---
Darkness fell like silk across his vision.
But Long Tian knew he was not asleep.
The world around him was too warm.
Too quiet.
Too alive.
He stood in an infinite hall, its walls made of rippling crimson veils, its floor like liquid moonlight.
At the center of it all: a bed shaped like a lotus in bloom, veined with glowing runes.
And She'yan stood beside it—barefoot, smiling faintly, her flame-dark robes coiling around her like breathing smoke.
---
"You've resisted the Sutra thrice," she said.
"When others would have broken once."
"You've felt desire… but you did not let it take you."
"Now, the Sutra offers you a gift."
---
The Dream Temptation
From behind one of the veils, a figure emerged.
She was perfect.
Not in beauty, but in memory.
Long Tian's first heartbreak, the girl who once smiled at him beneath the peach trees… but never saw him again.
She looked at him now with yearning eyes, naked emotion—not seduction. She stepped forward, robes slipping, not out of lust… but vulnerability.
"If you touch her," She'yan whispered,
"you'll unlock a technique through indulgence."
"But if you let her go—fully, truthfully—"
"You'll awaken the Second Seal."
"And become something… most never reach."
---
She approached him.
Her hand lifted toward his cheek.
"I missed you…" she said, voice trembling.
"I never stopped dreaming of you…"
His hand raised to meet hers—
But stopped.
And instead… he lowered it.
"You're not her," he said quietly.
"You're a reflection of what I craved… not what I need."
"Letting go isn't weakness."
"It's the only path forward."
---
She faded.
So did the veils.
The lotus bed.
The memory.
And She'yan nodded once, her voice soft but heavy:
"Then let it be burned into you."
---
The Second Seal Awakens
Pain bloomed in his side—not sharp, but deep, like a fire warming frozen stone.
A sigil carved itself onto his ribs—spiraling vines of light and heat, wrapping around his heart.
The Sutra pulsed.
The world trembled.
---
"The Vein of Echoed Heat," She'yan said, watching him with reverence.
"You now carry a passive resonance—your body will awaken echoes in others."
"Their buried desires. Forgotten longings. Unspoken dreams."
---
Technique Unveiled
"You don't need to touch them now, Tian."
"Their Qi will begin to respond just by being near you."
"Even without cultivation, they'll dream of you. Ache for you."
"And if you concentrate, you can awaken suppressed spiritual emotions… gently."
"You can soothe. Or seduce."
"Break illusions… or arouse truths."
---
The Price—and Power
"But use it carelessly…" she warned, "and it will become manipulation."
"You resisted lust. But now… can you resist worship?"
He stood there, breathing shallowly, the sigil glowing against his skin.
"I will not walk the path of indulgence," he whispered.
"I will walk the path of transformation."
"Let the world change because I chose to burn slowly."
---
Back in the Real World
Long Tian awoke under the same peach tree.
His ribs still burned—but not in pain.
The Vein of Echoed Heat was alive, pulsing gently with each heartbeat.
A nearby female disciple passed—too far to notice him.
And yet… she paused.
Turned.
Touched her chest—confused.
And walked away faster, breath quickening.
---
He didn't smile.
He didn't chase.
He only whispered:
"Not yet."
---