The cheers of the Falling Sword Sect echoed across the valley like a hymn of victory.
The mountain was alive again—lanterns flickering like constellations, disciples singing, even the training puppets looked slightly less miserable.
Shen Liang stood before the main gate, broom over his shoulder, watching the jubilant crowd with a lazy grin.
"Look at them," he muttered, "smiling like they've just conquered the heavens."
Zhao Fei, his right-hand disciple, replied, "Well, technically, you did make the heavens kneel, Master. The Emperor bowed, remember?"
Shen Liang scratched his head. "Ah, right. That did happen. Still weird."
He yawned. "I'm just glad to be back. Nothing like home—where the air smells like sweat, discipline, and undercooked rice."
Laughter rippled through the gathered disciples. They crowded around, eager to greet the hero who had turned a janitor's broom into a divine symbol.
"Elder Shen! Tell us about the Imperial Tournament!"
"Did the Emperor really bow?"
"Master, is it true you turned down ten sect invitations?"
Shen Liang raised his hands, smirking. "One at a time, one at a time. Yes, the Emperor bowed, but he was probably tying his shoe. No, I didn't reject ten sects—just nine. One wanted me to clean their treasury for free."
The disciples howled with laughter.
But beneath the joy, something tugged at Shen Liang's senses.
He felt it the moment his boots touched the earth—the Qi flow of Falling Sword Peak was… wrong.
It was like hearing a melody slightly off-key. The mountain's pulse stuttered between beats, the spiritual veins misaligned.
Normally, the sect's Sword Qi should have flowed upward like a river toward the heavens. Now, it swirled awkwardly, coiling inward and vanishing into the ground.
"Hmm," Shen Liang murmured, tapping his broom on the soil. "The rhythm's off."
Zhao Fei blinked. "Master?"
"The mountain's heart. It's humming out of tune."
"Mountains don't hum, Master."
Shen Liang raised an eyebrow. "Then explain why the ground just sighed at me."
Before Zhao Fei could answer, a faint tremor rippled through the courtyard. The torches flickered. Birds nesting in the nearby trees suddenly shrieked and scattered into the sky.
A cold wind blew through the sect.
The laughter died.
Sect Master Liang Feng approached, face grim. "You feel it too, don't you?"
Shen Liang nodded slowly, eyes narrowing. "The Sword Veins are shifting."
That night, the celebration turned into an emergency meeting in the main hall. The elders gathered, their faces pale under the flickering lamplight.
Grand Elder Wu slammed his hand on the table. "The Spirit Wells beneath the sect are unstable! The Sword Qi is reversing flow—it's feeding downward instead of rising!"
"Impossible!" another elder cried. "That hasn't happened since the Sect's founding!"
Su Qinglan, calm as ever, looked to Shen Liang. "You've seen this kind of thing before, haven't you?"
He sipped tea leisurely. "Once or twice. Usually right before something explodes."
Liang Feng groaned. "This is serious, Shen Liang!"
"Of course it's serious," he said, leaning back in his chair. "If the mountain collapses, who'll sweep it?"
Su Qinglan glared, but Shen Liang's smile faded just enough to show he was listening. "Alright, alright," he said, setting down his cup. "Tell me—what exactly changed while we were gone?"
Elder Zhou replied, "The lower forest grew silent. Birds vanished. Even the Sword Stones in the courtyard hum off-pitch. It's as if the entire peak lost its balance."
Shen Liang rose, eyes gleaming faintly gold. "Then we go see the heart of the problem."
The next morning, Shen Liang led a small group of disciples deep into the mountain forest. Mist coiled around them like silk.
Everywhere they went, signs of imbalance appeared—cracked spirit stones, dying trees, veins of Sword Qi flickering like dying stars.
"This place feels haunted," Zhao Fei muttered.
"Haunted?" Shen Liang said. "Don't be ridiculous. It's just spiritually constipated."
"Spiritually… what?"
"You know—too much Qi in the wrong direction. Happens all the time. Needs a good sweep to unclog it."
The disciples exchanged confused glances, but Shen Liang was already kneeling on the ground, pressing his palm to the soil.
Golden threads of light spread out from his touch, mapping the energy flow across the mountain. His Core Formation aura pulsed subtly, harmonizing with the rhythm of the land.
The System chimed:
[Hidden Quest: The Veins Beneath the Mountain]
Objective: Investigate the corrupted Sword Qi source.
Progress: 12%
"Corruption confirmed," he said softly. "But it's not natural. Someone… redirected it."
Su Qinglan frowned. "Sabotage?"
Shen Liang nodded. "The flow has been siphoned underground. Someone's drawing power from our own veins."
A distant rumble echoed from below the cliffs. The ground trembled, dust rising.
The disciples panicked, but Shen Liang just sighed. "Ah, I knew I shouldn't have taken a vacation. Mountains always act up when you leave them unsupervised."
He stood, lifting his broom. The bristles glowed faintly with divine light.
"Alright, my little troublemaker," he said to the mountain. "Let's see what you're hiding."
He struck the earth once.
BOOM!
A shockwave rippled outward. The mist cleared—revealing a faint spiral mark carved deep into the stone, glowing with eerie blue light.
Su Qinglan gasped. "That's… a Spirit Siphon Array!"
Shen Liang's grin turned sharp. "So someone's been using our mountain to fatten their own sect's veins, huh?"
He twirled the broom like a sword. "Stealing my Qi? That's like taking my mop and calling it holy!"
Zhao Fei whispered, "Master… what are we going to do?"
Shen Liang's eyes gleamed. "We're going to clean house."
The broom descended again, radiant with golden Sword Qi.
The Array cracked. The ground roared. A pillar of light surged skyward, sweeping away the corruption.
The birds returned. The wind calmed. The forest breathed again.
As the disciples cheered, Shen Liang exhaled softly, wiping his brow.
"See?" he said. "Just needed a little deep cleaning."
Su Qinglan shook her head, hiding a smile. "You make it sound so simple."
"It is simple," Shen Liang said, resting his broom on his shoulder. "Heaven's filth, Earth's filth—it all wipes the same."
The System chimed again:
[Quest Progress: 80%]
Reward: Sect Stability +10 | Luo Yan Affection +3 | Mystery Alert: 'Unknown Signature Detected Beneath the Peak.'
Shen Liang's grin faded. "Huh. That last part doesn't sound relaxing."
The wind shifted—cold, unnatural. Deep beneath the ground, something stirred.
Su Qinglan looked at him warily. "What now?"
He sighed. "Probably something big, ancient, and incredibly bad at paying rent."
He smiled faintly. "Guess the cleaning job's not over yet."