The dim glow of the sect's lanterns flickered through the barred window of Li Wang's quarters, casting long shadows across the stone floor. He leaned against the wall, his back aching from the earlier skirmish, while Sung Ji-Yeon paced the narrow space like a caged spirit beast. The air still carried the faint tang of void energy, a reminder of the rift they'd barely sealed. Dawn was hours away, but the weight of what came next pressed down on them like an impending storm.
"We can't wait for the inquisitor's decision," Ji-Yeon said, stopping to face him. Her eyes, sharp and unyielding, searched his face. "Lan Xiu might clear us of the sorcery charges, but she'll want answers about that relay hack. And if the Shadow Pavilion's reinforcements hit the sect at first light, we'll be sitting ducks."
Li Wang nodded, his mind racing. The suite hummed faintly in his awareness, its interface a ghostly overlay only he could see. [Anomaly Scan Complete: Shadow Node Coordinates - Whispering Wilds, Sector 7-Alpha. Estimated Defenses: Mid-Foundation Establishment Guards, Rift Stabilizers.] He'd pulled those details from the fragmented data during the fight, a risky dive into the pavilion's encrypted channels. But knowledge like that came at a cost—his Qi reserves were scraping bottom, and another big push might leave him vulnerable.
"You're right," he replied, pushing off the wall. "The coordinates point to a forward outpost in the Wilds. If we strike it now, we could disrupt their whole operation before they consolidate. Cut off the head, or at least give it a headache."
She crossed her arms, a wry smile tugging at her lips despite the tension. "You make it sound simple. We're talking about infiltrating a shadow network's base. And you—barely standing after that backlash."
He shrugged, though the motion sent a fresh twinge through his shoulder. "I've handled worse glitches back on... never mind. Point is, I've got tools they don't expect. But I can't do it alone. We need the others."
Ji-Yeon glanced toward the door, where the faint murmur of sect guards echoed down the hall. Elder Huo Feng had posted them after the attack, a "precaution" that felt more like a leash. "Zhao Feng and Tao Ren are probably still debriefing with Lan Xiu. Convincing them to sneak out on a suicide run won't be easy."
"Leave that to me." Li Wang closed his eyes for a moment, focusing inward. The suite responded with a subtle ping. [Initiating Subtle Influence Protocol: Target - Ally Notification.] It wasn't mind control—nothing that crude—but a nudge, a fabricated whisper in the right ears, making their path seem like the only logical choice. Risky in a sect full of probes, but necessary.
By the time they slipped out an hour later, cloaked in night Qi veils Ji-Yeon had prepared, the others were waiting in the shadow of the outer walls. Zhao Feng lounged against a boulder, twirling a dagger with casual flair, while Tao Ren stood nearby, his spirit fox curled at his feet, ears twitching alertly. Elder Huo Feng was absent, thankfully—Lan Xiu had kept him occupied with questions about the pavilion's incursion.
"About time," Zhao Feng muttered, sheathing his blade. "Heard you two had a little heart-to-heart in confinement. What's the play? Another rift barbecue?"
Tao Ren shot him a look, his voice calm but edged with concern. "This isn't a game, Zhao. The Wilds are crawling with corrupted beasts after that tide. And now shadows? Li Wang, you sure about these coordinates?"
Li Wang met his gaze steadily. "As sure as I can be without walking into it blind. The pavilion's using the rifts to siphon Qi—powering something big. If we hit their outpost, we might find out what. Or at least slow them down."
Ji-Yeon stepped forward, her presence commanding even in the dark. "We're not asking for blind faith. But staying here means facing the inquisitor's full scrutiny. And whatever the pavilion sends next."
The group exchanged glances, the weight of the decision settling in. Zhao Feng grinned, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Fine. Beats rotting in a cell. Lead on, anomaly boy."
They moved out under the cover of predawn mist, skirting the sect's patrols with practiced ease. Li Wang's suite helped, subtly freezing a guard's alert for a few precious seconds, but he kept it minimal. No need to tip off any hidden watchers. The path to the Whispering Wilds was familiar now—towering trees with leaves that whispered secrets on the wind, undergrowth thick with spirit herbs and hidden pitfalls. But tonight, the air felt heavier, laced with an unnatural chill that set Tao Ren's fox yipping softly.
