The mist thickened as the SUVs rumbled down the rugged dirt path leading into Xiangxi. The towering forests that lined the road swayed gently, their ancient presence looming over the quiet valley.

  The once-lively banter among the Wudang disciples had faded, replaced by the eerie silence of a village long forgotten by time.

  Juwon sat in the front passenger seat, resting his elbow against the window. His Qi Sense pulsed outward, feeling the currents of energy within the land.

  Something was off.

  Juwon noticed something. The Qi here didn’t just exist—it moved unnaturally, shifting beneath the surface like unseen veins pumping through the earth.

  Juwon’s fingers tapped idly against his knee. Interesting.

  Yan Huai let out an exaggerated sigh from the backseat. "Alright, this is way too quiet. Someone say something before I start thinking this place is haunted."

  Luo Qing smirked, adjusting his jacket. "If it is, I vote we leave Juwon behind as bait. He attracts trouble anyway."

  Juwon didn’t even look at him. "You can try. Just don’t expect me to save you when the ghost picks you instead."

  Zhen Yu chuckled. "Knowing him, he’d negotiate with it and somehow make a profit."

  The conversation was cut short as the SUVs slowed to a stop at the edge of the village. A handful of villagers stood in silence, watching them from afar.

  Their faces were tense, their postures wary. A few older men and women exchanged hushed whispers, while some of the younger villagers gripped tools, as if ready to defend themselves.

  Juwon stepped out first, stretching slightly.

  The moment his boots hit the dirt road, the tension in the air thickened. The villagers weren’t just cautious—they were afraid.

  The hunched elder, his sharp, sunken eyes filled with quiet suspicion, stepped forward. "Leave. We have nothing to do with outsiders."

  Bai Xueling, ever composed, stepped forward with a slight bow. "We mean no harm. We’re just looking for information—"

  "You shouldn’t be here." The elder cut her off, his voice sharp but restrained.

  Luo Qing sighed, folding his arms. "We’re just here to investigate Hei Long’s old facility."

  The moment those words left his lips, everything changed.

  A woman gasped, clutching her child and pulling them behind her. Several younger men tensed, gripping their tools like weapons. One older man spat at the ground, his face twisting with raw hatred.

  The elder’s face darkened instantly. "Don’t say that name here," he snapped. "You have no idea what you’re bringing back."

  Bai Xueling raised a hand, her voice steady but calm. "We’re not here to bring anything back. We’re from Wudang. We came to investigate Hei Long’s past activities and stop them before they cause more harm."

  For a moment, the villagers hesitated. But the elder only scoffed. "Stop them? You? Wudang? Where were you when they took our children?"

  Bai Xueling concerned, "Children? I don't understand?"

  The elder’s dark eyes bore into him. "Understand? What’s left to understand? They came, they took from us, and they left behind nothing but the living dead."

  A heavy silence followed.

  The elder Yun Ji's hands clenched at his sides, his voice barely above a whisper. "Our children. What did they ever do to end up like that."

  A heavy silence fell upon the group.

  Mothers were wailing. The men started clenching their fists.

  Bai Xueling’s gaze sharpened. "What happened here?"

  Yun Ji’s voice trembled with barely contained fury. "Would you leave us alone if we showed you?"

  Juwon nodded.

  The Clinic of the Living Dead

  The elder, who introduced himself as Yun Ji, led them through the winding paths of Xiangxi, past aged wooden houses and quiet, watching eyes.

  Finally, they reached a small, well-maintained building—the village clinic.

  Inside, the scent of medicinal herbs mixed with something stale, something unnatural.

  Rows of beds lined the walls, each occupied by a child, unmoving, their breathing shallow. Their skin was pale, almost translucent, their bodies thin from prolonged stillness. Their skin had shrunken as if there were no muscles left within their bodies.

  Luo Qing muttered under his breath. "This is… worse than I expected."

  Bai Xueling examined one of the children, her silver eyes narrowing. "Their meridians are intact, but their Qi… it’s nearly gone. It’s as if something drained them dry."

  Zhen Yu crossed his arms. "This is.......terrible."

  Huai's expression darkened. His teeth clenched to his lips almost bleeding them. His eyes teeming with anger "Who did this?"

  Juwon remained silent, his eyes fixed on the still form of a frail-looking boy, no older than six.

