The Silent Dawn

The Land Where the Spark First Ignited was eerily quiet.

The compass light shone in Shen Moxin all night, remaining perfectly still. On the third day after the evacuation began, the profound tranquility deep within the Black Stone Mountain Range had spread to the outer perimeter of the ruins. The energy pulses that had been emanating day and night from the vertical fissures had completely disappeared.

This unusual quiet made the surrounding forces even more uneasy.

The Cloud Mist Sect's temporary camp had been mostly emptied. Elder Wang stared at the desolate mountain shadows, his brows furrowed. The "Heavenly Might" pillar of light that had shaken the mountains just a few days ago was still vivid in his mind, followed by this all-encompassing silence.

"Elder, are we really leaving like this?" a disciple asked in a low voice.

"Let's go!" The Land Where the Spark First Ignited was so quiet you could hear the dust settling down.

Four days after the "Heavenly Might" pillar of light dissipated, the Black Stone Mountain Range fell completely silent. The fissures no longer pulsed, the Soul Beast no longer roared, and even the wind passing through the cracks in the rocks became cautious. This deathly silence was even more unsettling than the previous energy surge.

Elder Wang of the Cloud Mist Sect stood at the edge of the camp, gazing into the distance at the mountain shadows swallowed by the morning mist.

"Elder, are we really leaving like this?" a disciple behind him asked in a low voice.

"Stay put and die?" Elder Wang didn't even turn his head. "That place is eerie; we can't afford to go near it. Issue the order: everyone evacuate immediately and return to the sect. Report what happened here exactly as it is—don't add a single word."

Similar conversations were repeated among the various factions. Fear is contagious. That "divine might" was a warning, and the silence at this moment was the guillotine hanging overhead after that warning, waiting to fall at any moment.

That afternoon, the last group of treasure hunters disappeared on the outskirts of the Black Stone Mountain Range, leaving behind only trampled vegetation and a few cold ashes from campfires.

The mountains have returned to "nature." But within the ruins, another kind of silence is spreading—a waiting with heavy breaths and accumulating strength.

In the upper hall, experimental equipment and research data had been packed and sealed, leaving only a few items to maintain basic operations. The air smelled of herbs and dried ink.

Shi Jian checked the list with Su Yan.

"Is Box Number Three sealed?"

"Hmm." Su Yan nodded, pressing her finger against the wax seal on the box lid. "The rune lock is activated."

"Provide rations of dry food and water for fifteen days, plus a 20% redundancy."

"Li Wangye is taking inventory; he should be able to finish packaging it by evening."

Shi Jian crossed out an item and glanced around the hall. No one was slacking off, and no one was complaining. Everyone knew what they were doing.

Lu Yuan entrusted them with the tasks of "living" and "the future".

They have to catch it.

Shen Moxin sat on a stone platform in the corner, with a specially made soul-guiding compass and several observation records spread out in front of her. Her glasses reflected the constant faint light from the center of the compass.

The pointer stopped at an unknown mark. The connecting runes emitted a soft, constant pale green glow, unchanged for four days.

This in itself is a signal.

She picked up the charcoal pencil and wrote on the record page, "Day Four, Morning. The pointer shows no deviation. The light intensity of the connecting runes remains constant. Environmental Soul Power fluctuations: extremely low, approaching the natural background value. Speculation: The energy state inside the stone gate has reached a certain balance."

The pen paused, then added a small line, "No further signs of deterioration. Hope for survival... faint, but not extinguished."

She closed the notebook and let out a soft breath. Her fingers traced the cool metal casing of the compass. This faint light was the only clue she could grasp now.

Mo Chen walked out of the passage, his left arm in a sling across his chest, his face pale, but his eyes bright and calm.

"The same as always?" He glanced at the compass.

"Hmm." Shen Moxin nodded. "What about the wound?"

"He won't die." Mo Chen forced a smile, wincing in pain. "Li Wangye's medicine can only suppress the symptoms; eradicating it will require a slow and gradual process." He paused. "I've discussed the observation point with Elder Yun."

Shen Moxin raised her head.

"I left a concealed Soul Power beacon on each of the east and north sides of the ruins. I modified its structure so it can sustain itself for over a decade by absorbing free-floating Soul Power from the environment. Once a specific frequency of Soul Power fluctuation appears nearby—like Lu Yuan's, or the stone gate reopens—the beacon will activate and send a short pulse in the preset direction." Mo Chen spoke quickly. "I made three portable receivers, which we'll take with us. Elder Yun said he also has a way to sense them within a certain distance."

"He agreed?"

Mo Chen paused for a moment. "He said... 'It's good to have something to remember the memory of.' But he demanded the highest level of concealment and stringent trigger conditions. He preferred to miss it rather than risk a false alarm that could cause trouble."

Shen Moxin remained silent. This was already Yun Youzi's biggest concession. Rationally, they both knew that Lu Yuan's chances of survival were extremely slim. Behind that door lay Crevice Space of broken rules, a perilous place that even ancient sages had failed to conquer and seal off.

But beyond reason, there's always something else.

For example, the persistent light on this compass. For example, the energy environment of the ruins suddenly stabilizing.

When will everything be set up?

Before nightfall tonight, Su Yan and I went...

Be careful.

"Know."

Yun Youzi sat on a packed box not far away, his eyes closed, slowly turning a string of ancient prayer beads in his hand. The old man looked even older than a few days ago, a weariness that emanated from his very bones.

But he cannot fall.

Lu Yuan's final words, "Please, help everyone survive," were not just spoken to Shi Jian.

Yun Youzi opened his eyes, his cloudy gaze sweeping over every busy figure in the hall. Some of these young people were still injured, some had tears in their eyes, but not one of them stopped.

