Myth Beyond Heaven

The corrupted dark blade shimmered. Black veins pulsed across its surface, its emerald core emitting an otherworldly glow.

Suddenly, the air around Yun Lintian crackled with raw power. The wind picked up, swirling around him in a chaotic dance. The dust particles in the air began to clump together, forming a dark green and obsidian black mist that mirrored the energy of the fused laws within the sword.

"HAH!!"

With a battle cry that echoed through the crumbling cavern, Yun Lintian swung the corrupted blade. A wave of dark energy, imbued with the spark of life from the Dragon God's Soul, surged forward, colliding with Dian Lei's lightning bolt head-on.

BOOOM—

The clash shook the very foundations of the collapsing structure. A blinding flash filled the cavern, followed by a deafening boom that seemed to split the earth itself.

The resulting shockwave tore through the remaining debris, sending a shower of rubble raining down upon them. When the dust settled, the cavern floor was a cratered landscape, the point of impact marked by a smoldering pit.

Yun Lintian, drained of all energy, slumped to his knees, his vision fading to black. The corrupted Heaven Piercing Sword lay abandoned beside him, its emerald glow extinguished.

He had used every ounce of his strength, every sliver of power at his disposal. His body, battered and broken, screamed in protest. But as the darkness claimed him, a flicker of victory played on his lips.

"This should be the end…" He had survived. He had faced a True God head-on and managed to defeat him.

However, just as unconsciousness threatened to claim him entirely, a figure emerged from the dust cloud swirling around the impact crater.

Dian Lei!

He looked worse for wear. His once proud form was hunched, his steps faltering. His arm, burned by the combined fury of life and death, hung limply at his side. His eyes, however, still burned with a potent mix of rage and disbelief.

Thud… Thud… Thud…

Dian Lei limped towards Yun Lintian, his hand crackling with leftover lightning energy. In his weakened state, the True God was barely a threat, yet a shiver ran down Yun Lintian's spine.

But Dian Lei, instead of delivering the final blow, stopped mere inches away from the fallen cultivator. He stared down at him, his chest heaving with exertion.

"You… you have no idea what you have just done!" he rasped, his voice laced with bitter frustration. "Such forbidden techniques… they come at a terrible cost."

He paused, his eyes flicking towards the dark green and obsidian black mist lingering above the impact crater. The strange energy pulsed faintly, a testament to the destructive power Yun Lintian had unleashed.

"You've unleashed something you can't control," Dian Lei continued, his voice barely a whisper. "The consequences of wielding such power will be dire. You've… opened a door that shouldn't have been opened…"

Yun Lintian, consumed by the darkness, couldn't comprehend his words. But a seed of unease was planted within him, a nagging premonition that his victory might come at a terrible cost.

"Shit! I wished I could kill you here," Dian Lei, with a final glare at the unconscious young man, turned and hobbled away. The cavern walls groaned ominously, signaling the final collapse of the structure.

Just as the ceiling caved in, bathing the scene in a cloud of dust and debris, a strange fluctuation tore through the collapsing cavern.

The fluctuation wasn't a physical tremor, but a ripple in the very fabric of reality. It pulsed with a chilling dissonance, a counterpoint to the raw chaos of the collapsing cavern.

It originated from the point of impact between Yun Lintian's corrupted blade and Dian Lei's lightning bolt – the smoldering pit now shrouded in an unnatural mist.

For a fleeting instant, time seemed to stutter. The dust hung suspended in mid-air, the groan of collapsing rock silenced. Even Dian Lei, his back turned as he stumbled away, froze mid-

stride.

Then, with a deafening crack, the fluctuation tore open a rift in the air. It wasn't a clean tear, but a jagged wound, its edges shimmering with an unstable, flickering energy. Through the rift, a glimpse of something alien peeked through.

A swirling vortex of pure, unadulterated chaos. Within its depths, tendrils of emerald green and obsidian black, reminiscent of the fused Laws within Yun Lintian's weapon, twisted and writhed.

However, alongside them, other colors swirled – a sickly yellow, a searing crimson, a void-like purple. Each color pulsed with a malevolent energy that sent shivers down the spine of any living being who sensed it.

The sudden arrival of the rift shocked Dian Lei back into action. He whirled around, his remaining strength momentarily revitalized by the sheer terror that emanated from the portal.

"Did you see that!? We are going to die!" he roared at the unconscious Yun Lintian, his voice echoing in the deathly silence that had descended upon the cavern.

Dian Lei knew forbidden techniques. He knew of the potential consequences of meddling with the natural order. But the raw, chaotic energy pouring from the rift was beyond anything he had ever encountered. It was a primal force, a glimpse into the abyss that lurked beyond the boundaries of their world.

The rift, however, didn't remain passive. A tendril of emerald green energy, thick and pulsating, shot out towards Dian Lei. He reacted instinctively, raising a trembling hand, his weakened True God aura flickering around him in a desperate defense.

"Arghhh!!"

There was a sickening sizzle, a flash of emerald light, and then Dian Lei screamed. The green energy burned into him, leaving behind a smoking, festering wound on his arm. The True God's aura sputtered and died, leaving him vulnerable and exposed.

The scream seemed to break the spell of paralysis. The cavern walls groaned once more, this time with an urgency that couldn't be ignored. The ceiling was on the verge of complete collapse.

Dian Lei, ignoring the burning agony in his arm, glared at Yun Lintian. Hatred and fear warred within him. This young man had just opened a door to a nightmare, and Dian Lei, weakened and alone, was left to face the consequences.

But there was no time for vengeance. The cavern was collapsing, and the rift pulsed with a growing urgency.

"Damn it!" With a snarl of defiance, Dian Lei turned away from Yun Lintian. He couldn't contain the rift, but perhaps, just perhaps, he could delay it, buy some time for someone, anyone, to deal with the monstrosity it threatened to unleash.

Crackle—

With a surge of his remaining strength, Dian Lei channeled all his power towards the rift. A blinding white light erupted, engulfing the portal and momentarily pushing back the chaotic tendrils.

BANG!!