Balance Keeper

The core of the Quicksand Mystic Realm resembled an inverted star. Suspended array fragments converged here in rings, their cyan light swirling to reveal a half-blackened seal resting on a central stone platform—identical to the Dao Seal fragment on Ye Ningzhou's chest, save for the missing right half of the character "衡 (balance)" carved into it.

"So it is here." Su Muyao's voice was barely a whisper. Her crimson dress rippled with dark patterns under the array's cyan glow. "Xiao Wanlei brought thirty men. They're all stationed around the platform—looks like they're planning to seize it by force."

Ye Ningzhou crouched behind the rock wall, staring at the half-seal. It was enclosed in a pale golden barrier, its glowing runes faintly resonating with the black iron talisman brush in his palm. The Dao Seal on his chest burned fiercely, as if calling to its long-lost other half.

"They're prying up array fragments." Ye nodded toward the platform's edge, where several Demon-Slaying Alliance cultivators pried rune-inscribed stone slabs loose with pickaxes. A fragment clattered to Xiao Wanlei's feet amid flying stone chips—the old scoundrel kicked it into a sack with his toe, then bowed obsequiously to the seal beyond the barrier. "This is what Lord Lord Bloodthirsty wants. Your humble servant will retrieve it at once…"

"No need." A gravelly voice echoed from beyond the barrier, grating like metal on metal. "Let that mortal-boned boy fetch it himself."

Ye Ningzhou's heart skipped a beat. That voice… it matched Wang Cheng's description of "Lord Bloodthirsty" perfectly.

Xiao Wanlei's smile froze. He spun toward the rock wall, roaring: "Ye Ningzhou! Stop hiding! Lord Lord Bloodthirsty commands—if you offer the Dao Seal yourself, all past grievances will be forgiven!"

His shout crashed against the array rings, and the echoing reply sent tremors through the Dao Seal. The fragment on Ye's chest flared to life, resonating with the half-seal on the platform. Runes on the golden barrier scrambled wildly, as if straining to break free.

"We can't wait." Su Muyao's fox tails unfurled silently, pink foxfire gathering at her fingertips. "That barrier's failing. Lord Bloodthirsty's aura is already seeping through."

Ye's grip tightened on his giant axe; the black iron talisman brush dug red marks into his palm. He spotted cultivators behind Xiao Wanlei secretly activating a flame array—crackling talisman paperburned with eerie sharpness in the cyan light. These men never intended to spare him. "Forgiveness" was just bait to lure him to his death.

"I'll draw them off. You grab the seal." Su Muyao's nine tails suddenly swelled, her crimson dress snapping like a flag. "Remember—when the Dao Seal fuses, it'll release energy. Don't get knocked back."

Before her words faded, she darted from behind the wall as a red blur, foxfire raining down on the platform like meteor showers. "Xiao Wanlei! You collude with Marauders, yet dare play the righteous cultivator here!"

Xiao Wanlei's face flushed purple. "Witch, lies! I am a cultivator of the true path—"

"True path?" Su Muyao scoffed, her illusions erupting. Countless fox shadows burst from the array fragments, claws slashing at the cultivators' eyes. "Then who are you planning to give those array fragments in your sack to?"

Amid the chaos, Ye Ningzhou shot from the wall like an arrow from its bow. His Phantom Steps touched the rune slabs, anti-slip talismans keeping him steady on the shifting quicksand. Xiao Wanlei glimpsed him, roaring as he slashed with his saber: "Brat, court death!"

When the blade was three inches from Ye's throat, he dropped suddenly, swinging his giant axe. Eight hundred catties of force, infused with the Mountain-Crushing Fist's momentum, smashed into the saber's back—a deafening "clang" sent the weapon flying. Xiao Wanlei's tiger's mouth split, blood dripping onto the golden barrier, which absorbed it instantly.

"Mortal bones… impossible?!" His gasp died as Ye reached the platform. The Dao Seal fragment on Ye's chest resonated violently with the half-seal, cyan light flooding the barrier to enshroud both him and the seal.

