Jiang Hao stood amidst the ruins of the ancient shrine, his breath steadying as the black seed within his dantian pulsed with a strange, steady rhythm. He could feel it—raw, untamed power coiling inside him, unlike anything he had ever known. It was neither Qi nor demonic energy, yet it stirred with an undeniable force.

  The mist around him thickened, shifting unnaturally, as if the world itself recognized his transformation. His hands trembled—not from weakness, but from something deeper. A change he could not yet understand.

  Then, a voice echoed through the valley.

  "You should not be here."

  Jiang Hao turned sharply, his instincts screaming danger. A figure emerged from the mist, cloaked in dark robes, their presence suffocating. Though he could not see their face, he could feel the weight of their gaze pressing upon him.

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  "Who are you?" Jiang Hao asked, his voice firm despite the unease creeping through him.

  The stranger tilted their head slightly. "That is the question I should ask you."

  Jiang Hao clenched his fists. "I am no one."

  A low chuckle. "No one? And yet, the heavens tremble at your presence." The figure stepped closer, the mist parting around them. "That power inside you… it should not exist. And yet, here you stand."

  Jiang Hao said nothing, his mind racing. Did this person know about the black seed? About what had happened to him?

  The stranger let out a slow breath. "You have two choices, boy. You can attempt to walk the path of an ordinary cultivator and be crushed beneath the heavens. Or..." The air grew heavy as the figure's voice darkened. "You can embrace what you have become."

  Jiang Hao’s heart pounded. For the first time in his life, he was being given a choice. He had spent years yearning for a path to power, only to be denied at every turn. But now? Now he had something entirely different—something unknown.

  And perhaps, something terrifying.

  He looked up at the figure, his resolve hardening.

  "What… have I become?"

  The stranger’s lips curled into an unseen smile.

  "That, boy, is for you to discover."