The moment I stepped inside, the ground felt like thin ice beneath my feet, trembling faintly. I immediately steadied myself, my right hand still held forward. The drop of blood on my fingertip had already dried, yet there was still an indescribable connection between my palm and the seal, like a thin thread linking me to the outside world.
I knew the way back was still there.
Everything before me was gray and hazy, my vision distorted until I could no longer tell up from down or left from right. My spiritual sense swept out at once, only to be blocked by something, reaching no farther than thirty feet. Some of the stone bricks on the ground glimmered faintly, their colors flickering between bright and dim. I did not dare move carelessly.
"System," I asked inwardly, "can you identify the current environment?"
After several breaths, there was no response.
I frowned, wondering whether I should withdraw my spiritual sense and probe again when I suddenly noticed a faint disturbance in the air three feet to my left. It was clearly empty there, yet when my spiritual sense swept over it, I felt something solid.
That was the real path.
I slowly turned sideways and tentatively moved my left foot forward. When it came down, I felt firm ground beneath it, completely unlike the floating sensation from before. Once I had steadied myself, I summoned the spirit beast to my side. It walked close against my right leg, its horn pointed at the ground, its ears twitching slightly.
We moved forward step by step.
After five steps, my vision finally cleared somewhat. Above us was a black rock wall that stretched beyond sight. Stone walls appeared on both sides, carved with broken patterns that looked as though some force had violently torn them apart. The air carried a faint scent of rust mixed with ancient dust.
Before we had gone a hundred feet, the air ahead suddenly changed.
Several translucent threads emerged from every direction, crisscrossing into a net that blocked the middle of the passage. They remained still, but the instant my spiritual sense touched them, I felt a powerful flow of energy.
This was a formation.
I stopped, and the spirit beast crouched as well. Its nostrils flared as it let out a low growl.
Just then, the system's voice sounded in my mind: [A basic formation structure has been detected. Question generated.]
Immediately afterward, words appeared directly in my consciousness:
[Question: Which of the following is most likely the flaw in the 'Entangling Silk Spirit Binding Formation'?]
[A. Destroy the formation eye in the southeast corner]
[B. Forcefully break through with high-level spiritual power]
[C. Wait for the gap between its breaths and pass through]
[D. Trigger tremors in the ground to disrupt its rhythm]
I stared at the options, my thoughts racing.
The name of this formation contained "entangling silk," which meant it relied mainly on an uninterrupted circulation of spiritual power to trap people. If it operated continuously, there had to be brief pauses in between, like breathing. It could not possibly continue forever without stopping.
C.
The instant the thought crossed my mind, the system responded: [Correct answer. Reward: 'Insightful Vision,' duration ten breaths.]
The scene before my eyes changed instantly.
The threads that had once been invisible became clear. Every strand led to a point on the walls, while at the center, the net loosened once every few breaths. The opening was extremely brief, probably no longer than a blink.
That was the gap.
I grabbed the spirit beast by the horn and said softly, "When I rush through, strike the third floor tile ahead to the right with your horn."
It nodded.
I took a deep breath and fixed my eyes on the center of the net. When the next opening appeared, I lunged forward.
The moment I moved, the rock walls overhead began to close in slowly. The grinding of stone echoed through the passage. I was already in midair when I felt the wind pressure shift, as if I were about to be crushed.
At that instant, the spirit beast's horn struck the floor tile.
"Buzz—"
The ground trembled. The net ahead contracted violently, all its threads gathering toward the center before snapping apart with a crack. A safe passage opened up.
I hit the ground and rolled before rising with the momentum. Looking back, I saw that the rock walls had closed until only enough space for one person remained. One moment later, and I would have been trapped inside.
The spirit beast leaped over and stood beside me, breathing a little heavily.
I patted its back. "It's all right now."
We continued onward.
The passage grew narrower, and ancient symbols appeared on the walls on both sides. They were dark red, as if drawn in blood. I had my spiritual sense scan along the walls and found that the symbols were incomplete. Some were missing a stroke, while others were broken in the middle.
This was not a complete formation. It was more like a warning.
