The air in the passageway tasted of rust and dust. Each breath scraped against his lungs like sandpaper. Lin Yi leaned against the cold stone wall; the throbbing pain in his left arm had settled into a persistent, low hum embedded deep within the bone. His gaze was fixed on the motionless figure a few steps away. Mo Chen faced the depths of the passage, towards that darkness that devoured light, utterly still. The hem of his robe was stained with dried, dark red and pale gray dust that had drifted from the collapsed sections. He had maintained this posture for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Silence clung to the three of them like a sodden shroud. Shi Meng crouched on the other side, his thick fingers unconsciously picking at the cracks in the shattered stone tiles on the ground. He occasionally glanced up at Lin Yi, his eyes heavy with a caged, restless anxiety. From the far end of the passageway—the direction belonging to Patriarch Xuanyin—came an extremely faint ripple of spiritual power. Not an attack, but a probe. Like a spider repeatedly testing the edge of its web, patient, cold, pervasive. Fine grit and pebbles occasionally trickled down from above with a rustling sound. The structure of the passage was deteriorating continuously; a deep, unnerving groan seeped from the heart of the rock. Lin Yi knew they couldn't afford to wait. A sharp pain shot through his ribs. He ignored it, pushing off the wall to stand. His knees felt weak, but he steadied himself. Blood rushed to his feet, then surged back to his head with a heavy thud of his heart. He walked to a spot three steps behind Mo Chen and stopped. His voice echoed in the narrow space, dry but clear. Mo Chen's back showed no change, not even a shift in the folds of his robe. Lin Yi's fingertips began a light, rhythmic tap against the outside of his thigh. One, two, establishing a steady, pressing beat. He stared at the exposed, pale skin on the back of Mo Chen's neck. He slowed his speech, each word seeming squeezed from between his teeth, yet unnervingly calm. "But fear is useless. Hiding here, waiting for the rocks above to crush us, or for Xuanyin to draw his net tight—that's not a way out. That's waiting for death." Lin Yi's gaze swept past Shi Meng and settled back on Mo Chen. "That path everyone says shouldn't be taken... I've chosen it." He paused, his Adam's apple bobbing. "I don't ask you to come with me. I only ask... that you don't stand in my way." The silence in the passage suddenly gained weight. The air grew thinner, as if something had been sucked out of it. That ripple of spiritual power from Xuanyin's direction seemed to stall for half a breath. It wasn't a turn, just the slightest dip of his left shoulder. Then, he raised his right hand—that hand was gaunt, knuckles prominent—and with his index finger, drew a single line in the dust-covered ground beside him. Lin Yi stared at that line. It was like a boundary, a verdict, or the simplest of answers: *No.* His tapping fingers stilled. His heart slammed once, heavily, against his ribs, bringing a brief ringing in his ears. "Master," his voice dropped even lower, almost a whisper, "three years ago, during the Heaven-Bestowed Ceremony, when that 'Heaven's Punishment' struck down... you were by the Cold Pool in the back mountains, watching me." Mo Chen's spine stiffened abruptly. It lasted only a moment, but Lin Yi caught it. It was the rigidity of one struck in a vital spot. "You didn't speak then," Lin Yi continued, his pace as steady as if stating a fact. "But your fingers inside your sleeve dug into your palm until it bled. I saw the blood drip onto the grass." He paused, letting the weight of those words sink in. "Did you already know then... that it was never Heaven's Punishment at all?" A long, suffocating silence followed. Only the groaning from deep within the rock intensified, like some great beast awakening. Shi Meng held his breath, eyes wide. Mo Chen turned. Slowly, agonizingly slowly. His face in the dim light resembled a weathered stone statue. Wrinkles were etched deep, his eyes seemed clouded, but deep within them was something sharp, like a blade buried in ashes. He looked at Lin Yi for a long, long time. Then, he raised his hand. Not to write, but to point—at Lin Yi's chest. The left side, over his heart. Then, he closed his fingers into a fist and made a crushing gesture. Lin Yi's breath Lin Yi sat cross-legged. The cold, rough sensation of the ground seeped through his thin clothing. He closed his eyes, turning his vision inward. The pitiful amount of spiritual power in his dantian was like a muddy puddle about to dry up, pathetically weak. The "Mark of Theft" on his left arm lay dormant, its dark golden patterns glowing faintly beneath his skin, carrying a dangerous, enticing