天命五劫

The Jiangnan monsoon had seeped into the crumbling ruins of the Xuan family's ancestral home. As Ling Tian stepped over the moss-covered broken wall, the copper coin in his chest pocket suddenly grew scorching hot. The engraved character "Xuan" on its surface glowed with blood-red streaks, pointing toward the dried-up well in the courtyard's center. Seven sword marks adorned the well's stone rim in the shape of the Big Dipper, with the last cut forming a perfect slot for the coin.

The moment the coin clicked into place, a deep mechanical rumble echoed from the well's depths. Ling Tian gripped the rusted iron chain and descended into the abyss. Copper thorns on the links pierced his palm, and as his blood dripped onto the well walls, eerie blue phosphorescence ignited, illuminating the countless inscriptions carved into the stone—each depicting the Hexagram of Heaven Obstructed, with a human tooth nailed at its center.

At the bottom, a hidden chamber lay filled with bronze counting rods, tangled together with crimson threads that formed a massive three-dimensional divination array. Suspended at the heart of this intricate formation was a crystal coffin. Inside, a young man clad in a Daoist robe lay motionless, a vivid cinnabar mark between his brows—Xuan Ji. Yet the coffin's fractured surface suggested it had long been empty.

The moment Ling Tian touched the coffin lid, the formation erupted into chaos. The bronze rods shot toward him like flying swords, while the red threads coiled around his limbs, suspending him in midair in the shape of the character "大" (great). The Heavenly Mechanism Manual in his possession flipped open on its own, its human-skin pages seeping fresh blood, inscribing a hexagram into the air:

"Union in the wilderness, favorable for crossing great rivers."

As the hexagram solidified, the crimson threads snapped, and the fallen counting rods rearranged themselves into a pathway leading to a hidden altar. Upon the altar rested a bronze head, its hollow eye sockets embedded with fragments of an armillary sphere, and clenched between its teeth was half of a star map—the very piece missing from the iron coffin.

"A pack of rabid dogs, all you Ling clan bastards."

A woman's voice, tinged with a Western accent, echoed from above. Ling Tian looked up to see a barefooted woman perched atop the divination array. Silver bells engraved with Persian script adorned her ankles. She tossed down a corpse—an artificial human crafted from alchemical arts. A copper coin was embedded in the cadaver's chest, etched with the character "Xiao."

"You chased me from the northern deserts to Jiangnan for this?"

With a flick of her finger, the corpse exploded in a crimson mist, condensing midair into a map of the northern plains. A red marker on the map shifted—it tracked a convoy transporting glass urns, flying the banner of the Ministry of Works' Armament Bureau.

"You want the star map?" She laughed, high-pitched and grating, as if her voice could pierce flesh. A cold gleam flickered between her lips—on the tip of her tongue, a copper coin was nailed in place, shimmering with an eerie glow.

"My brother's throat was pierced three days ago. That debt must be paid in full! And you Ling dogs will bear the cost!" Her eyes burned with hatred.

Fury surged within Ling Tian. He clenched his fists and, with all his strength, drove a punch into the blood-formed map. The moment his fist connected, the image shattered into countless fragments, scattering like snowflakes. But then, something strange occurred.

The woman's figure dissipated like mist, replaced by a rain of bronze rods tumbling from above. A low, resonant hum filled the chamber, and the once-still divination array whirred violently into motion, emitting a blinding radiance. Simultaneously, rows of hidden crossbows emerged from the walls, their bolts gleaming with deadly intent.

These projectiles were no ordinary arrows; each was forged from inscribed copper coins, radiating an uncanny, otherworldly power.

Faced with imminent death, Ling Tian did not flinch. With a roar, he tore open his chest, revealing a blood-red Bodhi Seed. He grasped it and ripped it free, and in an instant, its root system burst forth like thick crimson serpents, weaving together to form an impenetrable shield.

The copper coin arrows rained down like a storm, striking the Bodhi Shield with metallic clangs, sparks flying. But the moment they touched the crimson threads, an immense force surged through Ling Tian's mind.

Suddenly, visions flooded his consciousness.

In the boundless northern deserts, sandstorms howled as Chasing Wind stood poised, a golden recurve bow in hand. His bowstring was drawn to its full arc, an arrow nocked, its tip glinting with lethal intent. On the white fletching of the arrow, a single bloodstain formed the character "Xuan."

The scene shifted.

Amidst the picturesque waterways of Jiangnan, flames raged, consuming all in their wake. Buildings crumbled, smoke billowed, and a towering figure wielding a colossal battle-axe brought it crashing down upon a glass urn. With a deafening shatter, the urn broke open, revealing another alchemical human. Carved into its chest—"Xiao."

On the snow-covered peaks of the western mountains, a spectral folding fan sliced across a man's throat, his corpse collapsing to reveal a tattooed "Su."

The pain was overwhelming. Ling Tian's legs buckled, and he fell to his knees.

At that moment, the armillary sphere fragment in the bronze head began to glow, and the dismembered bronze body parts scattered across the floor were drawn together by some unseen force, assembling into a complete humanoid figure. It stretched out a cold, metallic hand and clamped it around Ling Tian's throat.

"The seventy-ninth vessel… must return to its place," an emotionless voice intoned, like a decree from the underworld.

Ling Tian, undeterred by the grip of death, bit down hard on his tongue, spraying blood onto the star map beside him. Instantly, the once-static celestial chart began to shift, its stars resuming their cosmic dance.

One particular star, dazzlingly bright, surged toward the Purple Forbidden Enclosure—the domain of the imperial palace.

And within that radiant light, a familiar figure took shape—Chasing Wind! He stood poised with his recurve bow, string taut, an arrow locked onto Ling Tian.

Shock coursed through Ling Tian.

A deep, thunderous drumbeat shattered the silence—the midnight watch.

With a ferocious bellow, Ling Tian unleashed a surge of inner force, shattering the bronze automaton into fragments. He seized the fallen star map and, like a phantom, leapt from the depths of the well.

As he emerged into the courtyard, a torrential downpour greeted him, each raindrop striking his skin like a needle. Yet the moment the water touched the Heavenly Mechanism Manual, it coalesced into flowing streams, forming a new hexagram:

"Lake and Fire Transform—A Noble One Sheds His Old Skin."

A deafening rumble followed—the collapsing ruins of the Xuan estate finally gave way, revealing beneath the rubble a long-buried bronze carriage.

Inside, barrels of western fire oil filled the chamber, their acrid scent thick in the air.

Engraved upon the chariot shaft, a cryptic directive from the Ministry of Works read:

"On the twenty-third day of the twelfth month, the Western envoy arrives in the capital. The Five Calamities shall return to their rightful places.