Roots Beneath the Flame
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Chapter 10: Roots Beneath the Flame
Dawn came like a dying ember—muted, dull, and tainted by the crimson haze that clung to the horizon. Shen Liang rose early, his breath misting in the cold morning air despite the residual heat of his cultivation flame.
Yue was already awake, seated cross-legged near the shrine. Her blade floated in front of her, suspended by sheer spiritual control, its edge pulsing faintly with lotus-shaped qi runes.
They had purified eight talismans the day before. The cursed forest had grown quieter with each one, as though recognizing the ancient rites being honored again.
But something stirred beneath the earth.
Shen Liang could feel it now—tendrils of warmth, almost like roots, pulsing through the stone beneath his feet. When he sat to cultivate, the sensation grew stronger. Not pain—something deeper. Like something awakening in response to him.
[Notice: The Flame Lotus Legacy responds to your presence.]
[Compatibility Detected: Bloodline Fragment - Lotus Root Vein (Dormant)]
[Commencing Awakening Sequence...]
Pain lanced through Shen Liang's chest, sharp and sudden.
He staggered forward, clutching his ribs as fiery veins lit up beneath his skin. His vision blurred—flashes of ancient memories and distant battlefields danced behind his eyes.
An old man kneeling before a dying lotus field. A massive beast—a Sky-Eater—ripping stars from the sky with its maw. A single boy standing atop a burning tower, chanting through bloodied lips…
And then darkness.
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When he woke, Yue was beside him, her brows furrowed in concern. "You almost combusted."
Shen Liang groaned, sitting up slowly. "It's becoming a pattern."
"You awakened a Bloodline Fragment, didn't you?" she said, helping him steady himself.
He nodded. "Lotus Root Vein. Whatever that means."
Her eyes widened slightly. "That's... not something just anyone can do. The Flame Lotus Sect had thirteen direct-line heirs. All destroyed. Or so we thought."
He blinked. "You think I'm one of them?"
"I think the system believes so," she replied, folding her arms. "And sometimes, that's more dangerous than it sounds."
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By midday, the forest shifted again.
The deeper they walked along the Ash Trial Road, the more the trees thinned and gave way to obsidian cliffs and glowing red rivers that cut through the terrain like open wounds.
A signpost, broken in half and overgrown with flameweed, marked the entrance to the next sanctuary:
EMBER ROOT CAVERN
Yue stopped. "This place… it was once a root chamber for cultivating inner flame. Only the most stable disciples were allowed here."
"Sounds like a good place to lose your mind," Shen Liang muttered.
She nodded solemnly. "Or find your core."
They descended into the cavern—an underground temple swallowed by fire. Molten streams ran between stone walkways carved into lotus petals. In the center of the chamber stood a massive seedpod, petrified and split open like a ruined heart.
As soon as Shen Liang stepped near it, the System activated.
[Sanctuary Challenge: Ember Root Cavern - Initiate Trial of Self]
[Trial Type: Mental - Face the Flame Within]
[Warning: Exit restricted until Trial completion.]
The world around him twisted.
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He was standing in the ruins of his old home.
Charred walls. The scent of ash and burning wood.
His younger self sat by the remains of a bed, head bowed, eyes empty. Flames crawled up the walls, devouring everything.
"You couldn't save them," a voice whispered. "You ran. That's your truth."
Shen Liang turned to face the specter—it was him. But not quite. The shadow of who he might've become if he'd never stood back up.
"You're not real," Shen Liang said quietly.
"But I am you," the phantom said, stepping forward. "The coward. The orphan. The failure."
"No," Shen Liang whispered. "You're the ashes I was born from."
He clenched his fists.
"I did run. I did fail. But I'm still here. Still fighting. And I won't let the past bury the future."
The flames surged.
His Embersoul qi erupted outward—pure, golden-orange, washing away the illusion like a rising sun.
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He blinked as the cavern reformed around him.
Yue stood across from him, looking mildly impressed. "You passed."
He exhaled, shaky but calm. "Barely."
[Trial Complete: Ember Root Cavern - 2/7 Sanctuaries Reclaimed]
[Reward Unlocked: Flame Lotus Inner Seed (Inactive)]
[Trait Unlocked: Root of Self - Increases Mental Resistance by 20%]
The system's text faded, but the warmth within him didn't.
He had faced the flame within. And it hadn't consumed him.
Not yet.
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As they left the cavern, the earth trembled again.
Yue glanced back. "Something's moving beneath the mountain."
"A Calamity?" Shen Liang asked.
She shook her head. "Worse. A Precursor."
Before he could ask, a massive tremor split the sky—and in the distance, a mountain cracked open, revealing a single glowing eye deep within.
Watching.
Waiting.
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