The staircase swallowed all sound.
Each step down felt like entering a throat made of cold stone.
The fog thinned here—not because it disappeared, but because something below was inhaling it.
The disciple followed with the expression of a man attending his own funeral.
The ghost child floated close, splinter sword raised in nervous determination.
The Chained Woman moved silently, chains dragging in long arcs like warnings.
Lin Feng descended casually, one hand behind his back, the other brushing the dark stone walls.
The system chimed softly.
[SYSTEM]
Progress to Mission Completion: 90%
Objective Remaining: Identify and silence the origin echo
Reward Locked: Life Essence Pellet, Spirit Suppression Charm, +5 Points
Lin Feng nodded.
"Almost."
The disciple whispered shakily:
"S-Senior… this place… why does it feel like something is… breathing?"
"Because something is breathing," Lin Feng said.
The disciple nearly fainted.
---
The stairs ended in a cavern so dark it seemed colorless.
And in the very center stood…
Not a ghost.
Not a creature.
Not a statue.
A door.
A door made of overlapping shadow and stone, carved with hundreds of circular symbols—
each identical to the one on the disciple's arm.
The entire door pulsed faintly like a sleeping heart.
The disciple froze.
"T-That… that thing marked me?!"
Lin Feng touched the door lightly.
"No. That thing created the mark. Someone else used it."
The disciple collapsed in a kneeling position.
Lin Feng examined the door with calm curiosity.
The whispers grew louder—
layered, overlapping, restless.
"…traitor…"
"…why return…?"
"…open… open…"
"…we remember…"
Lin Feng tapped the stone.
It all fell silent.
Even the fog paused.
The disciple's jaw dropped.
"Senior… how are you doing that…?"
"Experience," Lin Feng said.
He placed one hand on the door.
The circular symbols brightened—
and the disciple's arm burned again.
"AAAHHH—!! SENIOR IT'S BACK IT'S BACK—!!"
The Chained Woman moved instantly, her chains wrapping his arm and suppressing the flare.
The ghost child hovered behind Lin Feng, shaking like a leaf.
Lin Feng didn't move his hand.
The symbols rearranged themselves under his palm.
The whispers scrambled, panicked—
"…you… again…"
"…you can't…"
"…we sealed you…"
"…you left—why return—"
Lin Feng pressed harder.
"Quiet."
The entire cavern snapped into silence like someone cut the world's sound in half.
The disciple stared at him with open shock.
Lin Feng pushed.
The symbols cracked.
The whispers shrieked.
The door jolted once—
twice—
then collapsed inward like rotten wood, breaking apart into shadowy dust.
A cold blast rushed out—
a final scream of whatever had slept behind it—
"…traito—…"
Lin Feng brushed the dust off his palm.
"Annoying."
The disciple collapsed in relief, gasping.
His arm sparkled once—
and the mark vanished completely, leaving only faint skin discoloration.
The system chimed immediately.
---
[MISSION COMPLETE]
• Predatory Echo Mark Neutralized
• Origin Shrine Silenced
• Pathway Closed
Rewards Unlocked:
✔ Life Essence Pellet
✔ Spirit Suppression Charm
✔ +5 Sect Points
Current Sect Points: 7
New Feature Unlocked: Basic Medical Shelf (Ruined)
Status: Requires 10 Points to repair
---
Lin Feng accepted everything with one flick.
The pellet and charm appeared in his hand like small glimmers of light.
He placed them into his sleeve.
"Good. Let's go."
The disciple blinked up at him.
"S-Senior… that's it? The… the thing behind the door—"
"Gone."
"A-Already?!"
Lin Feng shrugged.
"It was weak."
The disciple felt a sudden surge of respect and fear.
The ghost child tugged Lin Feng's robe, pointing upward.
The Chained Woman's chains rang lightly—warning.
Because the cavern behind the broken door…
…shifted.
A massive shape stirred in the darkness beyond the doorway's remains.
Something old.
Something patient.
Something that was not part of the mission.
A single golden eye opened deep inside the void—
calm, cold, and not at all friendly.
The disciple screamed and hid behind Lin Feng.
The ghost child's splinter sword rattled like a wooden toothpick.
The Chained Woman stepped forward, chains rising like a steel forest.
The golden eye stared.
Lin Feng smiled politely.
"We'll discuss rent later."
The eye narrowed.
The cavern trembled—
not as an attack—
but like a warning.
A promise.
Lin Feng turned around casually.
"Let's go before it wakes up properly."
The Chained Woman lowered her chains.
The ghost child zoomed after Lin Feng.
The disciple scrambled to his feet and followed, crying inside.
The golden eye slowly closed again.
Sleeping.
Waiting.
Not gone.
---
When they reached the upper shrine path again, sunlight peeked faintly through the fog.
The disciple exhaled deeply, shaking.
"I… I survived…"
"Yes," Lin Feng said. "Incompetently, but survived."
The man bowed with all the gratitude he could muster.
"Senior! I will never forget this grace! Please allow me to serve the sect for life!"
Lin Feng nodded.
"You may start by carrying my groceries."
The man cried tears of loyalty and humiliation mixed together.
---
Outside the shrine, the system chimed again.
[SYSTEM]
Sub-Mission Unlocked:
Deliver medicine to disciple's daughter.
Reward: Sect Popularity +1
Lin Feng stretched lazily.
"Let's pay her a visit."
The disciple lifted his head in shock.
"S-Senior… right now?"
"Yes. You need emotional stability or you'll cry again."
The man bowed gratefully—even though he was already crying.
Lin Feng walked toward the downward trail, robe fluttering in the cold mountain wind.
Behind him:
The Chained Woman silently followed.
The ghost child floated proudly.
The new disciple carried fear, gratitude, and trauma.
Broken-Soul Peak watched them leave…
…quiet…
…but far from finished.
---