"Not every battlefield is soaked in blood—some reek of secrets waiting to ignite."
---
The Ashfen Borderlands reeked of old flame.
The wind carried the stench of charred bone and rusted steel. Broken pillars of scorched obsidian jutted out of the ground like the ribs of some buried titan. The sky overhead was a bruised orange, stained with eternal dusk from the flames of battles long past.
Ash Nightveil crouched beneath a jagged ridge, watching the canyon below.
The Forbidden Quarry.
A pit left behind by a collapsed Flame Vein mine, sealed off a century ago after it devoured two minor sects in a chain explosion. Now, it was a dead zone—no sect claimed it, no elder ventured near it.
But rogue cultivators? Flame thieves? Perfect breeding ground.
And someone had stolen the Blood-Pattern Flame Core from the Nightveil Clan.
Ash's eyes narrowed as he observed the movement below.
Three tents. Two flame wards anchored on the northern side. A low campfire concealed beneath a minor illusory array. Eight men. Mid-stage Flame Mark cultivators. One late-stage. Mercenaries—judging by the mismatched qi patterns and armor.
But the real threat wasn't visible yet.
The scroll had mentioned "unknown interference."
Ash had learned in his first life that true threats never stood by the fire.
They watched it burn.
---
> [Whispering Flame Codex – Echo Veil Active]
Current State: Presence Scattered / Heat Signature Redirection (2 nodes)
Enemies Scanning Range: Ineffective
Combat Tip: Late-stage cultivator carries a bound flame spirit. Do not engage head-on.
---
Ash activated his concealment again and moved. His presence flickered across the ridge like a dancing ember, unpredictable and dispersed.
He circled wide, approaching the camp from the southern cliff.
He spotted a sigil array carved into the ground—a defensive net. Simple enough. Five ignition nodes and one trigger rune hidden beneath a bone totem.
Careless.
Ash studied the structure and grinned coldly.
They thought only brute force would challenge them here.
He flicked a small vial from his sleeve. Inside, a drop of condensed shadowflame extract pulsed softly. A rare remnant he'd kept from his previous life—salvaged from a forbidden sect's experimentation.
He dropped a pin-sized portion into the array's edge.
The sigils warped slightly.
The flame sensing lines twisted inward. The array, without triggering, became blind for five seconds.
Ash dashed in.
No sound. No spiritual fluctuation.
Just a shadow moving through old flame.
---
He reached the central tent. His presence still veiled, he slit the edge and slipped inside.
The stench hit him instantly—blood, scorched flesh, and something worse: burnt marrow.
On the table lay the Blood-Pattern Flame Core—still glowing, veins of deep crimson swirling within a transparent shell.
But beside it…
A second item.
A half-burned jade token.
Etched into its surface was the emblem of a rising phoenix pierced through the eye—coiled around by black thornfire.
Ash's pupils shrank.
> The Thorne Sect.
He hadn't seen that emblem since the day he died.
Kaelen had worn it around his neck—boasting of its power, promising protection and glory.
And it was Kaelen who had driven the blade through Ash's back when the sect turned on him.
---
Ash's fingers trembled as he reached for the token.
Not from fear.
But from the rage trying to erupt through his carefully controlled spiritual veins.
He crushed it instantly.
A ripple of energy burst through the tent.
Outside, someone shouted.
"Who's in the tent?!"
Damn.
He slipped the Blood-Pattern Flame Core into his spatial ring and exploded outward, veering toward the broken ridge.
Flames erupted behind him.
Two mercenaries chased, hurling fire spears.
Ash turned in mid-air, left palm flaring.
> [Technique Activated: Veil of Ember Echo – Flame Displacement Form]
Three silhouettes of flickering fire split from his body mid-dash, each scattering in different directions.
One took the brunt of the attack.
Ash slipped into the shadows of a broken wall, breath held.
---
The late-stage cultivator stepped forward now—bare-chested, arms covered in flaming glyphs. A small creature of smoke and embers coiled around his shoulders.
