The hive stirred.
The purple mound of silk split open with a wet tear, and a screech rippled through the cavern so loud the stone itself seemed to tremble. From the shadows rose a nightmare: a creature twice the size of a war elephant, its armored carapace black as obsidian, eight legs bristling with spikes, eyes glowing like molten amethyst. Venom dripped from fangs as long as Shen Hao's arm, sizzling as it struck the stone floor.
The swarm shrieked in answer, a thousand wings thrumming, their cries merging into a chorus that hollowed the chest.
The cultivators stiffened. Some paled. Others snarled, their Qi blazing brighter, desperation flashing in their eyes. They had fought beasts before. They had fought rivals. But this was a grave dug before their very eyes.
The Queen had awoken. Without warning, the swarm attacked.
From the walls, the ceiling, the tunnels behind them, insects poured in, clawing, slashing, spitting gouts of venom that sizzled like boiling acid. Some shimmered strangely and blinked through the air, reappearing mid-strike as their bodies twisted with spatial Qi. Others spat beams of condensed energy, searing through shields, blasting craters in the stone.
The chamber became a warzone.
"Defensive circle!" Yao Jun's voice cracked through the chaos, calm but commanding. His hand rose, Qi exploding outward to form a dome of light that covered the cultivators. The first wave of insects slammed against it, hissing, spitting venom, wings buzzing furiously. The dome quaked, cracks spreading instantly under the pressure.
Shen Hao roared, palm flashing with blazing Qi, smashing an insect's head into pulp. Lingfeng sliced through another with a gust sharp enough to shred its shell, his laughter echoing wildly. "Master! If we die here, I'll haunt you forever!"
"Focus!" Shen Hao barked, ducking as a claw swept over his head. He struck upward, fist bursting through its chest. Blood sprayed hot across his arm.
But for every insect slain, more replaced them. Dozens. Hundreds.
Then the dome shattered.
The swarm descended in full.
Screams filled the cavern. A cultivator to Shen Hao's left was caught in mid-air, a mandible clamping around his waist before snapping him in two. Another unleashed a desperate wave of fire, incinerating three insects, only to be dragged down by five more, his cries cut off in a wet crunch.
Qi lit the chamber in blinding colors, beams of lightning, torrents of flame, blades of ice, shadows that devoured whole swaths of insects, yet the swarm drowned them. It was endless. Each cultivator fought like a monster, a beast, but the tide rose higher with every breath.
Shen Hao felt claws rake across his chest, tearing through cloth, blood splattering hot down his torso. He staggered back, vision spinning, only to block another strike with his arm. Pain seared through him, bones cracking. He gritted his teeth and countered with a palm strike that split the insect in half.
Mo Han's voice roared in his skull. "Shen Hao! You can't let them overwhelm you, hold, damn it!"
But it was too late for some. Another cultivator screamed as venom struck his face, melting flesh from bone in seconds. A woman spun desperately, blades dancing in her hands, only to vanish in a spray of blood as three insects teleported behind her and tore her apart. Their deaths echoed through the chamber, swallowed instantly by the unrelenting swarm.
The Queen shrieked again. Her massive legs struck the stone, shaking the cavern, as she spewed a torrent of violet venom that scorched the ground in a steaming river. Cultivators scrambled, some leaping clear, others caught in the flood, their bodies dissolving in moments.
Shen Hao's chest heaved, his wounds burning, Qi thrashing wildly through his veins as he fought tooth and claw just to stay alive. He saw Yao Jun ahead, calm as ever, his robe torn but his strikes precise, his two silent companions slaughtering insects with terrifying efficiency. Yet even they were being pushed back, their circle shrinking, the swarm pressing in closer with every heartbeat.
The cavern stank of blood, venom, burning Qi. The walls shook under the Queen's roars. And the swarm, endless, ceaseless, merciless, drowned them.
