Rayen was halfway through his second cup of burnt symposium tea when Lin Xue flicked a scroll into his lap. "Message from the Azure Serpent Sect," she said. "Marked urgent and coded."
Rayen raised an eyebrow and unrolled it. The paper glowed briefly before revealing a set of fine silver glyphs that realigned into a message.
URGENT: Return posthaste. Inner Sect Crisis—Disciples missing near the eastern wards. Suspected alchemical contamination. Council demands investigation. You are authorized. — Elder Fan
Lin Xue was already packing. "So much for a quiet return."
:: Threat analysis underway. Probability of spiritual contaminant: 67%. Worst-case scenario: sentient alchemical residue. Suggested countermeasure: containment glyphs, Etherweave-based seals, fireproof robe. ::
Rayen exhaled. "I was hoping for a vacation. What I get is a toxic mystery."
The return journey was hastier than their grand departure. No skyship ceremony. No floating banners. Just a discreet travel formation and a pair of extremely alert cultivators.
By the time they arrived at the Azure Serpent Sect, tension hung in the air like an unburned incense stick.
Elder Fan met them at the gates, looking more serious than usual. "Three Inner Sect disciples vanished two nights ago," she said. "All last seen near the eastern herb cultivation zone. The only clue was a melted talisman covered in crystalline growths."
Rayen grimaced. "Was it glowing?"
"Faintly. And humming."
"Oh, good. Sentient alchemical spill confirmed."
The eastern ward herb zone had been sealed off with suppression barriers and posted guards. Rayen and Lin Xue slipped through the seals with Fan's approval and stepped into an eerie stillness.
The plants were too quiet. Not wilted, not damaged—just… watching.
Rayen knelt and brushed the soil. His fingers came up with a powdery residue.
:: Composition: modified spirit ash mixed with unknown crystallized binder. Traces of Qi memory. Imprint suggests attempted synthesis gone rogue. ::
He frowned. "Someone tried to develop a new growth enhancer. But the reaction spiraled."
They pushed deeper into the zone. A rustling noise ahead made them freeze.
A glowing figure staggered from behind a bush—an Inner Sect disciple, but his eyes glowed faintly blue, and his veins shimmered like liquid crystal.
"Help…" he croaked, before collapsing.
Lin Xue moved instantly, stabilizing his pulse. Rayen dropped to one knee and scanned him with a pulse talisman.
:: Spiritual infection detected. Crystalline colonization of meridians at 23%. Alchemical origin. Adaptive. Self-replicating. ::
Rayen's expression hardened. "It's learning from him. We have to isolate it now."
They formed a dual-layered seal, locking the disciple in a suspended stasis. The crystal shimmer faded as the field kicked in.
Lin looked at Rayen. "This isn't some lab mishap. This is targeted."
Rayen nodded. "Sabotage. And someone knew exactly how to weaponize advanced alchemy."
They both looked toward the sealed ward entrance—toward the Sect that had just begun to celebrate its rising star.
The real war hadn't started at the Symposium.
It was waiting here, beneath the still waters of home.