The faint light of dawn cast long shadows as Li Feng, Yan Wei, and Lei Ming returned to Qinghe. The oppressive air had lifted, but the village still bore the scars of the corruption. Broken homes and abandoned fields were reminders of the fragility of balance.

As they approached the village square, villagers began to emerge cautiously from their homes. Uncle Ren was the first to greet them, his face lined with weariness but brightened by hope.

“The shrine?” Ren asked, his voice trembling.

“It’s cleansed,” Li Feng said, his tone firm. “The beasts won’t return, but the land will take time to heal.”

A murmur of relief rippled through the small crowd that had gathered. For a brief moment, Li Feng felt the weight on his shoulders lighten. But as he glanced at Yan Wei, his concern returned. Her face was pale, and her movements were sluggish, as though carrying an invisible burden.

“We should rest,” Lei Ming said, his sharp gaze flicking toward Yan Wei. “We’re no good to anyone if we push ourselves too far.”

Li Feng nodded, leading them to his family’s old home. Though abandoned, it was intact, and the walls provided a much-needed sense of familiarity.

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As night fell, the faint whispers began.

Li Feng stirred in his sleep, his ears catching the sound of a faint voice. He opened his eyes, scanning the room, but the only movement was the flickering flame of a nearby lantern.

The voice came again, soft and insistent. It wasn’t directed at him.

He turned to Yan Wei, who sat by the doorway, her blade resting across her knees. Her eyes were unfocused, her lips moving silently as though responding to someone unseen.

“Yan Wei?” Li Feng asked softly.

Her head snapped toward him, her expression briefly startled before returning to its usual sharpness. “What is it?”

“You were talking to someone,” he said cautiously. “What’s going on?”

For a moment, she didn’t respond. Then she looked away, her fingers brushing against the hilt of her blade. “It’s nothing. Just… echoes.”

Li Feng’s brow furrowed. “Echoes of what?”

She sighed, her voice dropping to a whisper. “When I sacrificed part of my cultivation at the Nexus, I thought it was just energy. But it left… something behind. I’ve been hearing whispers ever since. Warnings.”

“Warnings?” Lei Ming’s voice cut in as he stepped into the room, his spear in hand. “You didn’t think to mention this?”

Yan Wei’s eyes narrowed. “It’s my burden, not yours.”

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“Not anymore,” Lei Ming said firmly. “If these whispers are tied to the Dao’s corruption, they could be the key to understanding what’s coming.”

Li Feng stepped closer, his voice steady. “What are they saying, Yan Wei?”

She hesitated, her fingers tightening around the blade. “They speak of a storm. A reckoning. They say the shadows aren’t just lingering—they’re gathering, preparing for something far worse than what we’ve faced.”

Li Feng felt a chill run through him. “And you’ve been keeping this to yourself?”

Yan Wei stood, her expression defiant. “What would you have done? Stopped fighting? The whispers don’t change our goal—they just complicate it.”

Lei Ming shook his head, his tone sharp. “Complications like this can get us killed.”

“Enough,” Li Feng said, his voice cutting through the tension. “We face this together, no matter what it means. Yan Wei, if the whispers return, you tell us. Agreed?”

For a moment, Yan Wei didn’t answer. Then she nodded, her shoulders relaxing slightly. “Agreed.”

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The next morning, as the village began to stir, Lei Ming approached Li Feng near the edge of the fields. “She’s hiding more than she’s saying.”

Li Feng sighed, his gaze distant. “I know. But we can’t force her to share what she isn’t ready to.”

Lei Ming rested a hand on his spear. “If these whispers are tied to the Shadowborn Sect, we need to act fast. The longer we wait, the stronger they’ll get.”

Li Feng nodded. “We’ll find them. But we can’t rush in blind.”

A villager approached hesitantly, a young boy clutching a torn satchel. “Li Feng?” the boy asked, his voice small. “There’s something strange near the river. My father says it’s cursed.”

Li Feng crouched to the boy’s level, his expression softening. “What did your father see?”

“Darkness,” the boy whispered. “It moved like it was alive.”

Li Feng exchanged a glance with Lei Ming. “Show us.”

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The riverbank was quiet, the water sluggish and dark. Li Feng could feel the lingering corruption in the air, faint but persistent. The boy led them to a cluster of reeds, where the ground was scorched black, and the faint outline of a rune was etched into the earth.

Yan Wei knelt beside the mark, her expression grim. “This is Shadowborn work.”

Lei Ming inspected the rune, his fingers brushing against its edges. “A tether. They’re trying to anchor their corruption here.”

Li Feng’s chest tightened. “We need to destroy it.”

Yan Wei stood, her blade glowing faintly as she channeled her qi. “Leave it to me.”

As her blade touched the rune, the ground trembled, and a wave of dark energy erupted from the mark. Shadows coalesced into humanoid forms, their crimson eyes glowing with malice.

Lei Ming moved instantly, his spear spinning in a blur of silver light. “It’s a trap!”

Yan Wei struck first, her blade slicing through the nearest shadow. Li Feng channeled the mark’s residual energy into his staff, focusing on disrupting the tether’s connection to the earth.

The battle was fierce. The shadows moved with unnatural speed, their strikes erratic and lethal. Yan Wei fought with precision, but her movements were slower than usual, her blade’s glow flickering.

Li Feng gritted his teeth, his staff slamming into the rune. The mark flared, its light spreading through the corruption. The shadows let out a collective shriek as their forms dissolved into mist, and the rune cracked and faded.

As the energy dissipated, Yan Wei collapsed to one knee, her breaths labored. Li Feng rushed to her side, his concern etched across his face.

“I’m fine,” she said, her voice weak.

“No, you’re not,” Li Feng said. “Whatever’s happening to you, it’s getting worse.”

Yan Wei looked away, her expression unreadable. “We have bigger problems.”

Lei Ming approached, his spear resting against his shoulder. “She’s right. If this tether was here, there are others. The Shadowborn Sect is spreading its influence, and they’re not stopping anytime soon.”

Li Feng rose, his resolve hardening. “Then we stop them. One tether at a time.”

As they made their way back to the village, the whispers returned, faint but insistent. Yan Wei tightened her grip on her blade, her expression shadowed. The storm was coming, and they were running out of time.