Chapter 9: Frost and Fury

The guardian's roar shook the tomb, ice shards raining down as it lunged. Lin Wei rolled aside, the obsidian serpent's fangs gouging the floor where he'd stood. Lin Mei's ghostfire blade slashed at its flank, but the frost-hardened scales repelled her strike, sending jagged recoils of ice and shadow rippling back.

"Weakness!" she shouted, her corrupted arm trembling as ghostfire pooled in her palm. "There has to be a—"

The serpent's tail whipped around, slamming her into the wall. Lin Mei crumpled, her crystallized arm cracking. The system blared:

[Guardian Entity: Frostbound Serpent (Core Formation Peak Stage).]

[Weakness: Lunar Qi. Activate Moonlit Veil? Y/N.]

Lin Wei cursed. The Veil's power was waning, its reserves drained from suppressing his lineage. But the serpent coiled for another strike, its void-like eyes locking onto Lin Mei's prone form.

Yes.

The pendant flared, bathing the chamber in silver light. The serpent recoiled, frost melting under the Moonlit Veil's glow. Lin Wei lunged, driving his dagger into the softened scales beneath its jaw. Black ichor sprayed, freezing midair into deadly shards.

"Now, Mei!"

Lin Mei surged forward, her ghostfire blade now fused with the Veil's light. She plunged it into the serpent's eye, the flames searing through void and ice alike. The creature thrashed, dissolving into mist that reeked of ancient blood and betrayal.

[Guardian Defeated.]

[Reward: Jade Key (Sealed).]

The jade key hummed with latent power, its runes mirroring those on the Moonlit Veil. Lin Wei pressed it to the pedestal, but the tomb shuddered violently.

"It's rejecting you," Lin Mei said, her corrupted arm now half-consumed by crystalline spikes. "Your blood isn't pure enough."

"Or too pure," he muttered. The system's warning flashed:

[Bloodline Authentication Failed.]

[Override: Sacrifice 10% Cultivation Base.]

He didn't hesitate.

Qi surged from his core into the key, the pain like a thousand needles. The pedestal split, revealing a scroll etched with the Silent Patriarch's seal. Lin Mei snatched it, her eyes scanning the text.

"The clan's curse… it wasn't a punishment. It was a failsafe." Her voice shook. "Your ancestor bound the Xue bloodline to the spirit vein to contain a greater evil. But the Veil… it's not just a relic. It's a lock."

The ground quaked. Cracks spiderwebbed across the tomb's walls as the system issued a new alert:

[Spirit Vein Collapse: 3 days remaining.]

[Clan Under Siege: Thunder Valley forces detected at perimeter.]

Lin Wei grabbed the scroll. "We need to go. Now."

The forest was ablaze. Thunder Valley's war banners pierced the smoke, their disciples razing the Lin Clan's outer defenses. Elder Qiang stood atop the crumbling gate, his cane a blur as he deflected fireballs.

Lin Mei's corrupted arm pulsed. "The key—use it!"

Lin Wei slammed the jade key into the clan's central formation stone. Silver light exploded, purging the spirit vein's corruption in a wave that flattened the first wave of attackers. But the Veil's glow dimmed to a flicker—its energy nearly spent.

[Clan-wide Qi Purification: 50%.]

[Penalty: Moonlit Veil (Damaged).]

Uncle Tao emerged from the smoke, his sword leveled at Lin Wei. "You've doomed us all."

Behind him, Lord Xue's voice echoed from a dozen throats—possessed disciples, their eyes void-black. "Come home, nephew."