I steadied myself against a half-buried rock, my legs still trembling. The ground beneath my feet had stopped shaking, yet with every step, I could still feel faint tremors rising from deep within the earth. The gray mist hung suspended in the air, as if frozen. The stone covered in markings from earlier had already toppled to one side, its surface patterns fractured, as though some force from below had split it apart.
I did not look at it again.
The protective talisman had shattered, and two spirit stones had been depleted. Only one remained against my chest, its warmth not yet gone. I knew it would not last much longer. I needed to find somewhere safe to settle as quickly as possible. The system said nothing and issued no new task, but I could sense that it was still running, like a well sunk deep within my consciousness, ready to stir at any moment.
I headed southwest.
The terrain there was slightly lower, with a gentle slope stretching outward. It was not like the east, which was covered in cracks and sinkholes. My right shoulder remained numb, while blood seeped from the wound on my left arm and dripped from my fingertips. I did not stop to bandage it. This was not the time.
Before I had gone a hundred paces, a low roar sounded in the distance.
The sound was deep and carried a tremor, rising from underground. I immediately crouched down and pressed my hand against the ground. I could feel that the vibration was coming from the northeast. When I looked up, the gray mist there churned slightly, as if something was approaching.
Holding my breath, I backed toward a massive boulder nearby. I had barely hidden myself when a bull-shaped beast charged out.
It was three times the size of an ordinary ox, its body blue-black, with a spiraling horn atop its head. White vapor blasted from its nostrils, and every landing sent broken stones jumping. It stopped where it was and turned in a half circle, its nose twitching as though it were sniffing for something.
I knew it had caught my scent.
Before it could react, I edged along the rock wall toward its rear flank. Its ears suddenly twitched, and it whipped its head toward me. I instantly lowered myself and squeezed into a crack. Its gaze swept over where I had been moments before, lingered for several breaths, then it charged onward.
I waited until it had completely left before emerging.
I continued west at a slower pace. Before each step, I tested whether the ground was stable, while keeping my ears alert to every sound around me. After walking for about half an hour, I came upon a pile of rubble mixed with withered vines and broken tree trunks. This might once have been woodland, but now only charred roots remained.
I had barely crossed the rubble when the wind above suddenly tightened.
I looked up to see a lizard with a wingspan nearly ten feet wide diving from the sky. Its wings gleamed dark green, and saliva dripped from its mouth. It did not attack directly. Instead, it circled overhead once, then snapped its tail and flung out a cloud of poisonous mist.
I immediately held my breath and rolled into a depression. The toxic mist hit the ground with a sizzling sound, turning the soil black and making it smoke. The lizard failed in its first dive, then landed on a stone pillar nearby. Its claws sank into the rock as its eyes fixed on where I was hiding.
The system suddenly spoke. "Don't move. Run when it reaches the highest point of its ascent."
I did not hesitate. I lay still on the ground. The lizard circled twice more, and on its third ascent, it climbed even higher. The instant it reached its peak, I sprang up and dashed toward a ravine diagonally ahead.
The wind howled behind me as it sensed something was wrong and dived at high speed. I threw myself into the ravine with all my strength. The moment I hit the ground, I rolled several times and did not stop until I slammed into the rock wall opposite me. A crash sounded overhead. The lizard had struck the ravine's edge, fallen down, and rolled over, unable to get back up for the moment.
I seized the chance to climb out of the ravine and continued onward.
The sky remained dim, making it impossible to tell day from night. My strength was fading, and my steps began to stagger. At last, mountain shadows appeared ahead. Their outlines were blurred, but I could make out a continuous mountain range. I quickened my pace, hoping to find somewhere sheltered.
Before I could reach the foot of the mountains, the ground suddenly shook.
A flock of eagle-like birds of prey took flight from the hillside. There were no fewer than ten of them, each as long as a human arm, with iron-black talons. They formed a fan in the air and bore down on me.
They flew quickly, and they did not charge in a straight line. Instead, they dove in turns, forming an encirclement. I had barely evaded the first wave when the second followed immediately, forcing me to keep dodging without any chance to escape.
The system prompted me again. "Hold your breath and lie flat. Sprint when they circle to their highest point."
I did as it said, lying flat and suppressing my breathing. The flock swept back and forth overhead, the vibrations of their cries making my eardrums ache. They flew higher and higher until, on their final circle, they nearly reached the top of my vision.
