I heard my own voice saying, "Begin," still echoing in my ears, yet my body had already sunk downward.
A sudden warmth bloomed between my brows, as though a light had lit up within. It was neither glaring nor hot. It slid down from my forehead, flowed between my eyes, then slowly descended into my chest. It stopped there like a newly kindled spark, steadily guarding my mind.
I knew the system was helping me.
The spiritual power within me continued flowing through the newly opened passage. That path had once been completely blocked, but now it was being forced open bit by bit, like spring ice cracking apart as water slowly seeped up from below. The spiritual power moved slowly, but every step was steady. It no longer rampaged wildly, instead following the edges of my meridians, circling again and again before finally returning to my dantian.
My dantian had changed.
It was no longer simply an accumulation of heat. Something had condensed at its center. It was tiny, almost impossible to notice, but the instant it appeared, the rhythm of my internal energy changed. All the spiritual power began gathering toward it—not by force or pressure, but like streams naturally flowing downhill.
I maintained my posture, hands resting on my knees with my palms facing upward. My fingertips tingled faintly.
That tiny thing began to move.
It rose from the depths of my dantian and traveled upward along the Conception Vessel, moving at an extremely slow pace, like a thin thread being gently drawn up. When it passed the Tanzhong Acupoint, my chest tightened. At my throat, it felt as though someone had gripped my neck. Then it continued upward, passed behind my nose, and reached straight to the space between my brows.
At that very instant, my awareness suddenly jolted.
It was not dizziness, nor was it pain. It was a kind of knowing.
I knew where I was sitting. I knew the shape of the standing stone behind me. I knew the spirit beast was lying to my right, its left foreleg tucked beneath its body and its tail lightly resting on the ground. I even knew which direction the wind was blowing from, carrying the scent of dampness and soil, while dew dripped from the leaves.
None of this was seen with my eyes.
I felt it.
I tried sending that thread a little farther outward.
Everything within ten paces flooded into my mind at once—the moss three steps to my left was thicker, covered in scattered leaves; there was a shallow ditch in the ground five steps ahead, as though carved out by rainwater; several strands of light filtered through the canopy overhead and landed on my shoulders.
There was too much information, too dense and overwhelming. My mind felt stuffed full. I sharply drew a breath and hurriedly pulled the thread back. Those images immediately vanished, leaving only that tiny thing within me quietly suspended between my brows, faintly warm.
Is this spiritual sense? I asked inwardly.
The system did not answer.
But it had said before that once I completed the guidance, I could enter the next stage. Its silence now meant I no longer needed prompts.
I adjusted my breathing again, inhaling and exhaling slowly and evenly. That sudden impact had made me understand that my spiritual sense was too weak; I could not be greedy. It was like a newborn child, unable to withstand being pushed too hard.
I tried releasing my spiritual sense again, this time extending it only three feet in front of me.
This time, the sensation was much clearer. I could "see" the patterns on the ground, the temperature of the stones, and even feel tiny vibrations in the air, as though some insect were crawling nearby. The spirit beast's body heat also became distinct in my perception. It had three old injuries: one on its right hind leg, one on its shoulder blade, and one at the base of its horn. The last one faintly itched, which was why it had lightly rubbed against my sleeve earlier.
I withdrew my spiritual sense without rushing to open my eyes.
The tiny thing inside me had stabilized. It no longer floated, but had instead rooted itself like a seed in soil. With every breath, it absorbed a trace of spiritual power and became a little more solid. I knew that as long as I continued cultivating, it would grow stronger and stronger.
At that moment, the spirit beast moved.
It raised its head, its ears twitching once, then turned to look toward the standing stone.
I extended my spiritual sense in the same direction.
The stone's surface looked just as it had before—dark, smooth, like old wood soaked in water. Yet when my spiritual sense touched it, I discovered an extremely faint fluctuation within. It was neither sound nor vibration, but more like a lingering trace, as though someone had sat here long ago and left behind a wisp of aura.
I let my spiritual sense slowly move along the stone's surface.
Near the bottom of the back side, I found a small indentation. It was not naturally formed; its edges were too neat. I focused my perception on it and finally saw it clearly—it was a symbol, no larger than a fingernail, carved so shallowly that time had nearly worn it away.
But I recognized it.
It was part of a rune structure the system had once rewarded me with. Only two strokes were missing, as though someone had deliberately erased them.
My heart jolted.
Could this place... be connected to the system?
Just as I was about to inspect it more closely, my spiritual sense suddenly swayed. The space between my brows burned, as if I had stood beneath the sun for too long. I realized I had pushed myself too far, so I hurriedly withdrew it, closed my eyes, and adjusted my breathing.
After a few breaths, the heat faded.
I opened my eyes.
The sky was still dim, and the mist had yet to disperse. The spirit beast remained lying beside me, its head turned toward me, its gaze calm.
I reached out and touched its horn.
"Did you sense something just now too?"
It neither moved nor cried out. It only pressed its head deeper into my palm.
I stood and stretched my limbs. My meridians were clear, my spiritual power abundant—at least thirty percent stronger than before the breakthrough. More importantly, I could clearly sense everything around me. Even with my eyes closed, I would know if anyone approached.
I turned to face the standing stone.
This time, I was no longer merely looking at it.
I released my spiritual sense and gently spread it over the stone's surface like a thin veil. I scanned from top to bottom, bit by bit. I carefully examined every inch, especially the indentation bearing the rune.
When I swept over it for the third time, I discovered something unusual.
Whenever my spiritual sense touched the spots where the two strokes had been erased, the fluctuation inside the stone subtly quickened. It lasted only an instant, but the reaction was undeniably there.
This was no coincidence.
I crouched down and pressed my finger beside the indentation.
"If this stone really is connected to the system... can you identify this rune?"
I did not expect the system to respond.
But it actually spoke.
[Incomplete rune structure detected. Match rate: 67%. Meets the requirements for preliminary authentication. Complete the missing portions?]
I froze.
"Complete it? How?"
[Consume one percent of current spiritual power to activate the restoration program. Warning: if the rune's ownership is unknown or it contains a hostile imprint, it may trigger backlash. Continue?]
I lowered my head and looked at my finger.
One percent of my spiritual power was not much. I was currently at my peak, and I could bear that level of consumption. But the risk of backlash... no one knew who had left this stone behind.
I glanced back at the spirit beast.
It stared at the stone, the tip of its horn trembling slightly, as though warning me to be careful.
I took a deep breath.
"Confirm completion."
As soon as the words fell, my palm suddenly grew hot. A faint gleam emerged beneath my skin and flowed through my fingers into the stone. The light was pale, bluish-white, like fireflies in the night.
The moment it touched the indentation, the stone began to tremble.
It was not a violent shaking. Rather, a low hum came from within, like the sound of chains loosening. Immediately afterward, the two erased strokes slowly emerged, shifting from illusion to substance until they finally connected into a complete rune.
The instant the final stroke was completed, the entire stone flashed.
The light was faint and vanished in an instant.
But in that brief moment, I saw it.
Inside the stone was the outline of a door.