Time lost its meaning in the Weeping Gorge. There was only the mist, the hunt, and the feeding.
For three days, Jiang Chen moved through the grey wasteland like a wraith.
He did not sleep. The [Void Serpent] didn't allow it. Whenever his eyelids drooped, a jolt of cold adrenaline spiked his heart, forcing him back into motion. The Parasite was impatient. It sensed the density of energy in this place and demanded consumption.
SQUELCH.
Jiang Chen's boot crushed the skull of a Rot-Wolf. The creature, the size of a pony with exposed muscle, twitched once and died.
It was the twelfth kill in the last hour.
Jiang Chen knelt, ignoring the stench of sulfur and wet dog. He plunged his hand into the carcass, his fingers unerringly finding the erratic, cold pulse of the Beast Core. He ripped it out—a jagged, grey stone pulsing with necrotic light.
He didn't hesitate. He popped it into his mouth and crunched down.
The bitter, freezing fluid slid down his throat.
[Biomass Processed.]
[+60 EV.]
[Current EV: 3,850 / 5,000 required for Layer 6.]
Jiang Chen wiped his mouth with a blood-caked sleeve. He looked at the notification, his brow furrowing beneath the mask.
"It's slowing down," he rasped.
In the beginning, a rat gave him 10 points. Now? He had to slaughter a wolf just to get a fraction of the progress.
[System Note: The Vessel is expanding. As your cultivation rises, the density of energy required to force an evolution increases exponentially. This is the Void Tax.]
"Void Tax," Jiang Chen muttered, standing up. "You mean your cut."
[Correction: Our cut. Do you wish to remain a worm, Jiang Chen? Or do you wish to be a dragon? Dragons require fuel.]
Jiang Chen didn't answer. He scanned the treeline. His body felt heavy, hot. His skin was itching violently. When he scratched his arm, flakes of dead skin peeled away, revealing hide that was tougher, darker, and faintly patterned like snakeskin.
He was reaching the limit of Layer 5. The energy inside him was boiling, demanding a release.
He needed something bigger than wolves.
He pushed deeper into the gorge, following a scent that cut through the rot—a sweet, cloying smell like decaying flowers.
Half a mile later, he found it.
It was a hollow beneath the roots of a petrified giant sequoia. In the center of a pool of black sludge grew a single flower. It was hideous—thick, fleshy petals the color of bruised liver, pulsating with a rhythmic beat.
A Blood-Rot Lotus.
In the outside world, a Spirit Lotus was a holy treasure. Here, corrupted by the gorge, it was a condensed bomb of yin poison.
"Jackpot," Jiang Chen whispered.
He took a step forward.
HISS.
The shadows above the lotus writhed. From the darkness of the tree roots, a massive shape uncoiled.
It was a python, easily forty feet long. But its scales were gone, replaced by translucent, gelatinous skin that showed the black organs pulsing underneath. Its head was triangular, and from its mouth flicked a tongue made of green fire.
A Gelid Swamp Python (Peak Layer 6).
It was the guardian of the lotus. Stronger than the bear. Faster than the wolves.
The snake reared up, towering over Jiang Chen. It opened its maw, and a spray of caustic green venom shot out like a geyser.
Jiang Chen didn't dodge. He charged.
[Skill: Phantom Step.]
He blurred, the venom splashing harmlessly onto the rock where he had stood a microsecond before. The stone sizzled and melted.
Jiang Chen reappeared in the air, level with the snake's head.
"Eat this!"
He drove his fist toward the creature's eye.
The snake was fast. It snapped its head back, causing Jiang Chen to miss by an inch. Then, its tail whipped around with the speed of a cracking whip.
WHAM.
Jiang Chen was swatted out of the air. He smashed into the muddy bank, sliding through the black sludge.
[Armor Integrity: 85%.]
[Rib fracture detected. Auto-repair engaged.]
The snake lunged, its fangs dripping with neurotoxin capable of melting an elephant.
Jiang Chen rolled onto his back. He didn't try to stand. He waited until the maw was inches from his face.
[Skill: Void Claw.]
He didn't strike outward. He thrust his hands into the open mouth.
