The moon hung low, a bloated, blood-red eye glaring down at Heiyin Peak. The air was heavy, thick with the metallic scent of spilled essence. Beneath the ancient pines, Li Sheng knelt in the mud, trembling — not from fear, but from exhilaration.
Power hummed through his veins.
The Resonance Core had awakened.
Above him, the Peak itself groaned, as if some primordial beast stirred beneath the soil. Cracks split the ground, leaking wisps of ghostly qi that clung to the trees like spiderwebs. Somewhere in the distance, an inhuman howl echoed — sharp, mournful, hungry.
> [System Alert: The Blood Rite has begun.]
[Warning: Heiyin Peak's sealed entities have sensed your presence.]
A dozen figures began to emerge from the forest — their movements twitching, unnatural, limbs bending at impossible angles. They wore the remnants of ancient sect robes, their bodies warped by centuries of death and resentment.
Specters of the Broken Sect.
Li Sheng rose to his feet. His breath came slow and steady. His Soul-Shear Blade, still formed of raw resonance energy, pulsed faintly in his hand.
"Come," he said softly, his silver eyes gleaming.
The first Specter lunged, mouth split open in a grotesque scream. Its claws, gnarled and blackened, slashed toward his throat.Too slow.
Li Sheng shifted sideways. The movement was fluid, almost lazy. In the same instant, his blade lashed out — a whisper of motion — and severed the Specter's head cleanly from its shoulders.The ghost exploded into mist, its essence screaming as it was absorbed into the System.
> [Specter slain: +50 Resonance Energy]
But there was no time to savor the kill. Five more descended upon him, shrieking in rage and agony.
Li Sheng leapt backward, flipping through the air. As he moved, the System's voice rang once more in his mind:
> [Skill Unlocked: Echo Step [Level 1] — Momentarily blur your presence, leaving behind an echo.]
Without hesitation, he activated it.
The Specters tore through the space he had just occupied, ripping apart an afterimage that flickered and died. Li Sheng materialized behind them, his blade already in motion.A single sweep.Three Specters were cleaved apart, their fragmented souls screaming into the night.But the horror did not end.From the fissures in the ground, new horrors crawled forth — malformed beasts stitched from bone and shadow, their many eyes weeping black blood. One creature, twice the size of a man, roared and slammed its fist into the earth, shaking the entire peak.
> [Mini-boss Encounter: Flesh Revenant (Level 5)]
Li Sheng landed lightly, his robes whipping in the cursed wind. He could feel it — the Revenant's strength was leagues beyond the Specters. If he made a mistake, even once, he would be reduced to red mist.
But instead of fear, a grin split Li Sheng's face."Finally," he murmured, gripping his blade tighter. "A real fight."
The Revenant charged.The earth cracked with each of its steps. Trees splintered like matchsticks. Li Sheng darted forward, Echo Step activated again and again, weaving through the beast's devastating strikes.Claws swept through the air — Li Sheng twisted sideways. A fist smashed downward — he rolled under it, the ground exploding where he had stood.Strike.Strike.Strike.Each cut he delivered was precise, carving deep gouges into the Revenant's corrupted flesh. But it was not enough. The beast roared and released a shockwave of pure malice, sending Li Sheng flying into a shattered pillar.
Blood dripped from his mouth. His vision blurred.
> [Critical condition detected.]
[Emergency Skill Unlocked: Blood Resonance Burst (One-time use)]
A choice.Burn a part of his own life essence… and strike back.Li Sheng rose slowly, the silver glow of his eyes intensifying until they were twin stars in the night. He lifted his sword, now pulsing violently with resonance energy."Then let's see…" he whispered, voice low and dangerous, "who devours whom."He activated Blood Resonance Burst.The world slowed.
Every detail sharpened — the flecks of blood in the air, the trembling of the Revenant's grotesque muscles as it lunged again. Li Sheng moved faster than thought, a blur of black and silver.One step.Two.Three.
He was inside the Revenant's guard before it even realized.He drove the Soul-Shear Blade into the monster's heart — and detonated it.An explosion of resonance energy tore through the creature. The Revenant screamed, a sound that cracked stones and made even the lingering Specters scatter like frightened crows.When the dust cleared, only Li Sheng remained — bloodied, breathing heavily, but smiling.
> [Mini-boss defeated.
Reward: Resonance Energy +500.
Item Acquired: Fragment of the Abyssal Core.]
The peak fell silent.But not for long.
Above, the clouds churned, forming a vast, spiraling vortex. The very heavens seemed to tremble.
> [New Quest Generated: Challenge the Forgotten Guardian of Heiyin Peak.]
A massive shadow loomed at the summit.And Li Sheng, his blade humming with power and his soul burning with newfound hunger, set his gaze upon it.
The night was far from over.The terror had only just begun.