"Now!" Su Muyao's foxfire suddenly formed a shield, blocking the alliance's attack. "Channel the fragment!"

Ye pressed his palm to the barrier. The fragment in his palm aligned perfectly with the half-seal on the platform. No earth-shattering boom followed—only a soft "click," like a key turning in a lock. The two pieces fused seamlessly. As the missing half of "衡" filled in, a tide of overwhelming balancing energy erupted.

Cyan light radiated from the Dao Seal, dissolving Xiao Wanlei's flame array like snow in spring, forcibly stabilizing the cultivators' spiritual energy, even taming Su Muyao's foxfire. At the energy's center, Ye felt two forces flow through him: the raw power of mortal bones, and the agility of a fox demon—no conflict, only harmony.

"Impossible…" Xiao Wanlei was hurled backward, crashing into the array rings and spitting blood. "How can mortal bones channel the Dao Seal…"

The Dao Seal answered, floating toward Ye's chest of its own accord. Cyan light seeped into his flesh, merging fully with the original fragment. Burning pain gave way to warmth; his eight hundred catties of strength surged, and he faintly sensed spiritual veins pulsing—the late-stage Body Tempering barrier had been gently shattered by this energy.

"Go!" Su Muyao's voice trembled with pain. Ye turned to see her fox tails scorched by the flame array, blackened fur clinging to her crimson dress. "Xiao Wanlei's going all out!"

True to her word, Xiao Wanlei had gone mad. He clutched the last array fragment, charging the Dao Seal with burning flame talismans in his palm. "If I can't have it, no one will!"

Ye hurled his giant axe without hesitation, smashing into Xiao Wanlei's knee. The old villain screamed, collapsing as the array fragment fell, dissolving into dust the moment it touched the Dao Seal's cyan light.

"Run!" Su Muyao dragged him toward the realm's exit, foxfire exploding behind them to form a wall blocking pursuers. Her warmth seeped through his sleeve, hot as a burning conviction.

Glancing back, Ye saw Xiao Wanlei's twisted face in the cyan light, the cultivators pinned by balancing energy. He suddenly understood why the Dao Seal had chosen him—it never sought vengeance, only to keep moving forward, even with scars.

Screams beyond the fire wall were crushed by residual energy. Su Muyao hauled Ye into a side path. Her tails still smoked, the stench of charred fur mixing with her faint scent, sharp in the cyan light.

"Your tails—" Ye started to speak, but she clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Shut up and run!" Her voice shook—not with fear, but pain. The flame array's burn spread along her tails, singeing black holes in her crimson dress. "That old dog Xiao activated the realm's self-destruct array. It'll collapse in half an incense stick's time!"

Ye's grip on her wrist tightened. A self-destruct array? These madmen meant to bury the realm and everyone in it!

They raced through the maze of array fragments, Su Muyao's illusions exploding behind them now and then to lure pursuers down wrong turns. Pink foxfire tangled with cyan Dao Seal trails, slashing strange arcs through the dark—a desperate, almost intimate resolve to survive together.

"This way!" Su Muyao suddenly swerved into a left passage, where runes glowed pale blue, faint traces of water energy lingering. "This is the escape tunnel the Abyss Guardians and fox clan agreed on long ago."

Ye Ningzhou followed her into a narrow crevice, the Dao Seal warming faintly in his chest, as if recognizing the path. The manual had mentioned "fire and water in harmony"—apparently, it meant more than just the words.

The crevice opened into a vast natural cave, where droplets fell from stalactites with a clear ding-dong. Su Muyao 刚 (had just) caught her breath when she stumbled, the burned fur on her tail splitting to ooze dark red blood.

"You're hurt too badly." Ye steadied her, his fingers brushing skin hot enough to scald. "Let me look at it."

"Don't touch!" Su Muyao yanked her hand back, amber eyes flashing with wariness. "Demonic wounds—humans shouldn't handle them." She bit her lip, pulling a jade vial from her sleeve, tipping three silver pills into her mouth. "Moonlight Pills. They'll suppress the injury for now."

