Shadows Beneath the Ridge
The forest was quiet again. Only the faint hiss of fading Void Qi lingered in the air where the beast had fallen.
Lin Xian stood among shattered rocks and blackened roots, Shadowbane still humming softly in his hand.
The once-ferocious creature — a thing of dark tendrils and bone — was nothing more than scattered ash now. But the energy it left behind… was strange.
He closed his eyes, steadying his breath as thin wisps of energy drifted toward him. They didn't burn or corrode — instead, they sank into his meridians like warm streams.
> This isn't pure Void Qi… there's something else mixed in.
He sat cross-legged beside the crater, drawing the lingering essence into his body.
The shadows around him pulsed faintly. Inside his dantian, his spiritual sea roared to life — light and darkness clashing in perfect balance.
Then, within that storm, he felt it — a faint golden thread buried in the darkness. It pulsed with an aura both ancient and boundless. It wasn't destruction. It was… creation.
His eyes snapped open.
> "Primordial Qi…?"
For a moment, his heartbeat stopped. That kind of energy was said to exist only during the first dawn of creation — before heavens divided and the mortal realms took form. Even in his past life as the Heavenly King of Nirvana, he had only heard whispers of such existence.
> "Impossible…" he muttered. "How could there be Primordial Qi here, in the lower world?"
Xiao Jin, perched nearby, suddenly stirred — its fur bristling with excitement. Golden runes faintly shimmered beneath its soft coat, resonating with the energy around them. The kitten's tiny form trembled, but not from fear. It was instinct — recognition.
Lin Xian's gaze softened slightly. "So you feel it too, hm?"
The kitten mewed, eyes glowing faintly like twin suns. A divine light rippled from its body, echoing faintly with the Primordial Qi.
> "Of course," Lin Xian murmured. "You're not an ordinary creature… a divine beast born from the world itself. This energy calls to you."
The golden thread within him suddenly flared — merging with his own qi. His meridians expanded, his dantian surged like a tidal wave. The air trembled; the shattered earth beneath him cracked open as an unseen force burst outward.
His cultivation surged like a flood breaking through its dam.
Peak Mortal Vein Realm.
A single step away from the Spirit Foundation Realm.
Lin Xian exhaled slowly, golden mist curling from his lips.
> "Steady now," he whispered, eyes glinting. "One more step… but not yet."
He stood, the forest bowing under the pressure of his qi. The last trace of Primordial energy sank into his core, leaving only silence in its wake.
He turned toward the trail of black mist disappearing deeper into the woods.
> "If Void energy can merge with Primordial Qi," he said quietly, "then someone — or something — is tampering with the foundation of this world."
His golden eyes flickered.
> "Looks like I'll need to dig deeper."
Hours Later — The Ridge Path
The sun dipped low, its crimson glow spilling across the jagged ridge. Shadows lengthened, swallowing the path that wound toward Azure Cloud City.
Xiao Jin trotted beside Lin Xian, tail swishing lightly, the golden fur on its back reflecting dying embers of light. The kitten's ears twitched — sharp, alert.
Lin Xian's lips curved faintly.
> "Sensed them too?"
The kitten gave a low growl.
> "Relax," Lin Xian said calmly. "If they're planning to ambush me… they're already too late."
The next instant, a sharp whistle cut through the wind.
Whizz—!
A volley of qi-forged arrows tore out from the treeline, shrieking like banshees.
Lin Xian didn't even blink. He turned his wrist — Shadowbane slid free, tracing a crescent of silver. The air shimmered; five arrows shattered in mid-flight, the fragments dissolving into dust.
Black-cloaked figures stepped out from the forest — ten in total, their cloaks marked with red phoenix sigils. Killing intent rolled from them like a tide.
The man at the front a Spirit foundation Realm First Stage sneered, his aura flaring.
> "Lin Xian! Young Master Zhao sends his regards."
Lin Xian's eyes were cold, detached.
> "Ah… the same Zhao I humiliated in the weapon shop?"
The leader's grin vanished, replaced by fury.
> "You'll regret that insult with your blood!"
He raised his hand — qi erupted, flaming red.
> "Kill him! Leave no trace!"
They moved as one — assassins trained for slaughter. Wind blades slashed through trees, fire spheres streaked through the dusk, and the scent of blood filled the air.
Lin Xian sighed. "You people never learn."
He vanished.
In a single step, his form blurred — a shadow cutting through the night. A dull thud echoed; one assassin collapsed, throat slit before he could even register pain.
Another turned, eyes wide — then froze as Shadowbane pierced his heart in silence.
> "T-too fast—!"
Their cries were drowned by steel and death.
Lin Xian flowed like liquid shadow, every motion precise — no wasted movement, no mercy. The ridge became a graveyard of flickering silhouettes and falling corpses.
Suddenly, a flash of gold streaked through the carnage.
Xiao Jin's eyes gleamed — arcs of lightning crackled around its claws.
The air itself screamed as the kitten leapt, slashing across an assassin's throat in a blur of light.
> Divine Beast Art: Second Stance - Storm Crush
The man didn't even have time to scream before his body convulsed, lightning bursting from within and leaving nothing but smoke and blood.
Three others tried to surround it, but Xiao Jin's body flickered, lightning trailing behind. Another claw swipe — another throat torn open. The scent of ozone filled the air, mingled with burnt flesh.
Lin Xian landed beside the beast, calm and untouched, eyes glowing faintly gold.
> "Good work."
Xiao Jin mewed proudly, tail crackling with sparks.
The leader — the last one standing — stumbled backward, panting, his face twisted with terror.
> "You… you're just in the Mortal Vein Realm! How—how can you kill me?!"
Lin Xian's gaze was cold, almost pitying.
> "Realm doesn't define life or death."
He stepped forward. Golden light rippled across his right eye — the God's Eye awakening. The world around the leader twisted.
In his perception, centuries passed — endless illusions of death, drowning, flame, and suffocation. Each second felt like an eternity of agony.
To Lin Xian, it was only two heartbeats.
The man's scream was cut short as Shadowbane drew a clean arc through the air.
A dull thunk — his head fell, rolling across the dirt, eyes still wide in disbelief.
Lin Xian stood amidst ten corpses, his cloak fluttering in the cold breeze.
He exhaled softly, sliding his sword back into its sheath.
> "Noisy people… one less problem to deal with."
The faint light faded from his golden eye as Xiao Jin leapt to his shoulder.
Lin Xian glanced toward Azure Cloud City, his voice low, edged with disdain.
> "The Zhao Clan dares to send trash like this after me… Pathetic."
His expression darkened slightly as he turned toward the distant ridge, where the scent of Void and Primordial Qi still lingered.
> "Something ancient is stirring," he murmured. "And fools like these will be the first to burn."
He vanished into the mist — silent, lethal, and untouchable.