The Black Viper Gang descended like locusts, their torches casting grotesque shadows across the mountain. Zhang Wei stood atop the sect's roof, the temporary spirit vein's qi surging through his veins like liquid lightning. Below, Xiao Ling crouched behind a spike trap, Erhu perched in a tree with a stolen bow, and Mei clutched a vial of antidote, her cursed veins pulsing faintly.
---
**System Alert: Raid Begins**
**Enemy Waves:**
1. **Scouts (10):** Qi Condensation Layers 1-2 (Poisoned Weapons).
2. **Elites (5):** Layers 3-4 (Heavy Armor, Axes).
3. **Elder Fang (Core Formation):** Obsidian Staff (Soul Drain Ability).
**Allied Modifiers:**
- **Spirit Vein Buff:** +30% Cultivation Speed (59 minutes remaining).
- **Antidote Stock:** 10/10 (Poison Resistance +50%).
---
"Hold the line!" Zhang Wei barked, his voice amplified by qi. "Xiao Ling—light it up!"
The boy slammed his palms into the ground, channeling raw qi into the spirit vein's fissure. The earth erupted in a geyser of blue flames, engulfing the first wave of scouts.
---
**Combat Action: Terrain Manipulation (Xiao Ling)**
**Effect:** 6 scouts incinerated. Remaining 4 retreat.
**Qi Expenditure:** Xiao Ling's reserves depleted (-80%).
---
Erhu loosed arrows from the shadows, each shot guided by his street-honed instincts. A scout crumpled with a shaft through his throat, then another.
"Six left!" Erhu called.
"Save your count," Mei hissed, her voice trembling. "They're regrouping."
The second wave advanced—Elites in jagged iron armor, their axes crackling with venomous qi. The lead Elite smashed through the perimeter wall, splintering spiritwood like kindling.
---
**Facility Damaged: Reinforced Perimeter**
**Durability:** 22% (Critical).
**Warning:** Breach imminent.
---
Zhang Wei leapt down, intercepting the Elite with a qi-infused axe strike. The blade screeched against armor, sparks flying.
"Mei! Now!"
The girl hurled an antidote vial into the fray. It shattered, releasing a cloud of neutralizing mist. The Elites coughed, their poison qi fizzling out.
---
**Item Used: Antidote Cloud**
**Effect:** Enemy poison neutralized (Duration: 10 minutes).
**Remaining Antidotes:** 9/10.
---
Erhu peppered the blinded Elites with arrows while Xiao Ling flanked them, his fists glowing with unstable qi. One Elite grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.
"Pathetic child," the Elite sneered.
Xiao Ling spat in his face. "Eat fire, ugly."
He channeled his last dregs of qi into a point-blank explosion, shredding the Elite's armor.
---
**Combat Action: Sacrificial Blast (Xiao Ling)**
**Damage:** Elite 1 eliminated. Xiao Ling critically injured (-90% Health).
---
Zhang Wei dragged the boy to safety, shoving a healing pill down his throat. "Stay down!"
"No way," Xiao Ling wheezed. "I'm not done…"
---
The third wave never came. Instead, silence fell—a suffocating, unnatural stillness. The remaining Black Vipers retreated, forming a corridor as Elder Fang emerged. His obsidian staff pulsed with malevolent energy, each step leaving cracks in the earth.
---
**Boss Encounter: Elder Fang (Core Formation Early Stage)**
**Abilities:**
- **Soul Drain:** Absorbs qi from living targets.
- **Earth Shatter:** AoE quake attack.
- **Shadow Clone:** Creates 3 illusions (70% accuracy).
**Weakness:** Overconfidence (Ignores "weak" opponents).
---
"You've amused me, roaches," Elder Fang drawled. "But this ends now."
He raised his staff, and the ground beneath the sect *heaved*. Cracks spiderwebbed through the courtyard, swallowing spike traps and nearly toppling the hall. Mei screamed as a fissure opened beneath her, but Erhu yanked her back just in time.
---
**Combat Action: Earth Shatter**
**Damage:** All traps destroyed. Sect durability reduced to 10%.
**Casualties:** None (Narrow escape).
---
Zhang Wei's mind raced. *Core Formation… even with the spirit vein, we can't win head-on.*
"Mei!" he shouted. "Can you trigger your curse on command?"
She nodded, trembling.
"Do it when I say. Erhu—distract him."
The boy nocked an arrow. "Distract how? He's a goddamn mountain!"