warmth. He reached into his robe, his fingertips brushing against a small, cold, hard object. He took it out and laid it flat on his palm. A grey-black pebble. Unremarkable, its surface rough, like one picked up casually from a riverbank. Yun Zhi had stuffed it into his hand the last time they parted. She had smiled lazily then, her fingertip tracing lightly across his palm. "Keep it, kid. In case you stir up a heaven-shattering trouble, when you're truly cornered... try feeding it a bit of spiritual power, and add a drop of your blood. But remember, if you use it, you owe me. The price... we'll talk about it then." Price. Lin Yi mulled over the word. What he least lacked right now was debt. He hesitated no longer. He mobilized the puddle-like spiritual power in his dantian, painstakingly drawing out a wisp and channeling it into the pebble. He pushed harder. The thin stream of spiritual power became intermittent, and a parched, stinging pain traveled through his meridians. Cold sweat beaded on his temples. "Not right..." he muttered, forcing himself to stay calm. Yun Zhi's words replayed in his mind. *"Feed it a bit of spiritual power, and add a drop of your blood."* The order? Or the method? He opened his eyes, staring at the pebble. Suddenly, he noticed an extremely minute depression on its surface, irregularly shaped—like a natural formation, yet also like... a faint mark. He remembered the sensation of Yun Zhi's fingertip tracing his palm. Biting his tongue was too risky. He raised the index finger of his right hand to his teeth and bit down hard. A sharp sting. The taste of salt and iron spread in his mouth. A bead of blood welled up, dripped, and landed precisely in that depression. The blood bead did not slide off but was absorbed. A faint ripple appeared on the pebble's surface, like a drop of water falling into still lake. Immediately after, the wisp of spiritual power Lin Yi had injected seemed to activate, beginning to circulate along some complex internal path within the pebble, emitting a faint, almost inaudible hum. The hum gradually stabilized, transforming into a low vibration transmitted through his palm. The grey-black color on the pebble's surface began to fade, revealing a translucent, jade-like material underneath, with fine threads of light flowing within. The threads of light grew brighter and brighter, finally projecting a palm-sized, flickering, blurry screen of light about three inches above the pebble's surface. The light screen was highly unstable, its edges distorted like water ripples, emitting a crackling static. Lin Yi's heart gave a heavy thump. He immediately leaned close to the light screen, speaking rapidly in the lowest possible voice: "This is Lin Yi, trapped in the deep eastern passage of the ancient ruin 'Eye of the Returning Abyss,' Xuan Yin is blocking the way. Need external support to coordinate. Objective: create chaos, assist in breakout. Known partial Xuan Yin outer perimeter deployment near 'Dragon-Breaking Stone.' Reply to this mark." The light screen flickered violently several times. The sound of his voice was compressed into a distorted stream of light and vanished into the center of the screen. Almost simultaneously, he felt an extremely subtle yet malevolent divine sense sweep over the area. From the other end of the passage. Had Xuan Yin detected it? Or was it just a routine sweep? The light screen continued to flicker, awaiting a reply. Time passed second by second, each second feeling like walking on a knife's edge. Shi Meng stood guard before him, muscles taut like a fully drawn bow, his gaze fixed intently on both ends of the passage. Mo Chen remained standing in place, his back to them, facing the darkness. But Lin Yi noticed that Mo Chen's right hand hung at his side, and between his thin, bony fingers, he now held a sharp-edged shard of stone. Lin Yi withdrew his gaze, refocusing on the light screen. *Hurry*, he chanted in his mind. *Hurry—* A suppressed, urgent female voice, carrying obvious static and breaks, came from within: "Zi Yuan! Is it you? Hold on! I'm on the periphery. I saw Xuan Yin dispatch the 'Mountain-Patrolling Crane' squad heading northwest. Guards near Dragon-Breaking "'The Eye of the Abyss'... Old Xuan Yin himself has stepped onto the field? Interesting. I can help, but I never do business at a loss." Lin Yi's heart sank. He knew the 'price' was coming. "I know of an ancient maintenance passage that even Xuan Yin might not be aware of. It might lead to the underground dark river on the other side of the ruins. I'll give you the information. In return, I want one thing you bring out of the ruins—whatever it is, I only want one item. Deal?" The edges of the light screen began to disintegrate, dissolving into fine points of light. The connection was about to break. Lin