Shi Meng’s body was trembling. It wasn’t the earlier spasms of joints being dislocated by the invasive restraint, but a deeper chill, seeping out from the marrow. He stood with his back to Lin Yi, facing the dark ant-tunnel they had come from. His broad shoulders were slightly hunched, as if pressed down by an invisible weight. Beneath his skin, the blackish-blue patterns were no longer wildly spreading thorns, but had transformed into a slow, rhythmic pulsing. One beat, then another, as if drawn by some distant, slumbering heart, pumping blood that did not belong to him. Lin Yi’s fingertips rested on the edge of the formation disk. The dark silver metal was icy and biting, its touch like a blade frozen for a millennium. Yet the ring of jade recesses at the core of the disk emitted an eerie warmth, even carrying a faint, pulsating rhythm in sync with a heartbeat. The jade pendant in his embrace was scalding hot, almost branding his skin through the fabric. He forced himself to look away, quickly scanning his surroundings. The dome-like cavern was high, with countless glistening stalactites hanging from the ceiling, their surfaces covered in a thick layer of moss that emitted a faint blue glow. The light was insufficient to illuminate everything, only casting a hazy halo around the central formation disk. The air was thick with the metallic stench of rust, mixed with the earthy smell of accumulated dust, and another note… a bitter, charred aftertaste similar to aged talisman paper being burned. Faint, yet lingering. He crouched down, tracing a broken formation line with his fingertip. The patterns were ancient, not the currently popular cloud-thunder seal script or spirit script. Their strokes were harder, with sharp, angular turns. He recognized a few of the remaining fragmented symbols — "Distant," "Gate," "Guide." They matched the records in those ancient, insect-eaten, nearly disintegrated manuscripts stored in the lowest level of his family's library. Legend had it that during the peak of the Lin family, they once mastered "gateways" connecting to certain hidden places. But this formation disk was too severely damaged. Over a third of the lines were violently torn, and the edges of the jade recesses were covered in fine cracks, as if struck by tremendous force. "Shi Meng," he spoke, his voice pressed extremely low, almost inaudible in the vast cavern, "This formation might work, but it's broken. No telling where it goes. How are you holding up?" Shi Meng did not turn around. His breathing was heavy and suppressed. His Adam's apple bobbed several times before he forced out words, his voice hoarse, unlike his own: "...This thing… is calling… the ghost inside me…" "It's not the earlier rampage… it's calling." He paused, as if searching for the right word, ultimately only repeating, "It's calling me. Like… like hearing a whistle from its own kind." Lin Yi’s fingertip unconsciously tapped the cold metal. *Thump.* The slight sound was especially clear in the silence. He stopped immediately, his gaze sharply sweeping over Shi Meng’s back. The pulsing of those blackish-blue patterns seemed to have accelerated slightly for a moment, following that faint tap. Not an illusion. This formation, or what remained of it, Shi Meng’s internal restraint, and the jade pendant in his own embrace formed a dangerous triad of resonance. The pendant was the key, the formation disk the keyhole, and Shi Meng… was like a probe forcibly inserted into the lock core, being twisted by the internal mechanisms of the keyhole. He calculated rapidly. Stay here? In the darkness of the ant-tunnel behind them, the rustling sound of many-legged crawling had never ceased. Instead, it was slowly, steadily drawing closer. The rhythm of the sound was strange — not the dense rustle of insects, but more like something heavy with many jointed limbs, patiently exploring the passage inch by inch. They had taken refuge here, but the entrance to the crystal fork-path was not hidden. Being found was only a matter of time. Activate the formation? The disk was damaged, the destination unknown. It could be an escape route, but it was more likely to hurl them directly into spatial turbulence, or some dead-end even more terrifying than the pursuers behind. Moreover, at the moment of activation, to what degree would the triple resonance between the formation, the pendant, and the restraint within Shi Meng reach? Would Shi Meng lose control on the spot? "Decide quickly…" Shi Meng’s voice cut through his thoughts, taut like a fully drawn bowstring. "The thing behind… is getting closer. I can smell it… the stench. It’s strong." Lin Yi took a Not based on a certain, meticulously analyzed confidence of victory—there was no such thing. It was based on a colder calculation: better to die in the unknown fog than under the fangs of a known threat. At least the former held a sliver of hope that "maybe it's different." "Get ready," he said in a low voice, no longer hesitating. His right hand gripped the scorching jade pendant inside his