Shen Hao's eyes burned as another claw raked his arm, blood streaming, muscles screaming with every motion. For a moment, despair threatened to break him.
But then, deep in his dantian, a spark flared.
Heat surged through his veins. The familiar burn, the promise of destruction, the terrifying force he had sworn to control.
The Ember Bloom.
Lingfeng's laughter cut through the chaos, wild and sharp. "Master! It's time. Burn them all!"
Mo Han's voice, grim and cold: "If you unleash it here, you may bring the mountain down."
Shen Hao's lips split in a bloody grin. "Better the mountain than my corpse."
The swarm lunged as one, wings shrieking, venom hissing, claws slashing.
And Shen Hao let go.
The Ember Bloom ignited in his palm, a rose of pure violet fire that bloomed outward in violent beauty. Its petals shimmered with the essence of his soul, each curve glowing brighter than lightning, each fold radiating heat fierce enough to warp the very air around him. The swarm faltered, their wings stuttering mid-beat, as if some primal fear pressed against their carapaces. Even the Queen hesitated, her vast frame recoiling slightly from the power gathering in Shen Hao's hand.
Then the rose detonated.
A sun was born in the cavern.
The explosion tore through the swarm in a wave of annihilation. Heat and light surged outward like a storm unleashed from the heavens, vaporizing everything in its path. Insects disintegrated mid-screech, their bodies reduced to ash before they hit the floor. Venom evaporated into harmless vapor. Webs of purple silk burst into flames and collapsed in on themselves. The Queen shrieked once, a sound that split stone, before the fire consumed her completely, her towering form reduced to cinders in the space of a heartbeat.
The cavern itself groaned under the force. Stone walls buckled, the ceiling cracked, molten rivers burst from their trenches in fountains of blazing orange. The Ember Bloom's petals expanded into the air, each flare tearing deeper into the mountain. Rocks cascaded like rain, entire shelves of stone collapsing as the explosion threatened to bury everything in ruin.
Cultivators screamed in shock, scrambling back from the detonation's edge. Qi shields flared desperately as they braced against the shockwave. Even Yao Jun, calm as a mountain, raised a sleeve to shield himself as his robe snapped like a banner in the gale of destruction. His two companions moved to cover him, their silent strength strained against the tidal force that ripped through the cavern.
And then, silence.
The swarm was gone.
The Queen, gone.
The cavern, half-collapsed, smoldered in ruins, glowing with embers and dripping with molten stone. A haze of smoke and heat hung in the air, thick enough to choke, the only sound the crackle of flames devouring the last of the silk. Where there had been thousands of insects, only ash remained, scattered like dust across the battlefield.
Shen Hao stood at the center, his body swaying, blood streaking down his arm, his chest heaving as he forced breath after ragged breath. The glow of the Ember Bloom faded from his palm, leaving only the stench of charred stone and burned chitin. His vision swam, the cavern twisting around him, but he forced himself upright. He had unleashed the Bloom at full strength, and though he still stood, his body trembled under the strain.
The cultivators stared at him.
Not with gratitude.
With fear.
Whispers rippled through the survivors, their eyes wide, their faces pale. "That power…" "He destroyed them all in a single strike…" "What kind of monster…" They edged away, their steps small but certain, as though proximity alone was dangerous. Even those who moments ago had fought back-to-back with Shen Hao now looked at him as if he were the Queen herself.
Only Yao Jun did not flinch.
He lowered his sleeve, the faint smile still resting on his face. His eyes, calm but sharp, studied Shen Hao in silence for a moment. Then, slowly, warmly, he inclined his head. "Impressive," he said, his voice soft but steady. "Truly impressive."
Shen Hao met his gaze, his own chest still heaving, sweat and blood streaking his face. Yao Jun's smile deepened, not mocking, not fearful, but thoughtful. Where the others recoiled, he stepped forward, as though greeting an equal.
In the smoke-filled silence of the cavern, that smile was more unsettling than any scream.