Yi gritted his teeth, without any hesitation: "Deal! What are the entrance features?" Yun Zhi's voice had already become intermittent, as if from a great distance: "East side passage... the third load-bearing pillar with 'coiled *chi* patterns'... below the lower left corner of the pillar base, three feet down... abnormal spiritual energy... I can only hold for ten more breaths!" A violent, destructive-will-filled torrent of spiritual energy, following the not-yet-completely-severed connection channel, crashed over with savage force! This wasn't probing; it was a blatant attack, a precise strike after locating them! Lin Yi felt as if struck by a heavy blow, his whole body thrown backward. A sharp ringing filled his ears, his spiritual sense feeling as if pierced by a red-hot iron rod! At the same time, the entire passage shook violently. From above came the terrifying sound of rock fracturing, followed by huge chunks of stone and dust crashing down! "Watch out!" Shi Meng roared wildly, lunging over to shield Lin Yi with his body, throwing a punch upward that shattered a millstone-sized rock into pieces! Amidst the explosion-like shower of light fragments and the deafening roar of collapse, Mo Chen, who had been standing with his back to them, silent as stone, finally moved. He pivoted, stepped forward, his gaunt figure pulling a blurred afterimage through the dust and smoke. The sharp stone shard in his hand flew out—not toward the falling rocks, nor toward either end of the passage, but toward the small communication pebble that had just fallen and was still rolling not far in front of Lin Yi. The surface of the pebble suddenly lit up with a layer of pale cyan, intricate light patterns. The patterns flashed and vanished, forcibly severing and deflecting the majority of that violent spiritual energy that had rushed along the connection. The remaining force still made Lin Yi spit out a small mouthful of blood, but the lethal damage had been blocked. After completing this action, Mo Chen's figure showed not the slightest pause. He had already returned to his original spot, back still turned, as if he had never moved. Only the new, fine cracks on the ground at his feet proved the explosive force unleashed in that instant. The collapse of the passage continued, but the falling rocks were temporarily held back by Shi Meng. Lin Yi coughed up blood, struggling to sit up, looking at Mo Chen's back. Amidst the dust, that back remained silent, frozen, yet no longer seemed like an insurmountable wall. He raised a hand, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and swept his gaze over the now-dim, crack-covered communication pebble on the ground. The message had been sent. Su Wanqing's response, Yun Zhi's transaction, and... Xuan Yin's violent interference. He pushed himself up from the ground, slowly standing. The pain in his left arm remained, but that cold lump in his heart now burned with a small flame. He looked at Shi Meng, then at Mo Chen's back, his voice hoarse but clear: "The third load-bearing pillar with 'coiled *chi* patterns'... We need to find that passage before Xuan Yin finds us." --- The ripples on the pebble stabilized, forming an extremely small, blurry light screen. Lin Yi quickly whispered into the light screen, speaking rapidly: "This is Lin Yi, trapped in the deep east side passage of the ancient ruins 'Eye of the Abyss', surrounded by Xuan Yin. Need external support to create chaos and assist in breaking out. Known partial Xuan Yin outer deployment near the 'Dragon-Breaking Stone'. Reply to this mark." Shi Meng clenched his fists, knuckles white. He stared fixedly into the depths of the passage, where the incoming spiritual energy fluctuations rose wave after wave, each higher than the last. Mo Chen still had his back to them, but Lin Yi noticed his shoulders were slightly tensed. Su Wanqing's voice was very low, yet it pierced the ice like a warm current. Her breathing was hurried, carrying poorly concealed worry: "Is it you? Hold on! I'm on the periphery. I saw Xuan Yin dispatch the "No need for precision." Lin Yi cut her off, speaking faster. "Can you create a distraction? Any commotion will do, draw away the remaining guards for at least half an incense stick's time." "I can." Su Wanqing's reply held no hesitation. "But I need to know your breakout direction. Otherwise, the disturbance I create might draw the guards on your side over as well." The light screen flickered again, and Su Wanqing's voice suddenly dropped lower, almost inaudible: "Wait… someone's approaching. I must cut off in ten breaths. Ziyuan, you…" "Protect yourself." Lin Yi said. "I'll contact you again. The signal is—" Shi Meng let out a low growl from his throat: "Cut off?" "Not yet." Lin Yi stared at the stone. The ripples on its surface