robe, his left braced against the edge of the array disc to steady himself. His movements were crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, as if he were not engaged in a potentially fatal gamble, but executing a long-calculated command. The moment the jade pendant left his lapel, its smooth, warm surface visibly steamed with a faint, white mist. The cracks around the groove seemed to come alive, greedily sucking in the faint light emanating from the pendant. Shi Meng let out a stifled groan, his body swaying violently, almost buckling to his knees. His hands clamped down on his own arms, knuckles white with strain. The dark, bluish-black patterns beneath his skin suddenly flared brightly, as if black blood were madly coursing beneath. Lin Yi pressed the jade pendant into the groove. At the moment of contact— Time seemed to freeze for a single frame. Then, white light exploded. This was no ordinary light, but a violent, physical torrent of spiritual power made manifest, possessing both weight and temperature. It erupted from the center of the array disc like a primordial beast finally shattering its cage after eons of imprisonment, unleashing a silent roar that tore at the soul. Lin Yi felt his vision utterly stripped away, leaving only a searing, pure white before his eyes. Immediately after, a tremendous impact slammed into his chest, hurling him backward like a dry leaf. He tumbled through the air, his eardrums pierced by a shrieking, high-pitched whine that was drowned out by the thunderous roar of shattering rock. *BOOM! CRACKLE—!* The entire domed cavern groaned and disintegrated. From above came the sharp shrieks of crystal breaking and falling, massive stalactites covered in phosphorescent moss crashing to the ground, shattering into countless sharp, faintly glowing fragments. The pain of his back slamming into hard rock wall forced a grunt from him, the air crushed from his lungs. He slid down the wall, curling on the ground, instinctively raising his arms to protect his head and face. Small stones and dust pattered against his arms and back, stinging even through his clothes. The intense light faded slightly, lingering afterimages dancing madly across his retinas, distorting everything he saw into twisted doubles. He forced his stinging, tear-filled eyes open, searching through the chaotic interplay of light, shadow, and the roar of collapse for that burly figure. "Shi Meng!" he shouted, his voice nearly lost in the immense ambient noise. The location of the array disc was now engulfed by a violently twisting, constantly erupting ball of light crackling with colored lightning. The ball was extremely unstable, its edges pulsing and warping, distorting the surrounding space so that light bent strangely as it passed. Jagged-edged, pitch-black fissures, flickering with serrated light, quietly bloomed, extended, and silently vanished in the air, on the ground, even on the surfaces of falling boulders, radiating from the light-ball's center. They were wounds in the very fabric of space, violently torn open and barely mended. Shi Meng lay in a corner less than three *zhang* from the array's light-ball, half-buried under several fallen rocks. He wasn't moving. Gritting his teeth, ignoring the pain that made his whole body feel shattered and the dancing lights in his vision, Lin Yi scrambled up on hands and knees, stumbling and lurching toward that spot. The ground's tremors grew increasingly violent, cracks spreading like a spider's web. Every step risked a misstep. A table-sized crystal slammed into the spot where he had just been curled, shattering with a deafening crash. The flying fragments grazed his calf, immediately opening a searing gash. He threw himself beside Shi Meng, pushing aside the rock pinning his leg with effort. Shi Meng's eyes were tightly shut, his face as pale as paper, his lips a strange, purplish-blue. The sleeve of his left arm was torn open by the chaotic spiritual currents, revealing the skin of his forearm densely covered in the bluish-black patterns, almost merging into a solid mass. They writhed slowly like living things, and from beneath the skin came faint, grating, teeth-setting sounds, as if his bones were being eroded and reshaped by those patterns. But he was still breathing. Faintly, but his chest still rose and fell. Lin Yi grabbed his intact right arm, He summoned his last ounce of strength, draped Stone Mighty’s right arm over his own neck, and hauled him up, half-carrying, half-dragging. Stone Mighty let out an unconscious groan, his left foot barely scraping the ground, offering a feeble bit of support. Dragging Stone Mighty with him, Lin Yi staggered forward toward the entrance to the crystal fork in the passage he remembered, navigating between collapsing caverns, tumbling debris, and the dark spatial fissures that sporadically tore open and sealed shut. Every step teetered on the brink of destruction. Without hesitation, Lin Yi pressed the jade pendant into the depression. In an instant, a blinding white light devoured