The drop lasted exactly 3.2 seconds—just long enough for Jian Long to:
Identify the six largest spikes (2.3m apart)
Calculate venom dispersion patterns (Concentrated on east wall)
Formulate three survival plans (All terrible)
He chose Option D: Improvise.
[Freefall Analysis]
Initial Velocity: 9.8 m/s²
Projected Impact Force: Enough to shatter pelvis
Solution: Redirect momentum using Heavenly Pulse Art
Jian Long twisted midair, channeling the scant yang qi in his core through his right foot. The golden energy flared—
—and sputtered out like a wet firecracker.
"System! What the hell?"
[Alert]
Ambient Qi Interference: Blood Blossom pollen suppresses standard techniques
Workaround: Reverse Flow requires physical contact with—
A spike grazed his thigh, its venom burning through fabric to sear flesh. White-hot agony short-circuited his thoughts. The ground rushed up—
—then stopped.
Mei Xiuying's dagger hooked his collar, suspending him centimeters above the deadliest cluster. Her other hand gripped a vine only visible when Jian Long's eyes unfocused—a thread of shadow-qi humming at a frequency that made his teeth ache.
"They're watching," her fingers signed against his neck. "Play weak."
She dropped him.
Jian Long hit the spikes in a controlled roll, letting venom-tipped thorns scratch shallow grooves across his back. The pain was real; the scream exaggerated.
Above them, Lan Huang floated on a platform of golden qi, his nose wrinkled. "Barbaric." His sleeve flicked, sending three needles toward Bonebreaker Tao. "This ends now."
Tao caught the projectiles between his teeth and spat them back. "NO CHEATING, PRINCELING!"
Their battle raged overhead as Jian Long cataloged the pit:
[Tactical Assessment]
Dimensions: 20m diameter, 15m depth
Spike Composition:
70% Ironthorn vine (Paralytic venom)
20% Petrified disciple bones (Qi-conductive)
10% Unknown black metal (Absorbs screams)
Key Feature: The oldest corpse (Skeleton fused with central spike) glowed faintly in his yin vision.
Mei landed beside him, her shadow stretching unnaturally toward the skeleton. Her hands moved:
*"Seed extraction protocol:
Cut left radius bone
Avoid green marrow (Toxic)
Use this—"*
She pressed a hairpin into his palm—Su Ling's hairpin, its tip darkened with poison.
The skeleton wasn't dead.
As Jian Long's fingers brushed its ribcage, the bones twitched, knitting together into a grotesque marionette. Its jaw unhinged, releasing a cloud of spores that—
[Toxin Identified]
Name: Laughing Death
Effect:
0-10 seconds: Euphoria
10-20: Uncontrollable laughter
20-30: Diaphragm paralysis
30+: Suffocation with smiling rictus
Mei's dagger flashed, severing the spore sac at its throat. Jian Long lunged, driving the hairpin between the skeleton's third and fourth ribs—
—directly into the pulsating seed nestled where its heart should be.
The reaction was instantaneous. The bone puppet shrieked, its limbs flailing as black veins spread from the wound. The hairpin's poison met the seed's vitality in a visible shockwave, cracking the skeleton apart.
Jian Long caught the falling seed—and froze.
It wasn't just a plant.
Embedded in its core was a face—a miniature Lan Huang, his features contorted in silent agony.
[Blood Blossom Seed Analysis]
Contents:
Concentrated disciple essence (87% purity)
Neural imprint (Pain receptors intact)
Mu Rong's genetic signature
Usage Options:
Consume: +3% Core Unseal (Risk: Memory contamination)
Implant: Grow surveillance vine (Morality penalty)
Destroy: Earn "Grand Elder's Ire" debuff
Above them, Tao's fist connected with Lan Huang's jaw in a spray of golden teeth. The noble scion plummeted past them, his perfect robes fluttering like a dying swan's wings.
Mei caught Jian Long's wrist, her fingers urgent:
"Swallow it NOW."
He hesitated—then tossed the seed into his mouth.
The seed dissolved like rotten honey, its tendrils lashing through Jian Long's meridians. His vision whited out as the system screeched:
[EMERGENCY OVERRIDE]
Yin-Yang Reversal Core Unsealing: 1.1% → 4.3%
Biological Cost:
Temporal lobe hemorrhage (Imminent)
Skeletal restructuring (Pain Threshold exceeded)
Spontaneous combustion risk: 62%
Fire and ice warred in his veins. His left pinky finger burst—vines erupting through the nail bed before withering to ash. The world returned in stuttering frames:
Mei dragging him through a crack in the closing walls
Lan Huang's corpse convulsing as roots consumed it
Tao's final roar as the ceiling crushed him
Then—silence.
Jian Long awoke standing in the Crucible's second level, his body humming with alien energy. The seed's power had:
Rebuilt his frostbitten feet (Toes now slightly prehensile)
Darkened his birthmark (Sword shape more defined)
Awakened something behind his navel that watched through his eyes
Mei studied him with new wariness. Her hands signed: "You survived. Barely."
A vine slithered from Jian Long's sleeve—his own now, not Mu Rong's. He willed it to retrieve Tao's shattered knucklebone, absorbing the residual qi.
[Skill Evolution]
"Viper's Descent" → "Serpent's Coil"
Range: 3m (Extendable with practice)
Precision: Can thread needles (Theoretical)
Drawback: Consumes 1% lifespan per use
Elder Xue's voice echoed from nowhere: "Second trial begins at moonrise. Prepare."
The walls began bleeding.