Pulling Chestnuts from the Fire
Lu Yuan hesitated for only a moment.
In less than half a breath, the model in my mind worked frantically, and all known variables—the location of the explosion, the speed of the chaotic spread, the possible reaction time of the Cloud Mist Sect, and the remaining lifespan of the array plate—were instantly integrated. The conclusion jumped out, with a cold clarity.
The explosion and the ensuing chaos were both a crisis and a cover.
"Lin Xiao!" He lowered his voice, his tone as taut as a fully drawn bowstring, "Speed! I'll hold the array plate for thirty breaths!"
Lin Xiao didn't ask, or even look at him.
His amber pupils contracted sharply in the dim light, almost turning into vertical slits. His tongue unconsciously licked his canine teeth, and his figure, like a black lightning bolt skimming the ground, silently slid into the narrow crevice. His movement was so fast that only a wisp of wind remained.
Lu Yuan acted almost simultaneously.
He pressed his hands firmly against the humming, trembling array plate, no longer holding back his Soul Power, pouring it in like a flood. Veins bulged on his forehead, and his temples throbbed. The shaky pale golden halo was forcibly stabilized, and even barely expanded outward by half a foot, just enough to cover the entrance to the crevice.
The price was that cracks on the shattered Soul Marrow crystals spread visibly.
Like Spiderweb.
He stared at the pocket watch. The second hand ticked away, each tick striking a nerve.
The faintest digging sound came from the crack in the rock, mixed with the subtle ripples of Soul Power carefully parting the rock layers. Lin Xiao had clearly used some technique to minimize the noise. But in this completely violent Soul Power environment, any stable Soul Power operation was as conspicuous as a spark in the dark.
In the distance, the commotion caused by the explosion had not subsided; on the contrary, it seemed to be escalating. Shouts, hurried footsteps, and the sharp buzzing of some kind of Soul Tool activating could be heard intermittently through the stone forest. Most people's attention was indeed drawn to it.
But that's not all.
Ten breaths.
Lu Yuan felt his Soul Power draining away rapidly, like water from a burst water bag. The backlash from the array plate grew stronger and stronger, and the edges of the halo began to distort like water ripples. He gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white from the force.
Fifteen breaths.
A vague, probing fluctuation of Soul Power, like an invisible tide, slowly swept across the area from the southeast. The distance was still considerable, and the intensity was low, like a routine, cursory probe. Lu Yuan's heart skipped a beat, but his Soul Power output rhythm remained perfectly steady, even becoming more stable. He Simulation the natural fluctuations of the chaotic Soul Power around him, cleverly disguising the aura fluctuations in the stable area of the array plate as part of the environmental disturbance.
The probe wave swept over their heads, hesitated for a barely perceptible moment, and continued to ripple further away.
Twenty breaths.
The digging sounds from inside the crevice paused for a moment, followed by more careful and urgent rustling. Lin Xiao seemed to have encountered some trouble.
Cold sweat beaded on Lu Yuan's forehead. He diverted a sliver of his attention to sense the state of the pure Soul Power deep within the crevice—it had become active and restless, as if stimulated simultaneously by the external chaos and the internal excavation, and had begun to surge restlessly.
Twenty-five breaths.
"Hurry up..." he urged silently, his lips pressed into a straight line. The shattered Soul Marrow at the core of the array plate was already covered with fine cracks, its light dimmed like a candle flickering in the wind. The halo's range shrank to only cover three feet around him, and it shook violently, on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
In the distance, the faint probe wave returned!
This time, it was clearer and more purposeful. Like an invisible snake, it slithered along the ground, carefully sniffing out every anomaly. Its direction was heading in their direction!
Twenty-seven breaths.
Lu Yuan's pupils contracted. He suddenly poured most of his remaining Soul Power into the array plate in a desperate gamble!
Buzz--
The array plate emitted a mournful cry of unbearable strain, but its halo suddenly brightened for a moment before forcibly stabilizing. However, the cracks on the shattered crystals had already spread to the core.
Twenty-eight breaths.
The detection fluctuations approached within fifty feet. Lu Yuan could even "sense" the solidity and probing intent contained within that Soul Power, which belonged to the Soul Ancestor level. It wasn't Soul Emperor, but it was enough to detect them.
His left hand stealthily reached for his waist, where three crudely etched "Turbulence Talisman" made from scrap Soul Stone were tucked away. Their effects were unknown, and their power was questionable; they were byproducts of his previous deductions of the array plate. Now, they became his last resort.
Twenty-nine breaths.
A dark shadow flashed through the crevice!
Lin Xiao darted out like Gui Mei, clutching three objects tightly in his arms. The wind he created brushed against Lu Yuan's face, carrying a warm, cool, yet incredibly heavy aura.
Lu Yuan's gaze swept over them.
It was about the size of a fist, irregularly shaped, and its surface was as smooth and lustrous as the finest mutton-fat jade. Inside, a milky-white halo seemed to be alive, slowly flowing, and each fluctuation emitted a pure energy that soothed the meridians and invigorated the Soul Power. Even the slightest emanation of this energy caused the surrounding turbulent flow of Soul Power to give way slightly.