As they delved deeper, the first signs of trouble emerged. Corrupted vines snaked across the trail, their thorns pulsing with void energy. Ji-Yeon drew her sword, a slender blade etched with family runes, and cleaved through them with precise strikes. "They're marking the way," she said between swings. "The pavilion's been busy."
Li Wang scanned ahead, the suite overlaying faint grids on his vision. [Environmental Anomaly: Void Traces - 45% Density. Recommended Action: Bypass.] "Veer left," he directed. "There's a stream bed that should be clear."
They followed his lead, splashing through shallow water that masked their footsteps. Hours passed in tense silence, broken only by Zhao Feng's occasional quips to ease the strain. "You know, if we pull this off, I expect a cut of whatever treasures we find. Maybe a nice Qi-boosting pill or two."
Tao Ren chuckled softly. "Greed will get you killed one day."
"Not if I'm the one doing the killing first."
By the time the coordinates loomed—a jagged cliff face veiled by illusion arrays—the eastern sky was lightening to a bruised purple. The outpost was subtle, a cavern mouth guarded by swirling mists that hid Foundation Establishment cultivators patrolling the perimeter. Li Wang crouched behind a cluster of boulders, his companions fanning out.
[Scanning Defenses: 12 Hostiles. Core Function: Rift Anchor - Stabilizes Local Tears.] He whispered the details, heart pounding. The anchor was the key—if they destroyed it, the pavilion's reinforcements might lose their waypoint.
"Ji-Yeon and I take the front," he said. "Zhao, flank right and pick off stragglers. Tao, your fox can disrupt the arrays from above."
Nods all around, and they moved. Ji-Yeon struck first, her sword flashing as she shattered the outer mist with a burst of Qi. Alarms blared—illusory horns that echoed through the cliffs—and shadows detached from the walls, cultivators in dark robes lunging with poisoned daggers and shadow chains.
Li Wang dodged a chain whip, the air whistling past his ear. He countered with a basic Qi palm strike, but his low reserves made it weak. [Edit Value: Personal Qi Output - +20%. Risk: Instability.] The boost surged through him, letting him freeze the attacker's movement mid-lunge. A quick jab to the throat dropped the man.
Ji-Yeon was a whirlwind beside him, her blade dancing through two foes at once. "They're coordinated—watch the flanks!"
From the right, Zhao Feng's daggers flew true, embedding in a guard's shoulder and drawing a scream. Tao Ren's fox leaped from ledge to ledge, its tails weaving illusions that confused the array keepers, causing the mists to flicker and expose weak points.
But the pavilion wasn't caught flat-footed. A burly cultivator at the cavern's mouth—Foundation Establishment mid-stage, by the density of his aura—bellowed a command, summoning void imps from cracks in the stone. The creatures swarmed, their claws raking at the group.
Li Wang's suite flared with warnings. [Threat Level: Elevated. Sovereign Echo Detected.] Not the full Tide Sovereign, but a remnant, drawn by the disturbance. He pushed harder, analyzing the anchor's function. [Modify Function: Rift Anchor - Introduce Loop Error.] It was a gamble—rewriting the code that held the rift stable. If it worked, the anchor would overload; if not, it could tear open a bigger breach right here.
Focusing amid the chaos, he touched the cavern wall, channeling the edit. Qi burned through his meridians like fire, the backlash hitting like a hammer. The anchor hummed, then screeched, purple energy crackling wildly.
"Get back!" he shouted, as the imps faltered, their forms glitching.
The explosion rocked the cliffs, void energy erupting in a geyser that swallowed the remaining guards. Ji-Yeon grabbed his arm, pulling him clear as rocks tumbled. When the dust settled, the cavern mouth was a smoking ruin, the anchor reduced to slag.
Zhao Feng whooped, wiping blood from a shallow cut. "That was insane! You just... blew it up from inside?"
Tao Ren approached cautiously, his fox sniffing the air. "It's done. The rift's collapsing—no reinforcements through here."
