The blood-soaked parchment trembled in Feng Mo's hands, pulsing with an ominous heat.
"Unlock the Tomb."
Those words weren't a suggestion. They were a summons.
He sat cross-legged, placing the parchment before him. His chest ached—where the first vein rune had branded itself during his awakening.
Now, the second rune pulsed faintly under his skin… like it was watching.
"Second Vein… show me your path."
A wave of dizziness swept over him.
The world around him twisted. His consciousness plunged inward—deeper than meditation, deeper than spirit sense.
He was falling again.
When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the shack.
He stood in a realm of shadowed crimson skies, swirling blood mists, and towering stone monoliths etched with forgotten runes. This was not illusion.
This was the Blood Requiem Space—a sealed world embedded deep within his soul.
"You have entered the First Layer of the Soul Tomb," the ancient voice echoed again. "This is your inner sanctum. Your cultivation fortress. Your battlefield. Your prison."
Feng Mo looked around, breath shallow.
There was a black tree in the center of the realm—its bark cracked like old bone, leaves made of crystallized blood. It pulsed with latent power.
At its base was an altar, half-buried under ancient chains.
Etched into it were nine empty circles. One of them now glowed faintly red—the First Vein.
"This is the origin of my bloodline…"
He stepped forward—and a vision assaulted him.
A memory not his own.
— A warrior with glowing red eyes faced a thousand enemies alone. Each of his veins burst open with divine blood, his fists cracking through mountains.
— He didn't cultivate like others. His veins were realms, his blood was energy, his soul, a gate to another world.
Feng Mo dropped to one knee, panting. "That was… the founder?"
The voice replied, "He was the first. You are the last."
The altar trembled.
"Initiating Second Vein Baptism: The Pulse of the Forgotten Field."
Suddenly, the black tree split open.
From within, a pool of blood surged forth, rising like a wave, drowning Feng Mo. It wasn't liquid. It was will—the will of warriors who had tried and failed before him.
The weight pressed against his very soul.
"Prove your blood is worthy. Survive, or be erased."
Feng Mo grit his teeth.
"I am not them."
He activated Pulse Flare and the blood chains from the Crimson Bind lashed out, striking the wave like serpents.
But the blood pool reformed.
"I need more power. My own!"
He placed both hands on the altar and pushed.
The second circle ignited.
Second Vein: Pulse of War – Awakened 0.3%
The entire Blood Requiem Space shook.
The black tree released a single blood crystal from its branches. It hovered before him.
Feng Mo reached out and touched it.
Suddenly—his real-world body jolted awake.
He was back in the shack. But something was different.
He could feel it—a world within him. A realm he could enter at will. A space that defied the laws of cultivation.
The Blood Requiem Space was now unlocked.
Realm One: Soul Tomb (1st Layer)
Feature: Blood Tree of Memory
Status: Second Vein – Initiated
He stood up, hands glowing with new crimson energy.
The Second Vein gave him control over his blood essence—he could now forge Blood Soldiers, amplify martial techniques, and extract battlefield memories from slain cultivators.
A knock came at the door.
"Outer disciple Feng Mo," a nervous voice said, "you're summoned by Elder Jinhai. Immediately."
Feng Mo narrowed his eyes.
The sect was moving again.
Elsewhere…
In a high tower above the inner sect, the Silent Executor watched through a scrying mirror. "So… the second vein has awakened. He's moving faster than we feared."
Behind him, another masked figure stepped into the shadows.
"She's arrived. Just as you ordered."
"Good," the Executor said. "Send her to him. Tell her she is his 'ally'. Let the final seal inside him break."
Back in his room, Feng Mo looked up at the night sky.
His thoughts burned with one question.
"What did they seal inside me?"
To be continued…