“Now I look like Teacher!” Dejiu grinned as he walked down an endless number of steps.

Equipped with thick robes of deep blue and white, a wooden pack frame on his back, and a long pole arm with two ends — one end a regular spade’s head, and the other is a gleaming crescent moon blade.

He didn’t know what came over him to bring the weapon with him, but at least he could begin training with his stronger Mid Initiate body. Better than boring himself with anything the monk he needed to find would make him do…

Though it did feel right in his hands, perhaps he had the makings of a warrior monk, as Teacher Jiansu said.

As if. He laughed.

In his next step, he broke through the cloud of cold fog covering the mountain and the vast land below revealed itself. He paused his descent, taking in the sight.

Boundless. That’s the only word that came to mind. It’s difficult to think that he used to live somewhere below the mountain long ago — a time he couldn’t even remember before Teacher Jiansu saved him. The daimons killed his family and most of the village before the monks arrived all that time ago, but Dejiu couldn’t remember a thing, he was simply too young to remember even the faces of his parents, much less any of the other surviving villagers.

Though… it didn’t hurt to wish they were doing fine, wherever they were. Teacher Jiansu didn’t mention much about them, not that Dejiu asked or anything.

Sighing to himself, he brought the monk’s spade behind his neck and across his shoulders before climbing down again.

—

By the time Dejiu reached the bottom of the steps, he gasped for breath, his legs trembling with each step. He hadn’t expected the descent to be so grueling, every muscle in his body burning from keeping himself steady on the steep path.

He slumped against the nearest boulder, sliding the monk’s spade from his shoulder and letting it rest beside him. He hadn’t felt so heavy in a long time, and he couldn’t tell if it was the fatigue or the weight of everything he’d brought down with him.

“I thought the walk down would be easier,” he groaned, rubbing his aching calves. Worse than the ache though was the cold! He dipped his hands into his groin to warm them. He’s a vulgar monk, but a monk nonetheless.

Though speaking of monks, Senior Monk Liang was right — he had already seen the distant Heifeng Prefecture’s silhouette on his way down. It’s far away but it didn’t take some complex directions to reach. He just needed to pass the small snowcapped forest between the foothills and the city in a straight line.

After a few minutes of rest, Dejiu recovered enough to reach his destination. Lifting off his rough seat, he finally stepped on level ground outside Mount Xuedou.

“Agh, my ass!” He muffled a curse.

He hobbled through the wintry forest, his footprints marked the frost-laden grass. He cut down branches with the bladed end of his monk’s spade, familiarizing himself with the lengthy weapon. There was something cathartic about it — the simplicity of the movement, the clarity of action. The best was the freedom from the temple.

For a moment, Dejiu paused, breathing heavily but with a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. This job isn’t too bad… they can’t fault me for taking my time, right?

But as he continued to walk… the ground shifted below his feet. Then he heard the faintest tremor from the earth — a soft rumble, like a sigh from the earth itself.

“Wha—”

Before he could focus his hearing, the earth split before him. The ground swallowed into a round sinkhole, immediately widening into a chasm as Dejiu staggered and watched the scene unfold. It didn’t even take a few seconds.

He balanced himself and gawked as a jagged stone pillar forced its way up, rising like a twisted claw from the ground.

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He swallowed, his breath fogging in the chill air, but Dejiu was no fool. Despite the chill running down his spine, he knew what this was. After all, Teacher Jiansu was currently dealing with another similar scene elsewhere.

It’s a Pillarshard.

It’s how daimons would climb up into their world from the Seventh Hell.

He swallowed, his breath fogging in the chill air as the sinkhole widened and widened. His eyes tensed and he brought the monk’s spade in front of him.

“I-I am a monk of the Heavenly Snowy Temple. I have an obligation to fight.” He muttered. “But I’m no fool.”

So he ran. Faster and harder than he ever had before. Shameless? Unbecoming? Improper? Perhaps. But more than shameless, it’d be foolish to linger.

