The Violet Spring Sect was in turmoil.
Word spread fast—faster than wildfire. Two inner court disciples had returned in disgrace, battered and broken. One was missing an arm. And the culprit? Not a rogue cultivator. Not a magical beast.
A so-called guest of Elder Mo.
A flurry of urgent messages were passed between the elders of the sect, and a summons was issued.
Elder Mo, respected but often isolated in his dealings, was called into a closed-door meeting within the sect's Grand Pavilion. He stepped into the tall, circular chamber where the remaining elders and the assistant sect master awaited while seated in a half-circle.
The assistant sect master, a slim man with a commanding presence and a jade staff, did not bother with pleasantries.
"Elder Mo," he began sharply, "it has come to our attention that the one granted access to core disciple privileges under your authority is responsible for maiming Inner Disciple Huo Lian and injuring Zhan Kui."
Murmurs of disapproval rippled through the hall.
Elder Mo's gaze was steady. "They attacked him first, didn't they?"
"It matters not," the assistant sect master replied. "He is not of our sect but they are. Your endorsement does not make him untouchable."
"Perhaps not," Mo said coolly, "but if your Inner Court disciples behave like petty thugs, perhaps you should worry more about their conduct than my guest's response."
That earned a few sharp glances, but none challenged him outright.
Still, a storm was brewing. One that couldn't be waved away with logic or reason. Honor had been wounded. And now, the sect would have to decide whether to protect its pride or accept the truth.
Far from the politics of the sect, deep within the shadows of the Weeping Hollow, Victor crouched beside KingCamper high atop a twisted tree. The mist below had begun to shift.
"Movement," KingCamper whispered.
He pressed his palm against the bark and activated a swirling light of pink and violet.
[Technique Activated: Petal Cloak Veil – Tier I]
A floral shimmer washed over both of them, masking their qi signatures and blending them into the tree's natural aura.
Below, a cloaked figure emerged from the distant bush with his eyes darting left and right. The man moved quickly and cautiously.
"That's our guy," KingCamper murmured.
They followed from above, leaping silently between branches. The man moved through a thicket toward a crooked, blackened tree. Unlike the others, this one was wide—a little too wide.
The man placed his hands against the trunk and muttered something. Glowing runes formed beneath his palms. The tree responded with a deep groan and split open vertically like a mouth.
Without hesitation, the man stepped inside.
The bark closed behind him.
KingCamper blinked. "Well. That's... not ominous at all."
He landed beside the tree and pressed his hand against it. Nothing happened.
"Come on," he muttered before trying again. He mimicked the same hand pattern, fed qi into the bark, and even muttered random incantations.
"Anything?" Victor asked.
"Nothing," KingCamper grunted. "Feels like I'm slapping a dead tree."
Victor eyes narrowed as he stepped forward. He could feel something in the air. Not just qi... something deeper. Something familiar.
Spatial fluctuations.
His Void Emperor Bloodline stirred.
The arrow-shaped marks across his arm tingled faintly.
He closed his eyes, spread his senses, and touched the bark. His qi flowed gently—not forced—into the grain of the tree.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then all of a sudden, the world bent slightly.
[ Bloodline Technique Activated: Dimensional Thread Pull ]
A narrow ripple passed through the surface.
The runes lit up slowly, pulsing in a rhythm that resonated with his bloodline.
The bark peeled open.
"...Holy crap," KingCamper muttered. "You are a cheat code."
Victor shrugged. "Let's go."
They stepped through the opening.
Instantly, they were elsewhere.
The space inside the tree was massive—impossibly so. The hollow they entered expanded into a large underground cavern filled with glowing fungi, carved walkways, and strange stone buildings.
Torches lined the paths, and the air buzzed with strange fluctuations.
Victor eyes widened. "This shouldn't even be possible."
"Pocket dimension," KingCamper muttered. "Expensive, rare... definitely not something that random smugglers should be in possession of."
Dozens of figures moved within. Rogue cultivators with masks, some in plain robes, others dressed like mercenaries. They carried containers, crates, and sealed boxes with glowing contents.
Victor pointed to a row of sealed jars. Inside were seeds, each glowing faintly with different colors—red, blue, green, violet.
KingCamper's expression darkened.
Judging by the look on his face, Victor was sure that this was pretty serious.
"Those... are transmigrator seeds."
Victor turned to him. "Transmigrator seeds?"
KingCamper nodded grimly. "Refined souls of players. You know the NPCs call us transmigrators. Those seeds contain the essence of players who have been forcibly drained of all their cultivation by bad cultivators."
Victor's chest tightened. "Wait I think I heard about something a while back... where refining the soul of Transmigrators... players like us... grants millennia worth of cultivations boost..."
"Exactly. Players whose souls have been harvested usually lose all of their cultivation and have to start all over or sometimes their accounts get deleted completely and they find themselves unable to log in again. The side effects vary."
"That's... terrible..." Victor muttered.
'I still have to be super careful to never fall into such a situation because it is uncertain if my real life body will be affected if my soul gets harvested,' Victor made another mental note to be cautious.
"Some say the seeds can be even be refined to unlock forbidden paths in cultivation... either ways, we players are valuable to bad cultivators. The city Lord doesn't let such happen in Blueflame City so this is one of the places where players are protected but these damn smugglers... they must have been secretly doing this the whole time," KingCamper could imagine the number of players that were inconvenienced due to this.
However, this wasn't something as simple as losing a gaming account for Victor. This was more serious than that.
Victor looked back at the jars.
"We need to stop them."