Inside the sealed chamber, Ren Wei sat cross-legged, his body drenched in sweat, his skin faintly glowing with golden veins. The surrounding Qi didn't just swirl—it spiraled into him like whirlpools drawn to a void.
> Ding!
Progress toward Foundation Establishment: 80%
His eyelids twitched slightly. The pressure on his bones felt like thousands of mountains grinding him into pulp—yet his core pulsed with growing power.
> "Foundation Establishment… it's not just a realm. It's a rebirth."
His consciousness flickered for a moment—images of his previous life, the agony of dying during the failed ascension, flashed and disappeared like whispers in a storm.
He exhaled. "Still not enough," he murmured. "I haven't seen the threshold yet…"
---
Outside the chamber, in the quiet halls of the villa, Mei Rou was grinding spirit herbs while Su Yao rinsed a silver basin.
"He hasn't eaten in two days," Mei Rou said, brow furrowed. "That pill must be feeding him from the inside."
Su Yao nodded, gently folding a steamed towel. "Or he's closer than we thought. Master Sheng Lian said this stage rebuilds the soul, not just the flesh."
Mei Rou paused for a heartbeat.
"…Can a mortal mind survive that?"
Su Yao didn't answer immediately. Instead, she glanced toward the sealed chamber door. "No normal mind could…" She looked down. "But he's not normal, is he?"
A gust of wind stirred the lanterns outside—ominous, as if the world itself waited.
---
That silence was broken by a chime. A bird made of jade landed gracefully on the villa balcony, holding a sealed scroll in its talons.
"A transmission from the Han Crest," Su Yao muttered.
The jade bird dissolved as the scroll floated gently down into her palm. She and Mei Rou exchanged glances.
"It's marked urgent," Mei Rou whispered. "Should we—"
Just as she stepped toward Ren Wei's door, a cool voice interrupted.
"You'll do no such thing."
Sheng Lian emerged from the courtyard shadows, arms crossed, expression unreadable. Her presence rippled through the air like cold steel.
"You'll disturb him for a message?" she asked quietly. "Do you want him to fail?"
The maids froze. Su Yao bowed immediately, and Mei Rou followed.
"My apologies, Senior."
Sheng Lian stepped past them, took the scroll, and tucked it away without even reading it. "I'll wait here," she said. "Until he returns from the other side."
She sat down on the steps facing the cultivation chamber, eyes fixed forward like a lone guardian before a storm.
---
In the moonlit ruins of an abandoned temple on the city outskirts, two shadows clashed like phantoms—one burning with arrogance, the other drowning in silence.
Wei Wuxian stood with ragged breath, blood trailing from the corner of his mouth. Across from him, a gaunt man in pitch-black robes stood hunched over—his left shoulder dislocated, his face pale.
> "So this… is the heir of the Shadowheart Pavilion…" Wei Wuxian muttered.
The man coughed violently, blood misting the air. "Leng Baizhou . You'll remember the name… when your body aches every winter."
The fight had lasted nearly an hour, both cultivators exchanging fatal blows like possessed beasts. There was no winner—only destruction.
Wei Wuxian sheathed his saber with a wince and turned away. "No more games. I need to heal."
As he walked off, Leng Baizhou leaned against a shattered statue, whispering through clenched teeth: "You're… just a shade of who you once were…"
Neither heard the other.
---
In a quiet medical ward lit by gentle spiritual lanterns, Han Zhanglei sat shirtless on a jade bench, bandages wrapped tightly around his abdomen.
A soft knock preceded Han Suiren's entrance. The Head of Han Crest carried a presence that dimmed even the glowing room.
"You're awake," Suiren said flatly.
"Barely," Zhanglei muttered, forcing a grin. "If not for the Dragon Vein Spirit Pill, I might've passed out from the internal bleeding."
Suiren nodded, walking toward the table beside the boy and placing down a second pill bottle. "Keep investing in yourself. That's the only way you'll be worthy of more."
Zhanglei narrowed his eyes. "I won't let you down. I'll grow fast."
"You'd better," Suiren said. "The storm isn't coming — it's already here."
Without another word, the patriarch turned and left.
---
In the quiet depths of the Ren Villa, deep within the reinforced cultivation chamber, Ren Wei's form flickered like a star being born.
His skin no longer glowed faintly — it shimmered with silver-gold Qi. Muscles contracted and released as if breathing on their own. Bones shifted.
> Ding!
Progress toward Foundation Establishment: 95%
Still, the Heaven's Dust Pill remained untouched inside the System Storage.
Ren Wei's brows furrowed. Sweat rolled from his jawline. "Not yet… I want to break through on my own terms."
In the garden outside, Sheng Lian opened her eyes from a light trance. Her gaze swept toward the chamber wall.
"…This brat. He powered up again."
She leaned back against the tree behind her, arms crossed, lips twitching slightly. "Are you going to scare even me next?"