The morning mist still hung low among the old trees as Gu Tian Li stood at the edge of a small cliff, gazing at the forest that had just witnessed the chaos of the night. The soft light of the rising sun slowly pierced through the leaves, but his heart remained shrouded in darkness and unanswered questions.
His Soul Sword, now a jet black with glowing red veins, trembled slightly in his grasp, as if absorbing the pulse of time itself. Gu Tian Li could still feel the faint warmth of the 'Time Rift' symbol on his neck, pulsing softly like the breath of a living creature.
"I have to leave this place," he murmured softly.
But where to?
His choices were clear: the Sunken Temple, or the Forgotten Temple of Time on Mount Ming Chen. Two places with dark pasts and the potential for death. But one thing was certain: the answer to the mark on his neck, the memories that weren't his, and the figure of Shen Mu were all connected to the Temple of Time.
Before he could take a step, footsteps sounded from behind the bushes. Gu Tian Li immediately took a defensive stance, his left hand gripping the Soul Sword tightly.
Someone emerged from the mist: a teenage girl with shoulder-length short hair, wearing a golden yellow robe with a sect emblem shaped like a leaf. Her eyes were large and full of curiosity.
"Eh? You... you're not from around here, are you?" she asked innocently.
Gu Tian Li paused. The girl's aura was pure, but also contained strength. This was no ordinary girl.
"I'm just passing through," he replied briefly.
The girl approached fearlessly. "My name is Lian Shu, a disciple of the Eternal Leaf Sect. We're looking for strange energy fluctuations that appeared last night. My teacher said it could be a sign of a falling celestial object."
Gu Tian Li cursed inwardly. So his energy last night was detected?
"I don't know about any celestial objects," he said, trying to avoid the topic.
Lian Shu noticed the black sword in his hand, then looked at Gu Tian Li sharply. "That sword... it's not an ordinary sword, is it?"
Gu Tian Li didn't answer.
Suddenly, the ground trembled. Birds flew from the trees, and a loud thud echoed from the north. Lian Shu immediately turned in that direction.
"That's from the direction of the Sunken Temple!" she exclaimed. "I have to go there!"
Gu Tian Li was surprised. He had also considered that place. Was this a sign that his path should begin there?
Lian Shu ran towards the source of the sound. Gu Tian Li hesitated for a moment, then chased after her. Perhaps fate was guiding him.
....
The journey to the Sunken Temple took half a week. Along the way, Lian Shu chattered incessantly, asking Gu Tian Li various questions, most of which he didn't answer. But he secretly observed the girl. Her movements were agile, her steps light, and her fighting instincts were sharp, despite her cheerful and careless appearance.
When they reached the valley where the Sunken Temple was located, a damp atmosphere enveloped them. Thick mist hung in the air, as if refusing sunlight to enter. The temple ruins were almost swallowed by swamps and vines.
But what was most striking... was the sound of crying.
The sound came from inside the temple, faint, calling, piercing the soul. Lian Shu immediately stopped walking.
"Something... something's not right," she whispered.
Gu Tian Li felt the same. The cold aura and spiritual pressure from inside the temple were unusual. Even his Soul Sword reacted, its red veins glowing brightly, as if warning of something.
They entered the temple slowly. The old walls were full of ancient carvings, but most were cracked and covered in moss. In the center of the main hall, there was a magic circle that appeared to be still active, and inside it, a small child sat hugging his knees, crying.
But that wasn't what made Gu Tian Li shudder.
The child was himself, his younger self.
"What... is this?" he murmured.
Lian Shu was also shocked. "That's... you?"
Unconsciously, Gu Tian Li stepped closer, but the boy's shadow suddenly turned. His eyes were empty, and his crying turned into a terrifying laugh.
"You wanted to escape fate... now you come looking for it?" the boy's voice echoed, shifting between a child's tone and a terrifying adult voice.
Lian Shu drew her sword. "That's not a normal human!"
Suddenly, the shadow exploded into black mist, and from within emerged a tall figure in a dark robe with a hooded face. In his hand, he held a staff full of time carvings, chains, and rift symbols.
"Welcome... 14th Successor," he said.
Gu Tian Li took a step back, his body immediately filled with immense spiritual pressure. The symbol on his neck glowed brightly.
"I am the guardian of the Sunken Temple... and the tester of loyalty to time. My name is Chen Hao Zu."
Chen Hao walked slowly towards them both. However,
Without warning, the creature attacked. His staff created a wave of time that stopped and repeated the events around them. Gu Tian Li was almost hit by the attack and could barely lift his sword.
