A Silent Contest
A dull pain shot through his side with each breath, like an iron rod twisting between his ribs. Lu Yuan lay motionless in the darkness. The Soul Emperor's senses swept around the outside world repeatedly, slowly and carefully. Footsteps and shouts echoed through the ruins of the stone forest.
Where is Lin Xiao?
That muffled groan, the brief clash of weapons, followed by the fading roar of Soul Power... there are many possibilities. In the best-case scenario, he escaped. In the worst-case scenario, he fell.
Lu Yuan closed his eyes, suppressing his distracting thoughts.
We can't act rashly. Going out now would be suicide. The Soul Emperor's attention has been drawn away by Lin Xiao; exposing ourselves now would be a waste of an opportunity.
Rational takeover.
He checked himself first. He had 20% of his Soul Power left, barely enough to conceal his breathing. He might have a fracture in his side. He only had one Interference Ball left, Soul Marrow Essence was kept close to him, but he couldn't absorb it now—the fluctuations would be as conspicuous as a lighthouse.
Then, perceive the environment.
The crevice was narrow, and the entrance was half-hidden by rubble. After lying there for a while, he noticed a very faint cool breeze seeping out from the deeper darkness beside him.
There is airflow.
This means there might be a passageway.
He waited patiently. The search sounds outside shifted southeast, and the Soul Emperor's senses relaxed for a moment.
Right now.
Lu Yuan slowly turned to the side, supporting himself with his right arm, and inching closer to the source of the airflow. The gravel pressed against his wound, causing him pain so intense that his vision blurred. Five feet, ten feet... the crevice in the rocks tilted inward, becoming narrower and narrower.
The airflow has strengthened.
Moreover, the fluctuations in Soul Power here are exceptionally weak, as if shielded by a natural structure. He had similar records in his knowledge base from his previous life—certain special geological formations can create "silent zones" for Soul Power.
He stopped and groped his way forward.
The tentacles were loose pebbles. Pushing them aside, a downward-facing hole, just wide enough for one person to squeeze through, was revealed. A cool breeze rushed in, carrying the smell of earth.
Without hesitation.
Lu Yuan carefully stuffed the Soul Marrow Essence into his inner bag and placed it close to his body. Then, he took a deep breath, enduring the excruciating pain, and slowly squeezed his body into the hole. The rough rock wall scraped against his wounds, and he groaned, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
After descending about ten feet, the space suddenly widened.
This is a naturally formed, narrow cave, half-hidden by rubble above. The highest point is barely big enough to squat in, and the widest point is no more than three feet wide. The fluctuations of Soul Power are almost completely silent. Water seeps from one corner of the cave wall, forming a small pool of water.
An excellent hiding spot.
Lu Yuan leaned back in the innermost corner, letting out a long breath of foul air tinged with the smell of blood. Safe for now.
He took out his pocket watch and, by the faint light of the almost imperceptible Soul Marrow Essence, saw the dial. It was past midnight, and there was still a quarter of an hour before the latest rendezvous time he had agreed upon with Mo Chen —1:00 AM.
The rendezvous point was set at the edge of the rocky slope on the west side of the Thousand Needle Stone Forest, in a hidden crevice. Mo Chen waited there with a modified receiving rune. The agreement was that if they had not appeared by 1-3 AM, Mo Chen would activate the receiving rune to listen to the emergency channel.
You only have one chance.
Lu Yuan took out two thumb-sized, grayish-white stone pieces engraved with fine runes from his inner pocket. These were Mo Chen's creations, simple sensing runes. One was for sending, and the other for receiving. Their effective range was short, and they could only transmit the simplest pulse signal—alive, but had not arrived as planned.
He gripped the sending rune tightly, his fingertips icy cold.
The risk is very high. The rune stone's signal is weak, and it uses a specific frequency, but to Soul Emperor's level of perception, it's like striking a match in the dead of night. It could be detected.
But if they don't send a signal, Mo Chen and his team will keep waiting, which might expose them.
He stared at the second hand of his pocket watch, watching it tick by tick.
There are still 15 minutes left.
The Soul Emperor's angry shouts could be faintly heard from outside, urging his disciples to speed up the search. His voice was muffled through the rock layers, but his anxiety was palpable.
Lu Yuan's eyes were calm.
He adjusted his breathing, suppressing his Soul Power to a minimum. Then, he precisely injected a wisp of Soul Power into the sending rune stone.
The runes on the stone surface lit up for a very brief moment before extinguishing. A pulse of Soul Power, extremely weak and of a specific frequency, spread out and disappeared into the rock and the night.
It's done.
Lu Yuan immediately put the talisman back into his inner bag, held his breath, and focused all his senses to the limit.
Time passed second by second.
Outside, there was only the sound of the wind and distant search noises. The Soul Emperor's senses showed no unusual fluctuations.
He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but his heart was still pounding. The signal had been sent; would Mo Chen receive it? The distance was over three miles, separated by a complex stone forest and chaotic Soul Power; the success rate was less than 50%.
wait.
The only sounds in the cave were his suppressed breathing and the faint clicking of the second hand of his pocket watch. Water dripped from the rock wall, drop, drop.
Suddenly, the other receiving talisman he was holding against his chest emitted a very faint vibration.
Lu Yuan's body tensed instantly.
It wasn't an illusion. Immediately afterward, there were two more, intermittent but with a clear rhythm—the agreed-upon confirmation signals: received, acknowledged.
Mo Chen and the others found out.
A bit of pressure eased. At least, the rendezvous point wouldn't be in danger due to blindly waiting.
But before he could fully relax, Lu Yuan felt a sudden chill run down his spine!
Outside the cave, the immense and somber perception of the Soul Emperor once again swept across the area. This time, it was more meticulous and slow than ever before, carrying a cold scrutiny. The "edge" of the perception almost grazed the top of the cave entrance.
He instantly brought his breathing to a near standstill, and even his heartbeat seemed to be forcibly suppressed and slowed down. Every muscle in his body froze.
That perception lingered for three breaths.
Then, slowly move it away.
Lu Yuan still dared not move. Only after the oppressive feeling had completely disappeared, and after more than ten breaths, did he slowly inhale a wisp of cool air.
My inner shirt was soaked with cold sweat.
The wind carried the faint sound of human voices. It was the Soul Emperor's voice, filled with barely suppressed anger.
"... one got away..."
"... Search! Turn this entire stone forest upside down, we must find it..."
"... That thing... it must be on them..."
The sound faded away, but the determination within it was like a poisoned nail.
Lu Yuan leaned against the rock wall and closed his eyes.
One escaped. Is Lin Xiao still alive? There's too little information. But the Soul Emperor's anger is real, and the hunt is far from over.
He gripped the pocket watch again; the case was icy cold.
The hour of Chou (1-3 AM) has passed. There are less than two hours left until dawn.
The cave was pitch black. Silence enveloped him, and loneliness was like a tangible tide.
But the quiet fire in his eyes did not go out.
He's alive, the signal has been sent, and the rendezvous point knows. Lin Xiao might still be alive. The Soul Emperor is in the open, he's in the shadows. This game isn't over yet.
What needs to be done now is to wait for the next window of opportunity, treat the injuries, restore the Soul Power, and then find that tiny gap in this giant web that has been repeatedly combed.
He inhaled slowly, then exhaled slowly. Each breath brought a sharp pain in his ribs. The pain was clear and real, sharpening the edge of his mind.
In the darkness, time flowed slowly. But this time, the waiting was no longer entirely passive.