🍃 Mistvale Ridge – Three Days Later
Lian Yueru sat beneath a pale willow, her blindfold damp from dew.
She had not moved since she sensed the ghostly presence.
> "I heard a sword cry... without sound."
Others would've gone mad from the silence, but not her.
She lived in silence.
Suddenly—
A faint footstep, so soft it could've been a falling leaf.
> "You've followed me far," came a voice like winter wind.
She rose immediately, hands folded, flute untouched.
> "You… you were the one."
"Who?" the voice asked, cold.
She turned toward him—
Even without eyes, her breath hitched.
> Too handsome… he can't be real.
His presence was like a reflection on still water. Unreachable. Untraceable.
> "You don't feel like a cultivator…" she whispered.
> "Then stop trying to understand," Shěn Nìchén said, turning away.
---
💠 System Notification (Visible only to Shěn Nìchén)
> 🎯 Passive Objective Completed: Remain Undiscovered During Encounter with High-Level Spiritual Perceiver
🎁 System Reward: Mirage Veil Technique (Passive)
➤ Blurs all traces of existence—removes spiritual echoes after leaving an area
➤ Completely suppresses bloodline signatures and Dao fluctuations
🎁 Hidden Bonus Reward Unlocked: Whispering Void Sword – Artifact
➤ Appears as normal iron sword
➤ Spirit-devouring blade forged from fragments of extinct dimensions
➤ Only moves for the True Void Holder
➤ Immune to appraisal, karma tracking, and even time regression
Shěn grasped a simple branch from the willow tree.
With no killing intent—
He slashed.
> SWOOOSH—
The branch tore a distant boulder in half.
Lian Yueru didn't even hear it until the rock fell.
She trembled.
> "What… is your Dao?"
> "None that you would survive seeing," he said flatly.
And with a single blink—he vanished.
---
🌫️ Lian Yueru collapsed to her knees
> "I never… even felt him leave…"
She touched her blindfold.
Blood trickled from beneath it.
> "Who… no, what... is he?"
Her flute cracked slightly in her hand.
---
🕳️ Inside the Caveabode – Beyond the Reach of Heaven
Shěn Nìchén sat quietly, staring into the void.
> "The world's eyes are turning. I must not leave traces."
He placed the willow branch beside his sword.
Both glowed faintly.
> "Even leaves obey."