Soul Marrow Essence!
Almost at the same instant, the probe wave touched the edge of the array's halo.
Click.
A soft yet distinct cracking sound.
At the center of the array plate, the shard of crystal that carried the power of the Earth Vein Soul Marrow shattered completely, turning into dust.
The pale golden halo vanished silently, like a punctured bubble. The chaotic and violent Soul Power environment of the Thousand Needle Stone Forest instantly pressed in from all directions!
Lu Yuan groaned, feeling as if he had been suddenly thrown into a boiling pot of oil. Countless chaotic currents of Soul Power of different natures and violent conflicts tore at his body and Soul Power. His skin felt like it was being pricked by needles, and the circulation of Soul Power within his body immediately became sluggish.
Lin Xiao's situation was even worse. He had just unleashed his full power and rushed out, his Soul Power was in the transitional period between the exhaustion of old power and the generation of new power. The sudden change in the environment caused him to stagger, and the Soul Marrow Essence slipped from his grasp. He cursed under his breath and managed to steady himself, but his face turned noticeably pale for a moment.
"Walk!"
Lu Yuan shouted in a low, hoarse voice. Without even glancing at the broken array core, he grabbed the main components and stuffed them into his pocket. At the same time, he threw a "Turbulence Talisman" in the direction from which the detection wave was coming.
The rune shattered silently in mid-air, and a chaotic but weak disturbance of Soul Power erupted, like throwing a handful of sand into muddy water.
The effect is unknown, but the goal is to create confusion.
Without pausing, the two sped towards the rocky area to the northwest, following the evacuation route they had memorized.
The route was the result of three days of simulation, taking into account terrain cover, relatively weak areas of Soul Power turbulence, and blind spots of the Cloud Mist Sect patrol team. But at this moment, the Soul Power environment of the entire Stone Forest has become completely different from that in the simulation due to the explosion and chain reaction.
The originally marked "safe passage" is now a chaotic maelstrom of Soul Power. The predicted weak point may suddenly transform into a deadly vortex of Soul Power.
Lu Yuan pushed his Soul Power perception to its limit, his eyes fixed on the front, his brain processing environmental information at an unprecedented speed, constantly fine-tuning his running direction. Every step he took felt like walking on a knife's edge.
Lin Xiao followed closely behind him, half a body length to the side. The Soul Marrow Essence in his arms was carefully wrapped tightly with a specially made soul-sealing cloth and tucked into his inner pocket. He was extremely fast and agile, maintaining astonishing flexibility even in the environment of jagged rocks and rampant Soul Power.
However, the severity of the environment far exceeded expectations.
Before he had run a hundred feet, a previously calm but chaotic flow of Soul Power suddenly intensified and changed direction without warning, like an invisible whip lashing towards Lin Xiao's left arm!
Lin Xiao reacted extremely quickly, forcefully twisting his waist in an attempt to dodge. However, the speed and changes of the chaotic Soul Power flow completely defied common sense.
Sizzle!
The sleeve was instantly charred and torn. On the exposed outer side of the left forearm, a three-inch-long burn mark appeared on the skin, reddish-black with tiny sparks of electricity flashing and crackling at the edges.
A sharp, burning pain shot through Lin Xiao, causing his body to stiffen and him to groan. His speed inevitably slowed down slightly.
"Are you alright?" Lu Yuan asked without turning his head, his voice tense.
"I won't die!" Lin Xiao spat, his tongue licking his canine teeth, a fierce glint in his eyes. He sped up again, but his left arm was noticeably stiff. The violent attributes mixed in with the chaotic Soul Power not only caused flesh wounds but also seemed to have invaded his meridians, bringing continuous burning pain and numbness.
Misfortunes never come singly.
Behind them, the Soul Ancestor -level detection fluctuation, which had been temporarily disrupted by the "Turbulence Talisman," seemed to have locked onto something after a brief period of chaos. Instead of giving up, it attracted something even more terrifying.
A vast, profound, and overwhelmingly powerful Soul Power, like a mountain pressing down, rose from the depths of the stone forest without warning!
This perception was so clear, so oppressive, like a searchlight in the darkness, instantly illuminating a vast area. With a clear purpose, it began to sweep systematically, passing over rocks, ravines, and every possible hiding shadow. Wherever it passed, even the raging torrents of Soul Power seemed to be forcibly calmed for a moment.
Soul Emperor!
It was definitely a Soul Emperor -level expert who made the move!
Lu Yuan's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat. He could even feel that terrifying perception was rapidly eliminating interference and focusing on their direction.
It's locked.
"Speed up!" He uttered only two words, channeling all the remaining Soul Power in his body into his legs, increasing his speed. His lungs burned, and he tasted blood in his throat.
Lin Xiao also felt the suffocating pressure from behind, his amber vertical pupils shrinking to their limit. He no longer cared about the injury to his left arm, and pushed the speed of Agility Attack System Soul Master to the extreme, almost turning into a blurry afterimage.
The two fled for their lives amidst the raging torrents of Soul Power and jagged rocks. Behind them, the perception of a Soul Emperor level being grew ever closer and clearer, like a leech.
The chilling aura of death gripped my throat.