Chapter 22 - Whisper Of The Swordless

🌫️ Edge of the Dead Lotus Swamp

A woman stood atop a single wilted lotus leaf floating in a death marsh.

Her white robe fluttered, long sleeves trailing over the mist.

A silken blindfold covered her eyes.

Her name was Lian Yueru — the "Blind Saint of Echoing Fog."

A jade flute hung from her waist.

> "There is no blade," she murmured to no one. "But the world weeps like it's been cut."

She had followed an invisible trail left behind by an unknown source.

It wasn't Qi.

It wasn't fate.

It was something older.

Her flute trembled slightly.

> "No one should be able to leave behind a silent resonance… unless—"

She turned her head toward the mistveil ridge where Shěn had killed days prior.

But she saw nothing.

Only stillness.

Only silence.

> "A ghost of the sword," she whispered. "Or something more terrifying."

---

🕳️ Caveabode in the Void

Deep within the cave hidden from the heavens, Shěn Nìchén meditated.

Qi surged within, perfectly calm.

No waves. No instability.

He opened his eyes slowly.

> "Spirit Severing... still too weak."

The sword embedded in the wall beside him pulsed — the one gifted by the system, undetectable by all.

He reached out and touched the blade.

It turned into water.

Then into mist.

Then into a glowing string of light—

> And returned to solid steel.

> "Even a god won't know you exist," he muttered coldly.

---

⚔️ System Notification – Internal Only

> 🎯 Daily Mission Completed: Remain Unseen. Remain Untouched.

🎁 System Reward: Shadow Lotus Pill – Top-Grade Cultivation Elixir

💠 Effect: Increases cultivation speed x3 for 24 hours, heals internal injuries, stabilizes Dao Heart.

🎁 Hidden Bonus Reward Unlocked

📜 Void Movement Art: "Void Walk" – Master Rank Movement Technique

➤ Step through reality folds.

➤ Travel undetected by space-time tracking techniques.

➤ Gods, formations, and heavenly eyes cannot trace your location.

☑️ Concealment Applied Automatically.

Shěn stood.

> "Let's test it."

He stepped forward.

The world blinked.

He reappeared on a cliff overlooking Dead Lotus Swamp — but the wind hadn't even stirred.

> Void Walk: Initiated. Exit detected. No trace left.

---

🍂 Below the Cliff – Lian Yueru's Flute Trembled

Her blindfold twitched.

> "Who… was that?"

A presence had passed by. No sound. No aura.

But even her spirit sense recoiled, overwhelmed by nothingness.

She clutched her flute tightly.

> "I must find him… even if it burns out my soul."