The caravan wound its way through plains and forests for three days. Karma maintained his distance and his role, becoming a phantom shadow among the weary travelers. He helped where he could—lifting heavy cargo with subtle bursts of qi-reinforced strength, scouting the path ahead with his refined Battle Sense, and mending a broken axle with a swiftness that belied his claimed low cultivation. His quiet efficiency and lack of demands quickly earned him cautious, if guarded, respect from the merchants.
The merchants called him "the silent cultivator," wary of his intensity. The guards, observing his uncanny luck in avoiding chance encounters with low-tier beasts, called him "the lucky one."
Su Liana rarely spoke. Her silence was heavy, a cloak of grief she wore constantly. She traveled in the front section with a few survivors from the Su Clan—faces Karma vaguely recognized but couldn't name. Their shared weariness was palpable; their eyes hollow, as if haunted by the celestial violence they'd witnessed.
Karma pieced together the fragments of their whispered conversations: "…Elder Yuan held the barrier till the end, but the shockwave was too much…" and "…Su Chen was last seen near the broken peaks, we can only hope…" Each word struck Karma harder than any blade, confirming the scope of their loss and the high price of their survival. The world they knew was truly shattered.
He didn't interrupt their grieving. He simply listened, memorizing everything. He ate minimal rations, choosing instead to rely on the dense, revitalizing qi circulating through his strengthened physique.
At night, when campfires flickered and unseen beasts howled faintly in the distance, he sat apart from the others, cultivating under the stars. The faint green radiance inside his chest, a remnant of the Devoured Lotus, was expertly suppressed, glowing softly enough to blend with the moonlight and remain perfectly hidden beneath his cloak.
She hasn't noticed you yet. Her mind is occupied by grief and survival. Probability of recognition remains low unless you tell her directly. Mira's assessment was a necessary reminder of his self-imposed restraint.
"She's been through enough," Karma murmured, his eyes fixed on Su Liana's distant silhouette. "Let her rest. I'll tell her when she's ready to see me. Right now, I'm a complication, not a comfort."
Sentimentality—predictable, but statistically understandable given previous interactions.
He smiled faintly. "Yeah. Predictable."
The City of Shifting Veins
On the fifth dawn, the road crested a final, steep hill—and the world changed utterly.
Before them stretched a sprawling city built upon successive floating terraces of polished, dark stone. It was a sight of impossible scale and organization. Each layer shimmered faintly with complex spiritual arrays, drawing energy from a vast, iridescent river of light that flowed through the valley floor. The air buzzed not with the noise of battle, but with the focused, rhythmic hum of cultivation. Towers rose like impossibly tall blades of crystal, piercing the clouds, and small spirit beasts, used for personal transport, soared between them as naturally as birds.
Karma felt his breath hitch, his old world instincts warring with the new reality. "So this is an Astral city…"
Confirmed. Designation: Veinspire City. Population—approximately 370 million cultivators, ninety-percent Foundation and above. Civilization level—Tier Four. Mira's factual report only amplified the wonder and intimidation of the sight.
He could barely comprehend the sheer magnitude of power gathered here. Even the smallest marketplace likely conducted more transactions of rare spiritual resources in a day than his entire former kingdom did in a year.
As the caravan approached the outer gates, shimmering energy barriers scanned each entrant meticulously. Guards in silver armor stood vigilant, their auras solidly in the Golden Core Refinement Realm, with several commanders reaching the early Void Integration Stage—a level of power Karma had only fled from days earlier.
Karma kept his head bowed, subtly channeling his refined qi to maintain the illusion of a late Qi Condensation cultivator. His enhanced physique made suppressing his aura taxing, but necessary. The scan passed without alarm.
Inside, noise and color burst around him—merchants hawking rare artifacts, massive spirit arrays humming, rich fragrances of potent elixirs and roasted beast meat filling the humid air. The sheer vitality and focus of the people here was overwhelming. This was the true taste of the Astral Vein, and it was intoxicating.
The caravan leader paused near a massive stone depot. "We're splitting here. This is the lower transit hub. If you're heading east toward the commodity exchange, there's an inn near the market—tell them you came with the Crescent Caravan. You'll get a small discount."
"Thanks," Karma said sincerely, his gratitude genuine for the passage.
The man nodded curtly and moved off with his crew.
Karma turned, scanning the bustling crowd. For a brief, agonizing moment, his eyes found Su Liana again. She was walking with two of her clan's survivors toward a distant temple district, perhaps seeking sanctuary or contacting distant allies. Her steps were slow, her posture faintly unsteady.
He took a step forward—then stopped, the logic of his survival strategy winning the internal battle against his heart.
She paused too, as if sensing a minute shift in the crowd's qi, her head tilting slightly in his direction. Their gazes almost met—almost.
Then a passing group of loud, richly robed cultivators, surrounded by swirling protection arrays, blocked the view, and when they cleared, she was gone, swallowed by the massive, shifting city.
He stood amid the chaos, the city alive around him—laughter, argument, footsteps, the deep hum of hidden cultivation arrays. Yet inside, there was absolute silence.
You had the perfect chance. You could have called her. You didn't.
"She didn't recognize me," he said softly, feeling the sting of the non-recognition. "And maybe… maybe it's better this way for now. I need to know where I stand in this world before I bring danger to her door again."
You intend to follow her?
He smiled faintly, the ghost of the Core Formation Demon Beast's lightning still flickering in his memory, hardening his resolve. "Of course. I promised myself I'd thank her someday. But not as the same weakling who barely survived. When I stand before her next time, it'll be as someone worthy of her respect and her attention."
Objective acknowledged: "Earn recognition from Su Liana." Recording new sub-goal: Acquire necessary resources and power.
Karma chuckled. "You make it sound like a mission."
For you, it always is.
He turned toward the rising tiers of the city. He needed information, spirit stones, and a path to grow stronger, faster. His immediate target was the lower market—a place where wealth and poverty met, and where secrets were bought and sold.
The crowd swallowed him as he walked deeper into Veinspire, his cloak trailing behind him, faint glimmers of green light safely hidden beneath the fabric. The overwhelming noise of the city faded into a rhythm that matched his pulse—steady, resolute.
Somewhere within those glowing streets waited allies, enemies, secrets, and answers. And one woman who had once changed the direction of his fate.
Karma lifted his gaze to the twin suns beyond the floating spires.
"Let's see what the Astral Vein has planned next."
Beginning new route calculation—destination: survival, prosperity, and possibly heartbreak.
He laughed under his breath. "Then we're right on track."