Viper Valley–Late day
A sharp wind cut across the cliff mouths of the Viper Valley, stirring dust and dry venom spores into the air. I stood on a narrow ledge just outside Kael's ruined den, arms crossed, my beast crystal faintly glowing with residual sparks from my most recent breakthrough. My ember coil spirit had awakened a bloodline power inherited through a distant ancestor. I took a moment to process the weight of that revelation.
Cultivators with blood line powers were exceedingly rare, and depending on their bloodline inheritance such a prodigy's future potential could be nearly unlimited.
Suddenly the earth began to rumble.
"Hoofbeats, and wagons" I thought to myself. A full Iron fang retinue crested the ridge above the ravine maw. Over two dozen figures—cloaked in red, black, and storm-gray—descended in practiced formation.
Some rode Thunder claw Ligers, others flanked rune-bound cargo sleds, while a formation of elite hunters swept the sky on glider wings, blades drawn and senses wide.
At their center strode Elder Vash, walking beside Master Korren like descending judgment. His steps left glowing sigils in the stone, each imprint reinforced with commander-tier qi. Soren and Taryn led them down, guiding the force to the exact battle-scarred clearing.
Master Korren eyed the scene first. "That must have been quite the battle, this place is still crackling with rarefied battle essence." Elder Vash said nothing at first. He knelt beside the sealed vault remains, studying the preserved lock mechanism with cool reverence.
"It's worse than we thought," Vash said finally. "This isn't just rogue behavior. This is... alchemical transmutation layered over sacrificial qi binding." "Essence Cannibalism," I supplied, stepping forward.
Master Korren's eyes locked on me. "Yes, to be more precise. Did you find anything of interest?" I nodded; "Kael believed bonding was weakness. He'd begun cannibalizing human qi into his own. Burned his instincts raw. Killed his humanity for strength."
Vash's face didn't shift. But his tone dropped. "Where are the scrolls?" "I left everything and anything of value to be recovered below." Behind us, Iron fang beast binders and forensics teams moved swiftly, others began clearing the ruins of the vault—retrieving fragments of corrupted tomes, alchemical tools, beast-preserved materials, and relic crates lined with qi-runes that hadn't glowed in decades.
Elder Vash stood at last. "We recover everything. Bring it back. Under high-guard protocol. Seal this site as Iron fang Sanctum-Black. No one enters without my mark."
Korren looked over at me, "Your mission is complete here Ash and your mission reward will delivered to your clan account. At ease."
I saluted my clan elder; "Sir yes Sir!"
Korren continued; "But I sense that you are not coming back to the clan yet, are you Ash?"
I shook my head. "No There's more; I have to keep pushing."
"Where?" Vash asked, quietly.
I looked to the horizon.
"The southern cliffs. Beyond even Iron Spike canyon. Where the qi storms never die. I'll find what I need there to break through this bottleneck."
Elder Vash gave a small nod. "Then go. You have my sanction."
Korren raised a hand. the gathered Iron fang bowed their heads toward me.
"Hunter of the ember coil walk the path." The Iron fang retinue had barely finished setting up their qi-warded perimeter around Kael's shattered lair when Kaelin and Torren fell in beside a team of beast binders and rune engineers. The vault's entrance yawned before them—an ancient stone arch etched with venomous spirals and sigils warped by dark qi. Kaelin's falcon aura flared as she raised her hands, sending gusts of wind qi to sweep dust and debris away from the threshold.
Torren's storm qi crackled faintly, his reactive straps humming softly as he readied himself for the unknown. "Stay sharp," Kaelin murmured. "This place reeks of old curses."
The group slipped inside, the torchlight flickering against walls covered demonic mosaics. Sealed alcoves and iron-bound chests lined the narrow corridors, some glowing faintly with residual qi. Torren paused, nose twitching. "Something's… alive," he growled low. Suddenly, from the shadows, a faint pulse echoed—a low, rhythmic thumping that seemed almost… organic. Kaelin narrowed her eyes, sending a spiritual probe forward. Her falcon senses sharpened, tracing the pulse to a sealed chamber at the vault's end.
With a nod to the rune engineers, Kaelin stepped forward, whispering a wind-forged unlocking chant. The heavy stone door grated open, revealing a chamber filled with a strange bioluminescent ooze. Within the viscous mass lay a cluster of crystalline sacs—each pulsating with trapped, distorted souls.
Torren's fur bristled. "This isn't just storage. He was harvesting and corrupting the qi life force itself—creating abominations."
Kaelin's voice dropped.
"Essence Absorption on a mass scale… Kael wasn't just fusing himself. He was experimenting with an army." Torren spoke "Or was he being used?"
