Elder Yun sat cross-legged in his private meditation chamber, suspended atop the towering Jade Pillar Pavilion. From this height, one could see the entirety of the Vermillion Cloud Sect — the distant peaks, the flowing Qi rivers, the outer disciple quarters… and the crimson flare still glowing faintly in the sky.
The flare that marked Lei Feng's death.
Yun's eyes remained closed, but his breath faltered.
> "One of ours… slaughtered like a dog. And no one saw it."
He opened his eyes slowly, gazing at the spirit mirror floating before him. Within, the scene replayed again — Lei Feng's chambers scorched black, a spiral sigil burned into the floor, and not a single trace of spiritual energy left behind.
"System cultivator," Yun muttered. "It has to be."
He rose to his feet. Though his beard was long and his robe embroidered with golden Qi lines, his hands trembled slightly. Not from fear — yet — but from the weight of realization.
He remembered the boy.
Raizen.
Sealed. Crippled. Left to die in the Abyssal Valley.
Yun had voted yes when the council chose to shatter his core. He had argued the loudest, claiming Raizen's potential was "unstable" and "dangerous."
And now… it was returning to haunt him.
> [Abyss System – Corruption Spread: 17%]
Passive Effect – Whisper of Dread: High-level cultivators begin sensing guilt and paranoia.
Miles away, unseen, Raizen watched from the treetops.
His cloak absorbed the moonlight. His breathing was nonexistent. His aura was masked not by talisman, but by the Abyss itself — a system that turned fear into a weapon, guilt into corrosion, and karma into fuel.
> Target Observation: Elder Yun (Spirit Sea Stage – Mid Rank)
Emotional Stability: Wavering
Fear Level: 41%
Quest Progress – [Hearts of the Betrayers]: 1/5 Completed
Raizen grinned.
He didn't need to kill Elder Yun now.
He just needed to let him rot from within.
---
Elsewhere – Disciplinary Hall
Lian Fei stood before a gathered council of five elders. Her posture was rigid, and her voice was sharp.
"It is him. Raizen survived the Abyssal Valley. Somehow, he gained access to a system — and not just any system. An abyss-type."
Elder Huo scoffed. "You're saying a crippled outer sect brat not only lived, but returned with enough power to kill a peak inner disciple and vanish without trace?"
Lian Fei's gaze was ice. "He's not the same boy we left to die."
Elder Yun entered the chamber then, silent.
The room fell quiet.
Lian Fei turned toward him. "Elder Yun."
"…I heard," he said quietly. "Lei Feng is gone."
"And his killer left no trace but a mark we all recognize." She pointed toward the sigil projected in the air. "That spiral isn't decorative. It's a message."
Elder Yun stared at it.
He could still remember Raizen kneeling in chains while he spoke coldly, "A cripple like you will only bring disaster. It's mercy to end your path now."
The words echoed louder now.
And somehow… felt more like a curse.
"We need to act," Lian Fei said. "Before he starts taking more names."
"Who says he hasn't already?" Yun muttered.
---
Midnight – Raizen's Hideout
A ruined temple nestled in a forgotten ravine. Wild vines curled through broken stone pillars. Spirit beasts avoided the area instinctively.
Raizen sat in the lotus position, the air thick with mist.
> Skill Unlocked: [Mind Leech – Tier I]
Effect: While within line of sight, you may implant intrusive thoughts and hallucinations into targets. Requires emotional weakness (guilt, regret, trauma).
> Passive Update: [Fear Network] expanding… New link forming: Elder Yun
He exhaled slowly, and the mist around him twisted into a face — Elder Yun's — writhing in agony.
"Soon," Raizen whispered. "Your guilt will be the blade I use."
But for now… another name surfaced.
> New Target Identified: Lian Fei
Status: Spirit Sea Stage – Peak Rank
Relation: Betrayal | Suppressed protest during sentencing
Emotion Detected: Conflict, Shame
Raizen's expression darkened.
She had cared once. She had hesitated. But she hadn't stopped them.
And hesitati
on wasn't loyalty.
It was cowardice.
"I'll save you for last," he murmured. "So you can watch your world collapse."