First mission complete

The spirit balloon drifted gently over the forest canopy, the wind brushing Lin Yuan's hair as he gripped the controls. Below, rolling mist cloaked the ruins of Moonshade Valley—the mission zone.

Senior Sister Qingxuan stood beside him, arms folded. "Lin Yuan, this… this strange family , why are they so close to you? And why do you seem to like and trust them? "

Lin Yuan blinked, then offered a lazy smile. "They're my friends.They helped the slaves, didn't they?"

Qingxuan narrowed her eyes. "I'm talking about that man named Ming. He gives me a bad feeling. He has three wives… Just think how many lovers he must've had."

Lin Yuan's face twitched—then he burst into laughter.

Only Lin yuan know She's his stepmother. But yes… girls fall in love with her. And she gets betting because of girls.

Qingxuan blinked. "...What kind of family is this?Shearing a man with other two women!"

Before Lin Yuan could answer, the balloon's anchor ropes lowered and the crew began landing in teams.

Xiao Hu hopped off with Lady Mingyan, clutching a short sword and giggling.

Qingxiu followed Lady Fangyuan with quiet determination.

Xiaoluan, riding her floating lotus, floated alongside Lady Baihua.

Tearlume held hands with Lady An—her adoptive mother—calm but alert.

Senior Sister Qingxuan stood with her arms crossed again. "Why don't you stop them? Aren't you afraid they won't return? What if they lose your siblings?"

Lin Yuan looked out across the forest, silent for a breath. "I'm not afraid," he said gently. "They're stronger than they look.What do you think about uncle mang?"

Senior sister, "I don't like sharing husband with other. "

Lin yuan say, "So you like uncle mang but don't like him because he has three beautiful wife. "

Arrival of the Hunting Team Leader

A sharp breeze cut through the camp as a tall woman in bone-white armor strode up to Lin Yuan. Her presence felt ancient—like a buried sword unsheathed for the first time in centuries.

Lin Yuan squinted. "Forgive me... I have some memory issues. I forgot your name."

She smirked faintly. "I didn't tell you yet. But since you ask—my name is Yao Ruhen."

"I like it." Lin Yuan nodded. "Now listen. We'll kill the beasts, and you'll take any valuable parts back to the balloon. Your demon core is damage so you should absorb beast cores to recover."

Yao Ruhen frowned. "We don't need the cores."

Lin Yuan's gaze sharpened. "Be strong anyway. I might need you later—if things get dangerous."

---

Hunting Process: Lin Yuan's Bow of Time

Lin Yuan took out the elegant longbow gifted to him by Lady Fangyuan. Its dark limbs shimmered faintly, as if time bent around it.

He had ten special arrows—thin, silver-shafted, humming with temporal magic.

Each arrow had two effects:

1. Time Acceleration in Flight:

As the arrow traveled, it grew faster. By the time it hit, it had gathered incredible momentum—punching through even hardened beast hide.

2. Time Deceleration on Impact:

Upon striking the beast, the arrow would slow the beast's movement, distorting the flow of time in a small radius around the wound.

With his sharpened hearing, Lin Yuan could detect heartbeats from dozens of meters away. He listened for the rhythm of hooves in the mud, rustling leaves, or irregular breathing. When a beast twitched in hiding, he heard it.

He crouched low in the tall grass. A Vine Serpent coiled silently ten meters ahead, waiting to strike.

Pffft— The arrow loosed.

It flew fast—faster—faster than sound—and struck the serpent just behind the head.

The air shimmered. The serpent froze mid-strike, mouth wide open, eyes bulging. Lin Yuan casually stepped forward and finished it with a curved dagger.

---

Systematic Hunt

Lin Yuan moved like a shadow across the battlefield.

He marked targets with sound using thrown pebbles and broken branches.

He disabled groups of beasts with his slowing arrows, then let others shoot normal arrow. In the sect people don't use arrow. They think arrow are for mortal. The use talisman and formation. But arrow are great.

Each core was marked and packed into special jade bags to avoid over-absorption.

When a Spirit Beast's aura surged in the distance, Lin Yuan signaled retreat to higher ground.

As the battlefield quieted and the others collected beast parts, Lin Yuan stood alone at the edge of a ruined field—where ancient spirit crops once grew under moonlight.

