Morning light spilled across the valley as the group traveled eastward.
Mist curled around the trees, thick and glowing faintly in the golden sunrise.
But the mist was wrong—
too cold,
too still,
too heavy with silence.
The farther they walked, the more unnatural the world became.
Birds did not sing.
Leaves did not rustle.
Even footsteps felt muted, as if stepping through thick cloth.
Wuya walked in front with the Sect Master.
Xueyi clung to his arm, refusing to put even an inch of space between them.
Lady Linghai walked slightly behind, her divine sense spreading across the forest in quiet waves.
Elder Yun followed closely, carrying medicine and shielding talismans.
Hours passed.
Not a single animal appeared.
Not a single sound echoed back.
Wuya quietly exhaled.
"…The silence is too heavy."
The Sect Master nodded.
"Because we are approaching the outskirts of the Silent Path."
Xueyi stiffened.
"What's the Silent Path…?!"
The Sect Master's expression darkened.
"It is the route that leads toward the Whispering Tombs.
A dead world's breath lingers here.
All sound is drowned."
As if in response to his words—
even the wind stopped.
Xueyi pressed against Wuya harder.
"I don't like this place…"
Wuya placed a hand over hers.
"…We keep moving."
---
DIMENSIONAL PRESSURE
As they walked deeper, the trees bent strangely—
trunks twisting at impossible angles,
branches splitting into spirals,
bark shifting between colors like dying flames.
A soft hum vibrated through the air.
Wuya's breathing slowed.
Something pressed against his skin—
not weight,
not force,
but an instruction.
As if the world was whispering:
—Stop.
Return.
You do not belong here.
Wuya ignored it.
The pressure increased.
Xueyi felt it too.
"Wuya…
it feels like the air is trying to push us back…"
He nodded.
"Yes."
Elder Yun examined the distorted bark.
"This is dimensional pressure," she murmured.
"The Silent Path is rejecting anything with life."
Xueyi swallowed.
"…Wuya isn't life?"
Wuya blinked.
"…I am alive."
She glared at the forest.
"THEN MEAN WHAT YOU SAY AND STOP PRESSURING HIM!!"
Lady Linghai exhaled.
"It is not targeting him.
This is pure dimensional echo.
No intention.
Just remnants of collapse."
But then she turned sharply.
"…And something else is here."
Everyone paused.
Wuya felt it too.
A faint ripple.
Not cold.
Not hostile.
But familiar.
The same sensation that came from the stranger—
but far weaker.
More distant.
More controlled.
"…Something is following us," Wuya said.
The Sect Master nodded.
"Yes."
Elder Yun placed her hand on her sword.
"Is it another outsider?"
Linghai shook her head.
"No.
The aura isn't dimensional rot.
It's… cloaked."
Wuya narrowed his eyes.
"…Father?"
The Sect Master glanced at him.
"You think your father is following?"
Wuya considered.
"…No.
His presence is too distant.
Too fractured."
Linghai nodded.
"Then it is neither your father…
nor the outsider race."
Xueyi tightened her grip on Wuya's robe.
"Then who is it?!"
Wuya stared into the forest.
"…Someone watching."
---
DIMENSIONAL ECHO CALLS HIS NAME AGAIN
They walked deeper.
The air grew colder.
The silence heavier.
Then—
Wuya froze.
A faint whisper brushed his ear.
Not the forest.
Not wind.
Not echo.
A voice.
Distant.
Weak.
As if coming from behind a cracked wall.
"…Wuya…
Wuya…"
His heartbeat quickened.
Xueyi noticed instantly.
"Wuya—?!"
He raised a hand.
"Quiet."
The voice whispered again.
Broken.
Cracked.
"…Do not…
go further…
without… guide…"
Wuya closed his eyes.
"…Father."
Xueyi trembled.
"Wuya…
does he sound hurt?"
Wuya nodded slowly.
"…Yes."
The Sect Master frowned.
"He reaches you across dimensions.
That alone is extraordinary."
Lady Linghai's voice was low.
"It means the Whispering Tombs are waking up."
Xueyi grabbed Wuya's hand tightly.
"I don't care if they wake up—
they better not take you."
Wuya squeezed her hand gently.
"…I'm still here."
She refused to let go.
---
MOONVEIL UNLOCKS ANOTHER REACTION
Suddenly—
Xueyi gasped sharply.
Her chest glowed faint silver.
The Moonveil Seal pulsed once—
then expanded.
A thin ring of pale moonlight formed around her wrist, glowing softly.
Lady Linghai's eyes widened.
"Another bloom?"
Xueyi stared in confusion.
"I-I didn't do anything—!!
It just… it just—"
Elder Yun examined the glowing ring.
"No.
It reacted to the dimensional pressure."
Wuya placed a hand near her wrist.