Quickly unfastening the pack frame from his back, he rushed ahead and veered around the widening sinkhole, uneager to remain so close before the Pillarshard began to rise and daimons spilled from outward. He had no choice if he wanted to live.

Dipping and dodging Dejiu wove through the trunks and branches, always keeping a steady eye beside him until the sinkhole was behind him. He broke through the sharp demarcation delineating forest and plains. With it behind him, he wouldn’t dare look back.

I’m too far from the temple, I’ll get run to the prefecture and call for the local seekers and that Senior Monk in charge. I can’t handle this thin—

“Fight.” A voice said, and Dejiu froze in his tracks. Sweat began to form on his bald head despite the cold winds billowing the rolling plains.

Who? What the fuck was that—

“Kill. Fight. Death. Blood. Battle. Daimon, behind.” The voice clawed through his mind as if etched into the back of his thoughts. Dejiu remained still, bewildered, and shaking in place. Each word felt heavier than the last, drumming against his senses, flooding his veins with a feeling he didn’t recognize — something raw and feverish.

It was a woman’s voice… he didn’t hear it from his ears, but rather his mind, just like the Seeker’s Accord.

However, he knew the Seeker’s Accord well — and this woman’s voice was the furthest thing from that.

Dejiu’s fingers tightened on the spade’s handle. His breath hitched, fogging in the freezing air. And then he turned around despite his mind’s protests.

For a second, he thought he saw movement within the sinkhole, dark shadows swirling beneath the rising stone. He knew he should keep running and escape whatever was about to emerge, but the voice wouldn’t let him move.

He opened his mouth to scream, to croak and run, but it was as though he didn’t have a mouth.

“Daimon, behind. Kill.” it rasped again, slower this time, like the voice of some buried hunger gnawing at the edges of his sanity. Against his better judgment, he stepped forward, drawn toward the twisted Pillarshard by an invisible pull.

“What is this!? Who’s there?” he roared with as much vigor a person his age could muster. But the feminine voice only pulsed again with words he could hardly resist, a chant that grew louder, overwhelming his thoughts.

“Fight. Blood. Kill. Take shard.” The woman’s voice flooded his mind.

A shiver ran down his spine. The jagged stone tower that slowly rose from the sinkhole trembled as if something inside it was eager, waiting, pressing against the surface to break free.

How is it rising so fast!? Dejiu’s senses screamed as his head couldn’t look away. No, no, no!

He couldn’t remain here any longer. The daimons inside the Pillarshard would erupt from the base in moments!

I have to go! Run Dejiu! You fucking wretched monk, run! Move, move! He inwardly cried, but his body wouldn’t listen.

The woman’s voice was no gentle whisper; it was a command, a demand, and it terrified him.

But it didn’t matter what he wanted to do… because from the risen tower of jagged black stone, Dejiu watched as a daimon’s monstrously long limb gripped the break apart a small hole.

Inside that hole, an eye gleamed from the darkness, its sickly yellow iris piercing through, staring at the figure of Dejiu. Its surface rippled like molten gold, yet deadened and dull, as though it hadn’t seen sunlight in centuries.

[Seeker Xue Dejiu, you have entered an Impure Pillarshard’s territory. Prepare yourself, Seeker!]

Dejiu’s heart sank at the words from the Seeker’s Accord. This… is real.

[...][...][...]

[You cannot leave the premises of this emerging Pillarshard. Snuff the Pillarshard’s core or delve down to the Seventh Hell. Only death will await those who remain complacent.]

[You have thirty days before your assault is forcibly relinquished.]

What!? I can’t leave? The script faded unhurriedly, replaced by new text.

[A lone herald of blood, wretched in his approach, lulled by the words of a lingering creature of the depths…]

To hell with this! What do you mean I lulled at the words of such a thing? She forced me!

[To trust in the profane, and therein lie the marrow of his strength.]

Fuck! You wretched accord! You and this woman alike!

But Dejiu didn’t get to finish his cursing.

…Because the first daimon has already broken out of the Pillarshard’s stone base.