Myth Beyond Heaven

Kai Xuan choked, his face turning purple. Yet, even now, he smirked. “You… think… this is over?”

A pulse of golden energy erupted from his body—a temporal detonation, designed to erase everything in its radius.

Yun Lintian didn’t flinch.

His left eye flared, and the explosion froze mid-detonation, trapped in a bubble of spatial stasis. With a flick of his wrist, he crushed the frozen explosion into nothingness, leaving Kai Xuan staring in horror.

“You—!”

Yun Lintian slammed him into the ground, the impact cracking the remnants of the Haven’s false earth. Blood sprayed from Kai Xuan’s lips as his ribs shattered.

“Last chance,” Yun Lintian said, his voice deathly calm. “Where is Qingxuan?”

Kai Xuan coughed up blood, his smirk returning. “Heh… even if you kill me… you’ll never—”

Yun Lintian’s patience snapped.

His fingers dug deeper, and with a sickening crunch, Kai Xuan’s neck broke.

“Argh…” Kai Xuan struggled hard. “Kill me… and you will never find your woman again.”

Yun Lintian’s patience was razor-thin. Without hesitation, he ripped into Kai Xuan’s mind, tearing through his memories like a storm.

But what he found made his expression darken.

Nothing.

No trace of Long Qingxuan’s location. No hint of Nian Shi’s true whereabouts.

Kai Xuan had never known to begin with.

The Chaos Knight, sensing Yun Lintian’s realization, let out a hoarse, victorious laugh.

“Hah… hahaha…!” Blood dribbled from his lips, but his eyes gleamed with triumph. “Did you really think… I would know?”

Yun Lintian’s grip tightened. “You’re bluffing.”

Kai Xuan wheezed, his voice dripping with mockery. “My master… is far beyond your reach. And your woman? She could be anywhere… or nowhere.”

His grin widened, teeth stained red. “But here’s the fun part—you’ll never know unless you do as I say.”

Yun Lintian’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Kai Xuan coughed, his breath ragged, but his voice was laced with venomous amusement.

“Slaughter them.”

He jerked his chin toward the millions of souls trapped in the Haven—mortals, cultivators, all bound by Nian Shi’s temporal chains. Their faces were frozen in fear, their bodies suspended in golden light.

“Kill every last one of them… and maybe, just maybe… I’ll tell you where she is.”

His laughter grew louder, wild, unhinged.

“What’s wrong, Yun Lintian? The great savior, the righteous hero—too noble to stain his hands?”

The cultivators nearby, still frozen in Yun Lintian’s spatial prison, trembled in terror. Their eyes pleaded silently, their mouths unable to scream.

Kai Xuan’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Or do you care more about these ants… than your own woman?”

A test.

A trap.

Nian Shi had designed this perfectly.

If Yun Lintian refused, he would never find Qingxuan.

If he complied, he would lose himself—becoming the very monster he had sworn to destroy.

Kai Xuan’s laughter echoed through the shattered void. “Choose, Yun Lintian! Your mercy… or her life!”

For a moment, silence.

Then—

Yun Lintian’s fingers loosened slightly around Kai Xuan’s throat, just enough to let the Chaos Knight breathe. His mismatched eyes gleamed with something dark—something that made even Kai Xuan’s triumphant smirk falter.

“You want me to kill them?” Yun Lintian murmured, his voice eerily calm. “Fine.”

He snapped his fingers.

A pulse of Chaos power rippled outward.

Silence.

Then—

Bodies dropped.

Every single living being within the Haven—cultivators, mortals, even the spirit beasts—collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Their souls flickered for a moment before dispersing like smoke.

The entire realm died in an instant.

Kai Xuan’s eyes widened. His lips trembled, his victorious laughter stifled mid-breath.

“Y-You…”

Yun Lintian tilted his head, his expression unreadable. “Happy now?”

Kai Xuan’s shock lasted only a moment before his face twisted into wild, hysterical laughter.

“HAHAHAHA! YOU DID IT! YOU ACTUALLY DID IT!” Blood sprayed from his lips as he cackled, his broken body shaking with manic glee. “The great Yun Lintian—the savior of the weak, the righteous hero—just slaughtered MILLIONS in cold blood!”

His laughter echoed through the dead realm, mocking, triumphant.

“Do you feel it, Yun Lintian? The weight of their souls on your conscience?” He grinned, teeth stained crimson. “My master will be pleased. You’ve finally become the monster he always knew you were!”

Yun Lintian watched him quietly. Then—

“Now tell me. Where is Qingxuan?”

His voice was soft, deadly.

Kai Xuan’s laughter faded into a smirk. “Oh? Still playing the concerned lover? After what you just did?” He licked his lips. “Fine. I’ll tell you—”

Yun Lintian’s fingers tightened.

“No more games.” His golden and black eyes burned. “Speak. Now.”

Kai Xuan choked, but his smirk remained. “Or what? You’ll kill me?” He wheezed. “Go ahead. But you won’t get anything from me unless—”

Yun Lintian’s free hand grabbed Kai Xuan’s wrist—and crushed it.

“AHHH—!”

Bone splintered. Flesh tore.

“You don’t seem to understand,” Yun Lintian said, his voice icy. “Death is a mercy I won’t grant you yet.”

His fingers dug deeper into Kai Xuan’s soul, peeling back layers of his existence.

“There are fates worse than dying.”

Kai Xuan’s body convulsed, his screams turning guttural, inhuman. The pain wasn’t just physical—it was soul-deep, as if every fiber of his being was being unraveled and rewoven in agony.

“STOP—!”

Yun Lintian didn’t.

He ripped through Kai Xuan’s memories again, scouring every fragment for even a hint of Qingxuan’s location.

But—

Nothing.

Kai Xuan truly didn’t know.

The Chaos Knight, despite his torment, laughed weakly.

“See…? I told you…” Blood bubbled from his lips. “I was never meant to know… My only mission… was to make you kill them.”

His grin was triumphant, even in defeat.

“And you did.”

Yun Lintian stared at him for a long moment. Then—

“No.”

He snapped his fingers again.

A reverse pulse of power of life swept through the Haven.

And—

Life returned.

The millions of fallen bodies gasped, their souls snapping back into existence. Cultivators clutched their chests, mortals blinked in confusion, and even the spirit beasts staggered to their feet, unharmed.

Kai Xuan’s laughter died instantly.

His face paled.

“Impossible…”

Yun Lintian’s voice was soft, but absolute.

“Death and Life are mine to command.” He leaned closer. “Did you really think killing them would trouble me?”

Kai Xuan’s lips trembled. “You… you revived them ALL?”

“I undid it,” Yun Lintian corrected coldly. “They never died to begin with.”

The Chaos Knight’s body shook—not from pain, but from dawning horror.

“Then… the slaughter… the sin…”

“An illusion,” Yun Lintian said. “A test—to see how far you’d go.”

He tightened his grip.

“And now I know.”

Kai Xuan’s breathing turned ragged. His plan had failed. His victory had been stolen.

And now—

He had nothing left to bargain with.

Yun Lintian’s eyes darkened.

“Since you’re useless to me alive…”