The cavern walls shuddered violently , as if recoiling from what was coming.

From the depths of the mist-choked abyss, the thing rose , slow, deliberate, and terrible.

A massive, bestial form loomed into view , a grotesque fusion of rotted muscle and ancient bone, towering over Jiang Xuan like a nightmare made flesh. 

It stood nearly twice the height of a man, its body draped in tattered remnants of armor that whispered of a forgotten age. 

Faded symbols, etched into metal long corroded by time, hinted at a dynasty erased from the sect’s histories , buried, like this monster, beneath layers of secrecy and fear.

Its hollow sockets burned with crimson eyes , twin orbs of flame that devoured the darkness, glowing with an ancient, insatiable hunger .

[System Alert: Entity Classified - Forgotten Warden of the Deep.]

[Threat Level: Cataclysmic.]

Jiang Xuan’s breath came in short, ragged bursts, the cold air sharp in his lungs , but his gaze never wavered. 

Steady as a mountain, unshaken by the monstrous figure before him.

“About time, ” he muttered, voice low, edged with anticipation.

The Forgotten Warden stirred, its colossal form creaking like ancient wood on the verge of collapse. 

It moved with agonizing slowness, yet each step cracked the stone beneath its feet, sending loose debris skittering across the cavern floor like frightened insects. 

Its jaw unhinged with a sickening groan, revealing jagged fangs and a hollow throat that echoed with voices long dead.

“Blood… Devourer… Child… of… Ruin… ”

The relic shard in Jiang Xuan’s grip blazed white-hot , searing his palm with unbearable heat. 

Ancient runes flickered wildly across its fractured surface, glowing like embers caught in a storm.

His system interface exploded with activity , cascading lines of data flashing through his mind.

[Relic Pulse Synchronization - 96%]

[Emergency Protocol: Bloodline Phase Shift Available.]

A violent pulse of raw, predatory power surged through Jiang Xuan’s body , a tidal wave of ancient force that tore through his veins like wildfire and threatened to shatter his bones from within.

Perfect.

He didn’t hesitate.

He welcomed it.

[Activate: Bloodline Phase Shift.]

A violent, earth-shaking shockwave erupted from his core, sending invisible pressure rippling through the cavern. 

Dark crimson veins laced across his skin like living ink , pulsing with raw, ancient energy. 

His aura flared outward , no longer chaotic or unstable, but dense, oppressive, and predatory … 

as if something long dormant had finally awakened .

The very air seemed to recoil, twisting away from him like mist before a storm.

Even the Forgotten Warden hesitated , its massive form faltering mid-step, as though sensing the shift in power.

Jiang Xuan’s lips curled into a slow, savage grin, feeling the surge of alien power warp his senses and sharpen his instincts to blade-like sharpness. 

The darkness around him didn’t just surround him , it breathed with him , alive beneath his skin.

[New Passive Skill Unlocked: Predator’s Instinct - Detect Concealed Entities.]

A flicker , barely more than a ripple in the corner of his vision.

High above, nestled among the broken arches of the cavern ceiling, a figure stirred , a shadow barely visible even to the naked eye, let alone an ordinary cultivator. 

Cloaked in flowing pale robes, veiled in silver mist that clung like breath to glass. Watching.

The same figure from the sealed chamber.

Still following me, are you?

But there was no time for distractions.

The Forgotten Warden lunged , a mountain of decay and fury, its jagged claws carving through the air with bone-shattering force.

Jiang Xuan moved like lightning, his body now a blur of brutal, inhuman efficiency. 

Claws raked through empty space where he’d stood a heartbeat ago; stone shattered beneath the impact, and the mist howled as if wounded.

[Soul Engulfing Heaven Art: Shadow Rend. ]

A wave of abyssal energy , dense and suffocating, slammed into the Warden’s chest with bone-shattering force. 

The ancient armor that had endured centuries of decay shattered like brittle glass , torn apart by the raw intensity of the strike. 

Black mist bled from the gaping wound, hissing as it met the air, and the beast howled , a sound so primal and furious that it shook the cavern walls , sending cracks racing through stone like lightning.

[Warning: Relic Surge at 100%.]

Then came the quake , sudden, violent, as if the mountain itself had drawn a breath and shattered.

High above, within the sect’s grand hall, an ancient barrier flickered , its light dimming for the first time in centuries. 

Venerable Shan’s eyes flew open mid-meditation, his expression twisting in shock.

“Impossible. ”

A second pulse rippled through Canglei Mountain , a tremor that resonated in every elder’s bones, felt by every disciple attuned to spiritual currents.

The seal was breaking , unraveling beneath forces long thought buried.

And only one name burned in their minds like a curse set aflame.

Jiang Xuan.

Back in the depths of the abyss, Jiang Xuan planted his foot, blood dripping from his fingertips. His grin stretched wide , wild, feral, unshakable.

“One down.”

He surged forward, crimson eyes locked onto the Warden’s flickering core , pulsing, vulnerable.

He wasn’t going to survive this place.

He was going to own it .