Awakening

Time lost all meaning deep beneath the earth.

Lin Ye was like a stone statue forgotten by the world, one with the underground cavern.

Su Muxue's Ice-Sealing Rejuvenation Technique had sealed a wisp of Lin Ye's vitality inside the Stone Heart. Guided by the secret art, the earth-vein energy flowed into the true qi seed in his dantian.

His consciousness sank into boundless darkness.

He saw countless stars being born, then silently extinguished; he saw a vast, boundless brown earth, harboring endless strength and vitality.

The stars' icy desolation and the earth's heavy, violent power intertwined within the depths of his consciousness.

His consciousness was repeatedly torn between two utterly different forces. Amid the unbearable pain and conflict, the dormant dark-golden seed slowly transformed.

A delicate balance quietly took shape on the brink of destruction and rebirth.

"It's been three days."

Chen Feng leaned against the cavern wall, his eyes bloodshot. "Brother Lin is still the same."

"The Ice-Sealing Rejuvenation Technique is still working, but his injuries are too severe. He needs time to recover." Su Muxue's voice was calm.

"We can't wait any longer." The disciple keeping watch suddenly lowered his voice. "The earth-vein energy outside is growing more and more unstable. I heard the sound of a huge number of claws crawling."

Everyone tensed and immediately listened closely.

"Prepare for battle."

"Chen Feng, take Lin Ye and retreat as far into the cavern as you can. The three of us will hold the entrance!"

"No! Senior Sister Su, your injuries haven't healed. The two of us can't hold them back either."

"We have no choice!" Su Muxue cut him off. "We have to buy Lin Ye time! Go!"

Chen Feng stopped hesitating. He picked up Lin Ye, who was covered in ice crystals, and retreated deeper into the cavern.

"Rattle—!"

A sound like a surging tide rushed in from the fissure's entrance!

Countless black shapes poured frantically out of the fissure, filling the entire cavern in an instant.

"Gold-Devouring Iron Beetles!"

"Kill them!"

Without wasting a word, Su Muxue struck first. Sword Qi turned into spikes of ice and shot into the swarm.

The beetles' armored shells were exceptionally hard. Her Sword Qi ice spikes could only knock them back.

The others swung their weapons too, flashes of blades and swords flickering among the swarm.

Before long, the three of them had each suffered several wounds, and their movements were growing sluggish.

The Gold-Devouring Iron Beetles were extremely sensitive to fluctuations in energy. In an instant, they locked onto Lin Ye.

At first, they had skirted around the three of them, but now they surged toward the depths of the cavern!

"Stop them!" Su Muxue shouted.

Just then, Lin Ye's body convulsed.

An invisible field burst outward from Lin Ye, and the surrounding air instantly solidified. The Gold-Devouring Iron Beetles pouring in frantically froze in place.

The beetles' pitch-black shells quickly turned ashen.

Even the lively earth-vein energy seemed to grow much more docile as it neared the edge of the field.

"This is..." Chen Feng gaped in astonishment.

"That's it. The path he forged in that desperate situation was connected to devouring from the start. When he faced a threat, that instinct was fully awakened. Combined with the earth-vein energy, it formed the rudimentary shape of a Devouring Domain."

After a brief moment of panic and confusion, the swarm stopped trying to attack Lin Ye and turned all its aggression toward the others.

"Hold on!" Su Muxue gritted her teeth.

The battle descended into a brutal stalemate.

Lin Ye couldn't see the fighting around him, but he could sense faint energies nourishing his true qi seed like sustenance.

A few dim points of light nearby flickered like candle flames, wavering but never going out.

One of those points of light shared a strange connection with him. It kept sending over energy brimming with vitality, helping him maintain his balance.

"Su Muxue?"

The ice crystals covering Lin Ye's body gave a faint crack.

"Crack... crack..."

The sound of shattering grew more and more frequent.

Su Muxue cut a Gold-Devouring Iron Beetle lunging at her in two with a single sword strike. Suddenly sensing something, she whipped her head toward Lin Ye, her beautiful eyes filling with delight.

"Is he waking up?"

"Vmmm—"

A low, terrifying roar came from deep beneath the earth!

"Pfft!"

The sudden shock to their souls made everyone spit blood at once, their faces turning as pale as paper.

Even the true qi within their bodies grew chaotic, impossible to circulate.

The Gold-Devouring Iron Beetles, which had been attacking wildly, all stopped moving at once.

Their frenzy and greed vanished, leaving only utter terror and submission.

They lowered their bodies and retreated into the depths of the fissure.

"It's awakened..."

Su Muxue endured the agony and looked toward the fissure's entrance. A vast malice was spreading out from the darkness, enveloping the entire cavern.

"Oh no! The earth vein has been corrupted!" Su Muxue's expression changed dramatically.

"Crack—"

The ice crystals shattered with sudden, increasing force. Large chunks broke apart, revealing Lin Ye's body.

Pain contorted Lin Ye's face. It looked as though that will was beginning to erode him.

"Lin Ye! Guard your mind!"

"Boom!"

A terrifying force suddenly erupted from within Lin Ye!

Caught off guard, Su Muxue was blasted away and staggered back several steps.

"Roar—!"

Another terrifying roar, close enough to be right before them, came from the darkness at the fissure's entrance.

"It's over... It's here... We're all going to die..."

Su Muxue gritted her teeth and quickly formed a hand seal before her chest, murmuring an incantation.

She was about to burn her essence and unleash some kind of secret art, fighting for one last sliver of hope.

Lin Ye's eyes flew open.

He slowly raised his right hand toward the churning darkness.

He made a grasping motion and gently closed his hand.

"Vmmm—!"

The churning darkness collapsed inward like a punctured balloon. At its center appeared a point that devoured everything, swallowing the vast will within it along with the darkness!

"No—!!!"

A soul-rending roar of disbelief erupted from the center of the collapsing darkness.

The darkness vanished completely.

Su Muxue's secret art, which had been burning her essence, was interrupted. She spat out a mouthful of blood, her eyes fixed on Lin Ye in utter shock.

The others had gone completely stiff, their mouths hanging open.

What had just happened?

That terrifying being was just... gone?

How could that be?

Lin Ye slowly lowered his right hand, his eyes calm once more.

He looked down at his palm, gently closing and opening his fingers as he felt the new power within him.

The dark-golden seed in his dantian was covered in mysterious patterns.

An unusually stable framework of energy had taken shape inside the seed.

The framework's core had already begun to merge with his own will, becoming a kind of "innate talent" he could partially control?

He lifted his head and looked at the others, who were still utterly shocked.

"Su Muxue, thank you."

Su Muxue came back to her senses. As she looked at Lin Ye, a nameless chill suddenly rose in her heart.

"Are you all right?" She suppressed the strange feeling within her.

"For now."

"We shouldn't stay here. The earth vein has been corrupted, and the commotion may have attracted other things. Besides..."

He paused and looked toward the fissure's entrance, his gaze sharpening.

"That thing was only forced back."