hadn't completely vanished; they were slowly coalescing again. The thing Yun Zhi left behind was more resilient than expected, but each connection consumed the spiritual energy stored within the stone. He could feel it—that faint hum was weakening. When the second connection was established, the color of the light screen changed. From pale blue to an ambiguous, slightly purplish gray. A lazy, slightly husky woman's voice cut in, each word seeming to roll on the tip of her tongue before being uttered: "You really can stir up trouble." Yun Zhi's voice held no discernible emotion, only a detached curiosity. "'Abyssal Eye'… Old Man Xuanyin is personally involved? Interesting." "You have information." Lin Yi said. It wasn't a question. "Of course I have information." Yun Zhi gave a light laugh, short, like a feather brushing past the ear. "But I never make losing deals. I can help. The price?" Shi Meng couldn't help but curse under his breath: "This woman—" Silence hung on the other end of the light screen for two breaths. Yun Zhi seemed to be weighing her words, or perhaps enjoying this suspended tension. Then she said, "I know of an ancient maintenance passageway even Xuanyin might not be aware of. It might lead to an underground river on the other side of the ruins, or deeper… to some forgotten sealing chamber." "I'll give you the information." Yun Zhi continued, her pace slowing, each word seeming to be weighed. "Afterwards, I want you to bring one thing out of the ruins for me—whatever it is, I only want one item. Deal?" "What you want might not exist." Lin Yi said. "Then consider it a failed investment." Yun Zhi's tone was so casual it bordered on cruel. "My information isn't guaranteed to be one hundred percent accurate anyway. So, Lin Yi? Do you have any other choices right now?" He felt the throbbing pain in his left arm intensifying, as if something were moving beneath his skin, trying to break out. Mo Chen's back remained frozen, but Lin Yi noticed his right hand had lifted slightly by half an inch—that sharp stone shard gleamed coldly in the dim light. "Deal." Lin Yi said. "Prompt." Yun Zhi's speech suddenly sped up, as if she'd become a different person. "East side passage, the third load-bearing pillar with 'coiled serpent patterns.' Lower left of the pillar base, three feet down, there's abnormal spiritual energy. Beneath that should be the sealing stone for the passage entrance. I can only hold for ten more breaths. Xuanyin's spiritual awareness net is tightening—" "Use your blood!" Yun Zhi's voice began to distort, as if coming through water. "Your blood carries the aura of the 'Mark of Theft'—that's the key! Remember, once inside, don't look back. The passage structure is unstable, might collapse at any moment—" The light screen didn't fade. Instead, it erupted with a blinding white light! A powerful, hostile, external spiritual energy surged through the not-yet-completely-severed connection, like a red-hot hammer smashing brutally into Lin Yi's consciousness! Lin Yi grunted, his whole body falling backward. Shi Meng, quick as lightning, grabbed him, but the impact of that spiritual energy was too fierce, causing even Shi Meng to stagger. A fine crack appeared on the surface of the gray-black stone with a *crack*, and the hum from within turned into a sharp, mournful wail. Mo Chen, who had remained motionless the entire time, moved. He spun around abruptly, his withered right hand tracing a faint arc in the air. Pale cyan spiritual energy radiance burst from his fingertips, forming a thin net that enveloped the stone. The two streams of spiritual energy collided mid-air, emitting a grating *zzz* sound—Mo Chen forcibly intercepted most of Xuanyin's probing spiritual energy, but the residual shockwave still made the entire passageway shudder The pale cyan light net abruptly contracted, crushing that external spiritual energy to pieces. The blast's shockwave sent all three flying simultaneously. Lin Yi's back slammed heavily into the stone wall, his vision going black. Shi Meng tumbled twice before stabilizing, while Mo Chen knelt on one knee, his sleeve torn apart, revealing a bloody gash that had split open on his withered arm. Only the sound of tumbling rubble and the three men's ragged breathing remained. Lin Yi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and struggled to get up. He looked toward Mo Chen, who had already turned his back again, but this time, his silhouette no longer seemed as solid and unmoving as stone. His shoulders were trembling slightly, as if suppressing something. "Brother Shi," Lin Yi's voice was terribly hoarse, "find the third *panchi*-patterned load-bearing pillar." Shi Meng froze for a moment, then understood. "The path Yun Zhi mentioned?" "Yes." Lin Yi pushed himself up against the wall. The