the entire cavern. It wasn’t light—it was something more fundamental, violently torn open. A torrent of savage spiritual power roared forth from the depths of the array disk like a titanic beast breaking free from its cage, hurling him violently backward. He tumbled through the air, the world reduced to a sharp, deafening hum and the thunderous roar of shattering rock. The ground beneath his feet convulsed violently, as if he stood on ice about to crack. He crashed to the ground, sharp stones digging into his flesh. Distorted patches of light lingered in his vision. Struggling to rise, he saw the array disk’s glow had spiraled out of control. The dark silver patterns shone like red-hot branding irons, and the jade depression was frantically draining the last vestiges of spiritual essence from the pendant. The ceiling cracked open in a spiderweb of fissures; large embedded crystals plummeted down, striking the ground with dull, heavy thuds, shards flying everywhere. “Stone Mighty!” He shouted amidst the roaring chaos, his voice swallowed by the din. The figure in the corner was curled up, the blue-black patterns beneath his skin flickering like a dying heart. Lin Yi lunged over, grabbing Stone Mighty’s arm—it felt ice-cold, his muscles taut as a fully drawn bowstring. Stone Mighty jerked his head up. His eyes held no focus, only a hollow expanse scorched by agony. A guttural, rasping sound escaped his throat. His left hand, uncontrolled, clawed toward Lin Yi’s neck, knuckles twisted, the edges of his nails oozing blood. Lin Yi did not dodge. He met the hand, pressing Stone Mighty’s arm firmly against his own shoulder. “Hold on to me!” he roared, each word gritted through his teeth. “We’re leaving!” Stone Mighty’s body stiffened for an instant. Then, some more primal instinct overpowered the restlessness of the binding curse. He gasped raggedly, his right hand clenching tightly on Lin Yi’s shoulder, nails almost digging into the flesh beneath the fabric. Lin Yi dragged him, searching for a way out within the collapsing cavern. A spatial fissure silently unfolded ahead. It didn’t resemble a tear, but rather something being erased from existence, leaving behind a dark, slender gap whose edges shimmered with a distorted halo. The air at the fissure’s edge twisted faintly, exuding a chilling, heart-gripping aura. Lin Yi slammed to a halt. Loose stones skittered from under his feet, tumbling into that darkness without an echo. From behind came the thunderous sound of rock completely fracturing. He looked back. The corner where they had just been was now completely buried under fallen crystals. The glow of the array disk was fading, but the larger, awakened thing had not ceased—a deep, muffled rumbling rose from the earth’s depths, like the heartbeat of a colossal beast, growing faster and heavier. The cavern’s exit lay to the left. Originally a narrow fork in the ant-like passage, the rock wall there was now flaking away, revealing a deeper darkness beyond. Gritting his teeth, Lin Yi dragged Stone Mighty toward it, charging ahead. Stone Mighty’s left leg dragged slightly, each step accompanied by a suppressed grunt. They rushed into the side passage. The cavern behind them collapsed completely, massive stones sealing off their retreat. But the collapse did not stop—tremors traveled along the rock walls. Fine sand and pebbles rained down incessantly from above, stinging their faces. The side passage forked ahead, one branch ascending, the other descending. The jade pendant in his embrace had fallen silent. That faint sense of guidance was utterly gone, as if the earlier resonance had exhausted the last of its spiritual nature. Lin Yi halted, coughing violently, the taste of blood rising in his throat. Leaning against the slick, damp rock wall, he quickly scanned the two paths. The ascending fork was narrower, but the rock structure appeared relatively intact. The descending fork was wider, with a faint glimmer of light deep within, but the rock The passage suddenly widened, entering a natural rock chamber. This place was relatively sturdy, with no obvious cracks in the rock ceiling. Lin Yi put Shi Meng down and then slumped to the ground himself, his chest heaving violently. He tore open his collar to check his wounds — there were several gashes on his left shoulder and ribcage where the edges of the spatial fissures had grazed him, the flesh torn and curled back, but the bones and tendons were unharmed. More troublesome were his meridians. The spiritual energy shockwave from the array disk's explosion just now felt like countless fine needles piercing every limb and bone. With every breath, he could feel spiritual energy rampaging inside him, bringing a burning, prickling pain. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to adjust his breathing, trying to calm that restless energy. But it had little effect. He opened his eyes and looked at Shi Meng. The latter was leaning against the rock wall, his left arm hanging limply at his side. His sleeve was torn, and on the exposed forearm, those blue-black patterns had become so dense they almost merged into a single mass. The patterns wriggled slowly like living things, and a faint, grating sound, one that set teeth on edge, came from beneath the skin. "Can you still move?" Lin Yi asked, his voice so calm it felt foreign even to him. Shi Meng tried to lift his left arm. The arm rose only an inch before trembling violently. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He gritted his teeth, but ultimately gave up. He shook his head, his voice rough. "...Out of commission for now. The thing inside... is gnawing on the bone." Lin Yi silently took out the oilcloth bundle from his chest. Inside was the last remaining small half of a hardtack biscuit, smeared with dust and blood that had already turned black. He silently broke it, handing over the slightly larger half. Shi Meng looked at the grimy biscuit and didn't move. Lin Yi didn't urge him. He himself took small bites of his own small half. The biscuit was hard enough to grate against his teeth, its taste bitter like chewing sawdust. The sound of chewing seemed exceptionally loud in the silent rock chamber. After a long while, Shi Meng suddenly reached out, snatched the half biscuit, and without looking at it, stuffed the whole thing into his mouth, chewing forcefully, his Adam's apple bobbing violently. After finishing, he licked his chapped lips and muttered, "...Tastes awful." Lin Yi swallowed his last bite. The rough biscuit crumbs scraped down his esophagus, bringing a negligible sense of fullness. He tugged at the corner of his mouth in an expression that couldn't be called a smile. "Better than starving to death." There was no more conversation. But the act of sharing the last bit of food, of maintaining basic survival under the shadow of death, tore open a tiny yet real gap in this icy, hopeless extremity. They were not just fellow prisoners in suffering; they were also each other's only reference point to confirm they were "still alive" at this moment. Lin Yi leaned against the rock wall, listening intently for any sounds from outside. The thunderous roar of the collapse had faded into the distance, but another sound was now emerging — it was wind, or rather, some kind of flow similar to wind. It whistled through cracks in the rock, emitting a low, mournful sound, carrying with it a turbid odor: ancient dust, fresh blood, and also... a cold, faint, elusive scent of plum blossoms. His body stiffened slightly. That scent was too familiar. Three years ago, when his mother was gravely ill, the old plum tree in the courtyard bloomed with an exceptionally poignant beauty. She always had someone pick a few branches to place by her bedside, saying the cold fragrance made her feel better. Later, the plum tree withered, and the scent vanished. But now, it was back. Mixed with the scent of blood and dust, like a ghost that shouldn't exist. Lin Yi slowly moved to the edge of the rock chamber, where there were several narrow fissures offering a glimpse outside. He pressed close to one of them and looked out— The world had changed. The originally intricate but relatively stable ant-tunnel-like terrain was now completely unrecognizable. The ground was split open with numerous dark fissures, their edges shimmering with distorted halos, as if the earth had opened countless cold eyes. Visible, chaotic colored currents drifted in the air. These spiritual-energy-condensed ribbons slowly swirled, and wherever they touched the rock walls, scorch marks or frost immediately appeared on the stone surfaces. In the distance, high up on a rock wall, light flashed. It was a sword gleam. Pure, swift, carrying the cold, crisp essence of a winter plum in bloom. The sword light darted and weaved between several thick, After that, they ran into each other a few more times by the cold pond on the back mountain. She never asked about his injuries, nor did she mention her own circumstances. Each time, she would only leave behind a small pouch of dried herbs or wild berries. The last time they met was the night before she was dispatched to cleanse the rift at the Abyssal Ruins. She had said, "Lin Yi, if I can come back alive... I want to see just how far someone who refuses to accept their fate can go." The sword gleam suddenly faltered. A thick spatial rift silently unfurled before her, sealing off the path ahead. Immediately after, two more rifts split open to her left and right, like three giant claws closing in. The sword light shot upward in a desperate surge, attempting to break through from above— A fourth rift opened overhead. The sword light crashed into the edge of that darkness, like a moth plummeting into a spider's web. The light dimmed sharply, then burst apart into countless tiny, fragmented sparks, utterly devoured by the rift. The entire process was soundless. Only the chaotic spiritual energy in that small area seemed to stall for an instant. Then, everything returned to normal. Only that cold plum fragrance lingered for one last wisp amidst the bloody