Watching her struggle to stand, Ye remembered how he'd shouldered his dislocated arm after killing Butcher Li in the Gobi. Whether human or demon, in 绝境,everyone hides a stubborn refusal to show weakness.

A thunderous crash echoed from the cave's depths—the self-destruct array activating. Stone chips showered from the ceiling.

"How does it feel, after the Dao Seal fused?" Su Muyao asked suddenly, curiosity softening her tone.

Ye clenched his fist, feeling spiritual energy surge through his meridians. His eight hundred catties of strength had long since 突破 (surpassed) its limit; every movement now held the promise of the Qi-Convergence Realm. He channeled energy into the black iron talisman brush, and its tip glowed cyan. "Like… gaining another arm. I can wield it freely."

Su Muyao smiled. "Not a waste, then, protecting you." Her gaze lingered on his chest, where the Dao Seal's cyan light pulsed faintly. "This seal was always meant to be shared by Abyss Guardians and fox clan. Now it's back where it belongs."

Ye blinked. "Shared?"

"In ancient times, the Dao Seal shattered into three pieces. Humans took one, the fox clan one… and the third vanished." Su Muyao's voice dropped. "Ours was stolen by Marauders a century ago. Grandfather wasted away from grief." She met his eyes, her gaze unreadable. "The piece you hold now—maybe it holds half of what's ours."

The cave shook again, a stalactite crashing to the ground, spraying water.

Ye suddenly understood. For all her hatred of humans, Su Muyao had helped him—perhaps not just to kill alliance men, but to reclaim the half-seal that should have belonged to her kind.

"When we get out, I'll let you see it." He said earnestly.

Su Muyao froze, then turned her face away, a fox tail flicking the ground. "Who cares." But her ears flushed pink.

Footsteps thundered at the cave entrance. Xiao Wanlei's roar penetrate stone: "Witch! Ye Ningzhou! You can't hide! When the realm collapses, we all die!"

Mad laughter laced his words—he'd given up all pretense.

"Go." Su Muyao stood, her tail's burns deeper now. "The tunnel ends at Gobi's Flowing Sand River. It'll carry us a hundred li downstream." She pulled a silver hairpin from her tresses, handing it to Ye. "A Ten-Thousand Demons token. Show it to my kin, and they'll take you to Old Shi."

Ye took the pin; its fox carving resonated faintly with the Dao Seal's chongkwang.

They fled into the tunnel as the cave crumbled behind them, stones crashing like a death knell. Su Muyao's speed slowed, her breathing ragged—her injury could no longer be suppressed.

"Let me help." Ye knelt, gesturing for her to climb on his back.

"No!" Su Muyao started to refuse, but he hauled her up, ignoring her protests. She was light, yet he felt as if he carried a blazing fire, searing from his back to his heart.

"Hold on." He said, striding toward the tunnel's end.

Su Muyao's tails coiled around his waist, a silent acceptance. Ye felt her chin rest on his shoulder, her breath carrying the bitter tang of Moonlight Pills, mingling with the Dao Seal's cyan light in a strange, quiet peace.

Light glowed ahead, the roar of Flowing Sand River growing louder.

"Ye Ningzhou." Su Muyao's voice brushed his ear, soft. "Don't trust Xiao Wanlei's lies. Lord Bloodthirsty is worse than you can imagine."

Ye didn't look back, only grunted. He knew—this fox demon was warning him: the Marauder Alliance ran deeper than Gobi's quicksand.

The moment they burst from the tunnel, the fishy stench of the Flowing Sand River hit them. Su Muyao jumped off his back, staggering back a few steps. Her foxfire suddenly erupted before her, forming a wall of flames: "Cross first! I'll hold them off!"

Xiao Wanlei's figure had already appeared at the tunnel mouth, holding a burning array fragment in his hand: "Let's die together!"

As Ye Ningzhou watched Su Muyao's silhouette swallowed by the fire wall, he suddenly recalled the first time she'd revealed her true form—veiled, with the fox insignia between her brows like a budding flower. He grabbed the raft by the shore, then glanced back at the fire wall.