His bound flame spirit.
"Who stole the Core?!" he roared. "I'll skin them alive!"
His spirit hissed, eyes scanning the surroundings.
Then the creature paused. Sniffed. Tilted its head toward Ash's hiding spot.
Ash didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
> [Whispering Flame Codex – Active Echo Feedback Initiated…]
Decoy Fragment Triggered. Redirecting soul-sense to residual aura point.
Success: Detection Diverted.
The spirit hissed again—but then darted toward a shattered column, misled by a redirected trace of spiritual heat.
Ash moved silently, withdrawing.
This place was compromised now.
The Thorne Sect was involved. This wasn't a simple theft anymore—it was a test, a signal, and perhaps even a trap.
He needed to return.
But not before leaving a warning.
---
That night, the mercenaries regrouped—tense, panicked.
"The Core's gone."
"Who the hell got past the sigils?"
The leader scowled. "Doesn't matter. Prepare to evacuate. We can't stay—"
The tent flared.
Their fire suddenly warped—rising into a pillar.
A voice echoed from the flames, not loud—but sharp, layered with killing intent.
> "You stole from flame that does not forgive."
"Return again… and burn forever."
Then the fire exploded.
They scattered in terror.
But deep in the shadows of the canyon, Ash Nightveil walked away in silence, cloak rustling in the wind, eyes burning with something deeper than vengeance.
Certainty.
---
Back at the Nightveil stronghold, Ash stood before the clan's inner flame basin, presenting the retrieved core.
Elder Pyresong, a hunched man of soot-colored robes and molten gold eyes, received it wordlessly.
But his fingers trembled ever so slightly as he recognized what Ash handed him.
"This was not guarded by bandits," the elder said slowly.
"No," Ash replied. "It was bait. The Thorne Sect's signature was left behind."
Murmurs rose around the chamber.
Selene Nightveil, seated on a high obsidian dais, spoke without turning her head.
"The upper realms are not allowed to interfere. Their token appearing here violates the pact."
"They didn't interfere," Ash said. "They tested our borders. Through proxies."
A pause.
Selene looked down at him. "You retrieved the core alone. Uninjured. Undetected. And uncovered a hidden thread of upper realm schemes."
She gestured toward the elders. "He has earned it."
Pyresong nodded slowly.
> [System Update: Host has completed first high-tier retrieval mission without external assistance.]
Legacy Node Pathway Expanded.
New Option Unlocked: Choose one of the following inheritance trials.
1. Ashen Flow Internal Flame Circulation (Technique: Enhances internal flame movement, increases recovery and energy storage)
2. Cindershade Footwork (Technique: Mid-speed evasive movement that obscures trail with smoke afterimages)
3. Burning Sigil Forging: Initiate Path (Technique: Learn to forge flame-imbued sigils with temporary effects)
---
Ash's gaze lingered on the third.
Sigils.
Schemes.
Preparation.
He selected Burning Sigil Forging: Initiate Path without hesitation.
Knowledge flooded in—formulas, hand seals, flame types, fusing methods.
His mind ached with the sheer precision required.
But this would be his true weapon.
Not brute force. But flame born from control. From will. From preparation.
---
Outside the pavilion, Lyra waited under a storm lantern.
"You've returned," she said. "Unharmed."
"Disappointed?"
"Curious."
Ash glanced at her. "The Thorne Sect is watching."
Her smile vanished.
He walked past her, voice low.
"They'll regret not finishing the job last time."
---
Far in the upper realm, within a towering fortress of ashstone, a youth with long crimson hair and a golden blade at his waist turned toward a shadowed messenger.
"He retrieved the core?" he asked, voice amused.
The messenger nodded. "Untraceable. But the token was destroyed."
The youth smiled, sharp and cold.
"So… he remembers."
His fingers closed around a second token, identical to the one Ash shattered.
"Then let him grow."
His eyes gleamed.
> "He'll burn brighter that way… before I extinguish him again."
---
End of Chapter 3