Chapter 26 - The Watchers Beyond and the Seed of Hollow Bloom

🌲 Rebuilding the Nexus

The Ashroot Citadel stood tall within Lin Fei's growing domain. Towering spires of black jade laced with root-veins pulsed gently with qi, forming a stable anchor around the Domain Nexus. The once-chaotic flow of spiritual energy now bent along structured paths. Where wild memory had ruled, order had begun to take root.

[Domain Progress: 42% Constructed]

[Subdomain Synergy: Reclamation Spiral + Ashroot Citadel – 11% Bonus Efficiency]

[Domain Defenses Enhanced – Echo Hostility Response Improved]

Lin Fei stood atop a platform of petrified lotus petals, surveying his growing world.

Beneath him, Echoes moved—some reclaimed, working to stabilize fragments of the past they once haunted. Others still roamed half-formed, caught between remembering and forgetting.

He knew he would need more. Power alone wasn't enough. Not anymore.

[System Notification: "Echoweave Contracts" Function Available]

[Note: System-Linked Quests Between Wielders Now Possible]

Lin Fei touched the floating interface before him.

A web unfolded—a constellation of glowing threads stretching out from his domain into others. Most were dim, distant. But a few pulsed faintly, signaling proximity or mutual relevance.

Then one thread flared.

[Incoming Echoweave Contract Request]

[Sender: ???]

[Alias: Veinwatcher Huo]

[Contract Title: "Witness the Hollow Bloom"]

[Reward: Seed of Hollow Bloom (Unranked), 2 Bound Credits]

[Risk: Unknown – High Tier Anomaly]

[Special Note: Eyes Are Already Upon You]

Lin Fei hesitated.

The System didn't lie. And anything labeled Unknown Risk was dangerous.

But his fingers moved without doubt.

Accept.

🌌 Beyond the Domain

A moment later, the world folded.

He found himself standing within a new region—a liminal plane between domains. This wasn't the Veinfield, nor any known cultivation realm. This was a holding space for System-sealed contracts.

It resembled a sky made of still water. Upside-down mountains hung from the heavens, while root-like threads trailed through endless mist.

There, floating in silence, stood a man clad in layers of mourning-gray robes. His face was obscured by a mask of white jade, etched with a spiral symbol. Behind him floated a lantern bound with talismans that constantly rewrote themselves.

"I am Huo," the figure said. "A Watcher of the Inner Hollow."

Lin Fei inclined his head. "You sent the contract?"

"Yes. And it's already begun. They're watching now."

Before Lin Fei could speak, the space trembled.

Something massive stirred behind the mist. A shape—more sensed than seen—coiled in the shadows of the plane. It didn't move with legs or wings, but with intention. Curiosity. Hunger.

"The Hollow Bloom has awakened," said Huo. "An event that repeats each cycle—but only when the right mind touches the wrong memory."

He looked at Lin Fei.

"You were the trigger."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Witness it. Survive it. And if you can—steal it."

Then he vanished.

⚙️ The Bloom Emerges

A flower bloomed in the sky.

It was made of petrified memory and spiritual trauma. Each petal unfurled like a forgotten moment given form—spreading across the sky with quiet horror. Screams echoed with no mouths. A child's laugh turned into a war trumpet. The world bled backwards, and time fractured.

The Bloom's core was a hollow sphere—glowing with white-gold light. From it, threads extended outward—piercing fragments of ruined domains, long-dead wielders, and broken rules of cultivation.

And in its center, pulsing faintly, was a Seed.

[System Notification: Hollow Bloom Anomaly – Anchor Detected]

[Target: "Bloom Seed" – Active Conscious Core]

[Threat: Adaptive – Intelligent]

[Objective: Extract or Erase]

He had a choice.

Extract it… or destroy it.

But then came the voices.

Dozens. Hundreds. All at once.

"He saw it!"

"The Spiral bends!"

"Another cultivator trying to contain the Hollow Bloom? Hah!"

"What's his Domain Name? Check his core imprint!"

"Who gave a Rootlight Initiate system clearance for Apex Bloom interaction?!"

And then—one voice.

Quiet. Calm. Ancient.

"Interesting…"

Suddenly, the Bloom pulsed.

A thread lashed out—straight at Lin Fei.

He ducked and conjured the Lotusfire Glaive. Rootlight surged. Flame met thread.

[New Combat Interface Unlocked: Witness-Level Interaction]

[Initializing Spiritual Override: Defensive Bloom Format]

[Subdomain Integration: Ashroot – Compatible]

[Forming New Subdomain: "Hollowroot Mirror"]

Roots burst from beneath him, wrapping around his limbs.

He didn't resist.

Let it take. Let it grow.

The world shattered—and rebuilt itself.

🌕 Battle in the Mirrorfield

Lin Fei awoke again—this time inside the Bloom's memory.

Everything was made of mirrors—shattered pieces of cultivators' pasts stitched together into a battlefield. Every enemy here was a version of someone lost—mockeries of real people.

[Mirrorborn Hostile Detected – Identity Constructed: "Xu Ming, Sky-Flame Traitor"]

[Danger Rating: Advanced]

[Weakness: Regret Fragments]

Lin Fei launched forward, glaive burning with echo-fire. He clashed with the Mirrorborn, parried its strikes, and forced it into a burst of fragmented memory.

But the battlefield shifted again—and again.

Each victory triggered a new challenge.

Until finally…

The Seed rose before him.

A child-like form, faceless, wearing a robe made of petals and regret.

"Why do you fight us?" it whispered. "We only remember."

He hesitated.

"Then remember through me."

[Attempting Integration]

[Hollowroot Mirror Accepting Input]

[Seed Compression in Progress…]

Time broke.

Then reformed.

And when it did—Lin Fei stood back in his Domain Nexus.

Holding a seed.

Small. Gray. Beating like a heart.

[Hollow Bloom Seed Acquired]

[Bound Trait: "Echobirth" – Allows Seeding of Custom Echo Constructs]

[New Ability: Mirror-Root Conjuration – Passive Defense / Illusion Field]

[System Access Tier: Elevated – Initiate Class Upgrade Available Soon]

🎭 New Eyes Open

But something had changed.

When Lin Fei turned… he was not alone.

Three figures stood watching.

Not Echoes. Not Wielders.

System-bound entities.

Watchers.

"Welcome to the Bloom Tier," one said. "Only a few survive the seed's rejection."

Another tilted their head.

"Let's see how far this Rootlight grows."

Then, they vanished.

Leaving Lin Fei with only the silence of his own breathing and the weight of a flower-shaped anomaly pulsing at the heart of his domain.