Underground

A few more days passed, and the gray bead grew to the size of a broad bean.

Long Tian could feel the change in it-the initial chill had given way to a gentle warmth, like a pebble warmed against the body, suspended in the center of his dantian and slowly turning. Whenever the Chaos Halo spilled out from the confluence point, the bead absorbed the lingering traces. A thin grayish-white halo appeared on its surface; it was no longer entirely gray, but had begun to take on a soft undertone like the first light of dawn.

He wasn't sure what to make of the bead. The handwritten copy mentioned nothing like it, and perhaps the missing portion at the end of his father's drawings had described the Origin Return Pearl. He called it the "Origin Return Pearl," and every night after tempering, he probed inside to check on it, like a farmer squatting at the edge of a field to inspect his crops.

Chen Hao noticed but didn't ask much. One late night, when Long Tian finished cultivating and opened his eyes, he merely said, "Your complexion looks better than last month, but there's a hurry in your eyes, like you're rushing down a road."

"Is there?"

"Yes." Chen Hao leaned against the windowsill with his arms folded. "I don't know what that bead is, but you've been holding back your breakthrough to the fourth ring for nearly ten days now. Keep putting it off, and the Soul Power in your body will stagnate. It's time to find a Soul Beast."

Long Tian was silent for a while, then nodded. "I know. But a suitable dual-attribute Soul Beast isn't easy to find. We were lucky to run into that Swamp Frog last time. If we have to make another long trip this time, it'll take more than half a month there and back. Won't Director Zhao get suspicious?"

"Going out Soul Hunting is a legitimate reason. Just report it to your teacher. The academy won't stop students from improving their cultivation." Chen Hao thought for a moment. "You can tell Teacher Bai straight out. She only handles teaching, not attendance."

The next day, Long Tian went to Teacher Bai and applied to go Soul Hunting, explaining that he had sensed he was at the limit of his fourth Soul Ring and needed to go out soon to hunt a suitable Soul Beast. Teacher Bai asked about the location and who was going with him. Long Tian said he was still looking through the records to decide on a specific target, so Teacher Bai approved a Soul Hunting leave permit, told him to be careful, and signed it.

That afternoon, Long Tian went to Old Chen's Blacksmith Shop and mentioned the Soul Hunt to Old Chen. Old Chen was forging a door bolt. His hammer paused in midair, then came down on the iron bar with a clang. "Fourth ring?"

"Almost. I need a Soul Beast."

Old Chen put down his hammer, wiped off his sweat, and led Long Tian into the small hut in the backyard. From a hidden compartment beneath the stove, he retrieved a small handwritten booklet. Its cover was frayed at the edges, and inside were several simple sketches of Soul Beasts with notes on their habitats. He turned to one page and pointed to a blurry charcoal drawing. "Look at this."

The drawing showed a palm-sized beetle, its back shell marked with interwoven black and white spirals. With its six legs tucked in, it looked like a smooth pebble. A few lines of small pencil writing beside it read: "Earth Marrow Light Beetle. Lives deep in the old city's foundation layer. Feeds on traces of Soul Power in underground rivers. Light and darkness coexist in its back shell; its Soul Ring has dual attributes. Age: approximately four to seven hundred years."

Long Tian took the booklet and studied the pencil marks. The writing had faded somewhat, but the important details were legible-the Earth Marrow Light Beetle lived deep in the old city's foundation layer, precisely within the area reached by the passage from the old well.

"Weren't you planning to scout out that stronghold?" Old Chen put the booklet away in the hidden compartment. "It's on the way. Find the beetle, absorb its Soul Ring, then scout the route. Get it all done in one trip."

When Long Tian returned to the dormitory, Chen Hao was waiting. Long Tian told him what was in the booklet. Zhao Xiaopang was listening nearby, and when Long Tian finished, he raised a hand. "What about me? Am I going too?"

"You stay at the academy and cover for us," Long Tian said. "If anyone asks where the two of us went, just say we took leave to go Soul Hunting in the nearby mountains. Be vague about the exact location."

Zhao Xiaopang patted his chest. "Don't worry. I might not have any other skills, but I know a thing or two about fooling people."

That night, Long Tian prepared everything he needed for the descent: rope, a fire starter, insect-repelling powder, dry rations, and water. Chen Hao packed a small bundle as well. After midnight, the two slipped silently out through the dormitory's side door, crossed the quiet streets, and made their way to the old well behind the abandoned vegetable market.

Clouds covered most of the autumn moon, and weeds rustled in the wind. Long Tian crouched and heaved the bluestone slab aside, exposing the pitch-black well mouth. A stale chill rose from it, stronger than last time and carrying the dampness peculiar to the earth below. He tied one end of the rope to the root of a sturdy dead tree beside the well, threw the other end down, and went first, slowly lowering himself along the wall.

Moss covered most of the well's brickwork, and some of it had come loose and fallen away. He descended nearly two or three zhang before finding an opening in the side-a gap left by a loosened bluestone brick, just wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. He turned and slipped inside, his feet landing on solid ground. The moment the fire starter lit, the passage through the old city's foundation layer appeared before him. Its arched ceiling was built of bluestone bricks and stood roughly one and a half people high. Chisel marks from a hundred years ago remained on both walls, and the floor was packed yellow earth mixed with broken roof tiles.

