Part 1: The Sand Does Not Forgive
The "Herald of the Void" descended onto the plateau of Skull Rock as the sun still spat fire over the desert. When the hatch opened, the dry, scorching air hit the Morningstars like a slap of reality. This was no refuge—it was a trial.
Samael was the first to step onto the sand. His black cloak fluttered in the hostile wind, eyes fixed on the horizon, feeling the tremor beneath the surface—as if something gigantic moved in the depths. In his hand, the Dragon Bone Compass throbbed with an ominous glow.
"We're still being stalked," he warned in a cold voice, loud enough for all to hear. "The Path-Devourer hasn't forgotten our presence. And the Valois hunters are near. Here, training isn't to grow strong: it's to avoid dying."
Lilith, aunt and pillar of the clan, disembarked from the ship. She surveyed the dunes like someone assessing a minefield.
"Let no one stray. The sand swallows the weak and betrays the overconfident."
Part 2: Trial of Blood and Wind
Before unloading the supplies, a vibration coursed through the earth. The silence was shattered by the screech of scales on rock: a Basalt-Scaled Viper (Transcendence Stage 8) emerged, colossal and ravenous, its eyes fixed on the caravan.
Fear was instantaneous, but Samael raised his hand, preventing the elders from intervening.
"Kael, it's yours. Remember: it's not about strength, it's about intent. The desert doesn't reward excess, only precision."
Kael nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. He gripped his Earth-Grade Sword, noticing how the ground trembled with every advance of the viper.
The beast attacked with a sonic shockwave. Kael breathed, merging with the wind, and made an almost invisible lateral step. There was no clash—only a cut:
"Sword Intent: Silent Blade."
A flash of pure wind, so swift not even the sand stirred.
The viper's head rolled to the disciples' feet. Kael sheathed his sword, trembling more from tension than effort.
"Efficiency, not spectacle," Samael approved, though his eyes did not celebrate. The tremor beneath the sand intensified, and the viper's blood was absorbed by the ground almost instantly. Something larger was feeding on the fear.
Part 3: The Void Chamber and Urgency
Without delay, Samael extracted the Viper's Core and entered the central cave.
"I invest the core and 2,000 spirit stones. System, activate the defense and training formation."
[DING!]
[Multiplier x30. The Gravity Pagoda has evolved into the 'Celestial Void Tempering Chamber.']
"Increase gravity. Filter impurities. Here, we'll forge bodies and spirits… if they survive."
The clan gathered. Samael looked at them, knowing many weren't ready, but he couldn't protect them all.
"You have three months before the Valois cross the desert. You'll train in groups. If your meridians burn, let them burn: only then will you be reborn. If you collapse, get up or die here."
Some disciples went pale, others clenched their fists with renewed determination. The air vibrated with anxiety and hunger for power.
Part 4: Wounds, Resilience, and Promises
Lilith took charge of resources and groups, her Qi stabilizing under the pressure of the new formation.
"Here, age gives no rank. Only merit," she declared.
In the shadows, Violeta and Eris, still weak but attentive, exchanged a steely look.
"We're going to survive, no matter what," Violeta whispered.
Kael, with the Law Seed vibrating in his chest, knelt beside the new disciples, inspiring respect.
An exhausted elder murmured:
"What if the Path-Devourer finds us…?"
Samael looked at him, his violet eyes as hard as quartz.
"Then let it learn to fear us."
Part 5: The Eye Beneath the Sand (Cliffhanger)
At nightfall, as the first groups entered the Gravity Chamber, the sand trembled. A muffled roar echoed through the dunes, so low and deep only the most sensitive cultivators could perceive it.
Samael, in meditation, opened one eye. A fleeting image crossed his mind:
A gigantic blue eye, inscribed with runes, opening beneath the sand, watching Skull Rock.
In the distance, the Valois Blood Hunters prepared their weapons, guided by the trail of a drop of blood.
"The Patriarch wants the brat's head and the white-haired girls," the commander growled. "The desert will know the scent of Morningstar blood."
The Path-Devourer moved.
The sand vibrated, and peace was only an illusion.
End of Chapter 13