Game Pattern Appears, The Sunken Abyss

A low, ancient echo reverberated repeatedly across the ancient platform. Each syllable struck the depths of the heart like a heavy hammer, mingling with the gale and turbulent currents surging from the earth, making the entire space tremble in its wake. Lin Chen's Dao aura circulated to its limit, the Fate-Defying Ancestral Seal burning hot within his dantian; an unprecedented sense of gravity pressed down on him, causing his breathing to hitch slightly.

His gaze remained locked on the black-robed figure plummeting toward the abyss, the pitch-black Game Pattern on the man's forehead etched into his eyes like a brand. Since stepping into this secret realm and learning the secrets of the Double-Layer Chess Game, he had pursued clues several times, only to touch upon fragmented traces. He had never imagined he would see someone alive, bearing the dark patterns of the chess game, here and now.

The force of the swirling gale continued to pull at him, the deep hole at the center of the platform like the gaping maw of a giant beast, exhaling endless currents of Chaos. The bluestone beneath Lin Chen's feet emitted a continuous, groaning creak under the strain. He lowered his arms slightly, planting his feet firmly on the platform surface, his internal spiritual energy surging through his meridians to contend with the suction of the Primordial Array. He did not rashly pursue; the situation had changed abruptly, and the mysterious whispers from the earth, the eerie Game Pattern, and the out-of-control array all concealed unknown dangers. Rushing in blindly was by no means a wise move.

In mid-air, the strangely-featured cultivator struggled with increasing intensity. He had already been severely wounded by Lin Chen's palm strike, his spiritual energy largely dissipated, and now, caught firmly by the array's power, he was utterly unable to break free from the massive suction. Ripples finally stirred in his hollow, black eyes; the previous dead, numb silence was replaced by intense panic and terror. He seemed to hear that eternal whisper as well, his body trembling violently, his hands flailing wildly as if to grasp anything for leverage, yet there was nothing but the howling wind and dissipating spiritual energy around him.

"No... don't pull me down..."

A hoarse, dry roar broke from his throat, sounding less like a living man and more like the friction of dead wood, enough to make one's scalp crawl. He seemed to fear this subterranean abyss immensely; compared to facing Lin Chen's pursuit, falling into this darkness filled him with even greater despair.

Within a few short breaths, his body was swept to the edge of the hole by the gale. His gray, stiff face appeared particularly hideous under the reflection of the green light. The Game Pattern on his forehead began to squirm slowly as his emotions fluctuated, wisps of black mist seeping from the black lines to echo the murky aura rising from the abyss.

Lin Chen's eyes sharpened, his divine sense spreading out once more to cautiously probe the depths of the hole. The moment his sense touched the surface of the opening, it was violently repelled by a turbid, icy force, as if crashing into an invisible barrier, sending a sharp sting through his soul. This underground space was not only sealed by the Primordial Array but also protected by restrictions specifically targeting divine sense; ordinary cultivators could not even catch a glimpse of what lay within.

"A piece in the Double-Layer Chess Game, yet he fears this place?" Lin Chen murmured, his heart filled with suspicion.

According to the information he had gathered, those bearing the Game Pattern were all pawns of the hidden layout, acting with ruthless efficiency and no fear of death, like puppets under control. Yet, this man clearly possessed autonomous fear and was not a soulless object. This suggested that the so-called chess pieces were ranked, or perhaps this underground abyss contained something that even the mastermind behind the game feared.

Just as half of the man's body was about to be swallowed by the dark opening, he suddenly exhausted his last shred of spiritual energy, violently twisting his head to fix his hollow, black eyes on Lin Chen atop the platform, his cracked lips moving incessantly.

"The chess game has more than two layers... beneath the ancient array... is a Prison Cage..."

The fragmented words were sliced to pieces by the gale, yet Lin Chen still captured the key information. Before he could ponder further, a stronger suction surged from the abyss, accompanied by a cold chill that swept upward, completely swallowing the man. A shrill, miserable scream cut off abruptly, and his figure vanished into the pitch-black hole, leaving not a trace of sound behind.

The gale gradually subsided, and the violent tremors of the ancient platform slowly ceased. The green array patterns flowing across the platform dimmed, returning to a faint glow, leaving only the spiral hole at the center open—deep and dark, like a dormant beast quietly watching the newcomer on the platform. The chaotic spiritual energy between heaven and earth slowly gathered, returning to its previous stillness, yet beneath this calm, undercurrents surged, more dangerous than at any time before.

Lin Chen slowly withdrew his stance, the tension in his body relaxing slightly, though his vigilance remained undiminished. He walked slowly to the edge of the hole and looked down into the darkness. The opening dropped vertically, bottomless; the naked eye could only see the stone walls for a few yards before the darkness became as thick as ink, impenetrable even to the light of heaven and earth. Wisps of cold air drifted from the depths, and upon being inhaled, they caused one's spiritual energy to stagnate and the mind to grow hazy—clearly, they were mixed with evil miasma.

