The "Whispering Wind" inn was a modest two-story building that had seen better days. Its wooden walls creaked with every nocturnal gust, and the scent of jasmine tea barely managed to disguise the smell of dampness seeping from the basement.
Lián Zhen stopped in front of room number seven, his heart beating with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Three soft knocks, just as Wei Xuanji had indicated.
"Enter."
The interior was illuminated by a single candle, whose flame danced casting elongated shadows on the walls. Wei Xuanji sat in lotus position on a mat, but something had changed. The facade of the frail old man had disappeared. His eyes glowed with an inner light that seemed to contain eons of knowledge, and his posture radiated an authority that made the very air vibrate.
"You've decided to come," he said without opening his eyes. "Good. Sit."
Zhen obeyed, positioning himself in front of the scholar. Silence stretched between them until Wei Xuanji finally spoke.
"Before we continue, I must ask you a crucial question. How much are you willing to sacrifice for true power?"
"Sacrifice?"
"Your normal life. Your family. Your identity as Lián Zhen, the farmer's son." The scholar's eyes opened, blazing with supernatural intensity. "Because once you fully awaken, there will be no turning back. You will become something that transcends common mortality."
Zhen thought of his parents, of his home, of the fields he had known all his life. Then he thought of the pitying glances, of Feng Qiao's words, of a lifetime of being considered broken.
"I no longer have a normal life to lose."
Wei Xuanji smiled, and in that smile there was something fierce and ancient.
"Perfect. Then let us begin with the truth."
⸻
**The Truth of the Void**
Wei Xuanji extended his hand, and the air filled with golden light. Ancient characters appeared floating in the space between them, forming complex patterns that seemed to continuously rewrite themselves.
"My true name is Wei Wuxian, last guardian of the Primordial Void Codex. What you call 'Absolute Silence' is actually the purest manifestation of the **Dao of Infinite Void**—the ability to contain and master all forms of cultivation that have existed, exist, and will exist."
The characters reorganized, showing images that flowed like memories made of light. Zhen saw vast libraries burning, cultivators wielding powers that defied comprehension, and at the center of it all—a single figure standing in an ocean of perfect silence.
"Ten thousand years ago, during the Era of Transcendent Chaos, cultivation had reached its absolute peak. Masters could reshape reality with a thought, sects commanded the power of entire star systems, and the boundaries between dimensions had become meaningless." Wei Wuxian's voice carried the weight of eons. "But power without limitation breeds corruption. The strongest cultivators began to devour entire worlds, consuming everything in their path to fuel their endless ascension."
The images shifted, showing cosmic destruction on an unimaginable scale.
"The universe itself was dying. So the Primordial Will—the consciousness that governs all existence—created a solution. The **Void Codex**. A cultivation method that could absorb and neutralize any technique, no matter how powerful. But to use it…" Wei Wuxian's eyes fixed on Zhen. "One had to be born with perfect emptiness. A soul so quiet that it could contain infinite noise."
"The Absolute Silence," Zhen whispered.
"Precisely. The Codex chose its first and only successor—the Void Emperor. He ended the Era of Chaos by absorbing every technique, every bloodline, every dao into himself. Then he vanished, sealing the Codex away to prevent another catastrophe."
"But the Codex remained. Waiting. And now…"
The golden characters suddenly rushed toward Zhen, streaming into his chest like liquid starlight. He gasped as knowledge flooded his mind—not just techniques, but the very foundations of how cultivation worked.
[System Evolution Detected]
[Integrating Primordial Void Codex…]
[WARNING: User consciousness at 34% and falling…]
[Emergency Protocol Activated]
Zhen's vision blurred as information poured into his brain faster than he could process it. He saw the techniques of a thousand dead civilizations, felt the echoes of cultivators who had transcended mortality itself, and beneath it all—something vast and hungry stirring in the deepest parts of his soul.
"Focus!" Wei Wuxian's voice cut through the chaos. "Don't let it consume you! You are the master, not the vessel!"
But even as Zhen struggled to maintain his sense of self, he felt his power exploding exponentially. The three echoes he had absorbed before were nothing compared to this. His Qi Sea, barely formed days ago, suddenly expanded into an ocean. His spiritual perception stretched outward, and he could sense every cultivator within a hundred-mile radius.