Before they could react, a sac ruptured violently releasing a writhing, malformed beast ling with shimmering scarab armor and jagged claws.
It lunged, but Torren's Frost fang Howl burst free—a sonic wave that froze the creature solid in midair! Kaelin struck with a devastating Cascade burst, shattering the icy prison and reducing the abomination to dust.
The group exchanged grim looks. "We need to purge this place," Kaelin said. "And warn the clans—there may be more like this."
Torren clenched his fists, ice qi swirling. "We're not done fighting Kael's shadow." The Iron fang team doubled down their efforts, sealing or destroying the corrupted sacs, while Kaelin and Torren took point—vigilant for further surprises lurking in the vault's depths.
The dust of the ravine faded behind me as I made my way toward the southern cliffs of eternal storm, but before I would go there to cultivate, I had a debt to pay. Seung Lee Kim awaited me in her emporium, her sharp knowing eyes narrowing as I produced the scroll.
Before anything was said or done, I dropped her 4500 Iron grade coins in the tip jar. Knowing she would refuse them if I offered her directly, I was beginning to pick up on her ways.
"This is for all of your assistance; consider it a fruit from the seed you planted."
Seung smiled a mysterious smile, "I take it your mission in ether killing or capturing Kael was successful."
"Only with your help, but yes we took him alive."
I took out the Ancestral scroll laying it down on the counter, " I also brought this for your expert opinion."
"This," she said slowly, reverence thick in her voice, "is a Legendary Ancestral Scroll. One of the few that survived the shattered clans. It teaches the spirit man project. A technique from the Vorpal Path — a route beyond physical mastery, delving into the spirit man itself."
My scales tingled, anticipation coursing through me.
Seung unfolded the scroll carefully, revealing complex sigils that shimmered faintly in the low light. "The first tier is called Inner Spirit Man Projection. It allows the user to send their soul outside the body, to scout distant lands unseen, invisible to all but those advanced along the martial path."
My heart thundered! A technique to project myself hundreds of miles away, undetected? this could be destiny changing!
"You'll need to imprint your intent into it," she said, voice tight with eagerness. "To unlock the first tier." I nodded, but there was caution in her tone. "Be mindful, Ash. The imprinting must be gradual — rushing risks a qi Rebound. But your ember coil bond is strong. It may awaken more swiftly than even I can pedict."
I had all the supplies I needed, without much else to do in Dusk Bane I departed to the southern cliffs of eternal storm. I turned my steps toward the storm cliffs — a jagged outcrop where the continent's lightning essence surged like wild rivers.
I circulated the sacred breath technique while visualizing and directing intent into the cloud step sigils, increasing my dexterity, I darted off over the terrain at superhuman speed! My lightening qi essence fueling my pumping leg muscles. I ran and leapt using the double rise and air dash running skill, soaring hundreds of feet through the air in-between each leap!
I darted and zig-zagged over and across the land at superhuman levels of dexterity and speed making superhuman leaps.
At this rate of speed, I would be upon the Storm Cliff Coasts soon.
By night fall I had arrived at the cliffs, the air buzzed with electricity as I bounded up the cliffs, soaking in the raw power of this new location. The Storm cliff coast was nestled beside a massive in land sea, the water essence was stronger here. A water qi cultivator could lay in the in-land sea to soak up the vital water essence, Increasing one's defense foundation.
I set up a makeshift camp in a sheltered alcove and put some wild game on to roast, with a side of wild vegetables. I would begin cultivating the ancestral scroll soon.
I closed my eyes, letting the ember coil lightning flow deep within, and began the intent imprint — channeling my mental energy through the scroll. My mind stretched, the world blurred.
Torren stood by the flickering campfire, his gray-blue Storm fang fur catching the dancing flames as the others gathered around. The mood was tense—news had just arrived via swift riders from Iron fang and allied clans. Soren, ever silent but sharp-eyed, unrolled a sealed message, its runes glowing faintly in the firelight. He read aloud, voice low and steady. "The corrupted army grows in number and strength," he warned. "Whispers speak of a rising force to the far west of the Beast Vein Continent, led by an unknown adversary who wields forbidden qi."
Lira's feathers ruffled, her gaze sharp. "If taking Kael didn't end it, what hope do we have against such an army?" Taryn slammed a gauntlet-clad fist into his palm.
"We prepare. We warn other clans, rally every hunter who values the continent." Torren's tail flicked, resolve hardening. "We've seen what the corruption does.
If we don't unite now, the Beast Vein Continent will bleed." He looked around at the faces illuminated by fire and determination.
"Send word to all the Iron fang allies. Every clan must know — the corrupted army is no longer a threat we can ignore."
The group nodded, the weight of the coming storm settling like a shadow on their hearts.