Her Moonveil light intertwined faintly with his void pulse.
Xueyi blushed, shaking.
"H-hey…
what's… happening…?"
Linghai whispered:
"You…
have partially synchronized with Wuya's evolving pulse."
Xueyi blinked.
"…huh?"
Elder Yun explained gently:
"The more his bloodline grows, the more your Moonveil instincts respond.
You… are tied to his evolution."
Xueyi's face turned red enough to melt snow.
"A-AH—
T-tied?
To Wuya?
FOREVER?!?!"
Wuya blinked slowly.
"…I didn't do anything."
"YOU DID SOMETHING!!
YOU EXISTED!!"
The Sect Master cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Focus."
Xueyi turned away, ears steaming.
---
THE SECT MASTER EXPLAINS THE SILENT PATH
As they continued walking, the terrain changed again.
The forest ended abruptly—
replaced by cracked earth, fractured stone, and winding fissures that glowed faint grey.
The Sect Master stopped.
"This is the first border of the Silent Path.
From here onward—
nothing living is supposed to tread."
Xueyi trembled.
"Then… then why are WE here?!"
"Because Wuya must be," the Sect Master said calmly.
"And you all insisted on following," Linghai added.
Xueyi clutched Wuya's arm tighter.
"I'd follow him into the sun."
Wuya blinked.
"…That would kill you."
"THEN I'D FOLLOW YOU UNTIL I MELT!!"
Wuya sighed.
"…Please don't."
Elder Yun smiled softly at their exchange but kept walking.
"The Silent Path is a scar of the dead dimension.
The closer we get to the Whispering Tombs, the more the rules break."
Wuya nodded.
"…I feel them already."
He stepped forward.
Space distorted faintly around his foot.
The distortion reacted to him.
Lady Linghai's eyes widened.
"It recognizes your bloodline."
Xueyi's grip nearly tore his sleeve.
"STOP RECOGNIZING HIM, WEIRD SPACE—!!"
---
THE FOLLOWING PRESENCE DRAWS CLOSER
They walked deeper into the cracked land.
Wuya felt the unfamiliar presence behind them grow stronger.
Not threatening.
Not decayed.
Just… concealed.
Lady Linghai turned suddenly.
"Show yourself."
Silence.
Elder Yun swept her sleeve.
Her Qi brushed the trees.
Nothing.
But Wuya felt it.
"…It's there."
The Sect Master narrowed his eyes.
"I sensed it too.
But it hides under a mortal veil."
Xueyi gulped.
"Mortal…?
Like Uncle Tianhai…?"
Wuya's heartbeat skipped once.
"…No."
He closed his eyes.
"…This aura is calmer."
Linghai nodded slowly.
"It does not belong to an enemy.
But it is not a disciple either."
Elder Yun murmured:
"It watches like a guardian."
Wuya looked at the forest behind them.
"…I know you are there."
A breeze answered.
Nothing more.
But the presence…
shifted.
Almost in recognition.
Then vanished deeper west.
Xueyi grabbed Wuya's sleeve harder.
"Wuya—
don't attract more things—!!!"
---
HAO TIANHAI WATCHES FROM AFAR
Far behind them—
At the edge of the forest—
Hao Tianhai stood in the shadows.
He watched the group leave the forest and step into the Silent Path.
His hands trembled.
His heart ached.
"…Wuya…"
He lowered his head.
"You walk toward the place…
where your bloodline sleeps."
He clenched his fists.
"I should be with you.
But if I come…
they will sense me.
Your enemies.
The heavens.
Everything."
He swallowed his pain.
"I trust you…
my son…"
But the wind carried the last words away.
And he vanished again.
---
THE FINAL STEPS
As the sun climbed the sky—
the group reached a vast cliff overlooking an impossible sight.
A canyon of cracked earth.
Floating stones suspended in frozen midair.
Dark mist rising from infinite depth.
Faint whispers crawling through the air like dying breaths.
The Whispering Tombs lay beyond.
Xueyi's legs shook.
"…Wuya…
this place…
it feels like it shouldn't exist…"
He placed his hand over hers.
"…Neither should I."
She hugged him immediately.
"Don't say things like that—!!
You exist because you exist!!
That's enough!!
It's more than enough!!"
Wuya closed his eyes.
And the whisper returned—
"…Wuya…
…first…
tomb…
north…"
Xueyi trembled.
"W-Wuya…?"
He opened his eyes.
"…Father just gave directions."
Lady Linghai's expression hardened.
"Then he is trapped somewhere inside."
The Sect Master nodded.
"Prepare yourselves.
We cross into the Whispering Tombs at dusk."
Xueyi held Wuya's hand tightly.
"I'm scared…
but I'm not leaving."
Wuya squeezed her hand gently.
"…I know."
And the wind carried faint whispers through the cracked land—
calling Wuya's name again.