The scent of old incense still lingered faintly in the air, curling like ghost smoke through the chamber as Li Wei placed the final brittle scroll upon the lacquered table. Faded ink, written by a trembling immortal hand, warned of the devastation wrought by celestial relics — twisted artifacts of unimaginable power, each baptized in blood and buried in secrets best left undisturbed.
The parchment crackled softly under his fingers as he folded it with care. His eyes, cold as still water, flicked upward as a crystalline [ Ding! ] rang out, clear as a jade chime struck by a monk at morning prayer.
A pulse of golden radiance shimmered into view — the System Interface came to life.
[ Ding! System Interface Alert ]
Achievement Unlocked: Prove Your Knowledge
→ REWARDS FOR UNEARTHING THE SECRET OF THE CRYPT
→ SYSTEM STORE UPDATED
→ CURRENT SYSTEM COINS: 10,550
Li Wei's gaze sharpened.
Rows of names and glittering prices cascaded before him, each item more extravagant than the last. Swords forged from celestial flame. Armor born of dragon scales. Whips that thirsted for blood and pendants that prolonged life beyond death.
He exhaled once, a thin smile tracing his lips.
"So these are the cursed fruits of Heaven's garden... and this shameless System dares peddle them like hawker wares on a rainy street in Nanshu," he muttered with disdain.
The room dimmed as storm clouds crawled slowly over the sky outside the stone skylight. Thunder grumbled distantly. Leng Yue, who had been sifting through the ruins of a shattered altar, turned.
Her obsidian eyes glinted. "You found something?"
Li Wei offered her the folded letter.
"An immortal's final testament. He who once bore the name Qingxu, styled 'Heaven's Will,' warns of what these artifacts bring— ruin, corruption, a path paved in corpses. And yet—" he pointed at the golden menu before them, "—here they are, offered like roasted duck at a festival."
Leng Yue's brows furrowed as she scanned the letter. "This... he even recorded the deeds committed with them."
"The Dragon's Roar Bell was used to collapse the city of Baichuan. The Void Mirror shattered three sects when a cultivator glimpsed their truths and went mad. The Phoenix Feather Fan razed an entire valley," she read aloud, her voice growing grim.
[ Ding! ]
A system notification blinked subtly.
—Caution: User is accessing items of ancient origin. The System holds no responsibility for consequences incurred.
Li Wei scoffed aloud. "Tch. As if a fox would guard the henhouse."
He dismissed the glowing panel with a flick of his sleeve. Lightning flashed outside, casting dancing shadows along the stone floor. Behind them, the once-silent crypt now thrummed with an eerie resonance, as though awakening to the mention of these cursed relics.
Suddenly, the room shifted.
CRACK!
A jagged bolt of blue-white lightning struck the ancient altar, sending spiderweb fractures through the obsidian surface. Wind howled inward from the broken ceiling, and the once-dormant glyphs upon the wall flared to life in a blaze of searing gold.
"The seals are unraveling!" Leng Yue shouted, leaping backward as the altar pulsed with spiritual pressure.
Li Wei's expression remained composed, but his right hand instinctively hovered near the hilt of his sword. His dantian surged with qi, reacting to the volatile energy swirling around them.
"Hold your ground. This is not rage," he said, eyes narrowed. "This... is recognition."
From within the fractured altar rose a spectral flame — not fire, but pure will — flickering in shades of violet and azure. A disembodied voice echoed, ancient as mountains:
"You read the warning... yet the shadow of temptation coils around your soul. Mortal of the present age, will you tread the same path as we?"
Li Wei stepped forward calmly, robes rustling like leaves in a midnight storm.
"The sins of your time are not mine to bear," he said, his voice unwavering. "But your mistakes... I shall learn from them."
The flame shuddered, then coiled in a slow spiral above his head, seeming to weigh him with unseen judgment. A moment passed.
Then, just as suddenly as it had risen — it vanished, leaving behind a single drop of golden light.
Leng Yue stepped beside him, her eyes locked on the spot where the flame had been. "Was that…?"
"The will of Qingxu himself," Li Wei murmured. "Bound to the crypt until a being of worth appeared. It seems... we've been judged."
[ Ding! ]
New Item Acquired: Memory Flame of Qingxu
— This item stores the condensed spiritual memory of the immortal Qingxu. May reveal hidden truths, locations, or techniques.
Leng Yue's voice was hushed. "What now?"
Li Wei turned toward the broken threshold, the storm now beginning to clear outside. A shaft of pale sunlight lanced through the gloom, illuminating the cracked stone floor before him.
"The path ahead is clear," he said at last, his tone firm. "The System offers poison gilded in jade. The world beyond hungers for strength, and beasts and tyrants gather like wolves scenting blood."
He turned to her fully, eyes like polished obsidian.
"We have beckoned forces beyond this plane, Leng Yue. Retreating is not an option."
A thin smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "I was never fond of soft roads."
WOOOOOSH!
The sudden sound of wings overhead made them both glance upward. A flock of spirit cranes — glowing with lunar light — took flight from the trees beyond the crypt entrance, their cries echoing across the valley like a chorus of silver bells.
It was an omen.
Later that night, among a canopy of stars like scattered jade shards across silk, Li Wei sat cross-legged within a quiet pavilion, the Memory Flame of Qingxu hovering before him. Leng Yue sat nearby, quietly tending a fire with spiritual wood that burned with blue flames.
Li Wei's mind drifted into the memory.
Visions.
Mountains split asunder by a single swing of the Thunderbolt Saber.
Seas evaporated by the Phoenix's Tear.
Sect leaders falling to their knees before the Nine-Treasures Gourd, begging for another taste of immortality.
Then, one image lingered longer than the rest: a child, no older than eight, seated before a jade lotus… eyes wide, innocence untouched, even as the world behind him burned.
"Remember this," Qingxu's voice whispered in his mind, "Power without purpose is a blade with no hilt. It cuts all… friend and foe alike."
Li Wei opened his eyes slowly.
He now knew where the path led — not just toward power, but toward legacy. He had been given knowledge few in this age possessed. And the world... the world was not ready.
But he would be.
"Leng Yue," he said softly.
She looked up from the fire.
"Tomorrow, we will ride to the Wailing Peaks. I believe the next relic rests there… and it is not one the world should awaken."
She nodded once, her expression unreadable beneath the firelight.
"Then let the wind carry us swiftly. The heavens tremble, and the devils of old stir again. If the stars fall from the sky… we'll be there to catch them."
Far off, a dragon's roar echoed faintly across the valley — a sound that hadn't been heard in centuries.
The path ahead had revealed itself.
And with it, the weight of destiny.