The fire crackled faintly behind them as they descended into the mountain's second throat.
The path narrowed quickly. Moss turned black. The walls pulsed faintly as if alive. They moved in silence, every footstep echoing like a drumbeat through hollow stone.
Suddenly, Feng Ruo let out a sharp gasp. Her foot had landed on a skeleton hand, its brittle bones cracking with a creepy, echoing snap that reverberated through the cavern. She froze, her face paling, and instinctively grabbed Shui Lin's arm tightly, her nails digging into his sleeve. "What was that?!" she whispered, her voice trembling with fear.
Shui Lin, startled but composed, glanced down. "Easy, Ruo it's just bones. Old ones." His eyes scanned the darkness, revealing more corpses and skeletons scattered across the path charred demon skin, melted bone, and strange claw marks on the walls, too large for mortals, too wild for discipline.
Huo Shan knelt beside the nearest body. "These are demon cultivators," he said grimly.
Shui Lin confirmed. "Soul Awakening Stage. Lower-level, but… this wasn't a battle. They were slaughtered. Torn from within."
A faint dripping sound echoed deeper.
They followed it.
It led to a narrow canal, about the width of a cart, but filled with thick, slowly moving blood not coagulated, but alive, humming with Qi. It flowed into the deeper shadows.
Ruo turned pale. "We're not seriously following that, right?"
Xuanye stepped forward without hesitation.
"Yes, we are."
They continued. Demonic glyphs appeared more frequently on the walls now ancient markings from beyond the Mortal Realms. Yuè Chányīn traced her fingers across one. "This isn't just a lair," she said. "It's a sacrificial path."
Suddenly, Xuanye halted. His eyes glowed faint silver.
"Stop," he said.
🔍 Xuanye's Vision: Spiritual Eyes Awakened
He pressed two fingers to his temple. A wave of pure consciousness rippled outward.
The world changed. The cave shifted into lines of structure and current. He could see beyond matter into soulstreams and intent residue.
"There's an ambush," he said. "Four demons behind the left wall. Two in the ceiling. One under the blood canal."
The team froze.
"How do you?" Shui Lin asked.
Xuanye's gaze didn't waver. "I'm not sure. But I see them."
Feilí said nothing. Her expression didn't change but she was already forming a seal behind her back.
"He's awakening," she thought. "Faster than expected."
Shui Lin raised a scroll.
"Twisting Silk Mirage Fivefold Projection!"
Five glowing figures ran in different directions, leaping from wall to wall.
The demons struck the illusions first then screamed as the team countered.
Yue Chányīn: "Echo Blade – Twin Petal Fracture."Huo Shan: "Stone Root Collapse Fist!"Feng Ruo: "Flame Lattice Spiral Net!"
Blood flew. Cries echoed. No mercy was given.
When it ended, the walls were painted anew.
They reached a split a pair of stone archways.
Xuanye paused. "We split here. Yue, Shui Lin, with me. Feilí, take the others."
Feilí frowned. "Young Master"
"We need to map both paths. If anything goes wrong, use the spirit thread."
Feilí nodded reluctantly. "As you command."
They separated.
To be continued...