"Improvise!"
Erhu leapt onto a crumbling wall, whistling sharply. "Hey, old man! Your mother was a gutter snake!"
Elder Fang's eye twitched. "Insolent worm."
He flicked his staff, and a shadow clone lunged at Erhu. The boy rolled aside, barely dodging.
---
**Combat Action: Taunt (Success)**
**Effect:** Elder Fang's focus shifted to Erhu (Duration: 15 seconds).
---
Zhang Wei charged, axe blazing with borrowed qi from the spirit vein. Elder Fang smirked, parrying effortlessly.
"You think a flicker of qi frightens me?"
"No," Zhang Wei grinned. "But *she* does."
Mei slammed her palms together, unleashing a violet tsunami of cursed qi. It engulfed Elder Fang, his sneer melting into a snarl as the corruption seeped into his meridians.
---
**Cursed Surge Activated!**
**Damage:** Elder Fang's qi disrupted (-40% output).
**Backlash:** Mei's deviation risk spikes to 85%.
---
The Elder staggered, his staff dimming. "What *are* you?!"
Mei collapsed, blood trickling from her eyes. "J-Just… a disciple…"
Xiao Ling limped forward, his hands sparking. "And we're not done!"
He and Erhu attacked in tandem—arrows and qi blasts harrying the Elder's flanks. Zhang Wei pressed the assault, each strike chipping at the Elder's wavering defenses.
---
**Spirit Vein Warning:** 00:01:23 remaining.
**Sect Durability:** 5% (Near collapse).
---
Elder Fang roared, swinging his staff in a wild arc. The shockwave sent Zhang Wei crashing into the hall's wall, his ribs cracking.
"Enough! I'll grind your bones to dust!"
The Elder raised his staff for a final strike—and froze. A silver needle protruded from his neck, glowing with familiar poison.
Granny Hua emerged from the shadows, her cauldron strapped to her back. "You talk too much, Fang."
---
**NPC Intervention: Granny Hua**
**Action:** Neurotoxin Injection (Paralysis, Duration: 30 seconds).
**Motivation:** Debt repaid (Sect Leader's spiritwood logs).
---
"Now, boy!" Granny Hua barked.
Zhang Wei didn't hesitate. He plunged his axe into the spirit vein fissure, unleashing its remaining qi in a cataclysmic explosion.
---
**Sacrifice Action: Spirit Vein Overload**
**Effect:** Qi Detonation (Damage: 500% AoE).
**Consequence:** Spirit vein destroyed. Sect facilities ruined.
---
The blast consumed Elder Fang, his scream echoing into the void. When the dust settled, only his staff remained, half-melted and inert.
---
**Victory Achieved!**
**Rewards:**
- **XP +1,000.**
- **Loot:** Obsidian Staff Fragment (Epic Crafting Material).
- **Sect Reputation:** Forgotten → Notorious.
---
The cost was written in the ruins. The main hall was a smoking husk, the spirit herb garden reduced to ash. Mei lay unconscious, her cursed veins blackened. Xiao Ling cradled his broken arm, and Erhu stared hollowly at the carnage.
Granny Hua spat blood, leaning on her cauldron. "You've made a powerful enemy today. The Black Vipers won't forget this."
"Let them come," Zhang Wei rasped. "We'll rebuild."
---
At dawn, the survivors gathered in the ruins. The system flickered weakly, its prompts tinged with static.
---
**Sect Status Post-Battle:**
- **Disciples:** 3 (All injured).
- **Facilities:** Destroyed.
- **Morale:** 40/100 (Devastated but United).
**New Primary Quest: Rise from the Ashes**
**Description:** Rebuild the sect stronger than before.
**First Step:** Locate a new spirit vein (Estimated Time: 7 days).
---
Xiao Ling kicked a charred timber. "Where do we even start?"
Zhang Wei picked up the melted staff fragment. "With this. And with *them*."
In the valley below, figures approached—refugees from Pine Ridge Village, their eyes wide with awe and fear.
"S-Sect Leader?" a farmer stammered. "We… we want to join."
---
**New Disciples Await Recruitment:**
- **Villagers (12):** Mortals (Skills: Farming, Carpentry, Herbalism).
- **Wandering Cultivator (1):** Qi Condensation Layer 4 (Mercenary).
---
Mei limped forward, her voice steadier. "We'll need a bigger hall."
For the first time since the battle, Zhang Wei smiled. "Then let's get to work."