By IMERPUS RELUR
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The air grew colder the deeper Liang Chen walked.
He had left the archive chamber behind, following a half-collapsed stairway into the ruined heart of the mountain complex. The stone beneath his feet was chipped, worn, and blackened—as if scorched by fire long ago.
> "No signs of life. But something died down here."
He passed broken bones, collapsed training dummies, and rusted weapons. The deeper levels of this ruin had once been a cultivation ground.
And they had been abandoned in battle.
Suddenly, the system stirred.
> [Environmental Trace Detected: Weak Spirit Stone Signature]
[Distance: 36 meters | Direction: Forward-Left-Down]
His eyes sharpened.
He followed the signal cautiously, weaving through the debris. Soon, he reached a half-buried corpse—a shriveled skeleton still gripping a shattered satchel.
He knelt and dug through it.
> Nothing.
But beneath the skeleton's spine, wedged between two floor stones—
A faint, dull glow.
He pried it loose.
> [Item Acquired: 1x Low-Grade Spirit Stone]
His grip tightened around it.
Another chance.
No cheering. No dramatic breakthrough. Just another breath in the silence.
He sat cross-legged again, in a corner of that forgotten room.
And began.