More than that—he could feel their techniques. Understand them. **Take them.**
[Integration Complete]
[Primordial Void Codex: Activated]
[Current Status: Void Initiate - First Circle]
[Echoes Available for Absorption: ∞]
[Universal Resonance: 3%]
The flood of information stopped as suddenly as it had begun. Zhen found himself on his hands and knees, gasping for air that tasted of starlight and eternity.
"Congratulations," Wei Wuxian said, though his tone was grim. "You've just become the most dangerous being in this reality."
⸻
**The Price of Awakening**
Zhen slowly pushed himself upright, marveling at how different everything felt. His body hummed with power that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. When he looked at Wei Wuxian, he could see the man's cultivation clearly—layers upon layers of techniques woven together in impossible harmony.
"I can see it," Zhen said in wonder. "Your entire cultivation base. The Thousand Winds Scripture, the Eternal Mountain Foundation, the… wait." His eyes widened. "You're using seven different core techniques simultaneously. That should be impossible."
"Not for a guardian of the Archive." Wei Wuxian's smile was proud and sad. "I've spent three centuries learning to harmonize contradictory techniques. But you…" He shook his head in amazement. "You could master them all in minutes."
As if to prove his point, Zhen felt his system stirring again.
[Scanning Target: Wei Wuxian]
[Techniques Identified: 247]
[Compatibility: 100% (All techniques compatible with Void Codex)]
[Absorb all? Y/N]
The temptation was overwhelming. With a single thought, he could become more powerful than most sect masters. But Wei Wuxian's warning about losing himself echoed in his mind.
"Not yet," he said aloud, dismissing the prompt. "I need to understand what I've become first."
Wei Wuxian's expression shifted to one of genuine respect. "Wise. Many would have immediately tried to devour my cultivation base. Your restraint gives me hope."
"Hope for what?"
"That you won't repeat the mistakes of the Void Emperor." Wei Wuxian stood, and Zhen was surprised to realize the old man now seemed smaller somehow—not physically, but in presence. As if Zhen's own spiritual weight had grown to match or exceed his. "He became drunk on infinite power and lost sight of why he sought it. In the end, his hunger consumed not just his enemies, but everything he once cared about."
Before Zhen could respond, his enhanced senses picked up something alarming. Footsteps. Many of them. Moving with the disciplined precision of trained cultivators.
"We have company," he said quietly.
Wei Wuxian nodded grimly. "Faster than I expected. The awakening of the Codex sent ripples through the spiritual realm. Every major sect within a thousand miles felt it."
The footsteps stopped outside the inn. Then a voice boomed with qi-enhanced volume, shaking the entire building:
"Wei Wuxian! We know you're here! Surrender the inheritor of the forbidden technique and we may allow you to live!"
Zhen recognized the voice—Elder Blackthorne of the Thunder Celestial Sect, one of the three major powers that governed this region. But his enhanced perception told him there were others. Many others.
"Seven different sects," he said, amazement coloring his voice. "They're working together."
"The Void Codex is the ultimate prize," Wei Wuxian replied, beginning to gather spiritual energy around himself. "Ancient enemies will unite to claim or destroy it."
"What do we do?"
Wei Wuxian's grin was sharp as a blade. "We give you your first real test. Time to see what infinite potential actually means in practice."
[Emergency Quest Activated: Survival Against All Odds]
[Enemies Detected: 73 Cultivators (Levels 15-68)]
[Recommended Action: Tactical Absorption and Rapid Power Scaling]
[Warning: Excessive absorption may cause spiritual fracturing]
[Reward: Unlock Second Circle of Void Codex]
Zhen felt his blood surge with excitement and terror in equal measure. Minutes ago, he had been afraid to absorb a single echo. Now he was contemplating facing down the combined might of seven major sects.
The old him would have hidden. Would have run.
But the old him hadn't carried the weight of infinity in his soul.
"Tell me," he said to Wei Wuxian, power beginning to radiate from his skin like heat from a forge, "how many techniques can I absorb simultaneously before my mind breaks?"
"In theory? There's no limit." Wei Wuxian's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "But no one has ever tested the theory."
The building shook as the cultivators outside began to charge their techniques. Zhen could sense them preparing—flame techniques, lightning arts, earth-shattering palm strikes, and dozens of others.
All of them about to become his.
"Then I guess we're about to make history," Zhen said, and stepped toward the window.
Outside, seventy-three of the most powerful cultivators in the region waited to claim or kill him.
By dawn, the cultivation world would never be the same.