The clearing slowly returned to stillness after the Vermilion Bird vanished.

  The heat faded.

  The spring settled into quiet ripples beneath the moon.

  For several moments, no one spoke.

  Li Wei sat beside the water, studying the faint warmth circulating through his meridians.

  Feng leaned back against a rock, still occasionally flexing his fingers as faint metallic qi flickered around his knuckles.

  Lin Fan remained crouched near the fire, staring suspiciously at the sky as if expecting another celestial beast to drop out of it.

  Only Ru Yan seemed thoughtful.

  She looked down at the spring.

  Her brows slowly furrowed.

  “Something is wrong,” she murmured.

  Li Wei looked up.

  “Wrong?”

  Ru Yan did not answer immediately.

  Her gaze remained fixed on the water.

  “Metal. Wood. Fire.”

  She spoke the elements quietly, almost to herself.

  “Three manifestations in one night – from the same mountain.”

  Even in her previous life, that would have been rare.

  The spring trembled.

  A ripple spread across the water.

  Lin Fan noticed first.

  “…Uh.”

  The ripple deepened.

  The entire surface of the spring began to rotate slowly, like water draining into a vast unseen depth.

  Feng straightened.

  “That doesn’t look good.”

  Ru Yan’s eyes widened.

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  “No…”

  The air suddenly grew cold.

  Not the chill of night.

  The cold of deep water.

  Pressure built in the clearing, pressing down on their shoulders like the weight of the sea.

  Above them, the stars shifted again.

  This time they gathered in the northern sky.

  One by one they ignited across the heavens, forming an ancient celestial pattern.

  Ru Yan’s breath caught.

  “That constellation……”

  She knew it.

  Every cultivator of the ancient sects knew it.

  The Black Tortoise of the North.

  Her voice dropped to a whisper.

  “– Xuan Wu.”

  The spring exploded upward.

  Water surged into the air like a rising pillar.

  Lin Fan screamed.

  “WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?!”

  The mist condensed violently.

  The rising water twisted and folded upon itself until a massive form began to emerge.

  A colossal shell formed from deep blue qi.

  Beneath it, a massive tortoise body rose from the water.

  And coiled around its shell—

  A long serpentine shape formed from dark flowing currents.

  The Black Tortoise.

  Its body seemed carved from the ocean itself.

  Every movement carried immense weight.

  The clearing trembled.

  Ru Yan felt her heart skip.

  Even in her previous life – Even as an empress –

  She had never seen elemental qi manifest at this scale.

  “Impossible.”

  The tortoise turned.

  Slowly.

  Its ancient gaze fell upon her.

  The pressure instantly multiplied. The water in the spring surged toward her feet.

  Ru Yan staggered back.

  For the first time since arriving at the mountain—

  She looked genuinely shaken.

  The tortoise moved.

  The entire spring rose with it.

  A tidal wave of water qi surged forward.

  Feng grabbed Lin Fan by the collar and dragged him back.

  “Move!”

  But Ru Yan could not move.

  The pressure locked her in place.

  The water qi wrapped around her like crashing waves.

  Her entire body lifted slightly off the ground.

  “Hey!” Li Wei shouted.

  But there was nothing he could do.

  The elemental qi was far beyond interference.

  Ru Yan gritted her teeth.

  The water pressed against her meridians like an ocean trying to force itself into a river.

  It was overwhelming.

  Heavy.

  Ancient.

  Her composure shattered.

  “Alright, enough!” she snapped at the sky. “I get it!”

  The tortoise did not respond.

  It simply collapsed.

  Its entire body dissolved into a roaring flood of blue qi.

  The wave crashed directly into her.

  For a moment—

  The clearing filled with blinding blue light.

  Then silence fell.

  The spring collapsed back into itself.

  The water settled.

  The northern stars dimmed.

  Ru Yan dropped back onto the ground.

  Dripping wet.

  Breathing hard.

  Lin Fan peeked from behind Feng.

  “Are you dead?”

  Ru Yan slowly pushed wet hair away from her face.

  “No.”

  Her voice carried a mix of disbelief and irritation.

  Feng tilted his head.

  “So – you good?”

  Ru Yan stared at the spring.

  Then she looked at her hand.

  A faint ribbon of water qi curled lazily around her fingers.

  Her expression slowly changed.

  From shock. To realization.

  Then to quiet satisfaction.

  “Well.”

  She exhaled.

  “That explains a few things.”

  Li Wei folded his arms.

  “You’re taking this surprisingly well.”

  Ru Yan stood up slowly.

  She brushed the water from her sleeves.

  “I was just forcibly claimed by a mythological embodiment of primordial water qi.”

  She glanced at the sky.

  Then at the spring. Then at the group.

  “Give me a moment to process.”

  Lin Fan raised a hand timidly.

  “Does the mountain have any more animals left?”

  Feng rubbed his temples.

  “I sincerely hope not.”

  Behind them, Zhi Yuan remained beside the fire.

  Watching everything silently.

  Four elements had manifested.

  Four companions had been chosen.