The following days within the Deep Rooted Wilds blurred into a ceaseless haze of motion and cultivation. Yun Zhi trained with ruthless dedication, refining both his soul and body under the oppressive weight of the spiritual suppression dome cast over the region by the wilds' own ancient will. The deeper he delved into the third region, the more apparent it became that this place was not just a wilderness—it was a realm shaped by intent. Something ancient was watching.
The fourth level of Soul Tempering Realm came to him in a rush of enlightenment under the blood moon's gaze. Yet even as power coursed through his channels and his soul core gleamed with greater brilliance, Yun Zhi felt it—an unease gnawing at the edges of his spirit. The system had remained silent for days now. Not a single quest, not a single alert. It was as if even the System feared what lay ahead.
It was the night before he would reach the rumored center of this sub-region—the Spiritroot Temple—that the silence broke.
[SYSTEM QUEST UPDATE – ARCANE ROOT TRIAL]Primary Objective: Discover the Truth Behind the Spiritroot TempleSecondary Objective: Uncover the Nature of the Crimson ObeliskSpecial Condition: DO NOT destroy the obeliskReward: ???Failure: ???
Quest Time Limit: None. Survival Probability: 21.6%.
Yun Zhi narrowed his eyes as he stood atop a cliff overlooking a withered valley. The blood-hued moonlight made the temple visible even from this distance—an immense, ancient ruin draped in ghost vines and semi-ethereal flora. Oddly, the entire region felt void of life. Not a single beast had approached him since morning.
He tightened the straps on his robes and activated his Spirit Vein Cloak. The veil of spiritual mist surrounding his body shimmered and adjusted to blend with the blood-hued surroundings. There was no point in waiting. He had to enter the temple and discover what was calling to him.
The Spiritroot Temple was not made of stone—it was carved from petrified wood. Gigantic trunks formed walls, intricately laced with glyphs of unknown origin, some softly glowing with red light. Each root curled unnaturally, as if resisting something. The architecture wasn't of human or beast origin; it was grown.
Inside, the air shifted. Yun Zhi entered through a broken arch, his senses sharp. The temple's interior was filled with quiet echoes—whispers, distant chants, and the flapping of unseen wings. His spiritual sense extended but bent unnaturally within the temple's confines.
He pressed forward.
On the walls were murals, faded and cracked. They depicted cultivators kneeling before a towering obelisk—crimson and crystalline—with roots wrapping around its base like chains. The final mural showed a black sun rising behind the obelisk, and a figure dissolving into motes of light as it reached toward the sky.
[System Message: Your soul reacts to the murals. Hidden affinity detected.]
Yun Zhi's steps faltered. His soul… reacted? What did that mean? He didn't have time to ponder—the path forward opened into a massive chamber. At the center stood the Crimson Obelisk.
It pulsed.
As if aware of his presence.
"Who are you?" A voice boomed, echoing directly inside Yun Zhi's mind.
He steadied his footing. "Yun Zhi, disciple of the Forgotten Peak."
"No. You are more than that. Your soul bears a fracture of the First Tree's memory."
Yun Zhi blinked.
[System Alert: Soul Archive Fragment Detected – Origin Class Seed]Warning: Interaction with the Crimson Obelisk may awaken dormant bloodline inheritance.
This was the first he had ever heard of such a thing. Bloodline inheritance?
"I have no such bloodline," Yun Zhi murmured.
"Not in flesh," the voice replied. "But your soul was once sown by us."
A tremor shook the temple. The obelisk flared red. The ground cracked, revealing a spiral descent downward, deeper into the roots.
The descent took hours. Each level of the temple felt like an entirely different world. At the second depth, Yun Zhi passed through a forest made of mirrored roots—every movement he made reflected and distorted. He fought creatures of light and illusion—constructs designed to test his sense of self.
At the third depth, he encountered the Warden of Roots—a massive wooden golem, animated by pure will and death Qi. The battle was brutal. His sword shattered once, forcing him to rebuild it mid-combat using his soul power. Only by unleashing the [Soulrend Lotus] did he destroy its core.
Yet it was the final chamber that would etch itself into his memory forever.
Here, the Crimson Obelisk stood untouched by dust or time. A single ring of bones surrounded it, fused into the wood beneath. They were cultivator remains—dozens of them—faces twisted in agony, as if their very souls had been stripped away.
[SYSTEM WARNING – PROHIBITED ZONE: Origin Vein Threshold]Caution: Unknown Entity DetectedEstimated Power Level: Transcendence Realm (???)
Yun Zhi's body tensed.
The temperature dropped. The obelisk pulsed once more, and a shadow peeled away from it—humanoid, featureless, eyes glowing with red suns.
"You carry the echo of the First Seed," the shadow said. "Return it."
"No," Yun Zhi said, instinctively. "It is mine now."
"Then be judged."
The chamber convulsed. Bloodroot vines erupted from the ground. A wave of pressure struck Yun Zhi like a crashing sea. The shadow moved—not fast, but inevitable. He activated the [Soul Domain: Ethereal Bloom], his world condensing into a lotus-shaped spirit realm.
The battle was unlike any other.
Every strike the entity made shattered his reality.
Every time he parried, his soul cracked slightly more.
He realized quickly: he couldn't win.
Not through force.
He changed tactics. Instead of fighting the entity, he focused on the Crimson Obelisk. Reaching with his soul, he willed it to respond, to acknowledge his existence—not as an invader, but as kin.
The obelisk pulsed in resonance.
[System Message: Obelisk Recognition Confirmed – Partial Synchronization Initiated]Progress: 32%... 55%... 87%...Soul Strain Threshold: 94% (DANGER)
Success.
The shadow screamed. The chamber exploded with light. When Yun Zhi opened his eyes, he was no longer underground.
He stood in a glowing root nexus surrounded by stars.
"You have passed the First Gate," a voice whispered—not from the System, but from within him.
[You have gained the Blessing of the Origin Tree Fragment]
New Passive: [Rooted Soul] – Your soul is now partially immune to corruption effects and spiritual possession.
New Trait: [Obelisk Resonance] – You may sense, activate, and influence ancient obelisks connected to the Origin Tree.
System Perk Unlocked: Soulbound Affinity (1st Tier)
Yun Zhi found himself back at the entrance of the temple. His clothes were in tatters. Blood caked his arms. But the pressure within him had changed. His spiritual core pulsed with something ancient and vast. Something that did not belong to this age.
He looked to the east. The map within his spirit sea had shifted again.
There were eleven obelisks across the continent.
Only one had awakened.
And something else had stirred with it