Blood in the Soil

Dawn broke over Mudvale in muted gold, but Shen's hands were already slick with blood.

The spirit boar lay ruined in sinew and torn hide, its massive form sprawled across the loam like a toppled monument. Black-tainted blood seeped into the earth, foul with corruption. Over it stood Ling—majestic, silent, her twin tails slicing the still air like silver blades. Her muzzle dripped crimson, her golden eyes glinting—not with hunger, but something fiercer.

Pride.

Shen knelt beside her, fingers brushing the matted fur. The demonic qi clung to the carcass like rot, poisoning even the air. Yet beneath that taint, he felt it—a pulse of wild, raw energy, unshaped and surging.

She didn't just kill it, he realized. She's adapting.

Ling nudged the body toward him with a rasping sound—half growl, half plea.

System Notification

[Beast Bond: Blooded Hunter]

Ling has consumed tainted flesh and refined it. Her bloodline stirs.

Gained: Venom Resistance (Low)

Warning: Prolonged exposure to demonic qi may trigger mutation.

Shen buried the carcass far from the fields, but no rite could soothe the unease now curling in his gut.

The village had grown still. Unnaturally so.

Shen passed through the quiet market, the weight of a rice sack pressing on his shoulder. Granny Hualin's stall sat empty, her mortar and pestle cold. The air smelled of smoke—and something bitter.

Near the old well, Uncle Bao stood with bruised knuckles and a downcast gaze.

"They took her," he muttered. "Magistrate's men. Questioning, they said."

"Granny?" Shen asked.

Bao gave a slow nod toward the magistrate's compound.

From behind a hut, Little Pei emerged, wide-eyed and pale. She tugged Shen's sleeve. "They came last night. Took Old Wen too. Said he was hiding cultivation."

Shen's grip tightened on the sack. The Azure Rain Sect's edicts were clear—unregistered cultivation meant outlawry. But Old Wen couldn't even lift a bucket.

"Magistrate Gao's making examples," Bao spat. "Inspector's due soon. Needs scapegoats."

Granny Hualin reappeared, limping from the alley's shadow. Her robe was torn. Her breath hissed through her teeth as she grabbed Shen's arm.

"Your rice," she said, eyes blazing. "It's too clean. Too alive. Hide it."

That night, Shen dreamed.

Not of men. Of the land itself—screaming.

A jade-robed cultivator knelt in a dying valley. His hands bled as he pressed a seed into the soil.

"Grow," he begged. "The sect demands it."

The earth blackened. Veins of corruption spread from the buried root, choking the land, dimming the sky.

Shen awoke with a metallic tang on his tongue. Outside, the Seed of Possibility shivered—not from wind, but memory.

System Notification

[Land Memory: Unlocked]

The scarred root was no accident—it was a sacrifice.

Truth: Mudvale once served a fallen sect.

Implication: Shen's field lies atop a formation that siphons life.

They arrived at sunrise.

Three cultivators in azure-trimmed robes stepped into Shen's field. Their qi was dull. Their eyes, colder than iron.

The leader—a sneering youth with a chain whip—kicked over Shen's drying rice.

"Peasant. This land owes back taxes."

Shen bowed, voice low. "I've only just arrived. The deed—"

The whip cracked. Pain flared across his cheek.

Ling hissed from the shadows, her golden eyes glowing. The air shifted.

The leader's gaze found her. Greed bloomed. "Spirit beast. Rare. Worth a fortune."

Something inside Shen snapped.

No technique. No cultivation.

Just a hoe slammed into a kneecap. Bone cracked like dry wood.

Ling tore into a wrist. Blood sprayed. Tendons snapped.

Roots erupted from the soil, coiling around legs, dragging one screaming man down into the earth.

The others fled, shouting curses.

"The Inspector will hear of this, outlaw!"

Shen dropped to his knees beside the Seed of Possibility. Its roots wrapped gently around his wrists—not to bind, but to steady.

System Notification

[Forbidden Milestone: Bloodsown Guardian]

You defended your land with primal fury.

Gained: Rageborn Qi (Temporary)

Penalty: +50% Demonic Qi Attraction (7 days)

Land Bond: Deepened (The field remembers war now)

Ling padded forward. Her muzzle was still red. She licked the blood from his cheek, slow and steady.

Her eyes held no fear.

Only promise.

End of Chapter