Chapter 5: Shadows of the Inn
The inn's walls creaked under a restless night, its lanterns casting shadows. The silver-blue flame, hidden behind closed doors, danced like moonlight, refining pills in secret. At the 3rd Layer of Qi Gathering, Lin Xuan's cultivation was stable, but the Zhi Clan's pursuit and the Hei Clan's involvement kept him vigilant.
Liu Yue's face haunted him, her moonlit eyes stirring an ache he refused to name. He focused on the jade pendant, shattering it to reveal two identical coins—One Dark, One Golden, etched with The Celestial Unity Crest—a crown wreathed in yin-yang swirls, twin phoenixes, a lotus with a void core, orbiting stars, and subtle sword patterns. The Severed Unity Pendant amplified the Scriptures.
Liu Yue knocked, her sapphire robes clinging to her frame. "Liu Yang's better," she said. "But the Zhi Clan's coming, aren't they?"
"They are," Lin Xuan said, handing her the golden coin. "This is yours. It'll guide your cultivation." Her fingers brushed his, her cheeks flushing, sparking that ache. "Why help us?" she asked. "You're… different."
"The old Lin Xuan's dead," he said coldly. "I'm what's left." Her trust cut through him, and he turned away. "Rest. We leave at dawn."
He refined pills with the silver-blue flame, Black Talon's words echoing: the Hei Clan sought the Scriptures, ignorant of their true purpose. A disturbance outside—six Zhi Clan scouts at the 4th to 5th Layer of Qi Gathering—drew him into the night.
Lin Xuan moved like a specter, Celestial Glide silencing his steps. "The girl's in the inn," a scout hissed. Lin Xuan struck with Tooth Dagger, tearing a throat. Their qi blades flashed, but he wove through with Celestial Glide, using Energy Devour to weaken a fire blade. Tooth Dagger shattered chests, his Iron Body Art deflecting blows. The leader's qi wolf clawed his arm, but Lin Xuan siphoned its qi, ending him.
He devoured their qi, nearing the 4th Layer, and returned bloodstained. Liu Yue's worry—"You're hurt"—stirred that ache. "We must leave now," he said, the Zhi Clan's threat growing.