Author's Note: For a deeper reading experience, you may enjoy listening to any " Epic Fantasy music" while reading this chapter.
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The great forest breathed like a living beast.
Ancient trees towered overhead, their thick canopies blotting out the moonlight and casting
the forest floor into layered shadows. The air was damp, heavy with the scent of moss, soil,
and blood—both human and beast.
Grandma Lu leaned heavily against the rough bark of an old ironwood tree, her breath
coming in shallow, uneven gasps. Her legs trembled beneath her weight, muscles screaming
from exhaustion, yet she refused to sit. One hand pressed against the tree for support, while
the other rested protectively over the small bundle tied securely to her back.
The child slept soundly.
Not a single whimper escaped him.
Around her, the remnants of Ruh Tribe struggled to recover. Warriors wiped blood from
crude blades. Elders steadied themselves on walking staffs, faces pale but resolute. A few
individuals tended to shallow wounds, their hands shaking—not from pain, but from the
lingering pressure that still haunted the air.
The scream.
That terrifying scream still echoed in their bones.
Grandma Lu slowly lifted her head and gazed toward the distant sky beyond the trees. Even
from here, far from the tribe, she could feel it—the violent turbulence of qi that twisted the
heavens.
"They killed it," an old voice said quietly beside her.
Grandma Lu did not turn. "Yes," she replied after a moment. "They did."
Elder Han stood at her side, his beard singed at the tips, his robe torn in several places. His
eyes, however, were sharp, fixed on the same distant glow that flickered faintly between the trees.
"Cultivators of high lineage," he muttered. "Only those with such blood could slay something like that."
Grandma Lu's lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. "Blood never lies."
Elder Han sighed, leaning on his staff. "It's the same as that day, isn't it?"
Her fingers tightened slightly against the bark. "…Yes."
Neither spoke for a moment.
Then Grandma Lu lowered her gaze to the child resting against her back. His small chest rose
and fell in a steady rhythm, peaceful—as though the world had never burned, as though
beasts had never screamed, as though death had not brushed past him again and again.
"Neither this day," she whispered, "nor that day… he never cried."
Elder Han's eyes softened. "A child barely one and a half years old, yet possessing such
vitality. Even under that suppression… not a sound."
Grandma Lu nodded slowly. "He is Aria's grandson."
Elder Han let out a quiet chuckle, tinged with sorrow. "Ah… Aria. Brave to the bone. The strongest hunter Ruh Tribe ever had."
His smile faded. "If only her son and daughter-in-law hadn't abandoned her. Leaving Aya behind… leaving Aria alone."
The temperature around Grandma Lu seemed to drop.
Her expression darkened, eyes turning cold. "Them?" she said softly.
Her voice carried a venom that made Elder Han stiffen.
"I will never forgive them."
Silence followed.
Grandma Lu took a slow breath, steadying herself. "Aria survived countless hunts. Fought
beasts stronger than any man. Yet she died within a year after they left… and Aya was all she
left behind."
She adjusted the cloth holding the child, her movements gentle. "Now he is mine to protect."
Elder Han nodded solemnly.
After a short rest, Grandma Lu pushed herself upright. "We've rested enough. We can't stay."
Elder Han turned toward the others. "Prepare to move."
The warriors gathered quickly. One of them, a scar-faced man with a broken spear strapped
to his back, spoke grimly. "We must change our route. From here onward, the beasts grow
more deadly."
He pointed westward. "We'll skirt the forest's edge. Avoid the deeper regions."
An elder clenched his fists. "But our tribe—"
"—is ash," the warrior finished quietly.
No one argued.
With no home left behind, the tribesmen adjusted their course, vanishing deeper into the shadows of the great forest, carrying with them grief, fear… and a fate yet unseen.
High above the ruined tribe, the night burned.
The massive corpse of the Abyss Spine Beast lay sprawled across the broken earth, its
charred scales cracked and steaming. Craters littered the ground, scorched by techniques that
still distorted the air.
General Xu stood over the beast's body, his massive axe resting on his shoulder. Blood—black and thick—dripped from the blade.
"Heh," he grunted. "Finally."
Around him, the others hovered at a cautious distance.
Yuan Li narrowed his eyes, folding his arms within his flowing azure robe. It's too quiet.
Su Mei's expression was guarded, violet pupils reflecting the faint glow of residual qi. Fang Lei licked his lips, crimson aura coiling faintly around his fingers like a living thing.
Only Ji Han stood still, hands clasped behind his back, gaze lowered.
General Xu raised his axe.
"This ends now."
With a roar, he brought the blade down, cleaving through the beast's abdomen. The hardened scales split apart with a sickening crack, releasing a surge of violent qi.
The others instinctively tensed.
If there's only one treasure… Yuan Li thought, his fingers already forming a seal within his sleeve.
Before anyone could move—
A blinding light erupted.
"—What?!" Su Mei cried, shielding her eyes.
From the beast's core, a black sphere rose slowly into the air.
The corpse disintegrated.
Scales, flesh, bone—everything evaporated into motes of ash, leaving only the beast core
clattering onto the ground below.
The sphere pulsed.
A terrifying suction followed.
"No—!" Fang Lei snarled as his blood qi was forcibly torn from his body.
Invisible streams of energy poured into the sphere from all directions. The air screamed. The
earth cracked. Even the cultivators felt their qi dragged violently from their meridians.
"I can't move!" Su Mei gasped, veins bulging along her neck.
