Loud voices echoed across the mountainside, a chorus of anguish that rolled like thunder. Some were sharp with panic, others low and guttural with despair. Wails bled into hoarse cries, the sound carrying far enough that even disciples outside the peak cast wary glances at the crimson-lit skies above the Body Refinement Division.On the peak itself, the scene was a vision of torment. The stone courtyard had been transformed into a furnace. Heat shimmered from the ground, distorting the air like waves rising from molten rock. Dozens of new disciples, those who had passed the trial of the steps were scattered across the ground. Some lay unconscious, their bodies twitching with spasms; others knelt trembling, sweat pouring from them in rivulets as they fought to remain upright.The source of this suffering was not hard to find. A massive basin-like formation carved into the peak glowed with furious light. Within, hot stones burned bright orange, veins of magma-like qi running through the

For the next month, the courtyard of the Body Refinement Division became a crucible of extremes.There was no rhythm to their torment. Some days, they were roasted until their skin blistered, drenched in boiling oil, or pressed against stones hot enough to burn flesh from bone. On others, the world froze around them, their lungs clawed by air so cold that every breath felt like swallowing knives. Dawn to dusk, the trials never ceased, and never once could they predict what awaited them when the instructors arrived.The disciples called it hell. Yet even in hell, seeds began to sprout.Their bodies, once frail and mortal, had begun to change. Muscles grew denser, bones heavier, skin tougher. One by one, the fruits of their suffering revealed themselves.It was Tian Yīn who first broke through.The bald-headed youth had always carried himself with unshakable confidence, his once-flowing silver locks long gone to the flames. On the twelfth morning, as the heat bore down upon them, he sud

Lanterns glowed faintly in the courtyards, their flickering light casting long shadows across the paving stones as disciples of the White Crane Sect moved about. The clang of sparring from the training grounds had faded into the night, replaced by the murmur of voices, the fragrance of steaming rice, and the distant notes of a zither from some patient practitioner of the Music Hall.Duō Yī walked steadily toward the eastern pavilion, the hem of his robe brushing against the stones. His breathing was even, but his thoughts were not idle. The mission ahead loomed larger in his mind with every step.When he reached the pavilion, three familiar figures waited beneath its curved tiled roof.Hú Lì noticed him first, waving broadly with his usual lack of restraint.“Brother Yī! Right on time again. Reliable as ever.”Duō Yī gave a polite nod as he stepped into the lantern’s glow. Beside Hú Lì stood Xiǎo Yǔ, twin tails swaying as she shifted from foot to foot, and Zhāng Wei, solid as an iron

“Up,” Zhāng Wei’s voice cut through the misty dawn like a blade. He was already on his feet, rolling his blanket with crisp, disciplined motions. Behind him, the embers of last night’s fire smoked faintly, refusing to die.Hú Lì groaned as he stumbled out of the carriage, hair jutting wildly in every direction. “Do mornings always have to come this early?”“Time waits for no man,” Zhāng Wei said flatly, cinching the horse’s harness.On the ground, Xiǎo Yǔ stretched like a cat, her twin tails flicking through the mist. She yawned so wide her voice came out half-slurred. “Senior Brother Hú, you complain too much. Didn’t you once boast about wrestling a Copperback Boar barehanded? What’s a little morning dew compared to that?”“That was different,” Hú Lì muttered, glaring at her. He flung an arm at the mist clinging damply to his robes. “The boar was warm. This is just cold.”Duō Yī remained silent, fastening the last strap on his pack. His eyes lingered on the fog curling over the river

"Ughhhhh"Duō Yī’s eyes fluttered open.Darkness pressed down all around him, thick and suffocating. He tried to move, but something cold and damp constricted his body. He looked down, translucent vines coiled around his arms, chest, and legs, pulsating faintly with ghostly light. Each throb carried a chilling rhythm, like a second heartbeat not his own.He tried to summon his qi.Nothing.It was as if the very air smothered his core, chains pressing against his meridians, sealing his strength shut. Panic surged through him as he tugged against the bindings to no avail.Then the sounds reached him.Low groans. Whimpers. The faint, broken cries of men, women and children. His eyes adjusted to the gloom, and what he saw twisted his stomach.The missing mortals were strung along the cavern walls, suspended in vine-like cocoons. Some still writhed weakly inside, their faces pale as their life drained away. Others were packed into cages of bone and vine, the bars slick with moisture, thei