Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

Han Xuhan pocketed the purple medallion after scanning his surroundings and seeing no threats nearby. He was standing at the periphery of a massive, ring-shaped island. Ahead of him lay a row of small buildings, each of them identical with one floor and a dome on top.

Just like his previous visits to the Stardust Sect, the outer ring of the island was completely devoid of human activity. Han Xuhan faced no obstacles as he climbed over the nearest building and stood on its roof to get a good look at the inner rings of the island.

The moment his gaze fell on the inner rings, Han Xuhan experienced an uncanny sensation, almost like a deja vu. What he saw there was quite familiar.

Hundreds of disciples were gathered in the middle ring of the island. Multiple crowds had formed among them, and they all appeared to be absorbed in furious debates. In a few places, some even looked ready to scuffle, barely held back by others from pulling out their weapons.

Back when he had landed on the Stardust Sect for the first time, this same scene had greeted his sight. Han Xuhan spent a moment trying to compare both scenes. He found some differences, fortunately. It was a great relief being able to ascertain that he hadn’t somehow been transported back in time.

Perhaps the Stardust Sect simply had a tradition of meeting up on the second ring and engaging in less-than-peaceful discussions.

He spent a while trying to understand what they were doing. From his previous visits and Feng Jun's explanation, he knew that Stardust Sect was experiencing a factional dispute. The sect had five factions– Dragon, Phoenix, Tiger, Turtle, and Infinity. The first four were mismatched in terms of power, but consistent in structure, while the Infinity faction was a small gathering of special disciples. Why these disciples were special, he didn't know. Feng Jun had not answered that question.

The Phoenix faction was holding the seat of power and controlling the management of resources in the sect for over a decade now, and this had given rise to a loose union between the other three main factions. While in the surface it seemed like they were trying to dethrone the Phoenix faction for the sake of fairness and balance, Feng Jun had told Han Xuhan that they were actually trying to obliterate the Phoenix faction completely.

That night, Feng Jun had struck a deal with him. And today, Han Xuhan had come to the Stardust Sect to fulfill his part of the deal.

"Brother Xuhan? Is that you?"

Han Xuhan nearly slipped off the roof from surprise. Turning around, he saw a couple of familiar faces staring at him from the courtyard of a nearby building.

These were the disciples of Stardust Sect who had accompanied him during his face off against Leng Qing. He had used them all as sacrificial lambs later, binding Fang Xie with him inside the Body Possession Array.

Leaping from roof to roof, Han Xuhan closed the distance between them and jumped down to their courtyard while greeting them jovially.

"Good morning, fellow cultivators! How have you two been? Long time no see!"

The two disciples exchanged a strange look between themselves. "Long time? It hasn’t even been 48 hours since our last meeting, brother Xuhan," One of them replied. "Anyway, what are you here for? A meeting with Sister Mi? Or..."

Both of them visibly grew cautious, stepping back a few meters as the other disciple completed the sentence. "Are you here as a member of an invasion team?"

Han Xuhan shook his head, relaxing his posture as much as he could. "Just to check up on you, don't worry. I came by myself."

Inwardly, his mind was fired up. If these disciples remembered that he had led them to Leng Qing's house two days ago, then he would have to dig up what else was left in their memory. Surely, the overwhelmingly powerful cultivator who was assisting Fang Xie that day had done something to erase the traces of their confrontation that day. But what exactly had he done? Han Xuhan could not proceed without knowing the extent of that man's manipulation.

"Sister Mi is still bedridden. Come if you want to meet her." One of them took the lead and walked out of the courtyard. The other disciple walked by Xuhan's side, scrutinizing him closely. Xuhan gave him a measured look.

"Brother Xuhan, how did you escape that day?"

Not sure how to respond, Han Xuhan thought for a while before deciding to take things to the extreme. There was no point in trying to come up with a story that would fit with whatever these guys remembered from that day.

"After I left Leng Qing's cabin to look for healers from my sect, I'm not really sure what happened to you all. When I returned with a better antidote for Leng Qing, I found all of you unconscious, and the cabin nearly destroyed. Now, you know my cultivation level. What could I do at that time? An enemy who could defeat all of you in one go isn’t somebody I can stand against! I couldn't even find or sense the culprit's existence! So I just... erm, ran away."

He kept track of every change in expression his companion showed throughout the story. It seemed that nothing he had said made a big impact on the young man. His account must have not raised any big inconsistencies. The guy leading them snorted in dissatisfaction, but that was all he did. Han Xuhan let go of a silent breath of relief.

"What happened at the time, anyway? Who attacked you?" he asked, pretending to be puzzled.

"We're not sure either. There had to be more than one, and they must be from a sect that specializes in esoteric arts as well. Our divination technique couldn’t offer up any substantial results. And all thirteen of us also had our memories tempered with. We can't remember anything that transpired after we entered Leng Qing's cabin."

"Have you tried interrogating Leng Qing himself?" Han Xuhan suggested. "I did tell you he's a suspicious fellow, explained my theory to you all before we visited him. You remember that, right?"

"We do. But Leng Qing got knocked out by your minions before we were attacked. He says when he woke up, he was alone in his hut. He has no idea what happened between that timeframe."

"Leng Qing woke up in his cabin alone? That means somebody took you all out of that cabin," Han Xuhan said, slowly adding more elements to the equation.

"They did. We woke up inside the infirmary on the second ring. Nobody, not us, nor the disciples who were present in the second ring at that time, knows how we got there, not even the Elder overseeing that building."

A little shocked, Han Xuhan recalled the black silhouette standing at a corner of Leng Qing's cabin. How powerful was that Mr. Mo?

All three of them were a little confused as they entered Shen Mi's courtyard. Han Xuhan sighed upon facing another familiar scene. Shen Mi and her twelve-member team had gathered in one place once more. The last time he had met them, Han Xuhan had used them as disposable pawns. This time, he needed to ensure that these pawns conquered the chessboard. According to his deal with Feng Jun, he would help the Phoenix Faction neutralize their current peril, saving them from the threat of extinction.

"Brother Xuhan!" Shen Mi's eyes lit up as he entered her cabin. She was seated on her bed, leaning against a wall of pillows. Her countenance radiated weakness.

"My greetings to the leader of the Phoenix Faction," Han Xuhan said with a smile. "How's your health, sister Mi?"

Shen Mi looked crestfallen as she replied, "Brother Xuhan, the Phoenix Faction no longer exists."