He grabbed the snake's fangs, his void-wrapped hands sizzling as they neutralized the venom.
"Got you."
With a roar of exertion, Jiang Chen planted his feet in the mud and pulled.
He possessed 10.0 Strength—the absolute limit of the realm. The snake possessed size, but not the density of a monster forged by the Void.
He wrenched the snake's jaws apart.
CRACK.
The jaw hinge snapped. The snake thrashed wildly, its tail smashing trees into splinters, but Jiang Chen held on. He dragged the flailing head down into the mud.
"Inventory!"
He mentally summoned the only weapon he had left—the sharp, jagged stone he had used to cut the bear. No, that wasn't enough.
He saw a fractured rib bone of the bear sticking out of the mud nearby.
He grabbed the bone shard with his free hand and drove it into the soft spot beneath the snake's jaw, driving it up into the brain.
SHUCK.
The thrashing stopped instantly. The massive body went limp, falling into the sludge with a heavy splash.
Jiang Chen lay there for a moment, chest heaving, covered in slime and snake blood.
[Target Neutralized. +250 EV.]
[Loot: Gelid Poison Sac (Grade 3).]
He stood up, shaky. He walked over to the Blood-Rot Lotus.
He ripped the flower from its stem. The roots screamed as they tore loose—a high-pitched, plant-like shriek.
"Snake appetizer," Jiang Chen muttered. "Salad main course."
He ate the snake's poison sac first. It burned like swallowing lava. His [Venom Heart] skill flared to life, converting the lethal toxin into pure energy.
Then, he ate the Lotus.
It tasted like copper and sugar.
[Massive Energy Spike Detected.]
[EV Threshold Breached.]
[Current EV: 5,200 / 5,000.]
[Cultivation Breakthrough Imminent.]
Jiang Chen fell to his knees.
This wasn't the gentle warmth of normal cultivation. It felt like someone had detonated a grenade in his dantian (energy center).
Black mist poured out of his pores. His bones ground together, lengthening, thickening. The [Mask of the Faceless] seemed to ripple as his skull structure shifted beneath it.
"AGHHH!"
He screamed as his spine forcibly realigned. The Qi Condensation Layer 6 wasn't just about more energy; it was about opening the "Spirit Channels."
For Jiang Chen, the Void was forcing those channels open with a crowbar.
[System Alert: Expanding Meridians.]
[Reinforcing skeletal structure with Void Residue.]
[Congratulations, Host.]
The pain vanished as quickly as it had come, replaced by a surge of power so intense it felt intoxicating.
Jiang Chen stood up. He felt taller. The world seemed sharper, slower. He looked at his hand. The black veins were gone, but his skin had a faint, metallic sheen to it now.
[Cultivation Achieved: Qi Condensation Layer 6 (Early).]
[Strength: 10.0 -> 12.5]
[Agility: 10.0 -> 12.0]
[New Skill Unlocked: Void Gaze.]
Jiang Chen clenched his fist. The air popped in his grip. Layer 6. He was now stronger than most Inner Sect disciples.
He was about to test his speed when his head snapped up.
Step.
Through the mist, he heard it. Not a beast. Not a shambling corpse.
The rhythmic, disciplined crunch of boots on gravel.
Jiang Chen activated [Serpent's Breath] instantly, fading into the shadows of the sequoia roots.
A moment later, three figures emerged from the fog.
They didn't wear the azure robes of the Outer Sect. They wore black armor with silver trim. Their faces were covered by filtration masks made of silk and gold wire.
Iron Sword Sect - Enforcement Elites.
"Energy spike detected," the leader said, his voice muffled by the mask. He held a compass that was spinning wildly. "Someone just broke through nearby."
"In the forbidden zone?" the second elite asked, drawing a sword that glowed with a blue, freezing light. "Who is crazy enough to cultivate in this rot?"
The leader looked directly at the dead python, then at the empty spot where the lotus had been.
"The Fugitive," the leader said, drawing a heavy, serrated blade. "He's eating the gorge."
Jiang Chen watched from the darkness, his heart beating four times a minute.
Three elites. Layer 7 and Layer 8.
He licked his lips.
"Dessert," he whispered.