But at that moment, his Soul Sword glowed, piercing the time barrier, slashing through the stagnant energy. Gu Tian Li drew his sword and immediately attacked. The two collided, creating an energy explosion that destroyed half of the temple hall.
Gu Tian Li used sound transmission to Liang Shu to distract the creature, so he could unleash the 'Memory Devouring' technique, a first-level technique from his Soul Sword.
Hearing this, Lian Shu immediately joined the fight, trying to distract the creature with wind element techniques. But their enemy was too strong. Gu Tian Li began to be overwhelmed, even though he had launched attacks from his Soul Sword.
In desperation, the 'Time Rift' mark on his neck shone brightly, and suddenly he saw a flash of the future: himself, lying with a sword pierced through his chest... and Lian Shu covered in blood, smiling while crying.
"No!" he shouted.
Gu Tian Li gathered the remaining strength in his body, combining the Soul Sword with the 'Time Rift' mark. His sword transformed, layered with time light, flowing like an endless river.
Gu Tian Li raised his hand holding the Soul Sword. "Soul Sword Stage 2 - Space-Time Destroyer."
With one slash, he cut through the space around the temple guardian, splitting his body without blood, only time stopped flowing.
The figure looked at Gu Tian Li one last time. "You have opened the way... but that way is not necessarily yours."
He then disappeared into time dust.
The Sunken Temple partially collapsed. Gu Tian Li fell to his knees, panting. Lian Shu approached him, her face worried.
"What just happened?" she asked.
Gu Tian Li just shook his head. "I don't know... but this is just the beginning."
The temple's tremors intensified, dust began to scatter everywhere, and they both panicked and hurried. The temple began to collapse, and they ran out with their last remaining strength.
They managed to get out, still gasping for breath.
The sky began to redden as they emerged from the ruins of the Sunken Temple. The setting sun shone on their faces, which were covered in dust, wounds, and exhaustion. Gu Tian Li's breath was still heavy, his body almost collapsed, but his eyes remained sharp, full of hardened determination.
Lian Shu sat leaning against a large rock, trying to calm her racing heart. "I... I thought we were going to die in there..." she said softly, almost like a whisper to herself.
Gu Tian Li didn't answer. He looked back at the temple ruins, where the time waves that had been turbulent had now completely subsided. But one thing was certain: the encounter with the temple guardian was not the end, but the beginning of a longer, darker path.
Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet trembled slightly. Unlike before, this was not an earthquake or destruction, but more like a pulse... the earth's restrained breath. Gu Tian Li turned to the right and saw a small hole in the ground open slowly, like the time rift itself guiding him towards something.
"Lian Shu," he said in a low voice. "There's something there."
The girl immediately stood up and approached, even though her body was still trembling. From the hole emerged a blue glow, reflecting like rippling water, and inside it appeared an elongated crystal, floating untouched.
Gu Tian Li carefully reached for it.
As soon as his hand touched the crystal, his mind was dragged into a vortex of memories, but not his own. He saw fragments of an unknown past: wars between ancient clans, time-robed figures, and a giant altar with an inverted hourglass, standing in the middle of a sea of darkness.
A soft voice was heard, like a song from the past:
"What is erased is not always lost... What is forgotten, still awaits a call..."
Gu Tian Li fell to his knees, his breath ragged. His eyes widened. "That's... that's the altar of time..."
Lian Shu raised an eyebrow. "The altar of time?"
"The place where it all began. The place Shen Mu mentioned in my vision... the place that can answer everything."
Lian Shu looked at him deeply. "Are you sure you want to continue this? After what happened here... you might not be able to return."
Gu Tian Li gripped the crystal tightly. "I have no other choice. If I don't move forward, the past will keep pulling me back."
He stood up slowly, then turned towards the forest.
"We're going to Mount Ming Chen. The Forgotten Temple of Time."
Lian Shu hesitated. But after seeing the seriousness in Gu Tian Li's eyes, she finally smiled faintly.
"Alright, dark lord. But this time, try to answer one or two of my questions, okay? I'm tired of talking to myself."
Gu Tian Li sighed, but his lips curled slightly. "We'll see."
And as the sun completely set below the horizon, the two figures stepped towards the east, leaving behind the ruins of a revived past and heading towards a time to come, where every step could erase or rewrite their destiny.
But behind a tree, deep in the shadows, a pair of eyes watched. A white-robed figure with a face covering stared intensely at their backs. In his hand, there was an ancient scroll glowing softly, inscribed with one sentence:
"If the Successor rises, then the Guardian Must Open His Eyes."
He turned and disappeared, taking with him the whispers of an unfinished fate.