The flowing water of the underground river soaked the icy stone chips beneath his feet, seeping through the gaps in his boots and into his flesh. Lin Chen raised a hand and swept away the lingering grayish-white mist before him. The phantom he had encountered by the underground river in Chapter 56 still circled repeatedly through his mind. That figure had lurked within the dense fog over the river, its form wavering unpredictably. Though dozens of zhang of river water had separated them, it had accurately tracked their party's movements. The faint glow from the Fate-Defying Ancestral Seal he had hastily cast had grazed the phantom's shoulder, leaving behind only a trace of an aura like rotting deadwood before it vanished into the billowing darkness.
The old man in blue robes traveling with him put away the aged compass at his waist. The bronze needle on its face spun wildly, its tip constantly slanting toward the depths of the underground river. The outer bronze casing was covered in countless cracks of varying depths, clearly scars left from damage sustained by a great formation long ago. The old man frowned deeply, his fingertips brushing over the cracks as he said in a low voice, "That thing was no ordinary wandering spirit. An ancient broken formation lies buried deep within this place, and beneath the underground river are layers upon layers of subterranean tomb chambers. Yin and baleful energy have accumulated there year-round, so it is hardly strange for such aberrations to arise. It deliberately appeared to test us, yet did not attack rashly. Either it fears the power of the Ancestral Seal on you, or it is stalling for time and luring us into a prepared trap."
Lin Chen nodded and looked toward the curled-up youth beside him. The youth was