Mo Han walked without haste, as if each step had been chosen by some invisible calculation.The Sealed Maw Crystal rested in his hand, burning with the intensity of a living secret.The heat it gave off wasn't temperature—it was deeper.A vibration that resonated straight into his gut, like the world was trying to whisper something long forgotten.
The tunnel leading to the Room Without Voices was narrow, suffocating—like the prison itself was trying to stop him from going any further.The fungi had vanished. The air no longer moved.Even the echoes of his footsteps seemed to hesitate before returning.
And then, as he crossed the room's threshold,the world vanished.
Sound. Heat. Gravity.
Nothing.
It was like falling inside his own chest.Like his body remained, but his sense of existence had been unplugged from reality.Mo Han knelt slowly, placing the crystal before him.The energy it released filled the air like invisible gas—dense, nauseating.It was impure Qi in its rawest state, and now, without the prison's natural filtration,it was alive.
This isn't energy. It's corrupted will.
Mo Han closed his eyes.His mind—sharpened through hours of simulations and calculated torment—began organizing the pain into blocks.Shoulder tension: 40%Finger rigidity: 70%Initial hallucination: 3-second anticipation window
And then... the first image appeared.
A body lying in a dark room.Breathing shallow.A weak heart.A hospital monitor beeping slowly.The memory of his death on Earth—of his insignificance.
No. This is psychic induction. Memory-anchor. I can override it.
He activated Internal Filter Rune — Level Three.
It was like diving into acid.
His body contorted.Veins pulsed as if alive, trying to escape his flesh.His eyes burned. His tongue swelled.But his mind remained steady.
The crystal's essence began to be absorbed.Impure. Corrosive.But he didn't swallow it—he broke it down.Point by point.Frequency by frequency.
This isn't cultivation. This is dissection.
When the pain reached its peak, something shifted.
The world vibrated.
Not in sound.But in structure.
The Room Without Voices, which until now had ignored him, responded.
A wave of energy reverberated through the floor, the walls, the air.As if it recognized what he was doing—and wanted to push him further.
A cold breath brushed the back of his neck.Someone was watching.But no one was there.
Is the prison itself reacting?
The impure energy shattered like glass.Tiny golden particles began to form around him in the air.
It was Qi.Clean. Refined.Something that should never have existed in this place.
Mo Han felt the warmth rise up his spine—but it wasn't fever.It was clarity.
The crystal cracked with a soft snap.A rune formed in his mind—not by calculation,but by instinct.
Convergence Resonance.
I didn't transform the Qi.I transformed myselfuntil the Qi accepted me.
He opened his eyes.
The stones breathed.The air shimmered.Every element of the prison seemed to pulse in sync with him.And in that state, he understood something that went beyond technique:
This prison...isn't punishment.It's a crucible.
And I am the only metal that does not melt.
Mo Han rose.
Silent. Clean. Alive in a way he had never been.
The world around him was no longer hostile.It was... curious.
Now they listen.Now they know something new has been born.