Sovereign of the Nine Heavens

CHAPTER 3 — THE MOUNTAIN TREMBLES

For the first time in fifty years, the Sky Burial Sect activated its ancient war formation.

Crimson light erupted across the mountain peaks like rivers of blood spreading through the heavens. One after another, ancient runes carved deep into the cliffs awakened from their slumber, flooding the night with violent spiritual pressure that rolled across the sect like an endless storm.

The entire mountain trembled beneath the awakening power.

Alarm bells roared without pause, their thunderous cries echoing through every valley and courtyard. Disciples rushed from their residences in confusion and panic while elders streaked across the skies atop flying swords, their figures cutting through the snowstorm like blazing comets.

Protective barriers rose around the borders of the sect, sealing the entire mountain beneath a massive dome of crimson spiritual light. Fear spread faster than wildfire. Something terrifying had awakened inside the Sky Burial Sect, and everyone felt it.

Inside his broken shack near the outer disciple district, John Carter stood frozen as the wooden walls rattled violently around him. His heartbeat slammed painfully against his ribs while cold sweat gathered along his neck. Outside, frightened voices echoed through the storm.

“What happened?!”

“Is it an enemy attack?”

“No… this pressure is coming from inside the sect!” John swallowed hard. Black blood still stained the floor around him. The cracked jade pendant rested silently in his trembling palm, colder than ice itself. Yet despite its stillness, something about it felt deeply wrong. The silence inside the pendant no longer felt empty. It felt alive, watching, waiting, hungry.

Another violent tremor shook the mountain hard enough to knock dust from the ceiling. John stumbled backward and caught himself against the wall while his breathing turned uneven. His body felt different, not stronger, not yet, but sharper.

It felt as though invisible chains buried deep inside him had suddenly shattered apart. He could sense things now that had once been completely beyond him. Spiritual energy drifting through the air felt tangible against his skin. He could sense the cold aura sleeping beneath the mountain itself, along with the faint life force flowing through nearby disciples.

The overwhelming flood of sensations hit him all at once.

John grabbed his head and cursed under his breath. “What is happening to me…?”

A calm female voice echoed through his mind. “You survived.”

John’s blood instantly turned cold. It was the same woman from the void. He spun around violently and searched the darkness of the shack. “Show yourself.”

For a moment, no answer came. Only the sound of distant bells and falling snow filled the silence. Then the woman spoke again, her tone dry with amusement. “You are speaking aloud. How embarrassing.”

John’s jaw tightened immediately. “You’re inside my head?”

“For now.” The irritation in her voice sounded strangely human despite everything else about her.

John lowered his voice at once. “What did you do to me?”

“I saved your miserable life.”

“By turning me into… whatever this is?”

“You should sound more grateful.” John ignored the remark and clenched his fists tightly.

The instant he did, dark spiritual energy surged beneath his skin. His breath caught sharply in his throat. He could feel the Eternal Void Scripture moving through his meridians like a living creature slithering beneath flesh and bone. It did not feel like a cultivation technique. It felt conscious and alive. Something ancient and sleeping had buried itself inside him, and now it was slowly awakening.

The realization terrified him. Outside, the alarm bells abruptly stopped ringing. An unnatural silence swallowed the mountain. Then a thunderous voice echoed across the entire sect. “All disciples are to remain within their designated districts until further notice.”

John stiffened instantly. Sect Master Varyn Even from this distance, the pressure in the man’s voice felt suffocating enough to crush lungs and shatter bones.

“The elders are investigating a forbidden disturbance. Anyone caught wandering restricted zones will be executed immediately.”

The voice faded slowly into silence. Almost immediately afterward, frightened murmurs spread throughout the outer court. John moved cautiously toward the broken window of his shack. The Sky Burial Sect looked terrifying beneath the crimson barrier overhead. Snow continued to fall across the dark mountain paths while frightened disciples gathered in uneasy groups below. Far above them, several inner court elders streaked across the sky toward the northern cliffs, toward the forbidden burial grounds.

John’s chest tightened painfully. Was the disturbance caused by him?

No.

That was impossible. Yet deep down, he already knew the answer. “Yes,” the woman said quietly inside his mind.

John stiffened. “You can hear my thoughts?”

“When they are this loud, yes.” Annoyance flashed across his face.

“You still haven’t told me who you are.”

“And you are still far too weak to deserve answers.”

John almost snapped back angrily, but sudden pain exploded through his chest before he could speak. He doubled over instantly as dark veins spread briefly across his hands before fading away again. The woman remained calm. “The scripture is adapting to your body.”

John gritted his teeth. “It feels like I’m dying.”

“You nearly did.” Breathing heavily, John leaned against the wall for support.

“What exactly is the Eternal Void Scripture?” For several moments, the woman remained silent. Then she finally answered. “It is a cultivation art erased from history.” Her voice turned colder. “Because it possessed the power to devour the laws of heaven themselves.”

John’s stomach twisted uneasily. “That’s impossible.”

“Most forbidden things are.” Before he could ask another question, hurried footsteps approached outside the shack. Fast John’s eyes narrowed. Someone was coming. A second later, the door burst open without warning. Two outer disciples stepped inside.

John recognized them immediately: Riven Holt, Markus Vale, and Kael Drake’s followers.

Riven looked around the shack with open disgust. “This place still smells like a grave.”

Markus laughed cruelly. “Maybe the cripple finally died.”

John remained silent. Then, both disciples noticed the blood covering the floorboards. Their expressions changed immediately.

Riven frowned. “What happened here?”

