The Primal Bastion buzzed with newfound purpose. Under Elder Ming's guidance, the village square had transformed into a training ground where the clang of steel mingled with the rustle of animated vines. Farmers traded plows for spears, children practiced qi-channeling exercises beneath the Veil's shimmering lattice, and even the elderly wove protective talismans from marsh reeds. Yet the air thrummed with tension—a fragile hope tempered by the ever-present shadow of the Accord's wrath.
Li Tian stood atop the reforged watchtower, his corrupted arm gloved in blackstone to hide the veins creeping toward his temple. Below, Ming demonstrated the Verdant Dragon's *Rootbind* technique to a circle of wide-eyed recruits. With a flick of his reed flute, he summoned vines that coiled around a practice dummy, crushing it to splinters.
"Again," Ming barked. "Focus not on strength, but *precision*. A single vine to disarm, not destroy."
Renshu's cousin, young Fen, stepped forward. Her hands trembled as she mimicked Ming's gestures, but the responding vine merely twitched.
"Pathetic," sneered a Stormpeak defector, his arms crackling with residual lightning. "We'll die coddling weeds while the Accord brings thunder."
Ming's flute silenced him with a note that sent thorns erupting at his feet. "Thunder breaks trees. Roots shatter mountains. Again."
Li Tian descended, the Primal Core's pulse syncing with the drills' rhythm.
---
**The Primal Forge**
In the relic chamber, Xia and Yan Mei oversaw the Core's most volatile trainees—cultivators whose meridians could withstand the artifact's raw energy. The air reeked of scorched metal and sweat as Li Tian entered, his presence sharpening the room's tension.
"Channel the Core's essence through your strikes," he instructed, igniting his corrupted arm. Black flame engulfed a training dummy, reducing it to ash. "But *control* it. Let the fury flow *through* you, not *from* you."
A burly blacksmith, Tol, stepped up. His hammer glowed crimson as primal energy surged—then faltered. The backlash hurled him against the wall, his skin blistering.
Xia rushed to heal him, her qi clashing with the corruption's residue. "This is too much, Li Tian. They're not ready."
"The Accord won't care." Li Tian reignited his arm. "Again."
Yan Mei watched silently, her daggers itching for a target.
---
**Elder Ming's Gambit**
At dusk, Ming cornered Li Tian in the marsh-garden he'd cultivated behind the barracks. Moonlight filtered through carnivorous blooms as the elder offered a vial of iridescent sap.
"The Veil's lattice can be reinforced with this—*Starroot Elixir*. It merges my vines with the Core's energy."
Li Tian eyed the vial. "At what cost?"
"The roots will feed on your life force. But they'll also slow the corruption." Ming's jade gaze narrowed. "You're no use to anyone dead."
Li Tian drank. Fire and rot battled in his veins before settling into an uneasy truce. The Veil pulsed, its obsidian threads now threaded with bioluminescent green.
"A temporary fix," Ming warned. "The Core's hunger grows."
---
**The Stormpeak Spy**
Beneath the Veil's enhanced lattice, a cloaked figure lurked—Kael, the Stormpeak defector, etching runes into the blackstone foundation. Lady Nyra's voice hissed from a communication orb:
"The Accord moves at dawn. Ensure the Veil's northwest node *falters*."
Kael's lightning qi surged, overloading the rune. The node flickered, unnoticed by patrolling golems.
---
**A Village Transformed**
Days blurred into nights of relentless preparation:
- **Farmers turned saboteurs** practiced grafting poison thorns onto Stormpeak weaponry.
- **Children** lured Accord scouts into marshland traps with illusory qi.
- **Elder Ming** and Xia collaborated on elixirs merging primal energy with healing herbs, though their arguments echoed through the barracks:
"You're accelerating the corruption!" Xia accused, crushing a Starroot bloom.
"I'm buying *time*," Ming retorted.
Li Tian, meanwhile, drilled the militia in *Primal Surge*—a technique channeling the Core's energy through coordinated strikes. During one session, young Fen finally summoned a vine that disarmed Renshu, her triumphant laugh cut short as the backlash bloodied her nose.
"Good," Li Tian said, offering a rare smile. "Now learn to bleed without flinching."
---
**The Calm**
On the eve of war, the Bastion feasted—a meager spread of marsh tubers and smoked fish, but seasoned with hard-won camaraderie. Ming played his flute, the melody coaxing luminescent fungi to dance. Even Yan Mei's stern facade cracked as she arm-wrestled Renshu.
Li Tian slipped away, climbing to the watchtower where Xia stood sentry.
"You should rest," she said, noting his ashen pallor.
He gazed north, where storm clouds brewed. "Something's wrong. The Accord's too quiet."
"Let them come. We're ready."
But as midnight bells tolled, the Veil's northwest node sputtered.
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