pain in his left arm had already numbed, replaced by a cold, spreading weakness throughout his body. But something in his eyes had changed—that desperate resolve to smash the pot since it was already cracked was being replaced by something more concrete, more dangerous. A fierce determination to tear open a bloody path, even if there was only the slimmest chance of survival. Without another word, Shi Meng began feeling his way along the dim passage. Mo Chen still had his back to them, but Lin Yi noticed his head tilt slightly—his ear turned toward the direction Shi Meng was searching. Lin Yi staggered over. It was a stone pillar thick enough for two men to embrace, its surface carved with coiling *chi*-dragon patterns barely visible in the dim light. But at the lower left corner of the pillar's base, there was indeed an area where the stone's color was slightly darker, as if perpetually dampened by moisture. Yet, the moment his palm touched the stone surface, the "Mark of Theft" on his left arm jolted violently! Those dark golden patterns seemed to come alive, spreading from his arm to the back of his hand, then seeping from his fingertips into the stone surface. A faint *crack-crack* sound came from the rock, as if some lock was being forcibly twisted open. Mo Chen had turned around at some point, silently watching Lin Yi's actions. His gaze was complex—scrutinizing, concerned, and a profound, almost overflowing weariness. The stone slab at the lower left corner of the pillar base sank inward by three inches, revealing a pitch-black crevice just wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. A chill, damp air rushed out from within, carrying the scent of stagnant water and an indescribable, rust-like metallic odor. "Master," he said, his voice soft yet sharp as a knife, "do you know where this path leads?" After a long pause—so long Shi Meng almost couldn't resist urging him—Mo Chen slowly raised his right hand. His withered fingers traced empty lines in the air, pale cyan spiritual energy condensing into a line of briefly glowing text: 「Underground river. Three hundred *zhang* ahead, a fork. Left for life, right for death.」 Lin Yi stared into Mo Chen's eyes, asking word by word, "Why are you only telling us now?" But Mo Chen raised his left hand, pointing first at his own throat, then upward—in the direction from which Xuanyin's spiritual energy had struck. Then he turned his back once more, facing away from Lin Yi and the crevice. The earlier spiritual energy impact had allowed Xuanyin to lock onto this location. They had no time. "Go." Gritting his teeth, Lin Yi was the first to squeeze sideways into the crevice. The icy stone wall scraped against his shoulder, leaving a damp smear. Shi Meng followed closely behind, his massive frame dislodging chunks of rubble from the crevice's edges as he forced his way in. Before fully entering, Lin Yi took one last look back. Mo Chen still stood there, back turned, like a statue weathering away. His robe fluttered slightly in the airflow rushing from the crevice, the bloodstains on it already dried to a dark brown. The interior of the crevice was narrower and steeper than imagined. Underfoot were slippery, downward-slanting stone steps, each one covered in moss. Shi Meng grunted behind him, having clearly bumped his head. "Be careful," Lin Yi whispered, feeling his way down. Darkness enveloped them like thick ink. Only the "Mark of Theft" on his left arm glowed faintly, the dark golden patterns flowing beneath his skin, providing the sole source of light. Lin Yi could hear his own heartbeat, Shi Meng's heavy breathing, and— Faint, but coming from below. Growing clearer. A sharp, sustained high-frequency hum instantly filled his entire skull. The light screen before his eyes exploded into countless fine specks of light at the final moment, then went completely dark. The gray-black pebble let out a *crack*, its surface splitting into spiderweb-like fissures, its scorching temperature making Lin Yi instinctively jerk his palm away. The entire ruin passage—or rather, this broken corner they were in—shook violently. From above came the teeth-grating sound of rock grinding against rock. Dust and broken stones rained down. Shi Meng’s low roar exploded by his ear. Lin Yi only felt a tremendous force yank the back of his collar, dragging his whole body back two steps. The next second, a millstone-sized boulder smashed into the spot where he had just been sitting cross-legged. Shattered stone flew everywhere, stinging his face where it struck. That wasn’t mere destructive energy. It was mixed with a certain cold, orderly, and judgmental probing will. The aura of the Mystic Yin True One. He was locating, confirming, trying to trace back along the connection to lock onto the position of this "breach."