I alone am the Honoured One!

Lying on the bed, her arms folded beneath her head, Yan Zijin stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

She turned her head toward Zhao Tian, who stood near the window, one hand resting on the sill as he gazed into the sky.

"Do you think they can actually do it?" she asked softly. "Transferring a soul into another body?"

Zhao Tian's gaze squinted slightly "I am not sure... something like that."

Yan Zijin sat up slightly, folding her legs under her and watching him. "But if the Rui Clan still knows how… and they succeed…"

Just then, the silence was broken by three firm knocks at the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Esteemed guests, the Clan Leader has requested an audience with you."

Yan Zijin exhaled and pulled herself fully upright, brushing her hair behind her ear as she moved toward her outer robes.

"Hm?" she murmured softly, half to herself, "Looks like they're done being subtle."

Zhao Tian, still near the window, raised his arms and stretched lazily, the joints in his shoulders and spine popping faintly.

"Come on," Turning toward her, he extended his hand.

Without hesitation, she stepped forward and placed her hand in his.

They approached the door and gently opened the door.

Outside a middle-aged man in dark gray robes was standing, one of the Rui Clan's stewards with his head was bowed in proper etiquette.

"The Clan Head, Lord Rui Guzhi, awaits you in the Hall of Ancestry,"

"Now?" Zhao Tian asked with a frown.

"Yes, my Lord. He wishes to speak with you personally… and Lady Yan Zijin as well."

She gave a soft hum. "Lead the way."

They followed the steward through the estate's winding corridors.

As they neared the end of the corridor, they noticed a pair of guards posted outside a heavy bronze door.

The steward bowed once more. "I leave you here. The Clan Head awaits within."

Zhao Tian stepped forward, pushing the door open and entered the Hall of Ancestry.

And at the far end Rui Guzhi was sitting atop a low couch set for him.

He looked up as they entered, "Lady Yan Zijin and young man. Thank you for accepting my humble invitation."

Yan Zijin's lips curled slightly. "Hard to decline, considering the tone."

She stepped forward gracefully and took a seat across the man "Let's not waste time, Clan Head Rui. You didn't summon us just for tea."

As she patted the space beside him, Zhao Tian took his seat.

Rui Guzhi's gaze flickered over to Zhao Tian 'Her disciple? I know she is powerful... but this young man, he is already in the Immortal Ascension Stage?'

A flicker passed over Rui Guzhi's face... was it irritation? Amusement?

"Indeed," he said slowly. "I simply wished… to speak with those who hold my niece's future in such high regard."

Zhao Tian looked at the Clan Head, and for a brief moment, silence reigned between the three of them.

With a nod, Yan Zijin spoke "Rui Lian is my disciple and one of the core disciples of Jade Eclipse Sect, we all adore her."

"I came here, as any master would, to visit a disciple. A girl we raised and cherished. And the first thing I hear... is that she's to be sacrificed in some kind of ancestral ritual."

Rui Guzhi's expression flickered and his expression faltered slightly as he responded "Before she became your disciple…"

"She was Rui Lian. A child of our blood. A direct descendant of the Matriarch's line. And as such, her fate is tied to the legacy of this clan."

He looked up again, "This 'sacrifice,' as you call it, is not cruelty. It is duty."

"A responsibility passed down to the chosen daughter of each generation... should the seal below the estate begin to weaken."

Zhao Tian's eyes narrowed slightly "Seal?"

Rui Guzhi hesitated for a moment before replying "I don't want to be hostile towards you. So I am saying this... since you are her Master too, Lady Yan Zijin."

"There is something buried beneath in this star. A force older than the clan itself. Something even our ancestors could not destroy... only contain."

He stood slowly, his hands folding behind his back as he began to pace slowly before the brazier.

"Centuries ago, our Matriarch, Rui Yuying, used her life essence and soul to weave a divine seal, binding the creature beneath in a prison of light and flame. But such a seal… does not last forever."

He stopped pacing and looked at them and his gaze grew heavier "Every few generations, the seal requires renewal. Not through talismans or formations… but through the rebirth of the Matriarch herself."

"Her body will serve as the vessel, and her soul… will guide our future."

Zhao Tian's face turned grim.

Yan Zijin's gaze trembled "So you're saying you'll erase her. Her thoughts, her dreams, everything she is."

Rui Guzhi didn't flinch "She will become salvation,"

"She will be remembered forever as the one who saved the Rui Clan from destruction. That is a greater legacy than any fleeting life she could live as a wandering cultivator."

Hearing this, Yan Zijin clenched her fist "And did you ask her? Did you ask if she wanted to be a sacrifice?"

"Or did you hide behind traditions and call it duty so you wouldn't have to see the fear in her eyes?"

The clan head's brow tightened slightly "She was raised to understand her place. We did not tell her early on, because we wished for her to live happily until the day came."

"And now since the day is here, we are preparing her for her sacrifice."

Yan Zijin hissed in anger "That's not preparation. That's indoctrination."

Rui Guzhi's expression darkened. "Be careful, Lady Yan. You tread close to insulting our ancestors and our path. This is not an outsider's concern."

Yan Zijin's eyes blazed "Then why invite us here at all? Why hesitate if your cause is so righteous?"

Rui Guzhi exhaled, folding his arms behind his back "Because she has grown and she has changed."

"She is not a mere child anymore. She is a cultivator of power, shaped not only by us, but by you… by the Jade Eclipse Sect."

"So I called you here to ask, not as enemies, but as cultivators who understand sacrifice and duty to stand aside."

"Let her do what she was born to do. Let her bring salvation to this clan, and prevent the darkness below from awakening."

"Interfere… and you will force the Rui Clan to act. Against you. Against your sect. And against her."

As he spoke, he bowed his head slightly.

Yan Zijin's gaze trembled in loss of words, meanwhile Zhao Tian's thoughts were spiraling.

'Hm? Something is sealed in this star? Another Eldritchfiend?'

He remembered Rui Lian came back to his star to find some 'treasure' and, in the end, she found some Eldritchfiends that were sealed on Earth, and later she destroyed them.

(A/n: Recheck chapter 256 for that)

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I hope you guys liked this chapter!

Sorry for not uploading, just caught up with some irl stuff