The seed of Spark has indeed been planted. And it has taken root deeper than he had anticipated.

He loosened his rosary and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket. It was a conjecture diagram he had drawn while researching the "Gate of Finality," with several possible related locations and speculations marked on it.

Lu Yuan went inside, carrying the Mutated Source Seed, to undergo a "calibration" whose outcome was unknown to anyone.

Yun Youzi didn't know if Lu Yuan could succeed, or even what "success" meant. But he knew this matter wasn't over. The existence of the "Gate of Finality," the truth behind the ancient experiments, the mystery of the Rule Shackles... the answers to these questions might lie behind that stone door.

He had to keep an eye on it. He needed to use the rest of his time, and the few remaining secret channels he had access to, to continue his investigation.

The old man carefully folded the parchment and put it back in his pocket. He then got up and walked to Shi Jian's side.

"Has the evacuation route been finalized?"

Shi Jian turned around respectfully and said, "Confirmed, Elder Yun. Following your directions, we'll first head northeast through the Black Stone Mountain Range, avoiding the main gathering areas of Soul Beast. Then we'll turn southeast, following the abandoned ancient trade route. In about ten days, we'll reach the outer edge of ' Sunken Mist Valley.' The terrain there is complex, the Soul Power environment is chaotic, and it's shrouded in natural mist year-round, making it sparsely populated. However, water and edible plants are relatively plentiful. It should be able to serve as a temporary foothold for some time."

Yun Youzi nodded slowly. "Sunken Mist Valley... is a good place to avoid trouble. Let's figure out what to do next once we get there." He paused, "Will Lin Xiao be able to hold on on the journey?"

A hint of worry crossed Shi Jian's face. "Li Wangye and Bai Zhi have been taking turns caring for him, and his condition has stabilized for the time being. However, he hasn't woken up yet. We can only carry him on a stretcher on the road, which will affect our speed."

"To be alive is a blessing." Yun Youzi sighed. "Let's go. We'll set off before dawn tomorrow. This place... is not safe to stay any longer."

Time passed silently and efficiently during the preparations. As the last rays of the setting sun shone through the gaps in the dome, casting long patches of light on the hall floor, the final batch of supplies was packed and loaded onto trucks.

The so-called "vehicles" were actually several simple sleds made from remnant parts and wood. They were bulky, but large enough to carry the heavy data boxes and supplies.

Shen Moxin put the compass into a specially made wooden box and placed it deep inside her personal bag. Mo Chen and Su Yan quietly returned before dark and nodded to her—the beacon was set up.

Night fell.

This was their last night in the "Land Where the Spark First Ignited".

There was no bonfire party, no farewell ceremony. Most people ate their dry rations and rested early against their luggage to conserve energy for the long trek the next day. But probably very few people were actually able to fall asleep.

Shen Moxin quietly got up, avoided the resting crowd, and walked towards a half-collapsed watchtower on the upper level of the ruins.

The night breeze was cool, carrying the desolate scent of early autumn. The Star Dou above was filled with stars, and the Milky Way stretched out like a ribbon, so clear it was almost extravagant.

She leaned against the cold stone wall, took out the wooden box, and opened it. The compass lay quietly inside, its needle still pointing, the faint green runes glowing so weakly yet so stubbornly under the starlight.

She looked at it for a long time.

Then he raised his head and looked at the dark mountain shadow that had swallowed the vertical fissure and the stone gate, his voice as soft as a dream.

"Everyone is ready... We'll leave here first thing tomorrow morning."

"Let's go to the valley that Elder Yun mentioned. The road might be difficult, but Shi Jian has planned it very carefully."

"Mo Chen left a beacon... very well hidden. He said, 'As long as you... can still get out, within a certain range, we might be able to find it.'"

She paused for a moment, the night breeze ruffling the stray hairs on her forehead.

"Lin Xiao is still unconscious, but his life has been saved. Li Wangye and Bai Zhi are taking good care of him. Su Yan... is still the same as before. Shi Jian has shouldered all the burdens. Elder Yun... his eyes haven't changed."

"We will all carry on with the ' Spark, ' just as you hoped."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"No matter where you are... or whether you can ever come back..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Because at that very moment, the compass she held in her hands, whose needle had been still for several days, suddenly trembled very slightly.

It wasn't a shift that could be clearly seen with the naked eye. It was just a slight, almost imperceptible, tremor, like the fluttering of butterfly wings, felt by the skin of my fingertips pressed against the metal casing.

Shen Moxin froze completely.

Her breath caught in her throat, and her blood seemed to rush to her head, only to freeze again in the next second. She stared intently at the compass, her eyes unblinking.

Then.

At the center of the compass, the rune representing the "connection status," which had only emitted a constant pale green glow for the past few days, suddenly brightened slightly.

It was a gentle, continuous increase in brightness, as if it possessed a vibrant life force. The color of that light... Shen Moxin would never mistake it. It was exactly the same as the pale green luster flowing deep within the veins of Lu Yuan's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul after its evolution, a luster imbued with vitality and primordial energy.

Shen Moxin suddenly raised her hand to cover her mouth. Hot tears welled up in her eyes without warning.

It's not a hallucination.

It's not a malfunction.

This light... this thrill...

She trembled, pressing the warm compass tightly against her heart. Raising her tearful eyes, she gazed once more towards the deep, dark mountains.

There, deep within the ruins, beneath the vertical rift, behind the closed "Gate of Finality," amidst endless chaos and fragments of rules, a faint "Spark," also shimmering with a pale green glow, is struggling, persistently, and brightly shining in the shattered spacetime.