Chapter Three — The Road to Black River
The journey began before the ashes cooled.
Shen Yu walked behind the three sect cultivators as the ruined village disappeared into morning mist. No burial rites were performed. No prayers spoken. To cultivators, mortal lives were brief sparks — already extinguished.
Only Shen Yu looked back once.
Smoke rose toward the sky like a final farewell.
Inside his chest, the hunger shifted faintly, as if impatient.
---
The leader introduced himself only after they had traveled several li.
“I am Elder Han Wei of the Black River Sect,” the man said without turning. His long gray hair swayed gently despite the still air. “These are outer disciples Lin Qiao and Meng Rui.”
The woman who had first noticed Shen Yu glanced at him again. Her gaze carried curiosity mixed with caution.
“You truly have no spiritual roots?” Lin Qiao asked.
Shen Yu shook his head.
It had been tested when he was a child. The verdict had condemned him to a mortal life — unfit for cultivation.
Meng Rui frowned. “Then how are wild Gu approaching you willingly?”
Shen Yu remained silent.
He did not know the answer himself.
Nor did he intend to reveal what had happened in the ruins.
Inside him, something seemed to listen.
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---
They traveled through dense forest where mist clung low to the ground. Occasionally Elder Han released his aura, and nearby beasts fled instantly. Once, a serpent Gu slithered across their path — a creature easily capable of killing ordinary cultivators.
It froze the moment it sensed Shen Yu.
Its body lowered flat against the earth.
Submission again.
Lin Qiao inhaled sharply.
Elder Han’s eyes flickered with deeper interest, but he said nothing.
Shen Yu felt the hunger stir stronger this time. A faint pulling sensation tugged at the serpent Gu, like an invisible tide drawing it closer.
He clenched his fists.
No.
The instinct frightened him.
The serpent fled moments later, escaping into the brush as if sensing danger.
For some reason, disappointment lingered in Shen Yu’s chest.
---
By nightfall, they reached a cliff overlooking a vast black river.
The water flowed slowly, reflecting no stars.
Across the river rose towering mountains carved with terraces, bridges, and glowing formations. Countless lanterns shone like fallen constellations.
The Black River Sect.
Shen Yu stared silently.
For the first time, he saw the true world of cultivators — immense, distant, untouchable.
Meng Rui smirked. “Overwhelming, isn’t it? Even outer disciples live better than kings here.”
Elder Han raised a jade token.
The river split.
Water rolled aside, revealing a stone pathway beneath its surface.
“Follow closely,” the elder said.
They crossed as the river roared on both sides like restrained beasts.
Halfway across, Shen Yu felt it again.
The hunger awakened violently.
His vision blurred.
Beneath the river… countless presences moved.
Gu.
Thousands of them.
Sleeping.
Watching.
Waiting.
His heartbeat thundered.
For a terrifying instant, he felt certain that if he reached out, the entire river would answer him.
A whisper brushed his mind — deeper than before.
Feed.
Shen Yu staggered.
Lin Qiao grabbed his arm. “What’s wrong?”
“…Nothing,” he said hoarsely.
But Elder Han had already noticed.
The elder’s gaze sharpened.
---
Inside the sect gates, disciples moved everywhere — training, refining Gu, transporting resources. Spiritual light illuminated courtyards and towers carved into the mountainside.
Yet whispers followed Shen Yu immediately.
“A mortal?”
“Why is Elder Han bringing him inside?”
“No aura at all…”
He ignored them.
Mockery was familiar.
What was unfamiliar was the restless movement inside his body.
The hunger was growing.
---
They stopped before a dark stone hall.
Elder Han finally turned fully toward him.
“From today onward, you are an outer servant of Black River Sect,” he said. “You will be observed.”
Observed.
Not trained.
Not accepted.
A test subject.
Shen Yu understood immediately.
Lin Qiao hesitated before speaking quietly. “If you survive three months, you may earn qualification to awaken Gu.”
Survive.
An odd choice of words.
Before Shen Yu could ask, a sudden scream echoed from within the hall.
A disciple was thrown outside, body covered in bite marks. Several small Gu scattered across the ground, attacking wildly before elders suppressed them.
Meng Rui sighed. “Another failed refinement.”
Elder Han looked back at Shen Yu.
“Your residence is below.”
Below meant the lower caverns — where servants handled unstable Gu.
Dangerous.
Disposable.
Perfect.
Shen Yu lowered his gaze and nodded.
As he stepped into the shadowed corridor, the unseen presence within him stirred happily.
Here…
There was food everywhere.
And far above the sect, hidden beyond clouds and fate itself, invisible chains trembled slightly — as though something sealed for eternity had begun to loosen.
The Devouring Immortal had taken its first step into the cultivation world.