The plants were dead now, torn and trampled by beasts. But something still lingered in the soil: faint soul fragments, like whispers left behind by life.

Lin Yuan touched a withered stalk.

Devour.

He didn't say it aloud. The command pulsed from within him—silent, instinctive. His evolving soul, strange and ever-hungry, reached into the crop's broken husk.

A breath later, invisible strands of soul essence slithered into his body.

The wind shifted. No one noticed.

But Lin Yuan did.

Insects began to crawl toward him.

Not loudly. Not in swarms. Quietly—like sinners approaching an altar. Tiny beetles, burrowed grubs, fire-winged gnats. They emerged from cracks in the bark, from soil, from inside the mouths of slain beasts.

They offered themselves.

Drawn by something they could not resist—his soul.

His soul, though bathed in treasure, was not just pure anymore. It had begun to change, to mutate—not like a saint's halo, but like a demon's charm. It pulled at living things. It promised something they didn't understand. And they answered.

One by one, the insects reached him and curled their bodies. Then, as if consumed by invisible fire, their flesh collapsed into ash. Lin Yuan absorbed their soul fragments silently, not even blinking.

He didn't tell anyone.

Not Lady Mingyan. Not Qingxuan. Not even Baihua or his siblings.

"It's better if they don't know," he told himself.

"This part of me… isn't for them.If they know they will be sad. They will think I am becoming devil."

His hand trembled faintly—just once. Then he clenched it.

Effect on Lin Yuan:

His soul sea darkens, grows broader.

He gains minor insights from the insect world—burrowing instincts, sensitivity to qi, detection of vibrations.

His aura fluctuates subtly between pure and unclean—angels would hesitate, and devils would bow.

Lin yuan give this name Devil's Whisper or Soul Root Feast

Type: Passive

Effect:

Absorbs soul fragments from dead plants, crops, and low-level insects.

Strengthens soul root, sharpens intuition, expands inner world.

Hidden cost: if overused, may darken soul alignment, cause nightmares or blood cravings.

Can evolve into a parasitic aura—beasts may fear or follow without knowing why.

By nightfall, 103 beasts had fallen.

---Here's your scene rewritten with dramatic tone, character conflict, and tension, featuring Lin Yuan completing the mission, using the token, and facing the Silver-Eyed Bone Drake with a touch of dark humor from Senior Sister:

---

Scene: The Bone Drake and the Signal Token

The bodies of 103 beasts lay scattered across the valley, their blood seeping into the spirit-charged soil. Lin Yuan, standing atop a twisted root, exhaled slowly.

He raised a jade token marked with the Taiyin Sect's insignia. With a whisper of qi, the glyphs on its surface shimmered, then flared—a signal flare without light, carried only through sect channels.

> "Mission complete. Prepare retrieval."

The wind shifted.

And something ancient stirred in the distance.

A howl that didn't sound like a beast, but like bones grinding inside a forgotten tomb.

Across the distant ridge, branches snapped. Birds screamed and scattered.

Then Lin Yuan saw it.

The Silver-Eyed Bone Drake.

Towering. Pale as moonlight. Its scales shimmered like polished ivory, and its long face twisted into a perpetual grin of bone and hate. Two silver flames burned in its skull-like sockets.

---

Qingxuan stood beside him, arms crossed tightly, watching the drake approach with a half-smile. "Well. There it is."

Lin Yuan frowned. "We're not supposed to fight that."

Qingxuan's eyes sparkled with teasing malice. "I'll only save you when you're about to die. So—go. Fight it."

"You're joking."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" she said sweetly.

Lin Yuan sighed. "You're insane."

Qingxuan tilted her head. "You're the one who attracts beasts like women attract butterflies. Go make it fall in love with you."

---

Facing the Spirit Beast

Lin Yuan stepped forward, heart steady, bow in hand. His special arrows—only three left now—glowed faintly in his quiver.

The Bone Drake locked eyes with him.

It didn't roar.

It smiled—jaw opening wide, silver eyes pulsing, as if amused.

Lin Yuan whispered, more to himself than anyone:

> "If it tries to talk, I'm really going to cry."

Behind him, Qingxuan yawned and muttered, "Remember—dying is the signal. Try not to scream too much."