John’s thoughts raced. There was too much blood, too many signs. If the elders discovered this, “I coughed blood again,” John answered flatly.

Markus stared suspiciously at the floor. “That much?”

John met his gaze coldly. “You want to inspect it closer?”

The two disciples exchanged uncertain glances. Then something strange happened. John suddenly sensed the spiritual energy flowing inside their bodies. He could actually feel it. Warm currents of power flowed through their meridians like streams of glowing light. His throat tightened, and for one horrifying moment, he wanted it.

The hunger struck him so violently that he nearly staggered backward. What was wrong with him? The woman’s voice echoed softly.

“The scripture consumes spiritual essence instinctively.”

John’s pulse quickened. Consume? “No,” he thought immediately, but the hunger only intensified.

Riven stepped closer, suspicion growing in his eyes. “You look different.”

John forced himself to stay calm. “Get out,” Markus smirked mockingly. “Or what?”

The pressure inside John’s body suddenly became unbearable. Darkness stirred beneath his skin like a starving beast clawing to escape Hungry Hungry. Hungry.

“Leave,” John repeated. This time, something in his voice caused both disciples to hesitate. For the briefest moment, fear crossed Riven’s face. Then pride crushed it. He scoffed loudly.

“You think trash like you suddenly matters just because the sect’s in chaos?” Riven shoved him hard against the wall. Pain exploded through John’s ribs, and instinct took over. The instant Riven touched him, something inside John awakened violently. Black energy surged through his meridians.

Riven suddenly froze. His eyes widened in pure horror. “What the?!”

A stream of pale spiritual energy erupted from Riven’s arm and flowed directly into John’s body. John gasped sharply. Warmth exploded through him. Strength Pure, intoxicating strength. The hunger inside him devoured the energy greedily.

Riven screamed.

Markus stumbled backward in terror.

“Riven?!”

John released him immediately. The connection shattered violently. Riven collapsed onto the floor, coughing blood while his face turned deathly pale.

John stared at his own trembling hands in horror. “What did I just do…?”

The woman answered calmly. “You fed.” Fear crashed into John harder than any beating he had ever suffered.

Riven crawled backward desperately across the floor.

“M-monster…”

John stepped away immediately. “I didn’t mean to.”

“You touched my spiritual core!” Riven screamed hysterically. Markus grabbed his injured companion without hesitation.

The two disciples fled the shack in complete panic, slamming the door behind them hard enough to shake the walls.

John stood frozen in place. His breathing became ragged. Inside his body, the scripture pulsed with satisfaction. The stolen spiritual energy spread warmly through his damaged meridians, repairing fractures that had tormented him for years. The sensation felt good, far too good, and that terrified him more than anything else.

“You already fear yourself,” the woman observed quietly.

“I hurt him.”

“You barely tasted him.” John’s stomach twisted violently.

“Tasted?” The woman’s voice remained utterly emotionless.

“The Eternal Void Scripture devours spiritual energy, bloodlines, Dao fragments, and souls if necessary.”

John stared down at the cracked pendant in disbelief. “That isn’t cultivation.”

“No,” she replied softly.

“It is evolution.” A violent knock suddenly echoed somewhere outside the outer district. Then another panicked voice spread nearby.

John quickly moved back toward the window. Several elders had arrived in the outer court. At their center stood Elder Morvane. His cold gaze swept across the disciple residences while suffocating spiritual pressure crushed the surrounding area beneath invisible weight. “They’re searching for something,” John whispered.

“For someone,” the woman corrected Morvane. Suddenly, he stopped walking. Slowly, his head turned toward John’s shack.

John’s pulse spiked violently. For several long seconds, the elder simply stared in his direction. Then A disciple came running through the snow toward the gathered elders. The young man looked pale with terror.

“E-Elder Morvane!” The elder frowned.

“What is it?” The disciple nearly collapsed trying to catch his breath. “We found Elder Han’s body…”

Every nearby disciple immediately fell silent. Morvane’s expression darkened dangerously.

“Where?”

“In the northern burial grounds.”

“And?” The disciple swallowed hard. “He was completely drained.”

A heavy silence settled over the mountain. Even the wind itself seemed to stop moving. Morvane’s eyes narrowed. “Drained?”

The disciple nodded shakily, “Every trace of spiritual energy was gone. His meridians… his core… everything.”

Whispers spread rapidly among the surrounding disciples. Fear appeared on countless faces. Then someone muttered the words nobody wanted to hear. “A devil art…”

Another disciple immediately paled. “No… that technique was destroyed centuries ago…”

Morvane’s expression became colder than death itself. “Seal the mountain completely,” he ordered.

“No one leaves the sect.” John slowly stepped away from the window. His heartbeat thundered violently in his chest. A dead elder was drained completely. The same thing had nearly happened to Riven Inside him, the scripture stirred once more, hungry.

John clenched his fists hard enough for blood to drip from his palms.m“No,” he whispered fiercely.

He would not become a monster that fed on people. He refused. Yet somewhere deep inside him, the hunger laughed. Hours later, the mountain finally grew quieter. Snow continued falling outside while distant patrols searched the outer districts beneath the crimson barrier overhead.

John sat beside a bucket of water, exhaustion crushing his body. His reflection stared back from the dark surface. He still looked thin, still bruised, still broken. Yet something had changed. Slowly, John leaned closer toward the water. Then he froze. His eyes were no longer normal. Faint gold-black light glowed beneath his pupils, the same color he had seen inside the void. Fear crawled slowly through his chest.

“What am I becoming…?” The reflection suddenly smiled.

John had not moved.