The remnants of the Forgotten Warden crumbled into a fine layer of black ash , scattering like the dust of an empire long since buried beneath time and silence. 

But Jiang Xuan didn’t relax , not for a heartbeat.

Because the seal wasn’t fading…

It was responding .

The blood-colored runes flared with renewed intensity, pulsing and spiraling inward to form a pattern far older than the sect itself , a design that whispered of power lost to history , of secrets never meant to be unearthed. 

They did not reject him.

They welcomed him.

[System Notice: Unknown Entity Contact Imminent.]

[Mental Fortitude Protocol Activated.]

Jiang Xuan narrowed his eyes, his breath steady despite the shifting energy curling around him like unseen flames.

“Who’s there? ”A voice answered ,

Not in words.

But in pressure .

His consciousness was torn violently downward, yanked into a bottomless abyss of black mist and writhing chains , a realm where light died and thought became weaponized. 

He no longer stood in the cavern.

He stood in a mental plane of pure chaos , where thought and form blurred into one.

And something was watching.

It had no shape. No face.

Only presence , vast, ancient, and ravenous.

You broke the Warden. 

You devoured its pain. 

You carry the taint of the Outer Flame.

Jiang Xuan’s voice remained calm, unwavering. “You’re sealed beneath this mountain. ”

Yes.

But you… are open.

A chain slithered toward him , a living tendril of pure soul-bond , coiling through the void like a serpent tasting the air. 

His system screamed a warning, its tone sharper than ever before.

[Threat Level: ???]

[Offer Detected: Ancient Pact of Hunger. ]

[Do you accept limited communion? Y/N]

Jiang Xuan hesitated , for the span of a single breath.

Then, with quiet finality:Yes.

Pain. Fire. Vision.

In an instant, ancient memories surged through him like a flood , wars that scorched the skies and shattered mountains, cities swallowed in silence beneath oceans of ash, and a beast that once feasted on gods… only to be betrayed by its own kin.

And buried within it all:A mark.

A fragment of something vast and terrible , seared into his spiritual sea like a black brand , burning cold and permanent.

He collapsed back into his body with a ragged gasp, sweat slicking his skin, heart hammering like war drums in a storm.

[New Passive Skill Unlocked: Hunger Brand , Increased Devour Efficiency in Forbidden Zones. ]

He staggered upright, limbs trembling, eyes blazing with newfound fire.

The seal was silent again.

But it wasn’t holding back what slept beneath.

It was feeding it .

Outside the Depths, chaos erupted across the sect grounds.

Venerable Shan slammed his fist down onto the stone table with a deafening crack, his voice sharp with fury and fear.

“The Mistveil Seal fluctuated! I want that boy brought before me,now! ”

“But Elder,” one disciple stammered, “he’s just a cripple. An outer disciple. How could he,”

“Then explain why the ground screamed his name. ”

Meanwhile, far beyond Canglei Mountain , deep in a sunless valley cloaked in crimson mist, a dozen robed figures knelt before a floating coffin veiled in black silk , its presence bending the air around it like heat rising from scorched earth.

One whispered into the stillness:“The Host has made contact. ”

Another replied, voice reverent, hollow:“Then the Harbinger awakens. ”

Back in the depths, Jiang Xuan stared into the darkness where the Warden had once loomed.

His brand itched , a dull, rhythmic pulse beneath his skin , a reminder of the pact now etched into his very soul.

And somewhere below , deeper than even this ancient chamber reached…

Something smiled.