Night fell fast over Qingyang Ridge.
Mist still coiled along the ground like breath from the earth itself, and the forest that had been green and humming by day now seemed alive with whispers.
A single lantern bobbed through the darkness — its light soft and deliberate.
The stranger from before moved silently, cloak brushing damp leaves, boots making no sound. In his left hand, the sigil on his wrist pulsed faintly, echoing with the same golden hue Lin Dong's talisman had flared with.
He stopped at the mouth of a cave hidden beneath hanging roots. The air shimmered faintly at its entrance — a barrier, cloaked with concealment magic.
He lifted his wrist, the sigil brightened, and the air split open like a curtain.
Inside, torches flickered along stone walls etched with runes of containment. In the center sat a man — cross-legged, face half-hidden by shadow. His robe bore no insignia, yet power coiled around him like smoke.
The stranger knelt immediately.
"Master, I've confirmed it. The Devouring Ancestral Talisman has awakened."
A long silence followed. Then the seated man exhaled softly, and the flame nearest him flared blue.
"Impossible," came the voice — deep, calm, dangerous. "That relic was lost during the Great Purge. Are you certain?"
"Yes, my lord. The pulse came from the western ridge of Qingyang Town — within the Lin Clan's territory."
At that name, the master's eyes opened — twin shards of cold light.
"Lin Clan…" he murmured. "So fate still circles back to that bloodline."
He rose slowly, the runes on the walls quivering in response to his aura. The air thickened, vibrating with suppressed force.
"Keep watching," he ordered. "No contact yet. The boy is young — his awakening will draw attention from more than just us. The Lei Clan, the Spirit Sect, perhaps even the Demon Seed cults. When they come for him…"
He turned, the torchlight catching the edge of a cruel smile.
"We'll come for them all."
The stranger bowed deeply.
"Yes, Master Ying Xuanzi."
Then he vanished into the mist, his lantern extinguished with a hiss.
Meanwhile, in a small corner of the Lin estate, Lin Dong couldn't sleep.
The memory of the creek still replayed in his mind — the surge, the loss of control, the fear and exhilaration twisted into one. He sat by the window, moonlight painting silver lines across his face.
His palm itched again — faint warmth spreading beneath the skin.
He turned his hand slowly, and for an instant, he could see it: a faint silhouette of ancient script glowing beneath his flesh, symbols older than language itself.
"Devouring…" he whispered. "That's what you do, isn't it?"
He thought of the way the talisman had reacted — how it had fed on the surrounding energy, swallowing light, heat, even sound.
It was as if the world's breath had entered him for a heartbeat.
He clenched his hand.
"If you can make me strong… I'll accept the risk."
Outside, the wind shifted, carrying distant drums — thunder rolling from the mountains.
But they weren't storms.
They were war calls — faint, ancient echoes of a conflict long buried.
The rune on his palm flickered once more, as though it remembered.