But victory soured quickly. Li Wang slumped against a tree, vision blurring. [Suite Integrity: 78%. Dao Heart Strain: Critical.] The edit had cost more than he'd anticipated, his cultivation base trembling on the edge of regression.
Ji-Yeon knelt beside him, her hand on his shoulder. "You pushed too far again. What is this power of yours, really?"
Before he could answer, a new alert pierced the haze. [Incoming Transmission Intercept: Shadow Pavilion High Command. Anomaly Confirmed. Dispatch: Elite Hunter Squad. ETA: Two Hours. Target Priority: Li Wang.]
Worse, from the treeline, figures stirred—not pavilion remnants, but sect enforcers, led by a grim-faced Kang Wei. The rival's eyes locked on Li Wang, a smirk twisting his features.
"Traitors," Kang Wei called, his voice carrying over the distance. "Running off to play heroes? The inquisitor will love hearing about this."
The noose hadn't just tightened—it was yanking hard. And with elite hunters on the way, escape was their only play. But Kang Wei's arrival meant the sect's suspicions had boiled over into pursuit.
Li Wang forced himself to stand, meeting Ji-Yeon's worried gaze. "We run. Now. But this isn't over—the pavilion's coming for me personally."
As the group melted back into the Wilds, pursued by shouts and the rustle of approaching enforcers, Li Wang couldn't shake the feeling that he'd just painted a bigger target on his back. The shadows weren't done weaving their web.
The dim glow of the sect's lanterns flickered through the barred window of Li Wang's quarters, casting long shadows across the cold stone floor. He leaned against the rough-hewn wall, his back still aching from the skirmish with the void imps and that cloaked assassin. The burn on his shoulder throbbed with every heartbeat, a lingering reminder of the suite's backlash. Sung Ji-Yeon paced the narrow space in front of him, her footsteps soft but deliberate, like the ticking of some invisible clock counting down to dawn.
"That was too close," she said finally, stopping to face him. Her dark hair was disheveled from the fight, but her eyes burned with the same fierce intensity that had drawn him to her in the first place. "The pavilion knows your face now. And Kang Wei—he's still out there, probably reporting every little detail back to whoever pulls his strings."
Li Wang rubbed his shoulder absently, feeling the flicker of his Qi reserves like a dying ember in his dantian. The suite's interface hovered at the edge of his perception, a faint blue glow only he could see. [Suite Integrity: 92%. Warning: Prolonged Use Risks Dao Heart Fracture.] He pushed the alert aside, focusing on her words. Back on Earth, he'd hacked systems that spanned continents, but here in the Xuan Tian Realm, every tweak felt like tempting the heavens themselves.
"Yeah," he replied, his voice low to avoid carrying to the guards outside. "But we pulled a thread. Their network's exposed—those coordinates in the Wilds. If we hit it first, before their reinforcements arrive..."
She nodded, her expression a mix of determination and worry that made her look almost vulnerable. In the short time they'd known each other, Ji-Yeon had become the anchor he didn't know he needed—sharp, unyielding, but with a grief-fueled fire that mirrored his own displacement from another world. "Then we go. Tonight. Before Lan Xiu locks the whole sect down and starts her real probing."
Li Wang straightened, ignoring the protest from his muscles. The idea had been forming since the relay hack, a desperate bid to turn the tables. The Shadow Pavilion wasn't just some band of rogue cultivators; they were organized, using rifts like veins to bleed Qi from the land. Striking their outpost could buy time, maybe even uncover who was pulling the strings behind Kang Wei's betrayal. But it meant leaving the relative safety of the Azure Cloud Sect, venturing into the Whispering Wilds where beasts and worse lurked.
"We'll need the others," he said. "Zhao Feng's got the stealth for infiltration, and Tao Ren's beast sense could spot traps. Can't do this with just the two of us."
Ji-Yeon's lips quirked in a half-smile. "Trying to build a little army now? Fine. But if this goes south, it's on you."
He grinned despite the pain. "Wouldn't have it any other way."
Slipping out took careful planning. The sect's enforcers patrolled the halls, their lanterns bobbing like will-o'-the-wisps in the night. Li Wang waited until a shift change, then used the suite for a subtle assist. [Freeze Value: Patrol Alertness - Duration: 30 Seconds.] It wasn't flashy—just a momentary lull in their awareness, long enough for him and Ji-Yeon to melt into the shadows of the outer courtyards.
