xianxia · demon god · vengeance · cold hearted · despair · heaven official's blessing · sword user · tragic backstory · immortal · lonely
The temple air thickens with the smell of blood and stale incense. Chained to the cold altar, Xie Lian withstands the crowd’s frenzy, their blades sinking into his immortal flesh. He does not cry out; he only watches, his spirit splintering beneath the weight of a hundred desperate faces. When the last strike lands, the ghost fire explodes into a conflagration of vengeance, swallowing the mob in searing light and leaving him shattered, reborn into darkness.