Chapter 45 – The Beast in the Stone

Inside the tunnel, the air warped with corruption. Veil energy twisted the stone, turning it soft and sinewy in places. Crystals wept dark mist.

They found the beast in a lower cavern—a hulking Veilborn creature with two faces, one weeping, one laughing. Its body shifted with serpentine limbs and a jagged carapace.

It shrieked as they entered. Half the spirit mages collapsed from mental assault.

Qingsai stepped forward.

> "This world doesn't belong to you," he said.

The creature roared.

He closed his eyes, feeling Flame, Lucentia, and Water converge inside him—twisting into a radiant spiral of energy. His body shimmered.

His Soulkindled state flared to life.

With graceful steps and precise hand movements, Qingsai unleashed a Torrent Spiral—a radiant blast of scalding lightwater flame that burned the corruption and collapsed part of the tunnel.

Meilian danced at his side, lashing it with enchanted chains made of crystallized energy.

Yuwen, from the rear, shouted tactical commands, pulling the wounded back and guiding shieldbearers.

Within minutes, the beast fell—its cries swallowed by the mountain.

As silence fell, the cavern rumbled—and something strange was left behind.

A black stone orb, pulsing faintly.

Lucen's face grew pale. "That's not a Veilborn relic. That's a Veil Prophet's Eye."

Qingsai narrowed his eyes.

> "Then this wasn't random. They're watching me."