They crossed beneath the shattered archway of Lanxu's gate in silence.
The metal bars, once inscribed with protection runes, lay corroded and broken across the path, their engravings lost to rust and time. Moss clung to cracked stone, and vines hung from broken balconies like the hair of forgotten giants. The city was a corpse—but not one that had been left in peace.
Rael paused at the threshold, his hand brushing the ground.
A deep chill crawled up his spine. Not cold. Hunger.
Something was still here.
He motioned to Lin Shuang, and together they moved into the shadows—silent, controlled steps honed from nights of stalking prey. She didn't ask questions. She didn't need to.
Lanxu had not died quietly.
---
They reached the inner courtyard of what once must have been a Sect Pavilion. The tower had collapsed inward, leaving jagged timber and broken spirit-glass jutting like bones through the wreckage. And yet… something pulsed beneath it. A beat, faint but rhythmic.
Rael pressed a palm to the stones.
Qi.
Residual. Ancient. Still breathing.
---
[You have entered: Inner Ring – Lanxu Pavilion]
Status: Stabilized Remnant Formation Detected.
Type: Concealment Array (Damaged)
Potential Resource Signature: 3 Low-Rank Spirit Nodes | 1 Sealed Vault Fragment
Warning: Spiritbeast Presence Detected Below Ground. Level: Unknown.
Proceed at your own risk.
---
Rael rose slowly. "There's something sealed beneath this place. A node, maybe a vault."
Lin Shuang looked around warily. "And something guarding it."
"Most likely."
She smiled faintly, brushing dust from her shoulder. "Then we do what we do best."
"Survive?" he asked.
"No," she said. "Win."
---
They moved inward.
Beneath the ruins, the air grew colder, heavier. Dust swirled unnaturally with every step. The staircase—chiseled from spirit-infused stone—led them into a cavernous chamber that smelled of old incense, blood, and something fouler.
Something wrong.
The walls were lined with shattered jars—containment vessels. Bone fragments. Shackles.
A subjugation chamber.
Rael's eyes narrowed.
This place wasn't a sanctuary.
It was a prison.
A low growl echoed from the dark.
Not animal. Not beast.
Something in between.
---
[Warning: Entity Awakened – Classification: Bound Spiritbeast]
Name: Crimson-Tongue Maw
Class: Mid-Stage Silver Vein
State: Agonized. Frenzied. Half-Sentient.
Caution: Unknown Trait Detected – Blood Rebirth Protocol Active
Eliminate quickly. Do not allow multiple deaths.
---
It burst from the shadows with a shriek like metal being peeled apart. A mass of sinew and bone, crimson tongues lashing from beneath a broken jaw. Its claws gouged the ground as it moved, faster than something that size should have been able to.
Rael shoved Lin Shuang back just as a talon missed her by inches.
He dropped to one knee, channeling the last of his beast-core Qi into his left palm. It ignited into a jagged arc of violet light.
"Keep it busy," he muttered.
She didn't argue.
Lin Shuang danced with the beast, her blades a blur, slashing and deflecting with razor precision. Every wound she carved closed almost immediately—slowed only by Rael's charged attacks.
He launched forward, slamming his Qi into the beast's exposed side. It shrieked, reeled—
—and burst into bloody vapor.
Gone.
Rael's body locked. "No..."
The blood mist reformed on the far side of the chamber.
Crimson eyes blinked open again.
---
[Blood Rebirth Triggered – Form Stability: 92%]
Trait Analysis: Soulbound Loop – Each death resets form once. Must disrupt core anchor to kill.
---
"Behind it," Rael growled. "It's anchored."
They shifted tactics. Each movement now targeted the creature's positioning. They didn't aim to kill—only to expose.
And then Rael saw it—a shimmering orb beneath its chest. Not a core. A seed.
He dove beneath a wild lash of claws, felt heat slash his cheek, and drove his dagger into the pulsing seed.
The beast let out a final, shuddering howl—
—and fell apart.
Blood turned to ash. Flesh to mist. And then silence.
---
[Entity: Crimson-Tongue Maw – Destroyed]
Residual Trait Extracted: "Blood Veil Instinct" – TEMPORARY
Warning: Trait Integrity Decaying. Estimated Duration: 3 Days.
Effect: May blend briefly with surrounding shadows when wounded. Heightened predatory intuition during critical injuries.
Balance Rule Applied: Side Effect – Increased Bloodlust Risk. Control Required.
---
Rael stumbled back.
His hand trembled slightly.
Lin Shuang caught him. "You okay?"
He nodded. But behind his calm was a strange weight.
The trait pulsed beneath his skin, sharp and hungry.
He knew it would fade. They always did. But while it lasted… it changed him.
He would have to be careful.
"Let's check the vault," he said.
---
The vault fragment was buried beneath the creature's nest—a cracked sphere of obsidian laced with glowing golden lines.
Inside were remnants of the Lanxu Sect's final days.
Scrolls sealed in bone cases. A shattered core forge. And two unspoiled jade slips, humming softly with power.
Rael pressed one to his forehead.
---
[Technique Unlocked: Ghost Vein Footwork – Rank: Mid]
Description: Advanced movement art based on momentary spatial displacement. Consumes Qi rapidly. Mastery requires high mental discipline.
Status: Learning (0.7%)
---
The second slip was stranger—wrapped in silken cords and sealed with a red wax glyph.
Rael hesitated.
Then broke the seal.
---
[Artifact Blueprint Acquired – Name: "Heartbound Beast Harness"]
Type: Summoner Integration Equipment (Mutated Type)
Status: Incomplete – Requires: Beast Core (Minimum: Silver Vein), Spiritual Blood Ink, Forged Bone Frame
Effect Upon Completion: Fuses with spirit-beast to form semi-sentient battle harness. Traits and instincts retained. Core-link bond enabled.
Warning: Unstable Structure. May trigger partial backlash upon fusion.
---
He stared at it for a long moment.
Lin Shuang leaned closer. "You're going to tame a beast?"
He gave a small, rare smile. "No. I'm going to partner with one."
She blinked.
Rael tucked both slips into his pouch and stood.
"Let's leave before nightfall."
"Where to now?"
He looked toward the broken window, where a thin sliver of the distant sky was visible—clouds drifting above like layered blades.
"There's a trade sect outpost two days east. The Crimson Flame Caravan sometimes passes through. We can resupply… and find answers about this seed they're all whispering about."
And if fate willed it—
Perhaps even a worthy beast to bind.