[Seeker Xue Dejiu, Choose The End You Seek!]

  [SNUFF THE CORE]

  [Extinguish the Pillarshard. Reduce it to dust, severing its connection to the Seventh Hell. This action will grant a [Greater Appraisal], reflecting the magnitude of your accomplishments in this trial. You will have 24 hours to ascend back to the surface before the Pillarshard's influence dissipates entirely.]

  [Reward: [Greater Appraisal], increased recognition among Seekers, and an artifact commensurate with your valor.]

  [Consequence: The Pillarshard will cease to exist, and the pathway to the Seventh Hell will close indefinitely.]

  [MAINTAIN THE CORE]

  [Claim the Pillarshard as your own. Its power will remain under your control, enabling the growth of this bridge into the Seventh Hell. To sustain it, you must periodically feed it Hell Shards. This option bears the potential for greater long-term rewards and strategic advantages.]

  [Reward: Immediate attunement to the Pillarshard, granting access to [Core Mantle: Impure Hellbridge] and other unique opportunities as it develops.]

  [Consequence: The Pillarshard remains a beacon for Daimons, and its growth will require vigilance and resources to prevent catastrophe.]

  [...][...][...]

  [The Seekers Accord awaits your decision.]

  Dejiu’s fingers on his left hand hovered over the second option.

  The decision came easy. Sure he was sacrificing potentially a greater appraisal from the Seekers Accord, but he was forgetting one thing — the rewards from the Heavenly Snowy Temple. There's no way he wouldn’t be rewarded for this, right? Or at least have his deeds recognized. Teacher Jiansu would be proud too, that he thought of the temple in his decision. Teacher deserved it. Dejiu likely would’ve died if he was still on the cusp of Low Initiate without the Tainted Hell Shard he was given.

  He smiled and selected the option.

  [Commencing Assessment.]

  [A lone herald of blood, wretched in his approach, lulled by the words of a lingering creature of the depths. He trusted in the profane and therein lay the marrow of his strength. Talons were dulled and ichor was spilled. Alone, this herald of blood proved his claim to the Pillarshard. The fearsome guardian who possessed a fragment of [Redacted]’s power was felled and the lone herald claimed his mantle.]

  [...][...][...]

  [The Pillarshard has been subdued, its guardian laid low by your hand. Through blood, resolve, and violent defiance, you have surpassed the boundaries of mortal capability and claimed small dominion over the depths. The Seeker's Accord acknowledges your triumph with the following reward(s):

  [Appraisal Granted: Exalted]

  [Congratulations, Seeker Xue Deiju. Receive your boon.]

  [Designating Soulbound Remnant as a reward]

  [...][...][...]

  [You have received a Soulbound Remnant: Diluted Droplet of [Redacted]’s Blood]

  [Remnant Grade: Pure Tainted]

  [Remnant Type: Consumable]

  [Remnant Description: A droplet reaved from cold desolation. Lamentable and silent, it is unfathomable to think even the most diluted of droplets remain.]

  [...][...][...]

  [You have received an Attribute: Lone Assailant]

  [Attribute Description: Lone Assailant — A single tree may not form a forest, but it can still reach the sky and block the sun. When fighting without allies nearby, your prana consumption is reduced by 10%]

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  He grinned but before he could ask more about the Core Mantle and everything else he gained, a rumble shook the Pillarshard.

  “Get ready. If the monks truly wait at the top, it will be too long before they can descend this far. Those Feng Clan cultivators will reach you before the monks do.”

  “I know. I’ll ask about my gains later. Those Feng Clan cultivators, they dare try and take the fruit of my efforts? Courting death.” Dejiu muttered a curse.

  “Bing Xin! Tell me. I forgot to ask, but how strong are they?”

  “...Two Low Initiate. Six Mid Initiates. Two High Initiates. All weary and worn down. Likely possesses remnants befitting a lofty clan if that Feng Mu wasn’t overstating the prowess of his Feng Clan and his position as a young master.”

  “I see. And my plan, you’ve already read my mind?”

  “Indeed. A dangerous monk you are.” She laughed.

  Dejiu cackled as he plopped down beside the giant eye. “Peace is an option. If they choose to come down here, then they abandoned that option. If they choose to head to the surface as they said they would, so be it.”

  —

  “Young master, the Pillarshard!” Feng Yue Huang exclaimed from behind Feng Mu. The invisible barrier the Seekers Accord imposed on outsiders was lifted.

  “Finally that insolent monk croaked! Let’s go.” Feng Mu addressed the other eight of them. A shame that Feng Jie died of hunger and her wounds, but their rations had been exhausted long ago. It was bound to happen.

  Fortunately, they only had to brave a handful of attacks from daimons outside the hundred-step perimeter of the Pillarshard. Indeed, the heavens haven’t forsaken them.

  The nine of them rushed inside.

  “Young master, look!” Feng Mie said as she clutched her stomach. “The monk’s rations!”

  Feng Mu narrowed his eyes with glee. They’ve been sustaining themselves on putrid daimon meat, but even so, they had limits. They wouldn’t eat bug-like daimon meat. They’d fall sick before their hunger would be satisfied. But to think the monk would have peppers and better quality daimon meat!

