The red glow on the bronze case was still pulsing, and the crystal made his palm go numb from the vibrations. Chen Wuya stood at the study door by the cold pool, his fingertips still tingling with that searing heat. Just as he was about to push the door open, it opened from within.
Bai Zhi stood inside, her Azure Edge sword laid across the desk, its blade pinning down a yellowed old sheet of paper. Teacups lay shattered all over the floor, water stains spreading past her feet.
"You saw it?" she asked.
Chen Wuya did not answer. He set the bronze case on the table. The crystal was still trembling, its red glow cast against the wall like a split-open gash.
"Twenty years ago, the Demonic Cult leader went overseas." Bai Zhi's voice was level, but every word seemed hammered into wood. "He brought back a secret treasure and broke through to the Grandmaster realm three days later. Seven days after that, he suffered qi deviation and massacred three cities."
She raised a hand and pushed the paper toward him. A meridian route was drawn upon it, twisted like a snake, with a mass of black shadow exploding from its end.
"This is not martial arts. It is using external force to burst through the shell of the body. The path you are walking now is already beyond anyone's understanding. But once you lose control, it will not be only you who dies."
Chen Wuya lowered his head to look at the system prompt:
[A complete martial arts meridian map exists in the Penglai Sea Region. The host is advised to investigate.]
"This is not borrowing external force," he said. "It is completion."
"Completion?" She gave a cold laugh. "Misaligned Practice Connects to Spirit relies on