Cloudstride Gorge was no longer quiet.
The golden radiance that had descended upon Lin Xuan still flickered faintly, but the world around it had changed. The mists no longer drifted lazily. They curled, tightened, and swirled in unnatural spirals—as though the gorge itself were inhaling.
This was no ordinary reaction.
The Third Dragon Vein had not simply awakened.
It had opened its eyes.
The cracked stone beneath Lin Xuan's feet pulsed with a soft jade glow. Each pulse vibrated through the mountain, through the forest, through the far-off rivers that threaded the land. Yu Qinglin watched with widening eyes as the patterns of jade light shifted around him—alive, fluid, and impossibly ancient.
"Lin Xuan… the mountain is breathing with you."
He did not answer.
The jade lattice inside him tightened, then expanded. Something within the Third Vein answered every breath he took, syncing with his heartbeat as though they shared a single life.
For a moment, the world seemed to stretch.
He felt the weight of mountains.
The quiet murmur of rivers.
The restless stirrings of distant cultivators who had sensed Heaven's pulse.
And deep below the earth…
something vast shifted.
Something that had slept for centuries.
Lin Xuan opened his eyes, and the jade veins beneath his skin glowed faintly.
"The blessing has roots deeper than I imagined," he whispered.
But there was no triumph in his tone.
Only caution.
A crack ran across the stone platform.
Thin, almost delicate.
But the mountain reacted violently.
Birds scattered from the trees in clouds of feathers. Animals bolted. Wind whirled in spirals. The village below fell into an uneasy silence as cold shadows drifted across their fields.
Yu Qinglin stepped back. "The entire gorge is shaking—Lin Xuan, what's happening?"
He lifted a hand.
The jade lattice inside him responded instantly, flowing into his palm in a smooth ripple. The trembling stone calmed.
"The Third Dragon Vein is adjusting to me," he said softly. "It recognizes the blessing, but it also fears what approaches."
Yu Qinglin's heart tightened. "Something is approaching…?"
He nodded.
Slowly.
Gravely.
And then—
The sky dimmed.
Daylight faded not into darkness, but into a muted silver glow. The clouds above twisted into thin strands, as though pulled by invisible hands. Yu Qinglin felt a chill run down her spine.
"Lin Xuan… the wind changed direction."
"It changes for him," Lin Xuan murmured.
"For who?"
But before he could answer—
A faint droplet of cold landed on Yu Qinglin's arm.
She looked down.
"Snow…? But it's not winter."
Lin Xuan's expression turned solemn.
"That is not snow. It is starlight frost."
The temperature plummeted.
The mists froze mid-air, tiny crystals shimmering like tiny stars suspended in time. Even Yu Qinglin—whose cultivation was not weak—felt her breath tremble in her chest.
Only one kind of cultivator carried an aura that could freeze the breath of Heaven itself.
Yu Qinglin whispered, "He's already this close…?"
Lin Xuan closed his eyes.
He could feel the approach—slow, deliberate, unhurried.
The presence did not rush.
It did not need to.
Every step it took caused the world to bend ever so slightly.
Down in the valley, strange phenomena unfolded.
Children pointed at the sky where thin silver lines shimmered between clouds—threads of energy visible only during heavenly disturbances. Women clutched their infants close. Men gripped tools, unsure of what enemy could cause daylight to flicker.
"It is the mountain," an elder whispered. "It speaks with a voice we do not understand."
The river darkened again.
Fish swam in chaotic spirals.
Birds refused to land.
And then—
a single crack of thunder erupted in a cloudless sky.
The elder dropped to his knees.
"Something divine walks these mountains today…"
The frost thickened.
The air grew still.
And then he appeared.
A figure emerged through the drifting silver mist, walking as though every step carried the rhythm of the cosmos itself. His robes shimmered with faint constellations, each star stitched from threads of frost and quiet light. His long hair swayed gently, though no wind existed.
His eyes—
His eyes were not eyes.
They were two deep, ancient abysses filled with quiet patience and overwhelming history.
Eyes that had watched dynasties rise and fall.
Eyes that saw Heaven's intentions before Heaven acted.
Yu Qinglin instantly stepped behind Lin Xuan, her breath shaking.
"Who… who is that?"
Lin Xuan lowered his head in a respectful half-bow.
"An Ascendant of the Starlit Path."
Yu Qinglin's knees weakened.
Cultivators like him existed only in old legends—beings who walked the Dao so deeply that the world itself moved aside for them.
The Ascendant stopped several steps away.