Chen Hao crawled in after him, and the two stood in the passage. The fire starter illuminated cobwebbed, dust-covered outlines within a few paces. The passage stretched south, and they could just make out a bend at the far end.

Long Tian led the way, with Chen Hao bringing up the rear, as they headed south along the passage. Their feet occasionally struck broken bricks, and the sounds bounced back and forth through the archway, traveling far before drifting back. After they had walked for about the time it took an incense stick to burn, the passage turned several times and gradually sloped downward. The air grew damper, and they could faintly hear the soft patter of dripping water in the distance.

Chen Hao suddenly tugged at Long Tian's sleeve and pointed to the left wall. A small patch of damp earth there bore several sets of closely spaced insect footprints, each the size of a fingernail, neatly arranged and winding from the base of the wall deeper into the passage. Long Tian crouched for a closer look. The tracks were intermittent, and a faint, phosphorescent glow lingered here and there in hollows in the earth, with traces of the black and white spirals on the back shell barely discernible.

Earth Marrow Light Beetles. They were active in this area.

The two softened their footsteps and followed the tracks for several dozen paces. A small side chamber appeared in the wall of the passage, seemingly an auxiliary shelter belonging to an old air-raid shelter. Fallen earth blocked most of its entrance, leaving only a narrow gap. Long Tian tilted his head and listened. From deep within the gap came a faint, delicate, rhythmic buzzing, like a small insect burrowing through damp earth.

He activated Shadow Vision, and his gaze pierced the darkness beyond the gap. He saw a palm-sized beetle, the black and white spirals on its back shell giving off a soft glow in the gloom. Its head was buried as it gnawed on tiny Soul Power crystals exposed in the earth, its six legs trembling slightly, wholly unaware that anyone had approached.

Long Tian turned sideways and squeezed through the narrow gap into the chamber, moving so lightly that even the loose dirt beneath his feet made hardly a sound. He stopped three paces behind the beetle, gathered strength in his right palm, and fixed his gaze on the shallow seam where its back shell met its abdomen. That was the thinnest part of its shell.

His palm struck-hidden force wrapped in the wind of the blow slipped precisely into the shallow seam. The Earth Marrow Light Beetle shuddered violently. The black and white spirals on its back shell lit up for an instant, then faded. Its six legs curled inward, and it moved no more.

A black-and-white Soul Ring slowly rose from its curled body, its gentle, mixed light flowing through the dim chamber. Long Tian sat cross-legged, reached out to press his hand against the Soul Ring, and drew its Soul Power into his body. The instant the fourth stream of power surged into his dantian, his three old Soul Rings lit up at once. The Origin Return Pearl trembled slightly in the center, and the Chaos Halo began to circulate of its own accord, enveloping the newly arrived power. The dull pain of fusion lasted only a few breaths before the halo's rotation dispelled most of it. The fourth Soul Ring formed steadily beneath the original three, its black and white distinct, fine new patterns spreading across its inner surface.

The whole process had taken no more than half a shichen. When Long Tian opened his eyes, he looked down to see all four Soul Rings revolving beneath him, their blended light joining into a warm halo like a small lamp in the dim chamber. He withdrew his Soul Rings, stood, and loosened his limbs. His Soul Power was abundant, his meridians were clear, and his dantian felt fuller and more harmonious than before.

Chen Hao stood guard at the chamber entrance. Seeing him come out, he nodded. "Fourth ring."

"Mm." Long Tian rolled his shoulders and glanced deeper into the passage. The farther south it went, the lower the ground descended, and the dampness and earthy smell in the air mingled into an indescribably stuffy, murky odor. He knew that if they continued south along this route for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, they would reach the Iron Guard's iron door with its five-ring restriction.

"Let's head back first," he said. "Today was just to scout the route. We only need to remember the passage. We'll come back to the iron door another day."

The two retraced their steps. By the time they climbed the rope out of the well, the horizon was already beginning to pale. Long Tian replaced the bluestone slab and concealed its edges with weeds, then hurried through the streets and alleys with Chen Hao back to the academy. The dormitory building's lights were still out. Zhao Xiaopang had tucked a note into the gap in their door, with "All is well" written in large characters and a crooked star drawn underneath.

Long Tian put the note away. By the time he lay back down in bed, the sky was growing light. He closed his eyes and sank into his dantian for a look. Four Soul Rings lay quietly in order, the Origin Return Pearl hung in the center, slowly turning, and the Chaos Halo spun ceaselessly at the confluence point. He touched the bead. It was a little warmer than before, and the grayish-white halo on its surface seemed a tiny bit thicker.

He withdrew his Soul Power and came back out, then pulled the blanket tight around himself and turned over. The underground passage unfolded in his mind: the farther south it went, the deeper and darker it became, and the iron door at its end shut in whatever lay behind it. He clenched his fist and relaxed it again, feeling the abundant Soul Power brought by his fourth ring flowing through his meridians.

Soon, he thought. Just a little farther, and I'll be able to touch the edge of that door.

Outside the window, the sky brightened. Morning light seeped through a crack in the window, drawing a thin golden line across the floor.