Darkness.
A viscous, primordial darkness, devoid of a single ray of light or a single sound. This was Tran Kien's first sensation upon opening his eyes. He did not know where he was; he could only sense an absolute stillness and an ancient, damp aura enveloping him.
He was lying upon a cold, dry stone floor. The air was breathable.
"Cough... cough..."
The feeble, dry coughing of Trinh Cong and Ly Tin rang out nearby, shattering the silence. Then, a small spark flared to life, illuminating the surrounding space. It was Uncle Sword, who had ignited a basic Fire Talisman for illumination.
Under the flickering firelight, the surrounding scene gradually revealed itself. They were inside a colossal man-made tunnel. The ceiling soared to a height of over five zhang. The walls on either side were constructed from massive bluestone blocks, stacked together with absolute precision and stability. Upon the surface of the stones, the chisel marks of the ancients could still be seen. Beneath their feet lay a spacious stone path, bisected by a small channel where the waters of the No River flowed in, drifting sluggishly forward into the depths of the darkness.
This was no natural fissure. This was a magnificent construct built in antiquity, hidden deep beneath the bottom of the Dragon Gate Gorge. An Ancient Waterway!
"We... we actually escaped?" Lam Vy stammered. Her petite face was still pale from lingering terror, yet a miraculous glint of survival shone within her eyes.
"Indeed, we have escaped," Uncle Sword replied, his voice laced with exhaustion. The void sphere formed by his sword intent, along with that final strike to seal the tunnel entrance, had severely depleted his heartforce. He looked toward Tran Kien, his eyes revealing unconcealed admiration. "Tran Kien, your final gambit was something even I could not have anticipated. To personally destroy our path of survival in order to forge an entirely new one. Audacious! Truly, utterly audacious!"
Ly Tin and Trinh Cong also gazed at Tran Kien, their eyes brimming with reverence. The silver-armored general no longer harbored a shred of doubt. This young man possessed not only profound schemes and calculation, but also a terrifying degree of courage and decisiveness.
Tran Kien could only force a bitter smile as he struggled to sit up. The impact from shattering the raft and the crushing pressure of the river currents had left his entire body aching as if he had been torn apart. "It was merely a lucky gamble. If this Ancient Waterway had not existed at the bottom of the river, I am afraid all of us would have..."
"It was not luck," Uncle Sword shook his head. "In those ancient tomes, you must have read the fragmented legends of the grand hydraulic works of the ancient Lac Viet people—projects designed not only to control floods but also to create secret passages. You were not gambling on luck; you were gambling on the wisdom and greatness of our ancestors. And you won."
They did not rush to press onward. This place was incredibly secure. The group sat down to rest and regulate their breathing to heal their internal injuries. Tran Kien also retrieved the fragment of the Sun Guardian, using his Primordial Chaos Qi to nourish it, while simultaneously borrowing its bright, righteous aura to mend the damaged meridians within his body.
After about a shichen had passed, once everyone had recovered to some extent, they finally began to venture deeper into the Ancient Waterway.
The stone path was flat and seemingly endless. The deeper they advanced, the more they felt the sheer majesty of this construct. Upon the stone walls on either side, ancient murals would occasionally appear. They were painted using a special mineral pigment that had not faded even after a thousand years.
The murals depicted a saga.
The first mural showed the ancient Lac Viet people, clad in animal pelt loincloths, fighting together against a colossal nine-headed aquatic beast—much like the legendary Fish Demon. The second mural portrayed them using rudimentary tools to carve through mountains and dam rivers. The third illustrated the very construction of this Ancient Waterway. And the final mural depicted the Lac Viet people standing atop a grand altar. In the center was a sun-shaped array formation. They had their heads raised toward the azure sky, seemingly conducting some form of grand ritual.
"Is this... the history of our ancestors?" Lam Vy exclaimed in awe.
"It is more than just history," Tran Kien said, his gaze fixed intensely upon the final mural. "It is a clue. The forebears who built this Ancient Waterway did not do so merely to create an escape route. They were leading us somewhere. A place of paramount importance."
They continued forward. Finally, after passing through a bend, a much vaster space opened up before them. This was no longer a tunnel; it was a sprawling subterranean grand hall.
In the very center of the hall sat a massive bluestone altar, identical to the one in the mural. Upon the altar, complex grooves were deeply carved into the stone surface, forming a familiar diagram.
It was the Lac Viet Grand Heavenly Formation!
But this was no mere drawing. This was a true array base! At the core of the formation, right where the Sun Guardian was meant to be placed, sat an empty stone pedestal. Surrounding it were countless ancient Magus scripts, recording heart-law incantations that had long been lost to the world!
Everyone stood dumbfounded, their hearts pounding like war drums.
They had found it!
This was no Shaman's tomb. It was a true holy land of the ancient Lac Viet people!
"Hurry!" Tran Kien was the first to react. He frantically dashed up the altar, desperately trying to memorize every phrase, every word of the heart-law incantations.
But the moment his foot touched the altar, an unforeseen event occurred.
Buzz!
The entire array formation upon the altar suddenly flared with brilliant light. The fragment of the Sun Guardian in Tran Kien's robes, the Magus map, and the Lac Bird clay shard in Lam Vy's hands simultaneously flew out, hovering in mid-air.
The three relics radiated a resplendent glow, casting their light upon the empty stone pedestal at the center.
An ancient, majestic, and desolate aura slowly began to awaken.
The earth started to tremble. The entire subterranean hall seemed to be coming back to life.
"What... what is happening?!" Ly Tin cried out in alarm.
"It is a self-defense formation!" Uncle Sword roared, his expression exceedingly grim. "It has sensed the appearance of the tokens! The ruins are opening! Everyone, be on your guard!"
At that exact moment, from the four corners of the grand hall, four massive stone doors—which they had not even noticed previously—slowly ground open.
Standing silently within the four doorways were four figures, still as stone statues. They were clad in ancient bronze battle armor, their bodies covered in the dust of ages.
Then, all four figures opened their eyes in unison.
Within those eyes, there was no life. There was only a melancholic, emerald-green flame blazing intensely.
The guardians of the holy land... had awakened.