The blade pressed harder against Long Chen's throat. Blood trickled down his neck, warm and sticky.
'Move. Move!'
His body wouldn't respond. Elder Feng's grip on his hair was iron, his spiritual pressure pinning him like an insect under glass.
Somewhere in the distance, explosions echoed. The clash between Dugu Jian and the Clan Master shook the mountainside. Trees splintered. And the ground trembled, the spiritual energy in that area in complete chaos.
But that fight was far away. Too far to help.
Long Chen's vision blurred. His broken ribs scraped with every shallow breath. His shattered collarbone sent white-hot pain shooting through his shoulder.
*Let me out.*
The voice whispered again from Demon Dweller. Cold. Hungry. And promising power if he just said yes.
'No.'
He'd die before letting that thing control him.
'There has to be—'
The Heavenly Demon Cultivation Technique.