They found Zhao Feng first, lurking near the stables where he'd stashed his gear. The rogue cultivator was sharpening a set of throwing knives, his street-smart eyes narrowing as they approached.
"Couldn't stay out of trouble, could you?" he whispered, sheathing the blades with a flourish. "Heard the guards muttering about you two. What's the scheme this time—another rift to poke?"
"Something like that," Li Wang said, keeping his voice even. "Pavilion outpost in the Wilds. We hit it, disrupt their plans. You in?"
Zhao Feng eyed Ji-Yeon, then back to Li Wang, weighing the odds. His Qi Condensation mid-stage aura hummed faintly, a testament to his opportunistic survival instincts. "Risky. But sitting around waiting for the inquisitor to grill me? No thanks. Count me in. Just promise there's loot at the end."
Next was Tao Ren, deeper in the sect's menagerie where he tended to his spirit fox. The beast tamer was feeding the creature a sliver of spirit herb when they arrived, his broad frame silhouetted against the pens of low-grade beasts.
"Li Wang," Tao Ren said without turning, his voice calm as always. The fox's ears perked up, tails swishing in recognition. "I sensed your approach. The winds carry unrest tonight."
"Understatement," Ji-Yeon interjected. "The pavilion's sending reinforcements at dawn. We need to strike their base first."
Tao Ren straightened, his Foundation Establishment peak cultivation making the air around him feel steadier, more grounded. He'd lost his tribe to demonic incursions, and that empathy shone in his eyes as he considered them. "The Wilds are restless. My bond tells me shadows stir there. But if it's to prevent another tide... I'll come."
With the group assembled, they slipped beyond the sect's barriers under cover of Ji-Yeon's mist veil—a technique from her clan's lost manuals that blurred their presences. The Whispering Wilds welcomed them with a chorus of nocturnal calls, the massive trees looming like ancient sentinels, their leaves rustling secrets in the breeze. The path was treacherous, roots twisting like serpents underfoot, and the air grew thick with ambient Qi laced by faint void corruption.
They traveled in silence for the first hour, the weight of the unknown pressing down. Li Wang's thoughts drifted to his old life—the glow of multiple screens, the thrill of cracking code without consequence. Here, every hack risked shattering the fragile balance of his Dao. He glanced at Ji-Yeon walking beside him, her sword hand never far from the hilt. "You ever wonder if we're just pawns in someone else's game?"
She shot him a sidelong look. "Every day. My family's manual was stolen by a sect that thought they deserved it more. Vengeance keeps me going, but alliances like this... they make me wonder if there's more to fight for."
Before he could respond, Zhao Feng hissed from the front. "Hold. Tracks ahead—fresh, human. Pavilion scouts?"
Tao Ren knelt, his fox sniffing the ground. "Corrupted. Mixed with beast prints. They're using the wilds as a highway."
They pressed on, avoiding a skirmish with a lone corrupted boar by circling wide. Li Wang used the suite sparingly, scanning for Qi densities to guide them. [Path Optimization: Deviation 12 Degrees Left - Avoid Anomaly Cluster.] It saved them from a pit of void-tainted thorns, but each use tugged at his reserves.
As the coordinates neared—a sheer cliff face in a secluded valley—the sky began to pale. The outpost was camouflaged by layered illusion arrays, mists swirling to hide the cavern entrance. From their vantage behind a ridge, Li Wang counted at least eight guards patrolling, their dark robes blending with the shadows. At the center, a pulsating crystal hummed—the rift anchor, drawing in stray void energy like a leech.
[Defensive Analysis: 8 Core Guards (Foundation Early-Mid), 4 Array Sentinels. Anchor Function: Stabilizes Rift Node - Vulnerable to Overload.]
"Plan?" Tao Ren murmured, his fox's eyes glowing faintly.
"Divide and conquer," Li Wang said. "Ji-Yeon and I draw them out front. Zhao, slip around and sabotage the arrays from the side. Tao, your fox disrupts from above—buy us time to reach the anchor."
Ji-Yeon gripped her sword tighter. "Simple enough. Let's not die."
