C19 Crack!
Autumn leaves whirled into the sky before descending to the earth, as if attempting to conceal the chaos strewn across the land.
A hand emerged from the dust, a hundred meters from the site of the explosion, desperately clawing its way out. Soon, a figure became visible; its right hand was twisted grotesquely, and its left leg was missing below the knee, with a strange black liquid oozing from multiple wounds.
The figure's left hand delved into a cloth bag, and soon it withdrew a gray, translucent object. Upon closer inspection, it was a human form, writhing in its grasp but unable to break free.
The black-robed man paid no mind to the struggle, tossing the form into his mouth. He reached back into the bag, consuming more than a dozen forms before ceasing—some human, some animal, some loose, others increasingly solid.
As he stopped feeding, the thin black mist around him thickened and surged toward his injuries. The wounds healed rapidly, visible to the naked eye, and in less than an hour, he appeared fully restored.
"Damn it! To think it self-destructed, inflicting such grievous wounds on me. I've wasted so many souls just to recover a bit. Did it really think it could prevent me from finding the seal? Not so easily," the black-robed man snarled, his face contorted with rage.
He closed his eyes, and the black mist swirled from his body, spreading out and fading into the horizon. His face twisted in concentration, he spat a mouthful of black blood into the air, which seemed to chase the dissipating mist, as if searching for something.
Before long, the black mist returned and was absorbed back into his body. The black-robed man's scowl turned into a sinister grin, pleased by the vision in his mind. He saw a young man in tattered clothes standing by a campfire, murmuring, "So it's this young man? Though the catch was small, it will suffice. Hehe..."
His right hand rose slowly, the black mist swirling. He extracted a strand of information from his mind and cast it into the mist, commanding, "Listen! Spare no effort in tracking down this young man's whereabouts..."
"Go!"
With a sharp command, the black mist divided into several streams, each carrying the information as they vanished into thin air.
The sun and moon took turns in the sky, and before we knew it, the depths of winter had set in. The sky was a pristine blue, the earth a gleaming white, yet the seemingly gentle sunlight was powerless against the pervasive chill in the air.
The mountain peak, sensing the cold, had silently donned a coat of silver, artfully concealing an almost imperceptible cave entrance within its folds.
Secluded from the world, the cave was a haven of tranquility, as warm as spring. At its heart stood a crystal, its red light pulsing, casting a warm glow on the cave walls and breathing a hint of life into the stillness.
After the black-robed man had issued his command, he scoured the vicinity but failed to uncover the cave, cleverly concealed within a magic circle. A brief search yielded nothing, and he drifted away, shifting his attention elsewhere.
This was, in truth, a daring gambit by the old Taoist. Though he had laid down the Soul Snare during the sealing process, there was no guarantee it wouldn't leak traces of the seal. If his pursuers traced it back here, he would be gravely injured and unable to flee. Fearing for Lin Yu's safety, he decided to encase him in ice using the Profound Yin Cold Spring, reducing his aura to the barest whisper, rendering him undetectable within the cave. Concerned that Lin Yu, untrained in cultivation, might not withstand the cold, he fortified Lin Yu's constitution with the last drop of Golden Life Essence from his clan. The interplay of extreme cold and warmth was a desperate measure, squandering much of the essence's potential, yet it was the most prudent action under the circumstances. He sacrificed himself as a decoy, orchestrating a ruse to buy time, creating a paradox where the most perilous place became the safest, ensuring the cave remained undiscovered...
"Crack!"
On this day, a sharp sound shattered the silence of the cave. A fissure marred the previously flawless crystal, and the red light, once vibrant, faded away, plunging the cave back into its primordial gloom.
"Crack!"
The silence was broken again by the sound of splintering ice. After an eternity of stillness, a figure slowly rose, accompanied by the clatter of ice shards cascading to the ground.
Bathed in the faint glow, a silhouette could be seen stepping gingerly across the ice crystals strewn about, the crunching beneath their feet failing to harm them in the slightest.
As they moved forward, the garments on their body, unable to endure the alternating extremes of heat and cold, fluttered down like tattered cloth, revealing expanses of skin.
Upon closer inspection, the scene took on an eerie quality. With each step, the figure's stature seemed to increase, their skin unable to contain the burgeoning flesh beneath, eventually splitting apart. Beneath the ruptured skin, fresh, tender skin was exposed.
The figure, with long black hair draping over their shoulders, stood completely bare, revealing a tall and straight physique. Their body was slender, with muscles not overly pronounced. A closer look at their face revealed a mature countenance still tinged with traces of youthful innocence—it was none other than the transformed Lin Yu.
Lin Yu exhaled deeply, slowly opening his eyes to a fleeting flash of red. He flexed his long-still body, producing a symphony of crackles and pops.
As he began to search for that familiar presence, a wine pot on the ground caught his eye. Surveying his surroundings, a flood of memories washed over him, casting a shadow of disappointment across his expectant features.
He raised his hand, examining the wound once inflicted by the old Taoist for the purpose of passing on the seal, now healed as if it had never been. Were it not for the sensation of the seal pulsing above his heart, the entire experience might have been dismissed as a mere dream.
Regaining his composure, Lin Yu reached for his waist only to find his clothes missing. A brief moment of panic ensued as he frantically scanned the ground, searching for something of great importance.
His gaze soon fixed on a cluster of crystals. He rushed over, heaving aside a crystal half his height, and there he uncovered the sought-after item.
As Lin Yu picked up the two bags of holding from the ground, his frantic expression gradually calmed. A wave of sadness rushed into his heart; one of the bags was his own, while the other, more ancient-looking one, had been left to him by the old Taoist.
Lifting the bag of holding, the memories of the past several months flashed through his mind. Recalling the old Taoist's parting words, his eyes grew moist.
Lin Yu's fists clenched tightly as his sorrow swiftly gave way to a surge of determination and resentment.
Shaking off the thoughts, he opened the bag of holding and pulled out a new set of plain robes. As he was about to dress, he noticed the robes were somewhat small. Assuming the proprietor of Spirit Haven had made a mistake, he set them aside without concern and reached for another set.
