Darkness clung to the outer mountain ridges like a sickness.
The moon above remained blackened — not eclipsed by nature, but silenced by something older than time. No stars pierced the veil. The wind carried whispers, though none came from mouths.
Wang Lin stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Valley of Windless Echoes, his arms folded within his robe sleeves. His gaze was calm, distant. The contract offered to him days ago had long since turned to ash, but its consequences had not.
He wasn't waiting for peace.
He was waiting for the world to try again.
And it did.
Just not the way he expected.
🩸 Far Below – Valley of Windless Echoes
Mist hovered along the ravine, thick and unnaturally still.
A group of disciples from the Crimson Lotus Sect moved cautiously, lanterns glowing faintly with spiritual fire. They had been sent to scout the leyline fracture that pulsed near the border. What they found instead…
...was death.
Not blood.
Not wounds.
Hollowed bodies, standing perfectly still.
Faces peaceful.
Eyes open.
But their cores—gone.
Spiritual essence, stolen.
One of the disciples stepped closer.
Then screamed.
Because blooming out of the chest of a corpse...
...was a Bone Lotus.
🧬 Back At the Floating Platform
[System Notification]
→ World Event Detected: Unclassified Curse Bloom
• Title: Bone Lotus
• Nature: Bloodline-harvest parasite
• Realm Type: Ancient Forbidden
• Primary Target: High-tier bloodlines
• Status: Active and Spreading
• Estimated Origin: Western Nether Domain
| "Wang Lin…" |
"I see it."
| "They've begun hunting dragons again." |
Wang Lin's eyes narrowed.
A low pulse stirred in his chest — not anger, but something colder.
"Do they know what I've become?"
| "They don't care." |
"They should."
Wang Lin turned, his robe sweeping dust off the obsidian platform. With a step, he vanished, reappearing on a ledge high above the sect's outer perimeter. Mist from the western mountains licked the treetops.
He didn't need to chase rumors.
The curse was already on its way.
🌑 Far Beyond — The Western Nether Domain
A pale-skinned figure sat atop a bone-carved throne inside a mountain fortress lit by black candles. His body was wrapped in seals and stitched runes. Lotus petals carved from white bone circled his throne like a halo.
He raised one finger.
A drop of ancient blood floated from a chalice beside him.
The petals spun faster.
"The Eternal Void Dragon…" he whispered. "His bloodline sings louder than any other."
He smiled.
Then whispered a name no one should remember.
"Wang Lin."
And the bone lotus petals shot outward—
Heading east.
🩶 One Day Later – Outer Sect Woods
Wang Lin stood over the bodies of four rogue cultivators.
Each of them wore fragments of Nether Domain robes.
All dead.
Each had a lotus blooming from their chests.
Their spiritual threads had not just been severed — they had been consumed.
[System Notification]
→ Bone Lotus Sample Analyzed
• Effect: Consumes bloodline essence
• Rank: Forbidden Tier Parasite
• Target Behavior: Prioritizes mutated or awakened dragon blood
• Warning: Your presence will attract more
• Suggestion: Isolate or destroy anchor bloom source
| "They sent this to test how your bloodline tastes." |
"Then I'll make sure they choke on it."
Wang Lin knelt beside one of the bodies. His fingers glowed faintly as he hovered them near the lotus bloom.
He didn't destroy it immediately.
He watched it.
And for a moment, it trembled — as if aware.
He looked it in the center.
"You're too early," he murmured.
"Too weak."
Then he crushed it between his fingers.
The sky dimmed again.
But not from the moon.
From the weight of his presence.
🌸 Elsewhere — Inside a Frozen Temple
Lan Xue paused in her sword meditation.
A chill danced across her spine.
She looked to the northwest.
"Bloodline hunters..." she whispered.
Her eyes dimmed with cold certainty.
"He won't fall to them."
She stood.
And began preparing to leave.
🐉 Back on the Throne Platform
Wang Lin returned just before dusk.
He sat quietly, legs crossed.
And waited.
Not for a threat.
But for the next whisper.
Because the Bone Lotus hadn't just come to feed.
It came carrying a message — buried inside the qi it tried to consume.
[System Notification]
→ Hidden Data Unlocked
• Message Fragment: Recovered
• Source: Unknown – Ancient Nether Cult
• Language: Deciphered
• Content:
"Even your new blood cannot outrun what you once were. We remember you, Ascendant Who Fell."
| "They think you're someone else." |
"No. They think I'm still the same."
| "And you're not." |
Wang Lin opened his hand.
A spiral of violet threads pulsed from his palm.
He looked to the sky.
"I'm not ascending anymore."
"I'm replacing."