dust, before dissipating completely. Lin Yi's fingers dug into the edge of the rock crevice, sharp stone shards piercing beneath his fingernails, drawing beads of blood. He didn't feel the pain. His vision held nothing but that patch of darkness that had returned to deathly silence, and the final frame of the sword light's annihilation, playing over and over in his mind. His lips moved soundlessly. As if trying to call out a name, but his vocal cords seemed frozen, unable to produce any sound. A coppery, sweet taste surged up his throat, and he forcefully swallowed it back down. He closed his eyes, his fist clenched at his side until his knuckles turned white, the veins beneath his skin bulging starkly. A long time passed. Perhaps only a few breaths. When he opened his eyes again, the emptiness in their depths, scorched by pain, had settled into a cold, dead stillness. Like a deep winter's cold pond, its surface frozen over, with something darker churning beneath. Shi Meng had, at some point, also moved to the edge of the rock crevice. He followed Lin Yi's gaze, fell silent for a moment, then said gruffly, "...Gone." Lin Yi did not respond. "That sword technique," Shi Meng continued, his voice lowered as if stating an unimportant fact, "I saw it once. Three years ago, a small clan up north was wiped out, supposedly for refusing to hand over some 'Heaven's Gate Key.' Among the few who escaped, there was a woman who used that very technique. *Seven Folds of the Winter Plum*... At the time, she was carrying an infant, fighting her way out through a river of blood." He paused. "Later, I heard the infant died, and the woman went mad. Never thought... she was still alive. And had entered the secret realm." Lin Yi remained silent. But his fingertips began unconsciously tapping lightly against the rock wall, forming a unique, oppressive rhythm. *Tap. Tap-tap. Tap.* It was a quirk of his when thinking, and the only way he restrained some emotion threatening to spiral out of control. Outside the rock cavity, that low, mournful sound grew clearer and clearer. It no longer sounded like wind. It sounded more like the groan produced by some massive existence slowly moving, squeezing the air. Accompanying it were heavy, rhythmic vibrations—*Thud. Thud. Thud.* With each vibration, sand and pebbles rained down from the ceiling of the cavity. Shi Meng's face changed. "What is that?" he asked, his right hand instinctively reaching for the short blade at his waist—though it was utterly useless against spiritual energy turbulence. Lin Yi stopped tapping. He tilted his head, listening for a moment, then slowly stood up, brushing the dust from his clothes. "Don't know," he said, his voice frighteningly calm. "But it's getting closer. And... it's very hungry." He walked to the other side of the cavity, where a more concealed fissure led deeper into the darkness. He looked back at Shi Meng. "Can you walk?" Shi Meng gritted his teeth, using his right hand to push himself up from the ground, barely standing. His left arm still hung limp, but the feral ferocity had returned to his eyes. "Have to walk even if I can't," he spat, saliva tinged with blood. "Can't just wait to die." Lin Yi nodded. He entered the fissure first, Shi Meng following closely behind. The passage sloped downward, growing steeper and st At the end of the passage was a broader underground space. There were no signs of collapse here; the rock walls were intact, and the ground was level. In the center of the space stood a stone stele. The stele was carved from a pitch-black type of stone, its surface smooth as a mirror, reflecting the milky-white light seeping from the cracks in the ceiling. A few lines of text were carved onto the stele, not in ancient script, but in a more modern regular script. Yet the content made Lin Yi's blood nearly freeze. "Those who defy fate perish in the Eye of Heavenly Punishment." "Bloodline is the key; the one who opens the door dies." "Core of the secret realm activated—purification program initiated." "Survival rate: zero." Below the last four characters was a line of smaller text, as if carved later, the handwriting frantic and desperate, tinged with madness: "They have awakened. They are looking for the key. Run—" The characters stopped abruptly there. At the base of the stele lay a pool of dried, blackened blood. Beside it, a small jade pendant carved in the shape of a plum blossom had been discarded. Lin Yi recognized that pendant. Su Wanqing always kept it hidden deep inside her collar, never showing it to anyone. She said it was the only memento her mother had left her. Now, it was here. On the pendant's surface, an extremely faint, cold fragrance of plum blossoms still lingered. The air carried the smells of blood and the scorched odor of rock. Lin Yi leaned against the rock wall, every breath pulling at the wound between his ribs. Blood trickled from the scrape on his temple, sliding over his eyelid. He didn't wipe it away. His gaze was fixed on the shattered sky beyond the rock fissure. The once-stable