General Xu tried to roar—but no sound came.
Yuan Li's pupils shrank. This isn't a treasure… it's a devourer.
Ji Han's mind raced. So this is what corrupted the beast.
Minutes passed like eternity.
Then—
The suction stopped.
The sphere's surface faded from black to transparent, revealing a hollow interior—an impossible space folded within itself.
With a soft crack, it shattered.
Items spilled forth.
Three radiant pills.
Two shimmering elixirs.
And a strange, book.
The qi around them stabilized.
One by one, the cultivators collapsed to their knees, gasping for breath.
"What… the hell… was that?" Fang Lei wheezed.
Yuan Li stared at the fragments of the sphere. "A spatial container… disguised as a beast-bound artifact."
Su Mei swallowed. "That thing drained even us."
General Xu laughed hoarsely. "Hahaha! Dangerous… but worth it."
Their gazes locked onto the rewards.
The air turned sharp.
Fang Lei stepped forward. "Three pills. Two elixirs. One map."
He smiled thinly. "We settle this properly."
Arguments erupted.
Su Mei scoffed. "Your Blood Demon Sect doesn't deserve even one."
Fang Lei sneered. "Say that again."
Yuan Li raised a hand calmly. "Enough. Fighting now benefits no one."
General Xu snorted. "Then split it."
After heated negotiation—
One pill went to Fang Lei.
One pill to General Xu.
One pill to Su Mei.
One elixir to Yuan Li.
One elixir to Ji Han.
Only the thing a strange book remained.
General Xu's grip tightened. "That book—"
Yuan Li smiled faintly. "—cannot be shared."
Silence descended upon the battlefield.
What hovered between them was no longer a mere object—it was writing.
Ancient characters, unknown to any living sect, floated in the air as if carved directly into
space itself. Each symbol burned with a faint, shifting light, rearranging constantly, refusing
to settle into a fixed form. They radiated an aura so old that even time itself seemed to
hesitate before them.
The ground trembled.
The air grew heavy.
General Xu's breathing deepened. "This… isn't a book."
Su Mei's expression stiffened. "These are divine characters."
Yuan Li's eyes gleamed with restrained hunger. "An Ancient Scripture… a complete one."
Ji Han felt a chill crawl down his spine.
Not complete, he realized.
It's awakening.
Fang Lei broke the silence with laughter.
"Hahaha… to think such a thing would be hidden inside a beast." Crimson qi leaked from his body like living blood. "Heaven truly favours the bold!"
"The bold die first," Xu growled.
Before anyone could react—
Fang Lei lunged.
"Blood Devouring Grasp!"
His palm struck toward the floating characters, crimson qi condensing into grasping talons meant to seize the scripture whole.
The ancient characters reacted instantly.
The moment his qi touched them, the symbols flared violently.
A backlash exploded outward.
Fang Lei was sent crashing backward, blood spraying from his mouth as his arm twisted unnaturally.
"What?!"
General Xu roared with laughter. "Serves you right!"
He leapt forward, axe raised high.
"Beast Monarch—Heaven Rend!"
The axe descended like a falling mountain.
Before it could strike—
A blade of violet light intercepted it.
"Violet Lotus Boundary."
Su Mei stood calmly, her sword planted into the earth, petals of violet qi blooming around her like a shield.
"This scripture cannot be taken by brute force," she said coldly.
Yuan Li smiled faintly. "Then allow me."
His sleeves fluttered as intricate azure sigils unfolded beneath his feet.
"Azure Yang—Scripture Harmonization."
His qi did not seize the characters. Instead, it resonated.
For a brief moment, the ancient symbols slowed.
Ji Han's heart skipped a beat.
He's aligning with it…
Then the scripture pulsed.
A soundless pressure crashed down.
All five cultivators stiffened.
Their meridians screamed as the scripture began draining qi, not violently—but naturally, as though feeding.
"No—!" Su Mei gasped, dropping to one knee.
Fang Lei snarled. "You damned thing!"
General Xu tried to move.
His body refused.
The scripture had decided.
None of you are worthy.
The characters blurred, overlapping and colliding as cracks of light formed between them.
Ji Han's eyes widened.
"It's unstable," he muttered. "If this continues—"
Too late.
Fang Lei forced himself upright, veins bulging.
"If I can't take it—no one will!"
He slammed both palms forward.
"Blood Origin Detonation!"
The impact shattered the fragile balance.
The ancient characters screamed.
Yes—screamed.
A blinding eruption tore through the battlefield.
When the light faded, the scripture no longer existed as one.
Five clusters of ancient characters burned separately, drifting through the air like falling stars—each fragment containing a portion of the scripture's will.
One cluster bled crimson and flew straight into Fang Lei's grasp.
Another roared with brutal force, slamming into General Xu's chest and embedding itself into his heart.
A gentle violet script descended slowly into Su Mei's waiting hands.
Azure symbols spiraled gracefully toward Yuan Li, merging into his palm.
The final fragment—
Ji Han didn't reach for it.
It came to him.
The characters vanished into his body without pain, without resistance.
The battlefield fell deathly still.
Each cultivator stood frozen, clutching their fragment of the Ancient Scripture.
None of them smiled.
None of them spoke.
They all understood the same truth.
This scripture was alive.
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Zümrüt's Note: The journey has only begun. Stay close and Share your thoughts — I read them all
◆ This work is an original story by Zümrüt . Unauthorized reposting is prohibited.