His gaze fell upon Lin Xuan, and the jade lattice inside Lin Xuan vibrated in response. Not from fear—
but recognition.
"You carry the Third Dragon Vein," the man said, his voice soft as winter breath. "And Heaven has touched your soul."
Yu Qinglin swallowed hard.
His voice alone felt like a force pressing upon her bones.
Lin Xuan remained calm.
"Heaven blessed… and warned."
A faint smile touched the Ascendant's lips. "As it always does."
He looked at the faint golden afterglow lingering where Heaven's column had been.
"When the Vein breathes, the world listens," he murmured. "And I have heard its first cry."
He extended a hand.
Not aggressively.
Not challengingly.
But like a teacher offering a student a page of an ancient book.
"Show me your heart," he said softly. "Not your cultivation."
Yu Qinglin held her breath.
This was not a fight.
This was a test of essence.
A test only those chosen by Heaven could survive.
Lin Xuan exhaled.
The jade lattice inside him unfurled like blooming petals, spiraling upward and outward. Mist parted. Light converged. Yu Qinglin felt her chest tighten as the world fell eerily silent.
The Ascendant's starlight gathered in his palm.
The two energies approached.
Jade met starlight—
And the moment they touched, reality froze.
The river below halted mid-current.
Leaves hung motionless mid-fall.
Wind stopped in its tracks.
Time held its breath.
Yu Qinglin felt her soul tremble.
The jade lattice inside Lin Xuan did more than reflect the starlight.
It mirrored it.
Understood it.
Answered it.
The Ascendant's eyes widened slightly.
"So it is true," he whispered. "Your heart is not seeking power… but clarity."
The world resumed movement.
The Ascendant withdrew his hand.
"You are not ready," he said gently. "But Heaven has no patience for readiness."
Yu Qinglin finally exhaled.
Her legs trembled.
The Ascendant turned his gaze to the horizon, where faint ripples of qi flickered.
"The world is shifting. Sect masters will rise from seclusion. Hidden clans will awaken. Spirits long sealed will stir."
His eyes narrowed.
"And all… will seek you."
Yu Qinglin's heart pounded.
Lin Xuan met the Ascendant's gaze calmly. "Why me?"
The man's answer was soft but terrifying.
"Because Heaven placed something inside the Third Dragon Vein. Something not seen in ten thousand years."
Yu Qinglin froze.
Lin Xuan's heartbeat accelerated.
"What did Heaven place inside it?" Lin Xuan asked quietly.
The Ascendant stared at him with unreadable eyes.
"A fragment of destiny that does not belong to this era."
Yu Qinglin gasped.
Lin Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.
"But destiny always comes with a price," the Ascendant continued. "And someone else… someone ancient… has already begun walking toward you."
"Who?" Yu Qinglin whispered.
The Ascendant did not answer.
Instead, he faded into drifting motes of starlight.
But just before he vanished completely, his final words lingered on the wind:
"A calamity wrapped in human flesh."
Silence fell over the gorge.
The frost dissipated.
The mists breathed again.
Yu Qinglin stepped close, voice trembling. "Lin Xuan… what did he mean?"
Lin Xuan didn't answer immediately.
Because the moment the Ascendant vanished—
the Third Dragon Vein pulsed.
Hard.
A deep, resonant thrum shook the ground and the sky at once.
The jade lattice inside him flared brightly, almost painfully.
And for the first time, Lin Xuan sensed it:
A sealed chamber inside the Dragon Vein.
A whisper from something ancient.
A presence watching him from within his own power.
His breath caught.
Yu Qinglin grabbed his arm. "Lin Xuan—what is it?!"
He spoke slowly, every word heavy as mountains.
"The blessing was not the end. It was the beginning."
Another pulse.
The Dragon Vein glowed—
not jade.
Not gold.
But a deep, ominous crimson lurking beneath the layers.
Yu Qinglin's face drained of color. "Crimson… why is there crimson inside a Dragon Vein?!"
Lin Xuan inhaled, eyes narrowing.
"Because someone has touched the Third Vein before me."
A cold wind swept through the gorge.
From far beyond the mountains—
much farther than the Ascendant's presence—
a single ripple of overwhelming power spread outward.
Lin Xuan's jade lattice shook violently.
Yu Qinglin clasped her hands over her chest. "What… what is that?!"
Lin Xuan gazed at the distant horizon.
His voice was calm.
Quiet.
But filled with gravity.
"The one Heaven warned me about… has awakened."
And the Third Dragon Vein responded with a pulse that shook the world.