dome of the secret realm now resembled a piece of cloth that had been kneaded repeatedly and then violently torn apart. A massive black fissure hung in the distance, its edges pulsing with ominous purple light. Smaller spatial cracks spread like a spiderweb, silently opening and closing, devouring light, rubble, and the occasional surviving streamer of spiritual energy. The ground continued to transmit dull, heavy tremors, as if some colossal creature were turning over deep underground. Was this the "Eye of Heavenly Punishment"? No. This was more like... the entire secret realm was inflamed, festering. Because of an invasive foreign object. He lowered his head, looking at his open palm. The searing pain from the moment the jade pendant had embedded itself into the recess, and the violent surge of spiritual energy from the array disk that had nearly torn his soul apart, still lingered in his palm. He was the one who had pressed it. For a slim, perhaps illusory, hope of getting out. This was what it had bought him. "Cough..." A suppressed cough came from beside him. Shi Meng was curled up on the other side of the fissure, his back turned. His left arm hung unnaturally. From his shoulder blade to his forearm, the skin was covered in a strange, bluish-black layer, resembling moss or some kind of living tattoo. The color was slowly writhing. With each writhing motion, Shi Meng's muscles tensed further, and broken, muffled groans were squeezed from his throat. Lin Yi didn't move. He listened to that sound as if it were some kind of timer. "...You saw it?" Shi Meng suddenly spoke, his voice terribly hoarse but unnervingly calm. He didn't turn around. Lin Yi's gaze returned to the fissure, to the void where the sword light had been extinguished. Only a few lingering strands of icy spiritual energy remained there, like the last breath of white vapor exhaled in winter. "I saw it," he said, his voice parched. "It was 'Cold Plum Reflecting Snow'," Shi Meng continued, each word seeming forced through clenched teeth. "The Su family girl... Su Wanqing's signature move. Her father used that same move back in the day to cripple three opponents of the same rank on the martial stage." Lin Yi's fingertips unconsciously dug into the cracks in the rock wall. Rough grit pierced beneath his nails. He knew. Of course he knew. That sword light was pure, aloof, carrying a chilling aura that kept others at a thousand paces, yet in the midst of desperation, it revealed an unyielding resilience. Just like her. "She shouldn't be here," Lin Yi said, more to himself. He had scanned the trial participant list; Su Wanqing wasn't on it. She should have been in the outer areas of the Lin family, doing the most inconspicuous menial work as a disciple, avoiding all the whirlpools. "Shouldn't?" Shi Meng finally turned his face. His expression was blank, only a fire bordering on numbness burning in "What if the 'Eye of Heavenly Punishment'... is a mechanism?" Lin Yi's fingertips began tapping lightly on his knee, unconsciously, with a suppressed rhythm. "A triggered clearance program targeting specific 'bloodlines' or 'marks.' What we activated wasn't a teleportation array, but an alarm. Or... a fuse." He raised his hand, pointing outside the rock crevice at the sky and earth madly tearing apart. "Look. The fissures aren't random. They're converging, contracting, and strangling towards specific areas. Those distant screams, the vanished spiritual fluctuations... aren't trial-takers being accidentally caught. They're being 'targeted.' Purged by this awakened secret realm, in its own way—spatial tearing—to 'cleanse.'" Shi Meng followed his finger. In the distance, a thick black fissure swept through a remnant stone forest like a giant serpent. Several panicked spiritual light points were silently swallowed and erased before they could even scream. "So that sword light..." Shi Meng's throat moved. "Was a mark." Lin Yi closed his eyes. When he opened them again, only a deep, unfathomable cold pool remained. "Su Wanqing might... share some connection with me. Bloodline, or... she's come into contact with a 'taboo' related to me. The jade pendant, or something else. Her sword technique, her spiritual signature... in the 'Eye of Heavenly Punishment's' identification system, she was judged as a 'target associated with a Fate-Defier' requiring clearance." He paused, his voice dropping even lower, almost a whisper. "And by activating the array, I personally sounded the alarm for her clearance." Dead silence filled the crevice. Only the faint, cloth-ripping sounds of fissures opening and closing outside, and the ceaseless, deep rumbling from the distant earth. Shi Meng suddenly laughed. A short, dry, utterly mirthless sound. "Ha. So we're not just stuck in this damn place waiting to die. We're also... bait? Or a virus?" "Both." Lin Yi said. He shifted, pulling at the wound under his ribs. A sharp pain made cold sweat bead on his forehead. Groping inside his robe, he pulled out the oilcloth bundle, now filthy and stained. He