The edges of the crack slid past on both sides as we fell. Cold air rushed upward from the depths below.
Yue Lian gave a short cry of surprise, her arms tightening quickly around my neck.
A moment later my feet touched the stone stairs hidden inside the earth and the impact echoed faintly through the narrow space.
High above us, the narrow opening of the crack framed a patch of pale sky.
A face appeared there.
Bai Xia, leaning over the edge and looking down. Her eyes widened slightly, her expression resembling that of a startled cat.
"Wait!" she called down, her voice echoing. "Please wait, you need to be careful, my brother is coming too—"
But I was already moving while holding Yue Lian against me. My steps were quick and the next second darkness swallowed us almost immediately.
Tap
Tap
The stairs stretched downward in a long, straight line where traps appeared along the descent. My spiritual sense spread through the stairs ahead, reading the floor and walls before each step landed.
Pressure plates stood out as faint disruptions in the stone, where spiritual energy shifted unnaturally beneath the surface. Blade housings revealed themselves as small irregularities in the walls.
And I passed through them easily without slowing.
After some time, two separate paths appeared ahead of us, so I halted.
"Brother, why did we stop?" Yue Lian asked, her voice low in the stillness.
"There are two paths…. which way should we go?"
She glanced into the darkness. Her eyes carried a faint glow, " I think we should take the left one," she said.
"Left." Even after knowing that Yue Lian might be right, I studied both passages for a moment.
"Why?" I asked. "Are they different? What do you see?"
Yue Lian sighed, the kind of sigh when someone hands a series of tasks to a child.
She shook her head as if disappointed.
"Humph, you don't trust me."
Really, at a time like this.
Still she turned toward both openings, her gaze moving slowly between them. The faint glow in her eyes shifted as if trying to search for something.
"No difference," she said. "They are the same, only the flow of essence is disturbed in the left path, and it's giving me a familiar feeling that we should go that way."
"Does that mean someone has already passed through and disturbed the essence flow?"
"Yes, but hurry.. I want to see what kind of treasure there is."
( Chen Wu! )Who else could it be?
I made my decision and moved into the right passage at a pace that was no longer careful.
"What!?" Yue Lian said, anger in her voice.
"You took the wrong side, I told you to go to the left. You always do this, humph I won't talk to you anymore."
Nor do I want to, at least a good thing happened right after taking this route.
The corridor ran straight.
It opened into a chamber smaller than expected, its walls meeting in clean angles and on the far wall stood a door. Larger, with script covering it more densely, running in multiple directions at once.
I walked up to it and stopped a step away.
Then I placed my palm flat against its surface, and tried to push it open.
Suddenly, a laugh rang in our ears.
"Ah." Yue Lian covered hers. " Who is laughing so loudly?"
And the laughter stopped before an old and slightly hurried voice came.
"YOU ARE FINALLY HERE, COME IN, COME IN. LET US NOT WASTE ANY MORE TIME…"
The Door opened and in front of us a being appeared.
"Aaah, evil Ghost, evil ghost." Yue Lian cried.
I was even stunned for a second.
Meanwhile, at the edge of the crack, Bai Feng arrived at a measured walk. Three figures followed him, the two men from the tavern and between them an aged person moving calmly.
The old man's gaze swept over the scene.
Bai Xia standing slightly apart, her arms lowered at her sides, her expression holding something unreadable and restrained.
Bai Feng came to a stop beside her and looked down into the crack. "Don't be impatient, he is not going anywhere since this is the only way in and out," he said before turning his attention to the aged man.
"Master Tang, thank you for agreeing to assist us in this matter and as you can see."
Master Tang grunted and pointed at the two men before him. "Can't these disciples of mine handle this business? Why did I even train them then?"
Both men's faces fell at that.
Then master tang glanced sideways at Bai Feng.
"You yourself are at Foundation Establishment, so why do you need me?" His tone deepened. "Or… are you messing with me again."
"No.. Master Tang, why are you taking this the wrong way? How could I do that?" Bai Feng said without any defensiveness. "But what's below we don't know yet, and maybe it's dangerous, and requires someone at a higher realm cultivator like you." He paused. "And with respect you are the only Cultivator in our village who has ever reached the Core formation realm "
"Mm." The old man's face brightened after hearing compliments. "Brat, you are slowly becoming like your grandfather." And moved toward the rope. "Let's go. I don't intend to spend all day in a hole."
"Yes." Bai Feng waved at the guards who were in lines behind them, then glanced back at Bai Xia. "You, stay here and when someone—"
"I'm coming too," Bai Xia said flatly, already moving toward the rope.
"Wait, no, you don't even have a cultivation," he said and tried to stop her, but she resisted.
"What is wrong with you, I already promised you he will be your—"
Just then—
Master Tang cut him off with a wave of his hand. "Let her come. The women of the Bai tribe are not weak."
"But Master, she could get us into danger," Bai Feng said. Maybe he wasn't wrong.
"What could go wrong when I am there, or are you doubting my powers already?"
"No, it's not that, I'm just worried about—" but as he argued with Master Tang he turned to find that Bai Xia had already grabbed the rope and started descending into the crack.
He stared after her for a moment. What could he do now? Nothing and master Tang laughed behind him and so one by one they all followed her.
Inside—
Master Tang walked at the front of the Bai group, his hands clasped behind his back. His spiritual essence circulated through his body in a steady rhythm.
CLICK
A trap triggered without warning. In the same instant, Master Tang's spiritual essence surged outward. It formed a flat barrier across the passage.
Blades shot out from the walls and struck it. Then they fell to the floor with a series of clear, metallic sounds.
Everyone behind him passed through without incident.
Bai Feng looked at the blades on the floor, then at Master Tang's back. "Thank you, Master."
Master Tang only gave a small, irritated roll of his eyes, offering no reply.
And continued on.
The junction appeared ahead. Master Tang slowed for a brief moment, looking left, right and chose the left path without comment.
Bai Feng fell into step beside him.
"Master," he said after a suitable pause, "is it possible to determine a cultivator's realm just by observing them?"
Master Tang walked without answering immediately. "No, only if they tell you," he said eventually. "Or if you can examine their meridians directly, feel the structure of their spiritual essence pathways."
"Mm." Bai Feng was quiet for a moment. "I find myself very curious about his cultivation level."
From behind them one of the men spoke. "Master, when I threw the blade at him in the tavern, he deflected it with his open hand. Just his hand. Could that help us guess?"
Master Tang was quiet for longer this time.
"You said he was young," he said finally.
"Yes, Master."
Another pause. The tunnel moved around them, the lamp light shifting across the old stone walls.
"Foundation Establishment Peak, most likely," Master Tang said. "Talented. Exceptionally so, to achieve that at such an age."
Bai Feng said nothing, his eyes on Bai Xia who wore a worried expression as if something was missing in her heart.