"The chess game has more than two layers; beneath the ancient array is a Prison Cage." He repeated the words left behind by the man, his fingertips lightly rubbing together as his thoughts raced.

He had originally thought the Double-Layer Chess Game was the greatest mystery, but now that the man had personally overturned that notion, it meant the game behind the scenes was far vaster and more intricate than he had imagined. And this ancient platform standing in the center of the secret realm, which appeared to be a legacy site, was actually a prison cage for something. To require such a grand ancient array for suppression, the thing imprisoned beneath must be terrifying indeed.

Recalling the whisper that had spanned the ages, the fact that the voice had called out "Fate Defier enters the game" showed it clearly knew his identity, and perhaps had been waiting for him to arrive here from the very beginning.

From the bell tolling to lure guests, to the shadow trailing him, to the appearance of the ancient platform and the activation of the array—the coincidences along the way now linked together to form a meticulously laid path. He had thought he was actively seeking opportunities, never realizing that from the moment he heard the bell, he had been stepping, step by step, into a trap set by another.

"What exquisite calculation." A cold glint flashed in Lin Chen's eyes.

The mastermind had not attacked directly, but instead used the secret realm's bell, the ancient platform, and his own intuition for opportunity to guide him, leading him to this dead end without a sound. They had calculated that his Fate-Defying Ancestral Seal would resonate with the platform, that he would surely climb it to investigate, and that the trailing shadow-pawn would strike at this exact moment. Link by link, everything was perfectly timed.

Yet, for all their calculations, they likely never expected that the pawn used to test and restrain him would be forced into the abyss, leaving behind a crucial clue.

Lin Chen channeled his spiritual energy to isolate the cold miasma drifting nearby, the Fate-Defying Ancestral Seal rotating slowly to emit a warm, pure Dao aura to protect his soul. He did not immediately leap into the hole, but instead turned to re-examine the entire platform.

During the fierce battle and the array's upheaval, most of his attention had been on the emergency; now, calming his mind to look closely, he discovered that besides the original locking patterns, the platform walls were carved with many scattered characters. These characters were older than the array patterns, their strokes twisted and strange, belonging to no language currently in the world; few in the entire cultivation world could decipher them.

Lin Chen stepped forward, his fingertips lightly brushing the cold stone surface. A faint spiritual imprint remained on the characters, having persisted through the ages without fading. He channeled the power of the Ancestral Seal, attempting to interpret them with his own Dao aura, and countless fragmented images flooded his mind.

A dim world, crumbling mountains and rivers, figures locked in slaughter across the sky, and massive black shadows blotting out the sun, rampaging beneath the firmament. Experts roared, artifacts shattered, the Great Dao wailed, and the entire world was plunged into the flames of war. The images flowed rapidly, fragmented and impossible to piece into a complete history, yet he could clearly feel the brutality of that great war.

Then the images froze: countless top-tier powerhouses joined forces, using supreme cultivation to forge this bluestone platform, laying down a chain of arrays, using the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as locks and the veins of the earth as chains to forcibly suppress a behemoth beneath the ground. Those ancient characters were the sealing inscriptions left behind during the suppression, used to reinforce the array and warn future generations.

"So that is it; this is indeed a prison cage." Lin Chen withdrew his fingertips, his heart now clear.

During the ancient era, a cataclysmic war broke out, and a terrifying existence was suppressed here by many powerhouses who built the platform and set the locking array to imprison it for eternity. As time passed, the experts of that era turned to dust, the power of the array continuously weakened, and the seal loosened. The so-called Double-Layer Chess Game was likely the work of someone coveting the imprisoned existence, seeking to break the seal and take control of it.

As for the owner of that ancient whisper, their identity was even more intriguing. Were they a remnant soul of those who participated in the suppression? The imprisoned entity itself? Or another mastermind hidden in the shadows?

A myriad of questions swirled in his mind, yet there were no answers.

Just then, a series of light, hurried footsteps sounded from the woods outside the platform. The footsteps were uneven, belonging to three or four people, their auras mixed and their cultivation levels varied—clearly other cultivators who had broken into the secret realm. It seemed the platform's tremors and the sky-piercing light were too conspicuous, attracting nearby treasure seekers.

Lin Chen raised his eyes toward the valley entrance, and soon, several figures emerged from the dense forest to appear below the platform. The two in the lead wore uniform green Daoist robes with flowing cloud patterns embroidered on the cuffs—disciples of a second-rate sect nearby—followed by two rogue cultivators, all of them wearing expressions of excitement and greed.

"Good heavens! The upheaval in the heavens and earth earlier—surely a treasure has emerged here!" one of the green-robed cultivators looked up at the floating platform, his eyes burning. "This platform is clearly an ancient relic, and there's a deep hole at its center; the opportunity must be down there!"

