I. U Thành – The Forgotten City
Its name was once the pride of an ancient era, but now, it's merely a sigh from a forgotten past. Nestled beneath the shadow of the Trầm Mountains, U Thành lies dormant, blanketed in layers of thick mist—as if time itself had halted there thousands of years ago.
No one remembers that this city was once the scholarly heart of "Niệm Pháp"—a gathering place for sages, sect leaders, and Daoists from all directions. Now, only faded silhouettes remain, moss-covered walls, and the whistling wind that echoes the whispers of lost souls.
Amidst that scene, three figures came to a halt.
Lăng Tiêu stood quietly, gazing at the crumbling inner city before him, holding a weathered scroll from the ancestral library of the Lưu Niệm Clan. Though the ink had faded, one line remained visible:
"When the dream repeats, return to where the old ones wait."
For days now, a recurring dream had haunted him—of a shadowy figure calling him by a name that stirred something deep within:
"Disciple… Have you forgotten?"
Part of him resisted, dismissing it as delusion. But the more he tried to forget, the clearer the dream became. In the end, guided by the scroll, Lăng Tiêu could no longer deny it.
"Are you sure?" Diệp Vân Sơ asked softly, her eyes filled with worry as she looked toward the collapsed city gates, where the white mist coiled like the breath of the dead.
Lăng Tiêu nodded. "I must go alone. Whatever waits for me there… calls only my name."
Bé An silently grasped Diệp Vân Sơ's hand, his wide-eyed gaze sensing something ancient and dangerous calling to Lăng Tiêu.
Wind swept through the ruined city walls, carrying with it echoes of forgotten memories. Without looking back, Lăng Tiêu stepped forward. His gray robes fluttered as he faded into the mist, heading toward what was once the heart of a civilization—now a tomb for dreams long dead.
U Thành. The forgotten city. But something within still waits to be remembered.
II. The Ancient Tomb – Traces of Reincarnation
The tomb was buried deep underground, behind layers of shattered stone and the crumbled corridors of U Thành—like a scar hidden by time. The heavy stone door, carved with ancient sigils now eroded, still emanated a pressure that felt like a thousand drowning memories.
Inside lay a solemn crypt, the air thickened with what could only be called "the aura of the past."
No light entered. Only the dust-laden stone walls bore witness—each brick, each carving holding the legacy of ancient "Niệm Chủ," masters of thought-force, now long forgotten. As Lăng Tiêu passed, the archaic symbols glowed faintly, as though the past itself was watching.
Before a cracked stone wall, etched faintly with a spiral incantation embedded within a Bagua symbol, Lăng Tiêu reached out instinctively.
The moment his hand touched the wall—
BOOM!
His consciousness was violently shaken. A flood of memories surged forth, ripping the boundary between present and past. His body collapsed silently like a falling leaf, while his soul was swept away.
Communion began – The Past Returns.
Reality shifted. The world around him rewove itself in threads of memory. Lăng Tiêu was no longer the man of today—but a young man in white robes, hair tied high, eyes proud yet pure.
He stood in a vast stone courtyard, surrounded by disciples. At the center stood a man in green robes amidst an enormous formation:
Cổ Phong Đạo Nhân.
His master—the one whose face was veiled in memory-light—spoke with a voice like a bell tolling on stone:
"Tiêu Nhi, right and wrong do not exist in absolutes. Only 'memory' cannot betray its true self."
Memory flooded back:
– Training in Niệm beside waterfalls.– Philosophical debates beneath the moonlight.– And that final night when Cổ Phong sacrificed himself to seal something away…
A final instruction, half-lost in the mist:
"If there's a next life, return to where I fell. Your fate… is far from over."
Lăng Tiêu awoke, drenched in cold sweat, still touching the cracked wall. It now glowed brightly, revealing ancient words:
"Disciple Lăng Tiêu has returned."
Inside him, past and present began to merge. This was no idle dream, but confirmation:
He had once been the true disciple of a legendary Niệm Chủ—Cổ Phong Đạo Nhân.
And… somewhere in the depths of U Thành, that master still waited.
III. Reunion with Cổ Phong Đạo Nhân – The One Buried by the Righteous
The tomb's atmosphere thickened. Wind blew backwards through the stone crevices. A faint light shone on a moss-covered altar, which began to tremble.
