Chapter 8: The Thing That Shouldn't Wake The prison seal shattered. Ancient chains snapped like brittle twine. Dust fell like ash as the mountain groaned. The chamber rumbled violently — as if reality itself resisted what was about to emerge. From the cracked doorway, a skeletal hand wreathed in black lightning reached out. Then came the voice again — hollow, ancient, and echoing from every direction at once: “You opened the path. Now I walk it once more.” Xuan Long stepped in front of Mei Lin, summoning his spear. The weapon pulsed with his twin flames — Devourer black and Celestial gold — but even that light flickered in the presence of what now stood before them. A figure emerged from the prison. Nine feet tall. Skinless, like it had been burned away by time. Its eyes were twin vortexes, and its body was wrapped in living sigils that constantly shifted across its flesh. Chains dragged behind it, some still glowing faintly with failed sealing talismans. “What… is that?” Me

Chapter 2: The Demon and the Devourer The serpent demon was a nightmare forged from shadows and bones. Its body was scaled with jagged obsidian plates, each larger than a man’s shield. Twin fangs dripped black venom that melted stone. Its eyes—void black with flickers of red lightning—locked onto Xuan Long with primal hunger. It hadn’t eaten a human in centuries. But this human… radiated something ancient. “So,” the War Immortal's voice echoed in Xuan Long’s mind, “you want to live? Then kill.” The serpent lunged. Xuan Long barely twisted aside as its maw snapped shut inches from his face, shattering boulders with a single bite. Dust exploded. He rolled backward, summoning the qi he had absorbed during his time in the Abyss. It surged through his veins like molten lightning. His arms glowed faintly, etched with the ghos