Firstly, the earth seemed to tremble, as if from some great ancient beast. Dust rained from high over the gorge walls as rocks were sent tumbling into mist swirling on churning far below. The fissure in the cliff-face grew wider with a sound like cracking bone, and out spilled golden light, harsh and wild, bathing each person's face with eerie brilliance.
Lin Xuan carried his spear tightly. He was still on the outside, but within, all his senses were as sharp as an arrow just drawn.
[System Alert: Integrity of Primordial Seal collapsing. Estimated time to failure: 180 breaths.]
Lin Xuan slowed his pulse. It is indeed broken now.
Around him, disciples were running about, screaming.
"What happened?"
"The gorge… It's falling apart!"
"This isn't a test at all!"
The air grew heavier. With each pulse of the fissure, qi transformed into waves that swept across the battlefield, so thick it scalded lungs and fired meridians. Within moments, some of the weaker disciples who had all lain down coughed up blood and could not rise to their feet any longer.
First came the beasts. Wolves with limbs suddenly bent, their eyes bright with golden fire as they crouched low in grotesque postures. Snakes then slithered about with scales engendering ooze, stretching their length far beyond anything given by Nature for such creatures. And even vultures dropped from the sky, their wings filled with air ripe with corrupting energy, as though starting to change form.
The disciples cried out as one.
At that time Lin Xuan sprang into action. His spear sliced arcs of silver through the golden mist, its every blow a model of careful deliberateness. He sought no fancy victory for its own sake; he struck only when the beasts came near him, intent upon destroying their existence.
In the frightened disciples' eyes, he seemed to hold back the flood singlehandedly.
The fissure was deeper, its edges lined with symbols much older than our sect -- remnants of a formation of sealing, flickering like so many dying embers.
Rising from the ground, a sound heavier than thunder, older than the wind. Although this sound was not actually heard, it made itself felt, crushing against their skulls and the very core of their bones. Some students screamed and put their hands on their heads. Others fell down dead, blood streaming out from their ears and eyes.
([System Notice: Primordial Echo detected. Mental fortitude test activated.]
[Omni-Talent Stabilization… Completed.])
Lin Xuan only staggered back a little. The pain was ruthless and sharp, thereby against his mind, but his System balanced it all with incredible ease; weaving its own iron will against the gale.
This voice... It wasn't the roar of beasts, but what had been shackled for far too long.
The Ten Thousand Silent Miles
"Where are the elders?" asked a kneeling disciple. "Why don't they come?"
There was no answer.
Lin Xuan understood then. The sect had known. This gorge had been a trial: throw disciples into the pen, and maybe the seal will hold one more generation. If that fails, then those who survived could serve as both witnesses and sacrifices.
His lips pressed flat. So all of us have been mere chess pieces.
The Omni-Talent Revelation
During the split, the system surged and squirmed.
[Primordial Pattern Detected.]
[Replication possible. Warning: Fragmentary inheritance unstable.]
Golden lines overlaid his vision, setting patterns into the clefts of seal: seals within seals, runes worn half away by time's passage. He saw them but for heartbeats, yet in that instant, the Omni-Talent System burned them into his memory.
Material wisdom of sects long past poured into him; qi flows that had not been recorded in the manuals, the way to arrange a formation so as to pin things beyond any limit of understanding.
He took a deep breath, controlling himself. Outwardly, there was no difference from before -- alone against the storm of snow. Yet inside his mind flared full of fresh fragments of ancient inheritance.
Time's up.
The seal shattered.
What all this means is above words of description—like the collision of world on world, worlds breaking apart. An erupted gold light scorched the valley till it became brightly lit with golden heat. The rocks split, trees wilted instantly, and the animals' shrieks rose beyond all. If the bodies did not burgeon into dust, they warped further and snapped apart altogether.
Disciples tumbled to the ground, some dead on impact, some groaning for breath.
From the gap, a wave of qi swept forth majestically.
Lin Xuan drops to a knee, his spear pierces the ground, anchoring himself. Even the force produced at his index finger is overwhelming against him.
[System Override: Talent Replication shield activated.]
["Primordial Qi absorption" is possible. Risk factor: 92%.]
His teeth grind on each other. An aggregate of 92 percent will certainly bring death, but merely to stand by is not an option.
And so the qi rolls over him, burning through meridians, threatening to rend him apart. For just a fraction of time, Lin Xuan has a vision of what failure would mean: body shattered, soul scattered or erased as thoroughly as the thing that lies in front of life.
But the System flares, drawing fragments in and itching them to harmony.
["Replication": Fragment of Primordial Qi has been refined.]
[Strength, Endurance, and Spiritual Sense all raised.]
Lin Xuan's eyes slide back open. Power pulsates in his blood—uncharted, different, but not without control.
He gets up slowly, face as usual peaceful. Around him, students gaped, some in admiration and some in terrible fear.
Another Ambush
A slip of fear clouds Meng Zhao's smile for the first time.
He even stands now? This is absurd. The formation has been destroyed… no one should have lived, much less grown stronger.
A brief touch of fear twists in his stomach, though quickly swallowed by a fresh wave of malevolence. He must of course, be slain, the more so. If he keeps on like this, one day he will kill us all.
The valley fell silent, the light grew dim. Then it came.
From out of the crevice, a shadow rose—immense, formless, but bearing a weight that crushed lungs and stilled hearts. It was not of the flesh, nor of the spirit, but of something which had once been bound in chains by Heaven itself. Disciples took one glance at it and were frozen; terror stiffened their entire limbs.
Lin Xuan was staring directly at it, and his face appeared calm; yet his thoughts were certainly in a ferment. This is what they sealed. Something of an emperor, coming back to life... or a beast that had defied even Heaven itself.
The voice of the System echoed, smooth as ice and violently:
"(Hidden Quest: Confront the Primordial Shadow.)"
"(Failure Condition: Death.)"
With a low shout Lin Xuan raised his spear.
Mist swirled and light bled; the shadow leaned forward, presence like the crushing of mountains. Lin Xuan stood at the head alone, while disciples scattered out into the background from behind him.
His lips curled slightly. "Then let's see what lies behind the seal, like what's stored in the back room."
The shadow roared, and the narrow gorge echoed.