  Yun Ji placed a hand on the boy’s forehead. "This is Yun Tian, my grandson. He was the first taken. If you can help…" His voice faltered. "No, I'm sure nobody can help them at this point."

  Wudang disciples were all looking down gritting their teeth blaming their helplessness as children not even teenagers yet laid there not living but not dying either.

  That's when Juwon knelt beside the boy and closed his eyes, activating Qi Sense.

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  What he saw made his breath catch.

  The boy’s Qi was not completely gone—it was still there, but faint, scattered like embers in dying ash. But as Juwon focused, he felt something eerily familiar about it. The flow, the composition—it was similar to his own, yet refined in a way he had never encountered before.

  What's up with this village. Their Qi is as pure as mine yet of a different nature

  And beneath the village, stretching deep into the earth, he felt something powerful.

  A realization struck him—this Qi, just like his, was connected to the worldly Qi present within the earth.

  The children hadn’t just been drained; their connection to the natural Qi cycle had been disrupted.

  His eyes snapped open. "Their Qi... it’s not gone. It’s broken."

  Juwon exhaled, his gaze unwavering as he met Yun Ji’s eyes.

  "Yun Ji, was it? I need your full cooperation."

  The village elder frowned, confusion flickering across his face. "What?"

  Juwon’s voice remained steady. "If you're willing to pay the price, I will help these children."

  His tone carried absolute confidence, yet theWudang disciples exchanged uncertain glances.

  Juwon was no physician—what was he thinking?

  Luo Qing suddenly stepped forward, grabbing Juwon by the collar, his voice low and furious.

  "Don’t you dare play with the lives of innocent children!" His grip tightened. "There are other ways to get information! We can sneak in—"

  Thud!

  A sudden weight crashed to the floor.

  Yun Ji had dropped to his knees. His old, trembling hands clutched the hem of Juwon’s clothes, his voice shaking.

  "If you can save them... if you can bring even one of them back..." His forehead pressed against the dirt. "The Miao tribe—who have survived for thousands of years as the Shamans of the South—will serve you as our master."

  The room fell into absolute silence.

  Luo Qing’s fingers slackened. Juwon himself froze.

  He had expected hesitation, resistance, even bargaining. But this?

  Juwon shoved off Luo’s grip and knelt beside Yun Ji, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.

  A warm smile tugged at his lips. "You don’t need to go that far. Just let us stay here for a while."

  Then, he stood, his gaze shifting to the unconscious child.

  His expression turned serious. "Also... I’m not even sure I’ll succeed."

  He turned back to Yun Ji, his tone softer yet unwavering. "But I can promise you one thing—I’ll give it everything I’ve got. Even if it’s the last thing I do."

  A quiet gasp rippled through the villagers. Hope, a long-dead ember, flickered back to life in their weary eyes.

  Yun Ji nodded, a single tear rolling down his cheek. His voice cracked, yet his smile remained. "ummHmm Th-Thank you."

  Yan Huai, watching the scene unfold, let out a sigh before grinning. "Hehe so, the demon does know how to smile."

  Xu Weishan crossed his arms, his deep voice rumbling. "He looks handsome when he smiles—just like me."

  Luo Qing scoffed, deadpan. "Your smile scares people, big guy. Last time you smiled, someone reported an ogre in the halls."

  Xu Weishan scowled. "Come here, you brat. I’ll eat you alive."

  Luo Qing took a step back, smirking. "See? My point exactly."

  Amidst the laughter, Bai Xueling’s heart pounded.

  Something about this moment—about Juwon himself—felt far too important to ignore.

  Dragon Vein Convergence

  Juwon placed his palm on Yun Tian’s back while several men from the village held him in a lotus position.

  Activate Dragon Vein Convergence.

  At first, nothing happened. Then, the Qi around him shifted. It wasn’t just his own—it was the land itself, responding to him. Qi flowed from beneath, into him, not as power, but as something alive. It was as though a new circuit has formed. The Qi from the land flowed seamlessly.

  "I read about this in the Primordial Breathing Technique!" The key circuits of the earth "

  "The dragon veins"

  The moment he touched Yun Tian’s Qi, he understood. It was similar to his own, but changed—altered by generations of cultivation.

  Yun Ji asked with concern, "Can my grandchild be saved?"

