Deeper into the northern wilds of Blackcloud, the terrain twisted into a labyrinth of fog-shrouded canyons. Qi storms brewed sporadically, whipping raw essence into frenzied whirlwinds that could shred a rank-two cultivator's meridians in moments. Lin Xuan navigated them with the indifference of a man who had danced with death more times than he cared to count.
He paused at the edge of a narrow chasm, spiritual sense probing downward. Below lay a hidden grotto—marked faintly on the salvaged Lin Clan map as "Forbidden Essence Pool." Rumors in his past lives spoke of such places: natural formations where heaven's rejected essence pooled, birthing aberrant gu or mutating beasts into horrors.
Opportunity.
And risk.
"Risk is merely the price of benefit," he murmured, voice swallowed by the wind. "Those who hesitate pay double."
He leapt down, qi cushioning his descent like invisible threads.
The grotto was dim, lit by phosphorescent veins in the rock. At its center bubbled a pool of viscous liquid—iridescent black, shot through with crimson flecks. The air reeked of charred flesh and untamed power. Floating atop the pool: a single, fist-sized gu egg, its shell mottled with lightning scars.
Rank-three Thunderheart Gu egg—aberrant variant. Unstable. Prone to self-destruction upon hatching.
Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed fractionally.
"In my second life, I refined a similar egg. It cost me an arm and half my aperture. But the power... doubled my combat strength overnight."
He approached the pool's edge.
The liquid stirred—rippling unnaturally.
Not a pool.
A beast.
From the depths rose a colossal form: a rank-four Essence Devourer Worm, body like congealed oil, maw lined with jagged qi-siphoning teeth. It had been nurturing the egg, using the grotto's chaos to accelerate its own evolution.
The worm reared, sensing intruder.
Lin Xuan did not flinch.
"You guard what I desire," he said calmly. "Therefore, you are an obstacle. Obstacles exist to be removed—or repurposed."
The worm lunged, maw gaping wide enough to swallow a horse.
Lin Xuan activated Chain Binding Gu—repaired chains lashed out, wrapping the worm's midsection. Wind affinity made them faster, tighter.
The beast thrashed, qi storms erupting from its body in retaliation.
Lin Xuan sidestepped a bolt of chaotic essence.
Venom Mirage Gu released its cloud—green-purple mist enveloping the worm's head. Illusions took hold: the beast saw its own body rotting from within, essence leaking like blood from invisible wounds.
It roared—a sound like thunder cracking stone.
Panic made it sloppy.
Lin Xuan closed in.
Golden Cicada Gu on his fingertip buzzed eagerly. He extended a hand.
Time acceleration: the worm's movements slowed imperceptibly as its internal clock raced forward—aging its core by seconds, then minutes.
The beast weakened.
Lin Xuan struck.
His palm—reinforced by Black Skin and rank-two qi—pierced the worm's underbelly. Fingers closed around a pulsing organ: the creature's natural gu core, a rank-four Devourer Gu.
He ripped it free.
The worm convulsed once, then slumped into the pool, body dissolving into the essence it had guarded.
Lin Xuan examined the core—raw, unrefined, brimming with potential.
"Devourer Gu," he whispered. "Capable of absorbing enemy qi mid-battle. In the hands of a fool, it leads to overload. In mine... it becomes a bottomless pit."
He blood-refined it on the spot, feeding it a drop of his own essence mixed with Thunder Essence Berries.
[Devourer Gu — rank 4 initial (aberrant). Effect: Absorbs and stores enemy attacks/essence for later use. High risk of backlash if overfilled.]
The gu submitted, burrowing into his aperture.
His cultivation surged again—rank two middle stage. The aberrant essence pushed boundaries faster than orthodox methods.
He turned to the floating egg.
Thunderheart Gu egg—now unguarded.
He plucked it from the pool.
It cracked in his palm—hatching prematurely from the residual chaos.
A tiny thunderbird gu emerged, wings sparking with violet lightning.
It chirped once, then attacked him—instinct driving it to test its new master.
Lin Xuan let it strike his arm.
Pain lanced through—electricity scorching flesh.
He did not react.
Instead, he fed it a strand from the Devourer Gu—stored worm essence.
The bird gu drank, calmed, bonded.
[Thunderheart Gu — rank 3 initial. Effect: Channels lightning for offense/defense; enhances speed and qi recovery in storms.]
Satisfaction settled like frost on glass.
"Two new gu in one grotto," he said softly. "Fate tempts me. But I take only what benefits—and discard the rest."
He sensed them then: the pursuers.
Twenty qi signatures—rank three to four, led by a rank-five elder. Lin Clan reinforcements, faster than anticipated. They had tracked the qi disturbance from the worm's death.
They surrounded the chasm above.
A voice boomed down—elderly, authoritative.
"Lin Xuan! Surrender the stolen gu and submit to judgment. The clan offers mercy: a quick death, your soul intact for reincarnation."
Lin Xuan looked up.
Mercy.
He almost laughed—cold, silent.
"Mercy is for the weak," he replied, voice carrying without effort. "I offer you none."
He activated Thunderheart Gu.
Violet lightning arced upward, striking the chasm walls. Rocks crumbled, forcing the pursuers back.
Then he leapt—qi propelling him in a zigzag ascent, illusions from Venom Mirage trailing false copies.
The elder struck first: a rank-five Palm of Heaven's Judgment—massive qi hand descending like a mountain.
Lin Xuan met it with Devourer Gu.
The palm struck—and vanished, absorbed into his aperture as raw essence.
The elder's eyes widened.
"Impossible—"
Lin Xuan emerged from the chasm rim.
He stood amid the encircled enforcers.
"One rank five. Fifteen rank three. Four rank four."
He tilted his head.
"Acceptable sacrifices."
Golden Cicada accelerated time around him—his movements blurred to near-invisibility.
He moved.
Chains bound two rank threes—crushed their apertures.
Thunderheart electrocuted a rank four mid-sentence.
Venom Mirage turned a squad against each other in hallucinatory frenzy.
The elder roared, unleashing a barrage of qi blasts.
Devourer Gu drank them all.
Lin Xuan closed the distance.
His palm touched the elder's chest.
"Time ends for you."
Golden Cicada + Time Cicada synergy: the elder aged decades in seconds—hair whitening, skin wrinkling, qi withering.
He collapsed, gasping.
Lin Xuan knelt beside him.
"Your clan sent you to die," he said quietly. "I thank you for the gift."
Golden threads extended—devouring the elder's soul remnant.
[Golden Cicada progress: 100%. Evolving to rank 2 initial. New effect unlocked: Time Reversal on self (limited to 10 breaths, once per day).]
The remaining enforcers broke—fleeing or frozen.
Lin Xuan finished them methodically.
No survivors.
No witnesses.
Only essence, gu, resources—harvested without waste.
He stood amid the carnage, robes stained but posture unbroken.
"The Lin Clan will send more," he murmured to the wind. "Let them. Each wave brings me higher."
He turned toward the horizon—beyond Blackcloud, toward the Azure Continent's heartlands.
Where true power waited.
And he would claim it all.
To be continued...