The storm had passed, but its echoes clung to Feng Mo's skin like ghost fire.
Blood still seeped through the fabric of his robes. His ribs ached. Every breath was a reminder—
You survived… barely.
But survival wasn't enough.
Not anymore.
The Reaper's broken porcelain shard glinted in his palm, its cracked star emblem whispering of more to come.
Stronger foes. Harsher trials.
> "The Fifth Vein has awakened," he muttered. "The Sixth waits… somewhere beyond knowledge."
Then he opened the scroll Yun Lian had left—a piece of a forbidden map once sealed by the inner court.
A fragment pointed to a ruined region long forgotten by common sect records:
The Celestial Archives.
Whispers of Forbidden Lore
Legends spoke of the Archives as once being the heart of the sect's enlightenment—a library of divine scripts and soul path records, untouched by time.
Until one day, it collapsed.
Or rather… was buried.
Buried by the sect itself.
Because the knowledge inside was not just sacred—
—It was dangerous.
Now, only the ghosts of that wisdom remained, guarded by relic-spirits and soul constructs, feeding on anyone daring enough to seek forgotten truth.
Feng Mo reached the edge of the archives by dusk.
Charred towers. Shattered bridges suspended over deep black pits. Scrolls turned to ash mid-air by ancient curse winds.
But in the center, still pulsing faintly, stood the Obsidian Library Core.
It called to him.
---
A Trial of Mind, Not Flesh
As Feng Mo stepped past the scorched threshold, his surroundings warped.
Time bent.
Sound vanished.
"This is a mind space…"
Suddenly, he stood in a mirrored version of the sect's main hall—only, it was upside down and flooded with red mist.
Books flew like birds.
Eyes blinked from every shadow.
And a voice echoed:
"Feng Mo… why do you seek what was erased?"
He turned to see a librarian—her body made of ash and parchment, her eyes scrolls that turned as she blinked.
"The Sixth Vein does not lie in blood. It lies in clarity. You must offer your soul."
Without warning, his soul was ripped from his body.
The Mirror of Truth
Inside the mirrored realm, he saw himself—younger, weaker, kneeling.
All around him were his failures.
His father's disappointed stare.
His mother's dying breath.
Sect elders mocking him for being low-born.
Then—his blood space cracked.
The black tree shed a lotus petal.
It landed in the mirrored realm… and burned everything.
The images melted away.
> "You've seen pain," the librarian said. "But clarity comes not from forgetting… but from remembering with strength."
Then she held up a single book bound in black and red leather:
"Vein VI: Soulroot Chronicle."
The book flew into his soul. The librarian collapsed into ash.
Sixth Vein — Soulroot Memory Awakened.
This Vein allows the user to store, project, and weaponize soul experiences into psychic attacks and illusions.
Back to Reality
Feng Mo collapsed outside the archive ruins. The trial had ended—but the world felt different.
Clearer. Sharper.
Memories he had buried came back—but no longer hurt him.
He was no longer running from pain.
He had made it part of his weapon.
"They buried this power to keep us blind," he whispered.
"But I'll see everything. I'll remember it all."
And then, on the horizon—
A black carriage drawn by ghost horses crested the mountain path.
Its banner bore the mark of the Nine Wraith Envoys—the sect's true death squad.
The Reaper had been a test.
Now, the real executioners were coming.
And they had brought an army.
To be continued…
📜 Chapter 12 Summary:
Feng Mo reaches the Celestial Archives, facing a mental trial of memory and pain.
He awakens the Sixth Vein: Soulroot Memory, granting him control over illusion and soul-based projections.
Gains deeper emotional resilience—pain now becomes his weapon.
The Nine Wraith Envoys, top-tier sect assassins, have begun to mobilize.