The Mountain That Bloomed
The Sky Shattered Peaks no longer howled.
In place of chaos, silver petals drifted on the wind, each one pulsing with refined, liberated qi. Trees that had never grown before began to sprout from the broken stone, their roots drinking in the energy of change.
[Sovereign Integration: 11% Global Penetration]
[Result: Qi Paths of subordinate roots collapsing. Cultivators with root bonds are experiencing backlash. Status: World Destabilising.]
Li Shen and Jinhai sat beneath a silver-rooted tree at the summit. Neither spoke.
Below them, the world shifted.
Above them, storm clouds gathered.
The Price of Freedom
In the cities of the world, chaos broke loose.
Sects that were once ruled by root bondage panicked. Slaves in spirit chains began to awaken from enforced loyalty. Hundreds died—either freed too fast or killed for trying to leave.
The Crimson Moon Sect declared martial law.
The Golden Vine Sect began forcibly reinforcing their Root Bonds with forbidden seals.
And high above them all, the Five Sky Lords held court.
"They have lit a fire," said Sky Lord Tianhe, cloaked in sunfire silk. "Let us decide whether to snuff it… or be burnt by it."
Visitors at the Peak
On the third day after integration, two cloaked strangers arrived at the mountain's edge.
One bore a staff etched with anti-root scripture. The other carried a child on their back and walked barefoot, humming a lullaby.
"Pilgrims", Jinhai said cautiously.
"Refugees", Li Shen corrected. "From the world we broke."
They knelt before him.
"You are the Threadbearer?" the barefoot one asked. "We come not for power. Only to learn."
Li Shen gestured to the silver tree behind him.
"Then listen. And grow."
[New Faction Founded: Threadborne Cultivators]
[Doctrine: Freedom through will. Root cultivation redefined. Qi paths open to intent, not lineage.]
[Followers: 7 (and rising)]
[Li Shen Class Update: Cultivator – Founder Tier (Leadership bonuses unlocked)]
[Jinhai Class Update: Oracle of Unbound Threads]
[New Structure Available: Memory Loom – Allows others to absorb learned techniques as echoes, without bonds.]
The Threadborne had begun.
The Retaliation Begins
It did not go unnoticed.
Two nights later, a comet streaked from the southern skies, crashing into the valley below. When the smoke cleared, Bone-Eaters of the Wailing Marsh emerged, clad in twisted qi-warped armour.
Behind them stood the Marshal of the Golden Vine Sect, flanked by bound cultivators moaning in pain.
"Return the Sovereign Core", the Marshal roared, "or this mountain becomes your grave!"
Li Shen rose.
"I already gave it away. To the world."
He spread his arms.
"Come take it back."
[Raid Event: Golden Vine Retribution Force Detected – Composition: 200 Bound Cultivators, 3 Elite Vinesaints, 1 Vine Marshal]
[ Defence Activated: Sky Peak Barrier – Partial. Duration: 6 hours.]
[Threadborne Defenders: 7 | Survivability: 9% without intervention]
[Skill Tree Update: Leadership Path Unlocked]
New Skill: Rootless Command – Inspire all nearby allies. Boost qi regeneration by 20%, morale by 50%, and immunity to fear-based attacks.
Li Shen closed his eyes.
And called the mountain.
Battle on the Blooming Slopes
It rained silver petals.
The Bone-Eaters charged.
Jinhai unleashed a new technique—Echo Bloom Prison, a spiralling thread of fused memory and flame that captured Root-based qi signatures and redirected them.
The child-bearing pilgrim raised her hands, summoning a forest of threadlike roots to block arrows.
Li Shen stood at the front, lines of glowing thread drifting behind him like a cloak.
"I am no king," he whispered.
"But I am the one who broke the chain."
Then he cut the sky.
A spiral of rootless qi exploded, unravelling the chains of bound cultivators mid-fight.
Some fell.
Some joined him.
[Battle Results: Threadborne – 4 Wounded, 0 Dead | Golden Vine: 83 Killed, 71 Defected, 1 Marshal Captured]
[Root Integration Spread: 11% → 18%]
[Global Reaction: Mixed. Some sects fall silent. Others prepare for total war.]
[Li Shen Trait Gained: Symbol of Change – All allies with Root trauma gain resistance to suppression.]
[Jinhai Trait Gained: Flame of Memory – Can preserve the mind of a fallen ally for 3 days post-death.]
The New War Begins
In the ruins of the battlefield, Li Shen sat with the captured marshal.
The man wept openly.
"My sons… they were bound… I thought it kept them safe…"
Li Shen didn't judge. He only listened.
And when it was done, he handed the Marshal a single thread, golden and pulsing.
"Go back. Not to rule. But to change. Or I'll come myself."
A Flame that Won't Die
That night, Jinhai watched the silver trees.
"They'll keep coming," she said.
Li Shen nodded. "I know."
"They'll twist what you've done. Call you a tyrant. A rebel. A heretic."
Li Shen turned to her.
"I'm not afraid of names."
She smiled faintly. "Then what are you afraid of?"
He was quiet.
Then:
"That someday… we might have to bind people just to survive."
She took his hand.
"Then we'll remind each other. Every day."
[Main Objective Updated: Spread Rootless Cultivation to 50% of Known Sects]
[New Quest: Reach the Rootspire Summit – Seek the origin of the Root System, buried beneath the First World Tree.]
[Warning: The Five Sky Lords have declared you a Class-S Threat. Bounty Posted.]
[Faction Progress: Threadborne Cultivators – Status: Rising Resistance]
[Root System Status: Rewritten – No longer a cage. Now a path.]