The journey from the Blackflame Ravine back to the Crimson Lotus Sect was anything but peaceful.
Jin Zhen had expected bandits. He'd expected spies. He hadn't expected a forest to be missing.
Literally missing.
Standing atop the cliff bordering the Verdant Whisper Forest, he looked down into what should've been a dense woodland. Instead, only ash remained. Trees had been burned to cinders. The ground was cracked, the soil blackened.
Bai Mei's face went pale. "This wasn't like this when we came through a week ago…"
Jin Zhen narrowed his eyes.
[System Notification: Abnormal anomaly detected within 20-kilometer radius.]
[Scanning...]
[Unknown spiritual fluctuations discovered.]
[Threat Level: B+]
[Warning: Signs of corruption rooted in Nether Qi. Proceed with caution.]
"Corruption..." Jin Zhen's voice dropped. "Something's been unsealed."
He stepped off the cliff, descending like a ghost. Bai Mei followed silently, sword drawn.
When they reached the heart of the dead forest, they found it—an enormous crater, pulsing with purple-black mist. And in its center: a plant. No... a creature.
Thick, pulsating roots, each wider than a wagon, had torn through the earth. From these roots, twisted flower pods bloomed. They resembled mouths more than petals—dripping venom, radiating demonic energy.
"The Demonroots…" Bai Mei whispered.
Jin Zhen glanced at her. "You know them?"
She nodded, grim. "My father once mentioned them. Demonroots feed on spiritual veins and convert them into Nether Qi. They corrupt entire ecosystems... and when they mature, they grow mouths."
Jin Zhen grinned. "Lovely. Let's burn them."
[System: New Quest Available!]
[Title: Purge the Demonroot Nest]
[Objective: Destroy the mutated heart root within the corrupted zone.]
[Time Limit: 2 hours before full maturation.]
[Reward: +6,000 SP, Seed of Infernal Bloom x1, Fame +500 in outer territories.]
"I'm taking it," Jin Zhen said.
He summoned his flame, but this time, the fire was different—darker, deeper. The Devil's Bloom Physique within him responded to the corruption, feeding on it, amplifying his flames.
"Crimson Overlord Art—Blight Eater Flame!"
Dark red fire spread in a sweeping wave, devouring the mist. The Demonroots screeched, flailing like animals.
Suddenly, they fought back.
A massive tendril whipped from beneath the crater and slammed into the earth beside him, sending rocks flying. Bai Mei flew back, barely dodging another strike.
Jin Zhen took to the air, spinning mid-flight.
"Spiritual Mark—Infernal Lotus Strike!"
A blazing lotus flower erupted from his palm, its petals slicing the sky. It crashed into the heart root, burning through its outer shell.
[System: Damage dealt: 28%. Time remaining: 1 hour, 32 minutes.]
More roots burst from underground. One snared his leg mid-flight, another wrapped around his waist.
The roots began draining his spiritual power.
"Parasites." Jin Zhen's eyes glowed crimson. "You want to feed?"
He activated the second phase of his physique.
[System Activation: Devil's Bloom Empowerment — Phase 2. SP Cost: 1,000.]
[Temporary Buff: +40% flame potency, immunity to Nether Qi corrosion, regenerative boost x3.]
A burst of energy exploded from him.
The roots combusted instantly, unable to withstand his empowered flame.
In a single breath, he spun, raining down petals of infernal fire.
The entire crater burned.
Screams echoed—not from animals, but from the roots themselves, as if they were sentient. The heart root emerged, a massive bulb of muscle and veins, eyes forming and disappearing across its surface.
It roared.
"You're angry now?" Jin Zhen laughed, rising above it. "Good. So am I."
He raised both hands.
"Overlord Technique—Crimson Bloom Apocalypse!"
The sky turned red.
From above, a flower bloomed—a divine illusion of a giant infernal lotus, each petal glowing like molten metal.
The flower fell.
The heart root shrieked in agony as the lotus crushed it, burning through layer after layer of defense until it exploded in a column of black and red fire.
[System Notification: Quest Complete.]
[+6,000 SP]
[Item Received: Seed of Infernal Bloom (Rank: High-Grade)]
[Fame increased. You are now recognized in the Western Shadow Territories.]
Smoke curled from the earth.
Jin Zhen hovered above the crater, breathing steadily.
[System Update: Constitution Resonance Achieved.]
[You have unlocked the first evolution of Devil's Bloom Physique.]
[Name: Infernal Bloom Body (Stage 1)]
[Effects: Fire affinity enhanced further. +20% spiritual power capacity. Resistance to soul attacks increased.]
As the dust settled, Bai Mei landed beside him.
"You didn't even flinch," she whispered.
Jin Zhen cracked his neck. "Why would I?"
She chuckled. "I keep forgetting you're not exactly… sane."
"I'm practical."
He turned toward the northwest. The land beyond the forest shimmered with faint spiritual mist.
"There's something stronger ahead."
[System Notification: Dungeon Location Detected: Ruins of the Blood Pagoda. Recommended Level: Core Formation or higher.]
A grin spread on Jin Zhen's face.
"Then that's where we're going next."