The inner sect gates sealed behind them with a sound like a glacier calving. Jian Long's first breath in the Frostbloom Pavilion turned to razor-sharp crystals in his lungs. Every exhale painted the air with fleeting ghosts—faces of disciples who'd walked this path before, their final breaths frozen eternally in the ice-encrusted walls.
Elder Xue moved ahead without checking if he followed, her silver-trimmed robes leaving no footprints on the frost. Jian Long's bare feet weren't so lucky—each step burned then numbed as the soulbound frost gnawed at his qi.
[Environmental Damage Report]
• Left Toe: Early-stage necrosis detected
• Right Heel: 2nd-degree frostbite
• Countermeasure: Channeling yang qi to extremities (Ineffective - Core too weak)
The corridor stretched impossibly far, its vaulted ceiling hung with swords in varying states of decay. Some gleamed like they'd been polished yesterday; others rusted shut around bones still clutching their hilts.
"That one," Elder Xue said suddenly, pointing to a blade crusted with black ice, "was my predecessor. She asked too many questions about the Grand Elder's... dietary habits."
Jian Long squinted at the sword. Up close, the ice revealed shadows—a woman's face screaming behind the frozen surface. His system pinged:
[Whispering Blade Detected]
Memory Fragment:
"The blossoms are growing inside us! He's not extending his life—he's replacing his—" (Fragment ends)
Elder Xue's frost-qi lashed out, shattering the ice into harmless powder. "Don't linger. The walls have ears."
They passed seven more turns, each guarded by intricate ice formations that shifted when unobserved. At the eighth junction, Jian Long's system flared:
[Hidden Mechanism Detected]
Pressure Plate: Camouflaged as floor tile #4,217
Effect: Releases -100°C frost geyser (Instant organ flash-freeze)
Trigger Weight: >75kg
Solution: Step precisely where Elder Xue stepped
Jian Long's foot hovered over the deadly tile. A smirk tugged his lips. With deliberate slowness, he shifted his weight onto the trap—and at the last instant, pivoted to land beside it.
Elder Xue didn't turn around. "Do that again and I'll let it kill you."
The glacial jade door opened before them, revealing the Grand Elder's sanctum—a nightmare parody of life.
Heat and humidity struck like a physical blow. Jian Long's frostbitten feet screamed as they hit suddenly tropical air. Before them stretched an enormous greenhouse where:
Crimson pitcher plants large enough to swallow a man whole dripped digestive fluids that ate through stone
Vines with human teeth clicked together in arrhythmic chatter
A walking tree grafted with at least six human arms shuffled past carrying a tray of steaming teacups
At the center sat Grand Elder Mu Rong on his throne of writhing vegetation. Time had stretched his features like melted wax, his left eye replaced by a pulsating orchid that tracked Jian Long's every twitch. His right hand—more root than flesh—drummed fingers that grew longer with each tap.
"Xue'er," he crooned, voice like wind through dead leaves, "you brought me a weed."
Elder Xue bowed precisely 15 degrees. "He bears the Swordbirth Mark, Grand Elder."
A vine lashed out faster than thought, wrapping Jian Long's wrist. Thorns bit deep, drinking his blood with audible slurps. The pain came late—first the smell of his own iron-rich blood, then the burn as something in the thorns searched his veins.
Mu Rong's orchid eye dilated. "Ahhh... and something more." The vine tightened. "This one tastes of... rebellion. And peaches?"
Jian Long's birthmark ignited. The system exploded with warnings:
[Yin-Yang Reversal Core Detected!]
Grand Elder's Physiological Response:
Pupillary Dilation: +300%
Heart Rate: 12 bpm → 45 bpm (Dangerous for his condition)
Secretion: Nectar production up 700% (Excitement response)
Mu Rong leaned forward, his throne creaking. "Where did you steal this physique, boy? The Silent Moon Enclave? The Butcher of Black Vine Valley?" His breath reeked of rotting pollen.
Jian Long grinned through the pain. "Won it in a dice game outside a brothel. The guy swore it was just a weird tattoo."
For three heartbeats, silence.
Then the Grand Elder laughed—a sound like trees splitting in a storm. Vines erupted from his mouth, spraying black nectar across the floor where it ate smoking holes.
"Xue'er!" he wheezed, wiping orchid tears, "Put this one in the Crucible with the other seedlings!" A particularly thick vine caressed Jian Long's cheek, leaving bloody scratches. "Let's see if he blooms..." The thorns retracted with a wet schlick. "...or fertilizes my garden."
Elder Xue dragged him through increasingly organic corridors—walls now pulsing like intestines, floors sticky with sap that tugged at his feet. The air grew thicker with each step, until breathing felt like drowning in honey.
They stopped before a yawning pit where distant screams echoed. Xue produced a small frost dagger and—without ceremony—sliced Jian Long's palm open.
"Blood opens the door," she said as his crimson droplets fell into darkness.
The pit shuddered. Something massive uncoiled below—vines thick as tree trunks writhing upward to form a grotesque staircase. Each "step" dripped digestive enzymes that burned holes in Jian Long's already ruined boots.
[Crucible Preliminary Analysis]
Biological Composition:
60% Mutated Blood Blossom vines
30% Dissolved disciple remains
10% Unknown (Possibly celestial in origin)
Notable Features:
Walls secrete memory-altering pheromones
Ambient qi causes auditory hallucinations
All surfaces mildly carnivorous
At the base of the pit stretched an antechamber where seventeen other disciples stood in varying states of distress. The system tagged them:
[Competitor Breakdown]
Lan Huang (Noble scion - Golden Serpent Sect exile)
Tells: Flares nostrils when lying
Weakness: Overreliance on defensive qi
"Bonebreaker" Tao (Outer Sect champion)
Tells: Cracks left knuckle before killing blows
Weakness: Limited peripheral vision
Mei Xiuying (Mute girl with shadow glitch)
Tells: Left pinky twitches when nervous
Weakness: ??? (Data insufficient)
4-17. Expendables (Already marked for elimination)
Elder Xue's frost-sword materialized above them. "First trial begins now."
The floor vanished.