"I'll wait for you on the other side," he shouted.

Su Muyao didn't reply. Only the crackle of foxfire echoed, sharp against the roar of the collapsing realm.

When Ye pushed the raft into the Flowing Sand River, the Dao Seal glowed faintly in his chest, as if lighting a path for someone.

The river's waters, churning with gravel, battered the raft. When Ye looked back, he saw the tunnel entrance buried completely under falling stones. The red glow of foxfire flickered once amid the dust, then went dark.

"Su Muyao..." he murmured the name, the silver hairpin in his palm digging into his skin. That fox demon had always called humans hypocrites, yet she'd stayed behind in the most selfless way. Perhaps racial prejudice was nothing but a self-deceiving farce.

The Dao Seal warmed slightly. The merged character "衡 (balance)" grew clearer on his chest. He felt a faint connection stretching through the current, toward the collapsed tunnel—as if checking for a living breath.

"Hold on," he said to the water, as much a promise to Su Muyao as a challenge to himself.

The raft drifted downstream, for how long he didn't know. Dawn broke when it finally hit a shallow bank. Ye dragged it ashore, realizing they'd reached the Gobi outskirts of Red Willow Valley. Old Shi's smithy chimney puffed smoke in the distance, a lonely landmark.

He was about to stand when a familiar cough sounded behind him.

"Tough luck, kid," Old Shi said, leaning on an iron crutch under a red willow. His severed left arm was wrapped in fresh cloth. "The Ten-Thousand Demons girl sent word you were in the Flowing Sand River. Knew a mortal bone like yours couldn't drown."

Ye stared at him, suddenly speechless.

"The girl's fine. Her clan fished her out. Burned most of her tails, though—needs time to heal." Old Shi grinned, showing yellowed teeth. "She asked me to tell you: Lord Bloodthirsty's men are in the Eastern Region. Don't go rushing in like a fool."

Ye clutched the silver hairpin. The Dao Seal in his chest trembled, as if releasing a breath.

Old Shi's eyes fixed on his chest, lighting up. "The Dao Seal merged?"

Ye nodded, channeling spiritual energy. Cyan light rippled over his skin, the completed "衡" glowing softly.

"Good lad!" Old Shi clapped his shoulder. "The Abyss Guardian bloodline didn't die with you. Wang Cheng would've banged his pipe till it sparked, if he saw this." He turned toward the smithy. "C'mon. Got something new for you."

Inside, the forge blazed. On the anvil lay a long saber, its blade shimmering pale cyan, etched with finer "Demon-Breaking Glyphs" than Butcher Li's axe.

"Made it from your axe scraps. Mortal-rank high-grade talisman weapon—should last till you hit Qi-Convergence." Old Shi picked up the saber, handing it over. "With the Dao Seal merged, you need real techniques. Can't spend forever bashing knees with Mountain-Crushing Fist."

Ye took the saber. Its hilt fit his palm perfectly. The Dao Seal's cyan light flowed down his arm into the blade, drawing a faint hum.

"Did Xiao Wanlei die in the realm?" he asked.

"Crushed to paste under falling rocks." Old Shi tossed a Spirit Void Stone into the forge. "The Demon-Slaying Alliance's leaderless—can't stir trouble for now. But Lord Bloodthirsty..." He paused. "That bastard once cut off an Abyss Guardian's head. His 'Blood-Drinking Saber' devours spiritual energy. You're no match yet."

Ye ran a finger along the saber's edge. The Dao Seal burned faintly. Lord Bloodthirsty,the Marauder Alliance, those buried pacts... these names were like poisoned nails, driven into his bones.

"I know," he said, his voice calm but unyielding. "But I'll find him."

Old Shi looked at him, then smiled. "Wang Cheng was right. You're more Abyss Guardian than any spirit-vein cultivator. A balancer doesn't need to overpower everyone—just know when to stand, and when to wait."

Ye gripped the saber. Its cyan light tangled with the Dao Seal's glow, weaving an invisible net in the smithy's morning light—a net that caught hatred, duty, and all the unspoken promises.