The moment the ground collapsed, I plunged downward.
The wind tore past my ears, ripping several holes in my clothes and leaving a burning pain across my skin. The gray-black Chaotic Flow surged in from all directions, like countless hands trying to drag me underground. I tried to grab onto something, but there was nothing around me except rolling mist and shattered rocks.
The talisman had already lost its glow, and it no longer grew warm against my chest. Of the three spirit stones, two had gone completely dim, leaving only the last one with a faint glimmer. I clutched it tightly to my chest, trying to use that little energy to steady myself, but my body still spun out of control.
I fell faster and faster.
I could feel the air growing thick, every breath like swallowing blades. My vision began to darken, and my consciousness was slowly being drained away. Just as I was about to pass out, that familiar voice suddenly rang out in my mind.
"Host's life is in critical danger. Activating emergency protection protocol."
The voice was cold and emotionless, yet it jolted me awake for a moment.
Then, a layer of golden light rose from within me, wrapping around my entire body. Unlike the talisman's thin barrier, it was as thick and solid as a wall, firmly blocking the violent currents outside.
I slid down the inner wall of the barrier and collapsed at the bottom, gasping for air. The Chaotic Flow outside slammed against the barrier with dull thuds, like huge waves battering a reef. Every tremor traveled through my body, numbing my bones.
When I looked up, the vortex above was still spinning. Its color had grown darker than before, and cracks had begun to appear along its edges. Dark red currents sprayed from those fissures, mixed with gravel and burning dust, all of it smashing against the barrier's surface.
The barrier swayed, ripples spreading across it, but it did not break.
I tried moving my arms and found that I still could. I was so exhausted that I could barely lift them, but at least I had not been crushed. Leaning into a corner, I stared at the situation outside the barrier, not daring to close my eyes.
Time passed bit by bit.
The impacts outside grew stronger and stronger. Several times, the entire space seemed to be violently torn apart. The barrier shook fiercely, flinging me into the air before I crashed back down hard. Blood seeped from the corner of my mouth, but I had no time to wipe it away.
I began counting my heartbeats.
One, two... Every beat meant I was still alive.
I did not know how long passed before the vortex above finally changed. Its rotation slowed, and its color shifted from deep black to grayish white. The surrounding Chaotic Flow no longer struck the barrier in a concentrated barrage. Instead, it dispersed into several thin streams that drifted slowly through the air.
The pressure on the barrier eased.
I let out a breath, my shoulders going slack as I nearly collapsed. But I could not relax yet. I knew this calm might only be temporary. One unexpected change, and the danger from before could return.
I reached out and touched the remaining spirit stone. It was still hot, but its heat was clearly weaker than before. That meant the system's protection was consuming resources too, and this single stone was all I had left to rely on.
I could not waste it anymore.
I tucked the spirit stone back into my robes and wrapped it tightly in cloth. The barrier remained stable, but the golden light on its surface was no longer as bright as when it first appeared. It was weakening, though it had not yet reached the point of collapse.
I looked up at the sky.
The vortex was shrinking, and the cracks along its edges gradually closed. The currents that had been pouring out slowly disappeared as well, as though something had drawn them back in. The trembling of the ground stopped, and even the air fell silent.
The wind stopped.
The gray mist remained, but it no longer moved. The entire world seemed as if someone had pressed pause.
The barrier began to flicker.
Once, twice... After the third flash, its brightness never returned. I could feel the force surrounding my body fading away layer by layer, like a receding tide.
At the final moment, the barrier gave a soft tremor, then dispersed completely.
I stood where I was, my feet planted on a slanted rock. My body swayed, and I nearly fell. My legs had gone weak, and my knees buckled. I steadied myself only by bracing against the ground.
After a few seconds of rest, I slowly stood back up.
I looked around. The landscape had changed completely. The forest of stone pillars that had once been visible was gone, replaced by a vast stretch of cracked, pitted earth that looked as though it had been plowed over. The distant horizon was blurred, gray mist shrouding everything.
I lowered my head and examined myself.
My Daoist robe was torn in several places, and there were a few scrapes on my arms. They were not deep, but blood was seeping from them. The talisman had shattered into three pieces around my waist. The moment I picked them up and touched them lightly, they crumbled into powder. The two depleted spirit stones had cracked as well, their energy long since exhausted.
Only one spirit stone remained, still giving off faint warmth inside my robes.
I took it out for a look. Its color had darkened somewhat, but it was still usable. As long as the system could still issue questions, I still had a chance.
I supported myself against a half-buried rock and walked forward.
My steps were slow, each one planted firmly. Though the ground no longer shook, I could still feel lingering tremors beneath my feet. This area had not fully stabilized yet, and I could not stay long.
After taking a dozen or so steps, I noticed a broken piece of rock beside my foot. A mark had been carved into it. It was not naturally formed; it looked like someone had cut it with a sharp weapon.
I crouched down and wiped the dust from its surface.
The mark was fresh, its edges neat and cut deep into the stone. Stranger still, it formed a precise curve, like part of some symbol.
I stared at it for several seconds before suddenly realizing—I had seen this before.
There had been similar patterns on the stone pillars earlier. At the time, I had thought they were natural cracks. Now, it seemed they might be fragments of the same design.
Who had left them behind?
As I pondered this, no prompt sounded in my mind. The system remained silent.
But did the mark on this stone have anything to do with the system? Could it be some kind of guidance?
I reached out to touch the carving. The instant my fingertip touched its surface, the entire rock suddenly gave a slight tremor.
It was not an illusion.
It really was moving.
The next second, a faint sound came from the ground, as if something were crawling beneath it. I quickly retreated two steps and stared at the rock.
Its position had changed.
It had originally been stuck into the ground at a slant, but now it stood a little straighter, as though some force beneath it had pushed it upward.
I held my breath and stared at the carved mark.
In the gray mist, a shadow slowly emerged from behind the rock.
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