đ Mistvale Ridge â Three Days Later
Lian Yueru sat beneath a pale willow, her blindfold damp from dew.
She had not moved since she sensed the ghostly presence.
> "I heard a sword cry... without sound."
Others would've gone mad from the silence, but not her.
She lived in silence.
Suddenlyâ
A faint footstep, so soft it could've been a falling leaf.
> "You've followed me far," came a voice like winter wind.
She rose immediately, hands folded, flute untouched.
> "You⊠you were the one."
"Who?" the voice asked, cold.
She turned toward himâ
Even without eyes, her breath hitched.
> Too handsome⊠he can't be real.
His presence was like a reflection on still water. Unreachable. Untraceable.
> "You don't feel like a cultivatorâŠ" she whispered.
> "Then stop trying to understand," ShÄn NĂŹchĂ©n said, turning away.
---
đ System Notification (Visible only to ShÄn NĂŹchĂ©n)
> đŻ Passive Objective Completed: Remain Undiscovered During Encounter with High-Level Spiritual Perceiver
đ System Reward: Mirage Veil Technique (Passive)
†Blurs all traces of existenceâremoves spiritual echoes after leaving an area
†Completely suppresses bloodline signatures and Dao fluctuations
đ Hidden Bonus Reward Unlocked: Whispering Void Sword â Artifact
†Appears as normal iron sword
†Spirit-devouring blade forged from fragments of extinct dimensions
†Only moves for the True Void Holder
†Immune to appraisal, karma tracking, and even time regression
ShÄn grasped a simple branch from the willow tree.
With no killing intentâ
He slashed.
> SWOOOSHâ
The branch tore a distant boulder in half.
Lian Yueru didn't even hear it until the rock fell.
She trembled.
> "What⊠is your Dao?"
> "None that you would survive seeing," he said flatly.
And with a single blinkâhe vanished.
---
đ«ïž Lian Yueru collapsed to her knees
> "I never⊠even felt him leaveâŠ"
She touched her blindfold.
Blood trickled from beneath it.
> "Who⊠no, what... is he?"
Her flute cracked slightly in her hand.
---
đłïž Inside the Caveabode â Beyond the Reach of Heaven
ShÄn NĂŹchĂ©n sat quietly, staring into the void.
> "The world's eyes are turning. I must not leave traces."
He placed the willow branch beside his sword.
Both glowed faintly.
> "Even leaves obey."