The wind howled like the whispers of forgotten ghosts as Li Tianming soared above the forest on his Shadowflame Eagle. The night sky was thick with clouds, and only the occasional beam of moonlight broke through to cast eerie silver streaks on the earth below. The further southwest they traveled, the more the land changed—lush forests gave way to gnarled trees and then to something stranger altogether: the Hollow Grove of Forgotten Stars.
According to the System's map, this place was not marked on any current sect records. That alone spoke volumes.
> [Location: Hollow Grove of Forgotten Stars – Off-Map Zone. High Rarity Zone.] [Primary Objectives: Retrieve Lunar Spirit Flame. Extract Rare Mineral Vein. Optional: Investigate Spirit Resonance. Risk: Elevated.]
Tianming landed softly in a wide clearing surrounded by trees that looked half-dead, their trunks blackened and hollow as if eaten from the inside by some parasite. They creaked even without wind, exhaling a low rhythmic hum. Luminescent fungi and bioluminescent vines sprawled across the ground, bathing the grove in ghostly light.
Even the soil felt strange—spongy yet dry, as if it had once soaked blood and never recovered.
"This is it," Tianming muttered, scanning the grove.
He moved forward, cloaking himself in a spiritual veil. The System amplified his stealth abilities, muting his presence from spirit beasts and cultivators alike.
> [Camouflage Mode: Activated. Energy Cost: Low. Duration: 90 minutes.] [Nearby Hostile Lifeforms: Detected – Whisperbeast Swarm. Tier: Iron. Number: 30+]
He paused.
The Whisperbeasts were small quadrupeds with obsidian skin, hollow eyes, and elongated jaws that emitted low-frequency howls. Though not powerful individually, their swarms were lethal to unprepared cultivators.
As he attempted to navigate around them, the grove betrayed him.
A root snapped beneath his boot, and the noise echoed unnaturally loud in the stillness.
The air grew cold.
Then they came.
From the hollows of trees, under the roots, and from the soil itself, the beasts surged forward. Their howls turned shrill, reverberating in layers, each one disrupting the natural rhythm of Tianming's spiritual flow.
> [Combat Engagement Imminent. Recommendation: Initiate Crescent Burial Sequence. Synchronization: 81%.]
Tianming's sword materialized in his hand—a curved, lunar-bladed weapon formed from condensed starlight and celestial flame.
"Let's see what this new power can do."
He stepped into the first wave. Time seemed to slow. Every motion became a dance, every strike a stroke of moonlight. One arc severed five beasts. Another split a tree in half.
His footwork shifted seamlessly between Lunar Flow and Shadowstep techniques, adapted by the System mid-combat.
> [Efficiency: 92%. Vitality Loss: Negligible. Threat Level Reduced. Remaining Enemies: 14.]
But the beasts adapted. They began coordinating, flanking, even sacrificing their own to trap him.
A smart move. But not smart enough.
Tianming whispered, "Lunar Tempest Form: Shattered Sky."
A glyph formed beneath his feet. His blade shimmered, then split into a hundred fragments of light, each guided by his intent.
The clearing exploded with silver.
When the dust settled, no beast remained.
He dropped to one knee, gasping lightly. The System began replenishing spiritual energy through the Lunar Spirit Pool within him.
> [Spiritual Energy: 73%] [Battle Outcome: Victory. Bonus XP Awarded for High Synchronization.] [Mastery Progress: Crescent Burial – 46%]
He stood and moved deeper into the grove. The residual howls of the fallen creatures still echoed in the trees, but now he was alone.
---
The Lunar Flame Tree
Eventually, he reached a natural amphitheater, hidden by a veil of starlight-vines and cloaked in a radiant mist. At its center stood a tree glowing from within, its bark translucent like crystal, and its core burning with an internal silver-blue flame.
> [Target Located: Lunar Spirit Flame. Grade: High. Absorption possible or containment recommended.] [Warning: Nearby Spatial Fluctuation. Investigate or Withdraw?]
Tianming approached slowly. The tree's flame pulsed in sync with his heartbeat. As he reached for the flame with a spiritual containment talisman, the air split.
A ripple.
Then a voice—not spoken, but heard within the marrow of his bones.
"You carry her echo. And yet you are whole."
A being emerged from the void—neither beast nor man. It had a vaguely humanoid shape but no discernible face. Cloaked in shifting starlight mist, its eyes were two wells of void.
> [Entity Detected: Unknown Class. Origin: Unknown. Status: Non-Hostile – Tentative.]
The being did not attack.
It studied him.
"You wield the Crescent Blade, but do you understand the burden it brings?"
Tianming replied firmly, "If I didn't, I wouldn't have come."
The entity raised a misty hand.
"Then prove it. Not with strength—but with will."
> [Soul Trial Initiated – Hollow Star Duel. Prepare for Mental Combat.]
---
The Trial of Echoes
Tianming's vision shattered like glass. When it reformed, he stood upon a reflective ocean beneath a starless sky. Here, the only light came from within—his soul, pulsing against infinite dark.
The entity stood across from him, now fully formed in this world of thought—a guardian made of stars, wielding a blade of pure silence.
> [Objective: Survive 300 Heartbeats. Soul Integrity Must Remain Above 50%.]
The entity attacked.
Not with blades, but with memories.
Visions struck him—his mother's fall from grace, the humiliation in front of the sect, Feng Qingxue turning away from him during the entrance ceremony, Leng Shuang'er's cold dismissal. He saw versions of himself—weak, broken, defeated.
Each memory struck like a hammer. Doubt piled upon doubt.
He staggered, fell to one knee.
> [Soul Integrity: 68%]
But then a different memory flashed: the Star Altar. The promise of Lin Xuelian. Her belief in him.
Tianming's hand gripped a blade formed of hope.
"I have fallen. But I rise again."
He stood. His will flared.
Stars lit the ocean. The mirrors cracked.
The entity pressed harder, conjuring a vision of his own death, his body twisted on the sect steps. But Tianming countered—pouring not anger, but conviction into his soul.
His voice rang out.
"I am not just her echo. I am Li Tianming. And I will carve my own path—through stars and flame alike!"
> [Soul Integrity: 93%] [Time Remaining: 21 Heartbeats]
The battlefield shifted. The entity took on his form now—a perfect doppelganger. It raised a mirror version of Crescent Burial.
They clashed.
Light against shadow. Moon against void.
Strike. Parry. Cut. Step.
Then, at the final heartbeat—Tianming drove his blade through the entity's core.
Light exploded.
---
Aftermath
Tianming awoke with a gasp, drenched in sweat. The mist-being was gone.
In its place floated a single item: a shard of starmetal, glowing faintly with internal lunar energy.
> [Item Acquired: Fragment of the Moonforge Core – Crafting Material: Legendary Grade] [Potential Use: Weapon Evolution or Core Refinement]
The Lunar Spirit Flame still burned within the tree. This time, when he reached out, the flame responded—coiling gently around his hand before flowing into the containment talisman.
> [Lunar Spirit Flame: Contained. New Alchemical and Enhancement Recipes Unlocked.]
Tianming turned to the grove and bowed slightly. "Thank you."
Not to the flame. But to whatever force had chosen to test him.
Then, he summoned his Shadowflame Eagle.
> [System Notification: Warning. You have drawn the attention of the Unknown Court of Stars. Future Observation Likely.]
As the eagle soared into the sky, the Hollow Grove vanished into mist behind him.
And the path before him, once hidden, now gleamed with starlight and danger alike.