From the altar, a silvery-gray mist arose, forming the image of a seated figure. Long hair, ancient robes, eyes deep as abysses. Though just a remnant soul, his presence was as immovable as a mountain.
Cổ Phong Đạo Nhân.
His voice echoed—brittle and pained:
"Traitor… You dare return?"
Lăng Tiêu froze. His heart clenched.
"No… I don't remember…"
"Of course you don't. You are no longer that man. Your soul has been purified by the cycle of rebirth."
A long silence. Regret flickered in the elder's tone.
"You are no longer the fallen disciple. But neither are you the child I once knew… Fate still clutches its thread."
A Dialogue Between Eras
Cổ Phong raised his hand—not in anger, but to touch Lăng Tiêu's forehead. Memories trickled in, slow and fragile, like the last drops of a dissolving soul.
"Did you come for dreams? Or for the memories that refuse to sleep?"
Lăng Tiêu did not answer. His eyes held calm—of someone no longer fleeing his past.
"Then I can no longer keep this technique from you."
The Final Legacy – "Vô Tự Niệm Kinh" (Wordless Scripture of Thought)
From the void, Cổ Phong summoned a blank scripture—no words, no spells, no diagrams.
"This is 'Vô Tự Niệm Kinh'—not to be seen, remembered, or practiced by ordinary means. Only one with an Empty Heart (Tâm Không) may comprehend it."
"Tâm Không is not apathy. It is to transcend all attachments—not bound by good, not corrupted by evil. Only then may one feel the root of Niệm."
Lăng Tiêu received it. A chilling void enveloped him—as if descending into a bottomless abyss, surrounded only by echoes of the self.
Final Warning
Cổ Phong's soul began to dissipate like ash in the wind. Yet his eyes turned stern:
"Lăng Tiêu… You are not just my successor…"
"You are the key to the end of the Niệm Chủ cycle."
"If you falter… the cycle will collapse. But if you walk true… a new age will arise."
"Choose."
With that, his spirit faded like a flame extinguished after ten thousand years. The stone altar crumbled, burying all ancient vows.
Lăng Tiêu stood up, holding only a blank scripture—but within… a light had kindled.
IV. Winds Howl Outside – U Thành Begins to Tremble
The moment the "Vô Tự Niệm Kinh" entered Lăng Tiêu's hand, a ripple surged outward. Though silent, it made all of U Thành quiver—like a misted mirror touched from within.
In dark corners of the ruins, ancient Tàn Niệm—shattered souls never laid to rest—awakened.
Whispers rolled like falling stones, as if a hundred thousand buried wails spoke:
"Niệm Chủ… has returned…""The inheritance… the end begins…"
Outside: Bé An and Diệp Vân Sơ
Diệp Vân Sơ's eyes snapped open. Niệm waves crashed through her spirit like a hammer—originating not from enemies, but from deep underground.
Bé An, until then still, suddenly trembled. His strange eyes flared with chaotic light, reflecting countless overlapping visions.
"He's in danger…"
No more words needed. They rushed into the trembling tomb.
Collapse of the Seal – Cổ Phong's Final Power
Within the chamber, darkness writhed—like blind creatures crawling. The sealed remnants, now disturbed by the scripture's call, swarmed.
Winds spiraled, bearing screams and whispers, surrounding Lăng Tiêu—still half-conscious between soul and body.
Cổ Phong, now a fading illusion, summoned his last strength.
"Go… Don't let them claim the legacy…"
With a final shout, he activated the last seal on the altar—space itself rippled and shattered like water.
A powerful force swept all three—Lăng Tiêu, Diệp Vân Sơ, and Bé An—out of the tomb, flinging them through whirlwinds of memory.
Final Scene: Eyes Reflecting Two Lifetimes
Lăng Tiêu awoke in a damp cave, the scent of earth and moss thick around him. His breathing ragged, his body felt crushed by mountains.
In his hand… the "Vô Tự Niệm Kinh"—blank, yet heavy with the weight of Niệm history.
He reached toward the pool beside him—the water trembled, reflecting his face.
Not just the gaze of today's Lăng Tiêu.
But the eyes of the young Niệm Giả who once died in the cycle of rebirth.
For the first time… he saw himself with two souls.
Outside, the wind still howled. U Thành—silent for millennia—now began to stir, as if ready to rise again.
And behind the veil of night… something unnamed began to awaken.