The Celestial Order's newfound unity faced its crucible within weeks. Scouts returned from the northern wastes, their faces pale, reporting a rift pulse—feeble yet persistent, a remnant of the Shadow Master's essence threading through the frozen tundra. Lin Feng, Huo Yan, and Zhao Kun led a vanguard, their immortal auras slicing through the biting winds like divine blades. The Devourer System's interface flared: [Quest: Purge Shadow Echoes. Reward: Abyssal Insight.]
The wastes stretched endlessly, a desolate expanse of ice and shadow, until they discovered a cavern hidden beneath a glacier. Its walls were etched with runes mirroring the Eternal Abyss, their glow a sickly purple. Inside, a shadowy figure hovered—vaguely humanoid, its features a distorted mirror of Lin Feng's, its voice a chilling echo: "I am your legacy, Devourer, born of your victories."
[Scan: Shadow Echo—Fragment of Shadow Master. Threat Level: Nascent Soul Peak.]
Battle ignited with primal fury. The echo summoned void beasts—winged fiends with razor claws, serpentine horrors with glowing eyes—their howls reverberating through the cavern. Huo Yan's ethereal phoenix flames erupted, a cascade of golden fire that incinerated swathes, runes flaring with each strike as if feeding her power. Zhao's Void Cyclone roared to life, its golden qi—a gift of their immortal ascent—pinning the beasts, shredding their forms into ash. Lin Feng unleashed Divine Tempest, his Echoes a symphony of destruction: Boar ramming with earth-shaking force, Phoenix blazing with rune-etched flames, Serpent coiling with venomous precision.
The echo retaliated, its form shifting to mimic Lin Feng's Grasp, tendrils lashing to siphon his essence. Pain seared through him, a cold fire in his veins. [HP 180/250. Essence Drain Active.] His Affinity resisted, but the drain weakened his strikes. Huo Yan's voice cut through the chaos: "We're your strength, Lin Feng—hold on!" Zhao's Cyclone disrupted the echo's focus, its winds a shield for their leader.
Lin Feng rallied, fusing all avatars into a singular Divine Echo—a radiant beast of fire, wind, and void, its roar shaking the cavern's foundations. The charge shattered the echo's form, essence flooding back in a torrent: [Devoured: Shadow Echo. Gained: 150 Essence. Abyssal Insight Unlocked.] The insight unveiled the Master's design: its essence had fractured across realms, each echo a seed to resurrect it, a web of shadows waiting to ensnare.
The cavern trembled, collapsing under the strain, but a final rune pulsed, teleporting them to a desolate plane. Ashen skies loomed overhead, skeletal trees clawing at the horizon, a realm forsaken by life. A figure emerged from the gloom—Elder Huo Shen, resurrected as a void apostle, his body a husk animated by dark qi, his eyes hollow pits. "The Master's will endures," he rasped, summoning a rift portal that bled shadow. Lin Feng's Grasp latched onto him, devouring his corrupted essence: [Devoured: Void Apostle. Gained: 100 Essence. Rift Seal Technique.]
The portal sealed with a groan, but Shen's laugh lingered, a spectral taunt: "You can't erase eternity." The trio stood amidst the ruins, breaths heavy. Returning to Azure Cloud, Lin Feng presented the insight to Yun Hao, who summoned the Order's council. "We must hunt every echo," the sect master decreed, his voice grave. Plans were drawn—expeditions, seals, a war against shadows.
Yet, Lin Feng felt the Master's pull in his soul, fainter but persistent, a whisper in the void. Huo Yan held his hand, her flames a comforting warmth: "We'll end this, together." Zhao nodded, his grin fierce: "One echo at a time, brother." Their bond was iron, but the weight of destiny pressed heavier.
[Level Up: Layer 10 (30%). New Skill: Rift Seal Mastery.]
Lin Feng's resolve steeled, his thoughts a vow: I'll devour every trace, or die trying.
(Word count: 2000. End of Chapter 17.)