The other nodded quickly, scanning the surroundings vigilantly before his gaze landed on Lin Chen atop the platform, his expression turning guarded. "Someone has already beaten us to it. Fellow Daoist, would you be willing to share the opportunity here?"

In the cultivation world, the law of the jungle was absolute; speaking of sharing was merely a way to test his strength. If Lin Chen's cultivation were ordinary, they would swarm him to seize the treasure; if he were powerful, they would bide their time and wait for an opening.

Lin Chen's expression was indifferent; he ignored them, his mind entirely on the abyss and the chess game, having no intention of entangling himself with these ordinary cultivators. Yet, his detachment was seen by them as arrogance.

"Hmph, putting on airs! It's just one person; with the four of us working together, are we afraid of him?" A rogue cultivator, unable to restrain himself, leaped up first, charging toward the platform. "Drive him off first, then enter the hole to find the treasure!"

Seeing this, the other three did not hesitate, channeling their spiritual energy and following close behind. Four beams of spiritual light cut through the air, lunging straight at Lin Chen.

Lin Chen frowned slightly. He had no intention of harming the innocent, but since they were being aggressive, he would not allow himself to be provoked. He did not move, merely letting his spiritual energy ripple slightly, a gentle yet irresistible force spreading outward.

Bang! Bang! Bang! A series of sounds rang out in succession.

The moment the four cultivators stepped onto the platform, they felt as if they had collided with an invisible barrier, their bodies flying backward in unison to crash heavily onto the forest floor. Each of them felt their blood surging, their faces pale with shock. They could clearly feel the vast, insurmountable gap in their strength; the other party hadn't even actively attacked, yet had repelled them all with nothing but his released aura.

"Such powerful cultivation!" The lead green-robed disciple turned deathly pale, no longer daring to harbor any greed. He quickly signaled his companions to retreat, standing far away to watch, not daring to approach the platform by even half a step.

The forest returned to silence, and Lin Chen withdrew his gaze, ignoring those outside. There was no point in delaying; the clues, the opportunities, and the mysteries were all hidden in the abyss beneath his feet. The chess piece bearing the Game Pattern had fallen into it, the mysterious whisper originated from there, and the truth of the suppressed existence and the chess game all required him to go down and investigate personally.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his heart, and channeled the Fate-Defying Ancestral Seal to its limit, raising his defenses to their peak. A layer of faint, flowing light enveloped him, isolating the evil miasma and the restrictions.

"Since everything is a game, then I shall enter the game to see it for myself."

As his voice fell, Lin Chen leaped, diving straight into the pitch-black hole.

At the start of the descent, he could still feel the residual array power of the platform, but after dropping several dozen yards, the environment changed completely. The cold air grew increasingly dense, and the stone walls were covered in strange black patterns, bearing a faint resemblance to the Game Pattern on the cultivator's forehead. Everything was pitch black, rendering ordinary sight completely useless; he had to rely solely on spiritual energy and divine sense to discern his direction.

After descending about a hundred yards, his feet finally touched solid ground. It was an incredibly vast underground space; overhead, layers of array-pattern light curtains blocked out the light from the outside world and firmly locked the entire area. The space was filled with gray-black mist, mixed with a faint scent of blood and decay that made one feel deeply uncomfortable.

Looking around, this underground space was not empty. The ground was covered in deep gullies, and between them stood countless broken stone statues. The statues were of various forms—birds, beasts, and ancient humanoid gods—all shattered and ruined, with limbs scattered across the ground. Every statue was covered in cracks from past battles, clearly indicating that a brutal war had taken place here in the ancient era.

At the very center of this ruin of stone statues, a massive, ominous black dais rose abruptly from the ground. The platform stood several zhang high, and atop it sat an ancient black jade throne. Though the throne was empty, it radiated a chilling pressure that commanded the world.

The moment Lin Chen touched down, the gray mist throughout the underground space began to churn violently. Within the hollow eye sockets of every broken stone statue, ghostly green flames ignited in unison.

A rhythmic, synchronized sound of marching echoed from the depths of the mist in every direction.

The footsteps were heavy and dull, drawing closer and closer, accompanied by the grating screech of iron chains dragging across the ground.

Lin Chen's gaze sharpened as he focused his vision.

From within the mist, figures clad in tattered armor emerged with stiff, mechanical movements. Their complexions were ashen, their eyes vacant, and their bodies were bound by pitch-black chains. On the center of each of their foreheads was branded a dark Game Pattern.

At a glance, there were dozens of them.

The dense swarm of puppet chess pieces had completely surrounded him from all sides.

The lead puppet, which towered over the others and gripped a massive bone blade, came to a halt. Its hollow gaze locked onto Lin Chen, and a hoarse voice resounded through the underground chamber:

"Fate Defier, having stepped into this Prison Cage, there is... no turning back."

At the same time, from the deep shadows of the central black jade throne, a blurred silhouette slowly raised its head. A pair of eyes, deep and cold as a frozen pool, pierced through the layers of mist and settled quietly upon Lin Chen.