Lightning bloomed across the sky in unnatural arcs.
A silver bell tolled in the heart of the Thousand Veil Sect—the sound of total war.
Yue Qian stood at the temple gate, blade drawn, voice calm. "Formation Masters, prepare the Sky-Fog Veil. All core disciples, to the inner sanctum."
The air shimmered with tension.
They had always known the Court would come.
But no one expected them to send two Sky Envoys and a Heaven Executioner.
Above the clouds, divine sigils unfolded in midair—thousands of them, arranged like a tapestry of judgment.
Hovering at their center stood Envoy Li Yanshu, clad in robes that shimmered with heavenly scripture.
Beside him hovered a female cultivator dressed in void-white armor—Envoy Lin Yue, known for cleansing six rogue sects in a single night.
And behind them, a presence that made the wind halt:
Heaven Executioner Rong Ta, his eyes blindfolded, mouth sealed by law, but aura so sharp it cut through time.
Xu Shen stood at the highest spire of the sect, arms folded, robes rippling with molten-gold chi.
He didn't speak.
Didn't flinch.
Yue Qian joined him. "They won't negotiate."
"I know."
"You're not ready to fight that Executioner."
"Also true."
She raised a brow. "Then what's the plan?"
He turned, smiling slightly.
"I finally rewrote the Devourer's path."
He tapped his chest.
"And I gave it something it never had before."
Yue frowned. "Which is?"
"A voice that echoes."
He raised his hand.
[Devourer Path – Soulwheel Forge Activation: Resonant Mode]
[Broadcasting Inheritance Thread to nearby cultivators…]
[Seeded Fragments: 0 → 1 → 9 → 47 → 153]
Disciples around the sect flinched.
Then gasped.
Then stood straighter.
Their auras surged—not chaotic, but in harmony.
They weren't being devoured.
They were being uplifted.
Xu's rewritten core was sharing.
Envoy Li Yanshu frowned. "He's igniting a collective soulwheel? That's forbidden!"
Executioner Rong Ta moved his hand slightly.
The clouds cracked.
A judgment ray—pure heavenly fire—shot from the sky, aimed straight at Xu Shen.
He didn't move.
He didn't need to.
Because over fifty disciples raised their hands in unison.
Their chi fused—threads of flame, shadow, wind, and light forming a lattice of color.
The beam struck.
And broke.
Silence.
Then the Sect erupted in flame—not from destruction, but from awakening.
Xu looked up at the heavens, his voice calm.
"This isn't the Devourer you sealed."
"This is the legacy you tried to erase—rewritten."
"And now… it multiplies."
Envoy Lin Yue clenched her fist.
"Begin the siege."