The biting wind howled, carrying the damp scent of decaying leaves from the depths of the Shadowmist Mountain Range, a stark warning to any mortal daring to trespass. Dark clouds swirled ominously above the peaks, obscuring the faint sunlight and foreshadowing an imminent storm. Beneath the gnarled branches of an ancient tree, the scrawny figure of a sixteen-year-old youth huddled, his wary eyes scanning the dense undergrowth. This was Lin Feng, a boy whose fate seemed irrevocably sealed to a life of utter mediocrity in a world brimming with magic and cultivation.
Lin Feng's sixteen years had been a desolate stretch of contempt and despair. Born in Qingfeng Town, a secluded settlement nestled at the foot of the Shadowmist Mountain Range, he possessed an exceptionally weak spiritual root – a near death sentence for anyone dreaming of cultivation. His parents had perished early in a mysterious incident involving minor skirmishes between cultivation factions and demon beasts, leaving him with a crumbling shack and the burden of survival. Since then, Lin Feng had scraped by with odd jobs in town, or by risking a foray into the fringes of the Shadowmist Mountain Range to gather low-grade spiritual herbs for meager meals. The dream of becoming a cultivator, even the lowest Qi Condensation realm practitioner, was as distant as plucking stars from the sky.
Today, hunger had driven Lin Feng to take an even greater risk. He'd heard whispers of a rare spiritual herb, Azurewood Spirit Ganoderma, growing deeper within the mountains – enough to fetch a significant sum, perhaps enough to turn his fortunes around. But the Shadowmist Mountain Range lived up to its name. It harbored not only precious herbs but also countless savage demon beasts, and even "demonic path" cultivators infamous for robbery and murder.
Suddenly, a guttural growl ripped through the forest's silence. Lin Feng's hairs stood on end. A foul, bloody aura assailed him. Before his eyes, a Black Panther Demon, with glossy black fur, eyes like two burning embers, and claws sharp as blades, slowly emerged from the thicket. It was a low-level demon beast, but to a mere mortal like Lin Feng, it was an inescapable harbinger of death.
Terror seized Lin Feng. He had only one thought: Run! Gritting his teeth, he poured every ounce of his strength into a desperate sprint down a jagged, rocky slope, not daring to glance back. The Black Panther Demon roared in fury, its lithe body moving like a shadow in pursuit. Its roars and hot breath grew closer, Lin Feng's heart hammering against his ribs as if trying to escape his chest.
He stumbled. His scrawny body slammed hard into a gnarled, withered ancient tree, then tumbled head over heels into a deep, dark, damp cavern hidden by tangled vines. His head spun violently, a searing pain tearing through his body. As he landed, Lin Feng felt something cold and rough under his palm. He fumbled in the darkness, his fingers brushing against a jet-black stone slab, its smooth surface etched with countless ancient, bizarre runes that shimmered like distant stars in the boundless night. They didn't glow, but they held a strange allure, captivating Lin Feng's mind.
A sudden, burning sensation jolted through him, as if an electric current surged from his fingertips, up his arm, and spread throughout his entire body. The black stone slab seemed alive, trembling slightly before slowly melting, gradually sinking into Lin Feng's palm as if it belonged there. Lin Feng tried to pull his hand away, but a powerful, unseen force held him fast. An agonizing explosion erupted in his mind – not physical pain, but an overwhelming torrent of information being forcefully crammed into his brain all at once, so immense it threatened to shatter his skull.
Lin Feng's head reeled violently, his vision blurring, then clearing with strange clarity. Before his eyes was no longer the darkness of the cavern, but a transparent information panel, shimmering with blue and violet light, as if formed from ethereal crystals.
A detached, inorganic voice, cold yet strangely "mechanical," echoed within Lin Feng's consciousness, so distinct he couldn't doubt its reality:
[Omni-Extraction System activated.] [Scanning host data... Complete.] [Host: Lin Feng. Cultivation: Mortal. Spiritual Root: Extremely Weak (hidden potential). Potential: Initial assessment - Extremely High.]
Lin Feng was stunned. Extremely High potential? A wretch like him? Then, a cascade of other messages appeared, detailing the system's functions.
[Environment detected. Beginning preliminary data collection.] [Control Panel ready. Primary functions: [EXTRACT], [SYNTHESIZE].] [Novice Quest initiated: Escape the danger. Reward: Experience (100), Novice Gift Pack.]
A System! This was a System! Could it be... the legends of powerful cultivators defying fate through heaven-defying fortuitous encounters were true? Lin Feng stared down at his palm, where the black stone slab had vanished. The pain had subsided, but the feeling of a strange, potent presence within his mind lingered.
Just then, another message appeared:
[Detected: Cavern Bedrock (Grade: Common). Can be extracted.]
Lin Feng instinctively reached out and touched the rough cavern wall beside him. A faint light shimmered from his hand, and a new notification popped up:
[Extraction successful! Received: Mass (1), Durability (1), Geothermal Energy (0.5).]
A small, warm current spread through his body, making Lin Feng feel slightly invigorated. Mass? Durability? Geothermal Energy? What were these for? Before he could ponder, the system's inorganic voice spoke again, accompanied by a flashing red warning on the control panel:
[Danger approaching. Host should take immediate action.]
The Black Panther Demon's growl echoed once more, much closer this time, as if it had found the cavern's entrance. Lin Feng flinched, his entire body tensing. He had no time to delve deeper.