They struck at a signal—a low whistle from Tao's fox. Ji-Yeon surged forward, her blade slicing through the outer mist with a hiss of released Qi. The illusions shattered like glass, revealing the guards in a rush of motion. Alarms wailed, ethereal and piercing, as the pavilion cultivators reacted with trained precision.
A wiry man with a scarred face lunged at Li Wang, shadow chains whipping from his sleeves. Li Wang sidestepped, his Qi Gathering stage feeling woefully inadequate, but he countered with a palm strike infused with a quick edit. [Boost Value: Strike Force - +15%.] The impact landed solid, cracking ribs and sending the man sprawling.
"Nice trick," Ji-Yeon called over her shoulder, parrying two attackers at once. Her movements were fluid, a dance of vengeance honed by years of exile. One foe went down with a slash to the thigh, the other retreating under her pressure.
From the flank, Zhao Feng's daggers whispered through the air, pinning a sentinel's robe to the cliff and disrupting an array node. Sparks flew, the mists thinning further. Above, the spirit fox darted like a phantom, its illusion tails weaving confusion—guards slashed at empty air, cursing as their formations faltered.
But the tide turned when the lead guard, a burly Foundation mid-stage cultivator with a void-tattooed arm, bellowed an incantation. Cracks spiderwebbed the ground, birthing a swarm of void imps—twisted things with jagged limbs and hungry maws. They poured toward the group, claws extended.
Li Wang's suite screamed alerts. [Threat Escalation: Imp Swarm - 20 Units. Echo Signature: Tide Remnant.] He dodged a swipe, the claw grazing his sleeve and numbing his arm with cold. His Qi flickered dangerously low. No choice—he had to end this fast.
Pushing through the melee, he reached the cavern mouth, hand slamming against the anchor crystal. [Scan Function: Rift Anchor Core. Modify: Introduce Recursive Loop - Overload in 10 Seconds.] The world blurred as the hack took hold, code-like patterns flashing in his mind. Qi surged wildly through his meridians, backlash hitting like lightning—his vision spotted, dantian churning.
The crystal whined, purple veins bulging. "Everyone out!" he yelled.
The overload erupted in a deafening roar, void energy exploding outward in a shockwave. Imps dissolved mid-leap, guards were hurled back, and the cliff trembled as rocks cascaded down. Ji-Yeon tackled Li Wang clear, her body shielding him from debris. When the dust cleared, the entrance was a crater, the anchor's remnants smoldering.
Zhao Feng coughed, emerging from the rubble with a grin. "Remind me not to piss you off. That was some fireworks."
Tao Ren helped Ji-Yeon up, his fox shaking off ash. "The node's destroyed. No rifts here anymore."
Li Wang leaned on a boulder, breath ragged. The edit had drained him to the brink—his cultivation teetered, Qi unstable. [Integrity: 78%. Recovery Recommended: 24 Hours.] Ji-Yeon steadied him, her touch warm against the chill.
"You did it again," she said softly, concern etching her features. "That power—it's not just Qi arts. Tell me the truth, Li Wang. What are you?"
He met her eyes, the words on the tip of his tongue—transmigrator, hacker in a world of immortals. But shouts from the treeline cut him off.
"Over here! I see them—the traitors!"
Kang Wei burst from the underbrush, flanked by a half-dozen sect enforcers, their auras flaring with righteous fury. The rival's face twisted in triumph, his Qi Condensation late-stage presence bolstered by the group's support. "Thought you could sneak off? The inquisitor's orders— you're under arrest for consorting with shadows!"
Li Wang's suite pinged urgently. [Intercept Alert: Pavilion Response - Elite Hunter Squad Dispatched. ETA: 90 Minutes. Priority Target: Anomaly Source.]
The enforcers advanced, weapons drawn, while in the distance, the Wilds seemed to stir with darker presences. Caught between sect hunters and pavilion elites, the group had nowhere to run but deeper into the unknown.
Ji-Yeon drew her sword, back to back with Li Wang. "Looks like our alliance just got complicated."
As Kang Wei's laughter echoed, Li Wang realized the real web was only beginning to unfold—and he was tangled right in the center.