We descended further into the Cold Ravine the next morning.
The mist clung to our robes like silk soaked in cold sweat. The wind had changed. It no longer whispered nonsense.
Now it whispered names.
Lin Yumei punched a boulder just to feel something real.
Yue Lan walked silently, sensing spiritual traces. And me?
I tried not to trip over my own boots while pretending I knew what I was doing.
---
After a narrow ridge and a short drop into a bone-dry riverbed, we found it.
A ruin.
Ancient. Overgrown. Mostly buried in rock and dust.
> [System Notification:]
LOCATION: Screaming Stone Sect (Destroyed 300 years ago)
Warning: You are trespassing on forbidden ground.
System does not claim responsibility for what happens next.
"That's comforting," I muttered.
---
Yue Lan examined a broken archway.
"There was once a sect here. Legends say it was corrupted by a false Dao."
"A false Dao?" I asked.
Lin Yumei scoffed. "A fancy way of saying: 'someone got too powerful and stupid at the same time.'"
I nodded. "Relatable."
---
We explored the structure — broken stone halls, collapsed statues, and wall carvings covered in claw marks. On one cracked mural, a figure stood atop a mountain of corpses, laughing, arms raised as black fire engulfed everything.
Under it: one character.
餓 (Hunger)
---
"Anyone else getting bad vibes?" I asked.
Lin Yumei picked up a skeletal arm and threw it into a pit. "The worst."
Yue Lan knelt beside a shattered pedestal.
"Sealing formation here was broken from the inside."
Meaning something didn't get in.
Something got out.
---
Then came the sound.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
From the far hallway.
Blood. Fresh. Despite the age of the ruin.
---
We followed it cautiously — Yue Lan with her talismans, Lin with her fists crackling with qi, and me armed with a… stick I stole from a half-buried broom.
> [System Weapon Upgrade: "Vintage Trash Broom Handle +1"]
Enchantment: "Looks Cool to You Only"
Durability: 1.5 Hits
Hidden Trait: Splinters (Annoying)
---
We reached a stone chamber.
In the center stood… a man.
Thin. Pale. Dressed in ragged, ancient robes. He didn't breathe. He didn't blink.
Just stood.
Until he opened his mouth.
"You hear it too, don't you?"
"The hunger. The silence beneath truth."
I took a step back. "Okay. Definitely not a janitor."
---
> [System Warning:]
MINI BOSS DETECTED:
Name: Sect Remnant — Silent Devourer
Power Level: Above you
Weakness: Unknown
Suggested Strategy: "Run?"
Reward: Real reward rerouted to 'Heavenly Mirror System.'
Of course it is.
---
Yue Lan struck first — talismans flying like blades.
Lin followed up with a lightning-fast punch that cracked the floor.
The remnant didn't even flinch.
Instead, he opened his eyes.
They were black.
And then, he multiplied.
Five copies of him stepped from the walls — illusions? Clones? Nightmares?
I screamed and threw the broomstick.
It bounced off one and hit me in the knee.
---
> [System Notification:]
You have damaged yourself. Again.
Hidden Stat "Self-Sabotage" +1
[Unlocking Emergency Support Mode: "Trash Tactics"]
Suddenly, my robe caught on fire.
But weirdly, so did one of the clones.
"What the hell?!"
> [System Whisper:]
Your spirit qi is so unstable it reflects nearby spiritual signatures.
New Passive Skill Unlocked: Chaos Resonance
(May cause random backlash or helpful effects at 50/50 chance)
---
Yue Lan: "Focus on the original!"
Lin Yumei: "He's hiding among the clones!"
Me: "Can I hide too?"
But then I remembered something.
Back in Chapter 1 — yeah, that far back — the system said I had a luck stat so low it looped back into being useful.
So I closed my eyes… and ran forward.
Right into the real one.
---
CRACK.
My forehead hit his chest.
There was a flash.
The devourer howled.
And exploded into dust.
> [System Notification:]
MINI BOSS DEFEATED (Somehow.)
Actual Reward: Demonic Core (Grade B)
Redirected to: "Heavenly Mirror System."
You receive: "Core Fragment (Useless unless used as a skipping stone)."
---
After the battle, Yue Lan helped me up.
"You really are a problem."
"Thank you," I wheezed.
Lin Yumei looked at me with something between confusion and respect. "I don't get how you lived."
"I don't either."
---
That night, back at camp, Yue Lan scribbled in a small notebook.
Lin stood watch.
And I stared at the broken broom handle, now split in two again.
But there was something in that ruin…
A feeling.
Like someone—or something—was watching us.
Waiting.
> [System Locked Thread Discovered:]
Origin of the Hunger Cult — Traced to Forbidden Archive #17
Estimated Chapter Reveal: ~Chapter 36
You are not ready.
But you will be.