unwrapped it. Inside was only a small half-piece of hardtack, smeared with dark red bloodstains and gray dirt. The edges were already crumbling. He silently looked at the meager food, then, with relatively clean fingertips, carefully broke it into two halves. One slightly larger, with more dust. One slightly smaller, relatively intact. He offered the larger half to Shi Meng. Shi Meng didn't take it. He looked at the dirty biscuit, then up at Lin Yi's face. Lin Yi's expression was blank, only weariness and an almost cruel calm. The blood at his temple was still slowly seeping. "Last bit." Lin Yi said, his hand not withdrawing. "Eat. Need strength." "Strength for what?" Shi Meng asked, his voice hoarse. "Run? Where to? This damn place is riddled with fissures, and there are things drawn by the commotion, hiding who-knows-where." He tilted his head, listening. Far outside the crevice, there seemed to be a heavy, slow dragging sound, accompanied by the muffled crunch of rocks being crushed. Not the sound of fissures. Lin Yi heard it too. His pupils contracted slightly, but the hand holding the biscuit remained steady. "Wait to die, or try to find a way. Choose one." "Is there a way?" "Don't know." Lin Yi said honestly. "But the moment the array activated, the jade pendant and the array disk resonated... I 'felt' a direction. Not visual, but... a pull. Very faint, intermittent, pointing deep into this chaos." He pointed outside the crevice, towards the area most densely packed with fissures and mostragingwith chaotic spiritual currents. "Might be the array's true destination. Might be another trap. But staying here," he glanced at the increasingly active blue-black patterns on Shi Meng's left arm, "you won't last until morning. The 'things' outside will find us too." Shi Meng stared at him for a long time. Then, he suddenly reached out, snatched the half-piece of hardtack. Without looking, he shoved the whole thing into his mouth. He chewed forcefully, jaw muscles taut, Adam's apple bobbing violently as if swallowing gravel. Finished, he licked his dry, cracked, bleeding lips and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. "Tastes awful." he said. Lin Yi didn't speak. He picked up his own smaller half and carefully bit a corner. The biscuit was hard enough to grate teeth, turning into rough powder in his mouth Lin Yi tipped the last crumbs of the biscuit into his mouth and tucked away the oilcloth bundle. Leaning against the rock wall, he slowly straightened up. Every movement made all his wounds protest. He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging bloody energy, and looked at Shi Meng. "Can you walk?" Shi Meng pushed himself up with his right arm, testing it. His left arm still hung limp and powerless. He clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, trying to muster strength in his left arm. The blue-black patterns on it suddenly brightened for an instant, and a distinct, teeth-grating sound of bone grinding came from beneath the skin. Shi Meng grunted, his left arm jerking violently as his fingers actually managed to curl slightly. "... Won't die," he gasped, sweat pouring down his face. Lin Yi didn't ask further. He tore off a relatively clean strip from his own tattered hem, walked over to Shi Meng, squatted down, and carefully used the cloth strip to bind Shi Meng's limp left arm against his side, tying a tight knot. "Try not to move it. Stay close." He turned, facing the crevice exit. Outside lay the fractured earth, bizarrely illuminated by the violent spiritual energy, the silent, gaping spatial rifts that devoured everything, and the unknown, approaching heavy footsteps accompanied by sticky, slithering sounds. The secret realm was no longer a trial ground. It was a hunting ground. And they were the marked prey. Lin Yi took one last look in the direction where the sword light had vanished. It was empty now, only a lingering trace of an almost dissipated, icy plum blossom fragrance stubbornly clung to the bloody air. He closed his eyes, imprinting that void and that wisp of plum scent onto the back of his eyelids. When he opened them again, all emotion had been pressed into a deep pool, leaving only an ice-sealed resolve. "Let's go." He said in a low voice, bending down first and squeezing out of the relatively safe rock crevice. Survive. Stay alive. This was the only goal now, and the first mouthful of foundation—carrying the taste of rust and dust—that had to be swallowed on this bloody road of defying fate. Outside the crevice, a narrow spatial rift silently bloomed not far away, its edges flickering with distorted purple light. It illuminated the bloodstains not yet dry on Lin Yi's face and the cold, unquenchable fire in his eyes. Behind him, Shi Meng staggered to follow. Beneath the cloth binding his left arm, the blue-black patterns seemed to sense the denser, chaotic spiritual energy outside, wriggling more eagerly, more greedily. Under the skin, the faint sound of grinding bones quietly accelerated, like some evil countdown.