Now.
I sprang up and raced toward the densest part of the mountain shadows. The flock reacted and turned around, but they were already too far away. I rushed into an area thick with standing rocks, squeezed into a narrow crevice, and crouched down.
The flapping outside continued for a while before gradually fading away.
I leaned against the rock wall, gasping for breath. My entire body was soaked, and my lips were dry. The wound on my left arm had split open, bleeding even more heavily. I tore off a corner of my Daoist robe and wrapped it around the wound, not daring to linger.
As I continued onward, the terrain began to change. The ground became flatter, with more grass fragments scattered about. A trace of coolness filled the air. The mist ahead was thicker than elsewhere, milky white and slowly drifting, like condensed vapor that refused to disperse.
I stopped.
This mist did not seem naturally formed. It was too even, too quiet. Not even the wind stirred it in the slightest. I reached a hand into it, and the temperature immediately dropped, yet it was not biting cold. Instead, it felt comfortable.
The system spoke at that moment. "The spiritual energy here is stable. There are no hostile fluctuations. You may inspect it more closely."
I slowly approached the edge of the mist and crouched at the entrance. A patch of crystal fragments lay on the ground, each no larger than a fingernail. When I picked one up, I saw that it was completely transparent, with faint light flowing inside. This was no ordinary mineral, at least not any kind I had seen in the Primordial Wasteland.
I took another ten steps forward and entered the mist.
It was as though the world outside had been cut off. The sound of the wind was gone, but my heartbeat became clearer. The exhaustion in my body had not vanished, yet the agitation in my heart eased considerably, and even my breathing became smoother. The numbness in my right shoulder lessened, and my wounds no longer hurt as badly.
I stopped and looked around.
The mist was not especially thick. I could see the scenery within a dozen or so steps. Fine sand covered the ground, making no sound beneath my feet. Low slopes rose on both sides, covered in unknown plants with gray-green leaves and straight stems. Ahead, the valley stretched inward and widened the farther it went. In the distance, I could vaguely see a flat clearing at its center.
This place was suitable for staying.
I knew it without much thought. A place like this would not simply appear in the Primordial Wasteland. It had either been arranged by someone, or it had formed naturally and been protected by some force ever since. Either way, so long as it held no hostility, it was exactly what I needed now.
I touched the last spirit stone in my robes.
It was still warm, though less so than before. That meant the resources consumed by the system's protection had yet to be replenished, and I could not endure another crisis like the Chaotic Flow. But this valley, at least, had given me an opportunity.
I continued deeper inside.
The terrain gradually rose, then fell, until I finally reached the clearing. Mountains surrounded it on three sides, with only one entrance leading to the outside. The soil in the clearing was dark in color and soft beneath my feet, as though no one had set foot here for a long time, yet no weeds grew wildly over it.
I stood in the center and turned to examine the surroundings.
There were no traces of traps, no smell of blood, and no lingering fluctuations of spiritual power. The coolness in the air remained constant, as if it seeped up from underground. I tried sitting down, leaning my back against a flat stone, and closed my eyes to feel it.
The spiritual power within me was weak, but it circulated more smoothly than before. The pain from my wounds slowly lessened, and my mind gradually recovered as well.
This was the place I had been looking for.
I no longer hesitated. Even if stronger beasts broke into this place tomorrow, even if the system issued another difficult task the next second, I had to put down roots here. Without somewhere to settle, all cultivation was empty talk.
I opened my eyes and looked toward the valley entrance.
The milky-white mist curled gently like a curtain, separating the wasteland outside from this place. I rose to my feet, walked to the entrance, picked up several stones, and arranged them into simple warning markers on the ground. It was the most primitive method, but it was better than doing nothing.
Then I returned to the center of the clearing and sat down cross-legged.
I did not know when the sky had turned dark, or perhaps it had been dark from the beginning. I could not see the stars or the moon. Yet in this valley, for the first time, I did not feel as though I was running away.
I could stay.
I had to stay.
I took the spirit stone from my robes and placed it in my palm. It was still glowing. Though dimmer than before, it was enough to last for some time. As long as the system could still issue tasks, I could survive.
I stared at it for a long time.
Until an extremely faint sound reached my ears.
It was like someone stepping on a dry leaf.
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