision—its surface blackened and cracked, pulsing with thick tendrils of death energy. The surrounding space twisted unnaturally, as if the star itself was resisting its inevitable demise.

Yun Lintian’s golden eyes narrowed. “This death aura… it’s too concentrated to be natural.”

Lin Yitong nodded. “I’ve spent months tracing the True Wood Spirits’ records. After the Primordial War, the God of Life’s territory was annihilated, and her followers scattered. But according to their oldest texts, this star was once part of her divine realm.”

Yue Yun crossed her arms. “If that’s true, why does it reek of death?”

“Because something—or someone—corrupted it,” Lin Yitong said grimly. “But beneath that decay, I can still sense traces of a True Wood Spirit’s aura. Clearly, they were here before.”

Yun Lintian stared at the dying star, his divine senses piercing through the layers of death energy. Then—

A flicker.

A whisper.

A presence he knew all too well.

“The God of Death’s head is here,” he said abruptly.

Yue Yun was surprised. “Are you sure?”

Yun Lintian didn’t answer. Instead, he summoned the Heaven Sunderer, its massive blade humming with suppressed power. “Let’s find out.”

The three True Gods shot toward the star, their auras repelling the clinging tendrils of death energy. As they breached the atmosphere, the landscape below came into view—a ruined world of petrified forests and shattered temples, all blanketed in a thick, swirling mist of decay.

Yue Yun wrinkled her nose. “Cheerful place.”

Lin Yitong ignored her, landing gracefully atop the remnants of a colossal tree stump. She pressed her palm against the blackened wood, her emerald-green eyes glowing faintly.

“The True Wood Spirits were indeed here,” she murmured.

A pulse of life energy surged from her hand, and suddenly, the petrified wood trembled. Ancient runes lit up across its surface, forming fragmented sentences in the language of the Primordial Era.

Yun Lintian read them aloud:

“The Devourer comes… The Guardian sleeps… Do not wake him…”

Lin Yitong’s expression darkened. “The Devourer? Could they mean Nian Shi?”

Yun Lintian shook his head. “No. This message is older—far older. They’re talking about something else.”

A low, grinding noise echoed through the ruins.

The ground beneath them trembled.

The Moon Staff appeared in Yue Yun’s hand. “That’s not ominous at all.”

Then—

BOOM!

The earth split apart, revealing a yawning chasm of pure darkness. From its depths, a skeletal hand emerged, gripping the edge with bone-white fingers.

A voice, dry as dust and ancient as the stars themselves, rasped out:

“Who… disturbs… my slumber?”

The skeletal figure pulled itself fully from the chasm, its armored body clattering with each movement. Its skull—clearly the God of Death’s head—lacked eyes, yet Yun Lintian could feel its gaze piercing through him. The rest of its skeleton was encased in ancient, rusted armor that pulsed with the same death energy suffusing the star.

Yun Lintian’s grip tightened on the Heaven Sunderer. “Step back,” he ordered Yue Yun and Lin Yitong. “This thing isn’t the God of Death—it’s something else wearing his head like a trophy.”

The armored skeleton tilted its head, its jaw creaking as it spoke. “A Primordial God’s power… yet you are not one of them. How curious.”

Yun Lintian’s golden eyes flashed. “Who are you?”

The skeleton chuckled, the sound like grinding bones. “I am the last guardian of this graveyard. The Devourer’s chains could not hold me… and neither will you.”

“The Devourer’s chains?” Yun Lintian furrowed his brow slightly.