The stone door that opened before Lin Ho did not creak or groan. It simply… vanished, like it was never there to begin with. What lay beyond was not another chamber, but a forest — gnarled, gray, and impossibly vast, nestled impossibly beneath the temple. Trees with bark like bone and leaves that shimmered with a faint obsidian hue formed a maze lit only by the eerie glow of fungus-covered roots.
A voice, thin and serpentine, echoed from the dark.
> "So the blood returns… after all this time."
Lin Ho stepped into the forest cautiously, one hand on his blade. The ground was damp. The air reeked of something ancient — not decay, but restraint. As though the earth itself was holding its breath.
> "What is this place?" he muttered.
> "The Rooted Abyss," the voice replied, emerging from nowhere and everywhere. "A prison. A tomb. A womb for forgotten things."
A shape coiled down from one of the trees — a massive serpent made of bark and spirit mist, eyes flickering with emerald fire.
> "I was once a Guardian of the Flame," it hissed. "But when the heavens turned on chaos… we were buried."
Lin Ho narrowed his eyes. "Why show yourself to me?"
> "Because you have his scent," it growled, coiling tighter. "And his scars."
> "I'm not him."
> "No. But you carry his fate."
The serpent stretched forward, revealing a seed of pulsing black-and-gold light.
> "Take this. It is a remnant of the Abyssal Flame Tree — born of chaos, fed by the First Flame. Plant it in your core, and your body will either burn… or transcend."
Lin Ho hesitated.
He could feel it. This was no ordinary treasure. It wasn't even a flame seed. It was a mutation — half spiritual inheritance, half living will. It would remake him.
> "What's the cost?"
The serpent coiled back, its eyes gleaming.
> "To burn away all weakness. To accept the madness of chaos. To walk a path no one dares name."
Lin Ho breathed slowly… then reached out and took the seed.
It sank into his palm and melted into his meridians. The reaction was immediate — his dantian howled, Chaos Qi surging like a tidal wave, reshaping the very laws within his body.
His breathing grew ragged.
> "I will master it," he said through clenched teeth. "I must."
---
Outside the Secret Realm
Elder Mo stood before the glowing gate, brows furrowed.
> "Why has the spiritual flow turned wild?" he murmured.
Another elder approached, eyes grim. "Something inside is growing. Something we sealed long ago."
---
Inside the Forest
Lin Ho opened his eyes.
They now burned with twin flames — one golden, one black.
And deep in the woods, a thousand eyes blinked open in response.
The abyss had noticed him.
---
End of Chapter 69