“This farce ends here,” said the voice of the End of Calamities once more. “If there’s nothing else, leave now. For the sake of the former Infernal Lord, I’ll break the rules of this realm once, just once.”

“One day... even this gate won’t be able to stop me,” Xu Zimo said quietly.

“When you reach my height, we’ll speak as equals,” the voice replied. “Until then, I’ll be waiting, to see your limits.”

As his final words faded, the gray mist dissolved into nothing.

The great gate vanished from sight.

Xu Zimo looked up.

“The dawn has come,” he murmured, “and yet, it’s still dark.”

“Lord,” Paimon and the others approached cautiously.

“I’m fine,” Xu Zimo said, waving them away. “Return to the God World. It’s not yet time for you to show yourselves.”

The Spotted Jade dimmed, and only then did Lan Canyin step out from the building.

Keeping her distance, she asked nervously, “You... you’re alive?”

Xu Zimo turned to her calmly. “Prepare a map.”

“You’re sure you’re fine?” she asked again, still shaken. “All these years, no one’s ever come out of the Night alive.”

“Do I look like someone who’s not fine?” Xu Zimo asked.

“What did you see in that mist?” she pressed.

“Are you sure you want to know?” he asked.

Lan Canyin hesitated. Then, quietly, “I’ll get the map.”

She understood, if he wasn’t telling her, it was for her own good.

There are secrets too dreadful to know.

As she left, Xie Changliu emerged from the shadows.

“Changliu,” Xu Zimo smiled, “looks like you’ll be coming to the Mirage Tides Heaven with me.”

“What happened?” Xie Changliu asked, startled.

“All for a woman,” Xu Zimo said lightly, patting his shoulder with a faint smile.

The Sword God didn’t quite understand but followed him nonetheless.

The suffocating darkness had begun to fade as they stepped out of the courtyard.

But as soon as they did, Xu Zimo sensed something wrong.

A wave of killing intent swept through the air.

Dead leaves drifted across the barren ground, spinning in the cold wind.

One leaf fluttered through the air, and as it passed, it sliced a giant tree cleanly in half.

“Who’s there?!” Xie Changliu shouted. “Stop hiding!”

“It’s a formation,” Xu Zimo warned.

“You should be dead,” a voice echoed from all sides.

A figure stepped out of the fog, a man in a white mask, holding a sword whose tip dragged along the ground.

The earth cracked beneath his steps, and sword intent filled the air.

A sovereign pressure rippled from his body, shattering the space around him.

“Coming to kill us while wearing a mask?” Xu Zimo smirked. “That reminds me of a certain turtle… Xuan... Wu... Xuan... Ming. Oh, Xuan Ming right?”

At the name, the masked man’s killing intent surged violently, almost tangible.

His sword aura roared like a storm, stronger than Xie Changliu’s, not in control but in sheer magnitude.

“What’s your relation to Xuan Ming?” Xu Zimo asked.

The man didn’t answer. Instead, he began to run, his sword dragging until it suddenly slashed upward, the tip gleaming coldly.

Xu Zimo stepped aside, narrowly dodging the blow, then kicked sharply at the man’s sword hand.

Xie Changliu drew his own blade, striking with all his might.

The clash of swords sent a blinding spark through the air, the space around them cracking apart.

But the masked man was stronger.

Changliu staggered back several steps before being kicked away entirely.

The masked man ignored him and turned his icy gaze toward Xu Zimo.

Above them, a great phantom took form, a massive white tortoise entwined with snowflakes.

An Ice Turtle.

The man pointed his sword at it, channeling its power into his blade.

Snowflakes fell as his sword gleamed brighter and brighter.

“Chaotic Frost Across Nine Heavens!” he shouted.

Ice sealed the world as his sword came crashing down.

Xu Zimo’s hands burst into flame, the Nomological Truth of Fire engulfing Shadow Tyrant.

Ice and fire clashed in midair.

The blades crossed, and lightning shot from the masked man’s eyes.

Xu Zimo dodged, but the man’s voice echoed again.

“Snow upon the sky, frost unending, Ten thousand peaks, no path left to tread. At dusk, the world freezes beneath a million swords of snow!”

Endless sword intent, fused with ice, surged through the air.

In an instant, autumn turned to winter, snow blanketed the earth, and the masked man stood alone amidst the falling flakes, his sword dancing in a white storm.

“Snowfall, Heavenly Execution!”

His attack split the heavens, descending upon Xu Zimo like a frozen apocalypse.

There was no space to dodge.

Xu Zimo formed hand seals, summoning the Aye Swastika Seal before him.

Its golden light met the storm head-on.

The explosion tore the air apart, throwing both men back.

The masked man’s mask shattered, revealing a young, almost childish face.

Startled, he raised a sleeve to cover himself.

“Don’t look at me! Don’t look at me!” he shouted in panic.

“So shy about your own skin?” Xu Zimo laughed softly.

The man turned away, waving his hand, the snowy field dissolved, the formation collapsed, and he bolted into the distance.

“What’s this? You think you can come and go as you please?” Xu Zimo narrowed his eyes, swinging his blade in pursuit.