After another dozen or so steps, cracks began to appear in the ground, weak light seeping up from below. With every step I took, I could feel something moving beneath me. It was not a living creature, but some kind of mechanical structure operating underground.
I slowed down, stopping after every step.
Suddenly, the spirit beast rammed me hard to the left.
I staggered two steps. The moment I regained my balance, the spot where I had been standing collapsed, revealing a deep pit filled with spikes. Their surfaces gleamed black, clearly coated with poison.
I let out a breath and looked at the spirit beast. Its gaze was taut, its horn pointed straight ahead.
I knew it was warning me not to let my guard down again.
For the rest of the way, I used my spiritual sense like needles to probe ahead. Each time, I released only a little, taking a step only after confirming it was safe. It was painfully slow, but at least I would not step wrong.
Half an hour later, the passage came to an end.
Ahead lay a thick blue-gray fog. It did not move, like solidified water. The moment my spiritual sense entered less than fifty feet, it was forced back. A sharp swelling pain struck between my brows, as though someone had jabbed me with a needle.
I backed away a few steps and sat down cross-legged.
The spiritual power within me also began to destabilize, as though suppressed by something. Its circulation slowed. I tried regulating my breath and guided my spiritual power through one minor circulation of my meridians before I finally recovered somewhat.
The spirit beast lay beside me with its nose pressed to the ground. Then it suddenly lifted its head and let out a low cry toward the fog.
I opened my eyes. "What did you sense?"
It did not answer. It merely stood, walked two steps forward, then looked back at me with a very serious expression.
I understood what it meant—there was something inside. Not danger, but something else.
I reached into my storage pouch and took out a jade slip. It was the detector I had received from answering questions before, and it could still be used once. I poured spiritual power into it, and a faint light lit up on its surface, pointing deep into the fog.
It matched the spirit beast's senses.
Just as I was about to put it away, the system's voice rang out in my mind again: [High-level spiritual energy fluctuations detected. Match rate 92%. Characteristics correspond to an 'advanced cultivation technique' or an 'origin artifact.']
I tightened my grip on the jade slip.
There really was a treasure.
Though I did not know exactly what it was, anything marked as high-level by the system was definitely no ordinary item. Besides, this secret realm had been sealed for so many years. Whatever remained inside had to be something important.
I stood and stretched my limbs.
My meridians were clear. Though my spiritual power was suppressed, I could still mobilize more than seventy percent of it. As long as I did not encounter an enemy that was too powerful, I should be able to handle it.
I glanced at the spirit beast. "Ready?"
It gave a low growl, its front paws facing forward as it stood at my right side.
I lifted my foot and entered the fog.
The instant I stepped in, the temperature plummeted, and goosebumps rose across my skin. The fog clung damply to my face, but it was not cold. My vision was compressed to only two steps ahead; anything farther was impossible to see.
I continued stabbing forward with my spiritual sense in needle-like strands. Every inch I advanced took effort. I could sense space ahead, a vast one, nothing like this narrow passage. There were also stairs, descending step by step.
After about thirty steps, stone stairs appeared beneath my feet.
I counted my steps and descended twenty-three levels before reaching a flat area. The fog here was even denser, practically pasted to my face. My spiritual sense could only reach thirty feet; beyond that, it failed completely.
But I could feel it.
There was something ahead.
It was neither killing intent nor the fluctuation of a formation, but a tranquil power. It was like something asleep, yet still breathing.
The spirit beast suddenly stopped, its ears pricked and every muscle in its body taut.
I sensed it too.
The ground was vibrating, very faintly, with a steady rhythm, like some mechanism operating. Once every seven breaths, it trembled like a heartbeat.
I held my breath and condensed the last trace of my spiritual sense into a point, thrusting it toward the source of the vibrations.
The instant it made contact, the space between my brows flared with heat.
System notification: [Hidden path discovered. Coordinates marked.]
Just as I was about to withdraw my spiritual sense, the ground suddenly shook.
Not in its original rhythm.
This tremor was heavier, as though something had been awakened.
The spirit beast growled low, its horn aimed forward.
I raised my hand, gathering a ball of spiritual power in my palm, ready to strike at any moment.
Within the fog, a shadow slowly moved.