  Juwon blurted, "Do not interrupt me!"

  Yun Ji nodded and stepped back.

  Juwon thought, What if… instead of refining Dragon Vein Qi into my own, I altered it? Matched it to his? Can I even refine other people's Qi?

  "Let me try something here"

  He took a tiny sliver of Yun Tian’s Qi, analyzing its structure, its nature. Then he drew in a thread of Dragon Vein Qi, keeping the amount small, controlled. He let his own Qi act as a mediator, only melding and not merging into the two Qis.

  The result was immediate. A new Qi was formed. The newly refined Qi felt different—it was Yun Tian’s, but restored, stronger, more complete.

  Juwon exhaled sharply.

  Hah! It worked.

  Everyone else looked confused, nothing had happened yet.

  Now for the real test.

  He sat behind Yun Tian, adjusting his position.

  "Hold him steady."

  The villagers hesitated, but two men carefully supported the child in a lotus position.

  Juwon placed both hands on Yun Tian’s back and took in more Dragon Vein Qi.

  "This might hurt a little"

  Then, he took more of the boy’s remaining Qi.

  Yun Tian's body started shrinking more, looking like elderly.

  The elder tensed. "What are you doing?! You’ll kill him!"

  Wudang disciples moved on instinct, hands reaching for their weapons.

  Bai Xueling held up a hand. "Wait. Trust him. We've seen him pull miracles before"

  Juwon gritted his teeth, Qi compressing within him, forming a hollow sphere at the center of his dantian. Within this sphere, he left an empty space, allowing both the Dragon Vein Qi and Yun Tian’s Qi to swirl inside. The energies clashed at first, the powerful raw Qi from the Dragon Vein resisting the altered Qi of the boy.

  The sphere trembled, unstable, as wild currents of energy fought for dominance.

  Juwon gritting his teeth, “so this is the resistance on a larger circuit?…However”

  Juwon tightened his focus, his own Qi acting as the mediator, guiding the two forces into balance. The chaotic surges slowly began to rotate in harmony, merging and refining into something entirely new—an enhanced, purified version of the Qi that once flowed through Yun Tian’s body. A sudden backlash erupted, sending a shockwave through his meridians—Juwon coughed blood, his veins burning from the strain.

  The resistance stopped.

  A sudden pulse of radiant energy burst outward from Yun Tian’s body, the purified Qi rushing through his meridians like a long-dried river suddenly flooded with life.

  His once pale lifeless skin flushed with warmth, a faint golden light briefly outlining his form as the energy reconnected with his body. The stagnant Qi within him ignited, reigniting his dormant life force.

  A sudden stillness settled over the clinic, the weight of anticipation pressing down on everyone like a storm about to break.

  Then—he took a breath.

  Not a weak, fragile gasp, but a deep, steady breath, his chest rising and falling with newfound strength.

  A ripple of disbelief swept through the room.

  His fingers twitched, once limp hands clenching slightly as warmth returned to his body.

  His eyelids fluttered, as if struggling to remember how to open.

  Then—he let out a small, groggy yawn.

  For a moment, silence reigned.

  Then, chaos.

  A woman collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. An older man clutched his chest, murmuring prayers under his breath. Villagers surged forward, hands covering their mouths, their eyes wide with tears.

  "T-Tian'er?"

  The elder’s voice cracked, filled with a fragile mix of hope and fear.

  The boy blinked, his gaze hazy but alive. He turned toward the familiar voice and mumbled,

  "Grandpa...?"

  Yun Ji staggered forward, his hands trembling as he cupped the boy’s face. "You’re awake… You’re awake!" His voice broke as he pulled Yun Tian into his arms, clutching him like he never wanted to let go.

  Juwon exhaled, wiping the blood from his chin as he leaned back slightly. He felt the weight of what had just happened—not just on his body, but in the air itself.

  The room was still a whirlwind of emotions when his voice cut through the noise.

  "One down." He rolled his shoulders, looking at the rest of the unconscious children. "Let’s keep going."

  The room stilled.

  Bai Xueling stared at him, stunned.

  Luo Qing ran a hand through his hair, muttering,

  "Alright. Maybe he really is a demon..."

  Yan Huai sighed, shaking his head. "Damn it. Here we go again..."