Chapter 29 — Mark of the Bleeding Sky
The sky above the Silent Soul Sect seemed calm.
But in the invisible heights, where the laws of the world intertwined, something had changed.
Shen Mu slowly opened his eyes.
He was still in the Sanctuary of the Broken Abyss.
But everything had changed.
The air seemed hesitant to touch him.
His shadow flickered, as if it no longer knew which world it belonged to.
A black breath floated around him—thin, silent, almost unreal.
It came from within him.
Or rather… from the sword.
[Spiritual Sword Awakened: Nihila – Blade of the Nonexistent Void]
[Current Activation: 12%]
[Bearer Status: Unstable]
[Risk of Involuntary Erasure: High]
Shen Mu winced.
A dull pain pulsed in his skull.
His vision blurred at times, as if the world around him hesitated to remain real.
Each movement of his thoughts drew dark lines into the air—faint, nearly invisible fractures.
He tried to calm his mind, but an invisible pressure weighed on him.
Not an aura.
Something deeper.
Something… empty.
[Emergency System Adjustment]
[Temporary Seal Activated: Nihila's Power Locked at 5%]
[Bearer's cultivation insufficient to contain the sword's nature]
[Karmic balance readjusted]
He inhaled slowly.
The pressure eased slightly.
But the sensation lingered, like a memory clinging to his skin.
He understood.
Nihila didn't just cut matter.
It erased.
Everything.
And even though only a fraction of its power was active, the universe could already feel it.
Such a weapon… was never meant to reappear.
In another world, far away…
An old man dressed in ash looked up to the heavens.
His gaze pierced clouds, laws, and time.
— A trace… left by the Void, he whispered.
Then, trembling, he rose to his feet.
And vanished.
Back in the sanctuary, Shen Mu stood still.
His eyes were fixed on a crack in the air, born from his mere presence.
He didn't yet know what kind of enemies he would face.
But he knew one thing:
The world… had felt Nihila.
And now, the world would answer.
[External Observation Still Active]
[Abnormal karmic links detected]
[Automatic preparation of next mission… in progress]
Calm breath.
Empty gaze.
And in his hand, a blade without reflection.