  “Quickly eat and recover your strength. We might not even have seen the end of our luck!” Feng Mu said. He just realized that this Pillarshard goes quite the ways below. If they can kill the guardian and claim the Pillarshard before any others from above can claim it, then he could reclaim his honor and recoup his losses.

  Eventually, they finished the abundance of food, leaving not a single string of meat or crunch of pepper. A shame they didn’t have rice prepared, but they were in Hell. They continued their descent. A chorus of exclamations and awes sounded. They were really descending into the Sixth Hell! This was better than they thought!

  Trailing behind Feng Mu would mean that the clan head would reward them greatly if they claimed such a thing! If it was close to the Sixth Hell it wouldn’t take much to feed the core to advance the Pillarshard!

  Feng Mu smiled. His redemption was within his grasp. That damned Feng Wu Jie… his insolent half-brother who stole his spot as the ninth young master. He’ll prove them all right.

  For almost an hour they descended the steps. Eventually, the cracked stone slabs beneath their feet turned cold — a good sign of how deep the Sixth Hell they’ve come.

  “...Young master. Just ahead.” Feng Yue Huang said from the vanguard.

  With that, they all drew their swords. Beautiful jians forged from their clan's best smiths. It took a lot of favors for Feng Mu to arm his followers with such precious blades.

  The spiraling steps widened into an entrance. It was pitch black.

  “Feng Mie, you have a remnant that gives off light, correct?”

  “I do, young master.” She responded coquettishly.

  “Take lead beside Feng Yue Huang.”

  Feng Mie nodded. She was a little scared like the others. Who wouldn’t? The air itself was more oppressive than anything else they’d experienced just descending below the Seventh Hell’s floor. But she had to appease the young master. If Feng Mu followed his promises, then she’d be his concubine — perhaps even the mistress of the Feng Clan.

  After a quick brief on their formation, they entered the pitch-black chamber. Feng Mie willed a handheld lantern remnant. It flickered weakly, but to her disappointment, it only illuminated just three or four steps ahead of her. The darkness of this chamber wasn’t natural.

  Feng Mie looked disappointed. “Forgive me, young master. This-this isn’t–”

  “Enough, keep going.”

  The cohort continued to wander straight ahead wearily. With the trusty hand of Feng Mu, Feng Yue Huang, and the beauty Feng Mie leading them they pressed forth.

  Feng Yue Huang raised his hand beside Feng Mie’s lantern. They all stopped. Feng Mu pushed his way ahead.

  “Do…do you feel that?” Feng Yue Huang nervously asked Feng Mu.

  “Mm. Ahead. That aura… Peak Initiate? No, this makes sense if the Pillarshard is this close to reaching the Sixth Hell” Feng Mu said. The guardian was a little stronger than he wished, but it was fine. A few losses were fine. What more was a few more deaths when the core was right before him.

  “Advance. We’ll strike. It’s odd that it hadn’t attacked us, but we’ll take it.” Feng Mu added.

  The eight of them nodded. Immediately, Feng Mie was joined by the others behind and they rushed ahead. Their Feng Clan’s cultivation method thrived amongst their own. They could display strength greater than the sum of their added pieces. A Peak Initiate daimon would fall!

  Feng Mu joined the front. His jian reared to his side.

  What was revealed under Feng Mie’s lantern made his face grimace. A giant eye covered in a wet silky substance. It was oddly looking at them motionlessly just before they came upon it. But its strength was undeniable. The air it radiated was mighty.

  Feng Mu unleashed the greater version of his clan’s striker technique, privy only to the young masters — Severing Branch. A blast of sword element prana expelled in a slash of their swords. Denser and stronger than the other eight could do.

  “Hah!” He grunted.

  A brilliant grey slash released from his jian’s edge. It cut through the wet substance covering the eye and left a deep cut in the split second they discovered the wicked eye!

  A storm of other weaker slashes followed. Each left their shallow marks before they plunged their blades into the eye. Ichor spilled as nine blades thrust into the giant eye. They all have coordinated themselves to circle around the massive girth.

  They pelted it in stabs and cuts before they hopped back to disengage. They prepared for its retaliation!

  “Did anyone get the kill message?” Feng Mu asked from the center of their formation.

  “No, young master.” Feng Yue Huang said.

  “I didn’t–”

  A wet thud sounded from where Feng Mie stood with her lantern.

  “Huh?”

  Their eyes followed the lantern, their only light source.

  “Feng Mie!” Feng Mu yelled. “Shit!”

  But it was too late. She died, confirmed by the lantern dispersing into nothing.

  What was that? What did the eye do? Was that an invisible striker technique? No, but it sounded like something whistled through the air before she was struck. A projectile? Shit, he couldn’t worry, they had no light!

  “Circle! Circle!” Feng Mu barked.

  They shuffled to Feng Mie’s corpse.

  Feng Mu could barely see his own feet, but what he saw horrified him so. Whatever struck Feng Mie severed her arm and left a wide gash deep into her torso. He bent down to see what hit her, finding a long… shaft. A spade’s shaft embedded in his follower.

  Immediately, he heard steps from somewhere around the chamber echoing. His mind raced. Then he concluded.

  “The guardians dead! It’s that pesky monk! Kill him!”