Chapter 41 - Discovery

De-Reece remains where he is, hood drawn low, the dim underground lanterns casting flickering shadows across his robe. The Demonic Sect cultivator does not move, his posture as still as stone while waiting for the merchant's return.

The air around him is unsettling, not from raw qi pressure, but from something deeper—an unnatural stillness, the kind that comes from those who do not fear being watched.

Solar crouches low beside De-Reece, silent as the darkness itself.

Across the market, Kalia moves toward the alchemy stall, blending into the shifting tide of buyers and sellers.

The curtain shifts.

The merchant returns, holding a small, wrapped bundle in his hands.

He moves carefully, not as one presenting treasure, but as one handling something that should not be disturbed.

The Demonic Sect cultivator does not speak.

He merely extends the dark box in exchange.

The merchant places his bundle in the Demonic Sect cultivator's hands. The moment the cultivator touches it, the air around him distorts ever so slightly.

Not a flare of qi.

Something deeper, more consuming.

De-Reece's gaze sharpens.

What was just exchanged?

The Demonic Sect cultivator opens the bundle slightly, peering inside. Even from this distance, De-Reece catches a glimpse of something faintly glowing, surrounded by dark, silken cloth.

A seal? A suppressed artifact? A forbidden technique?

A second later, the Demonic Sect cultivator closes the bundle.

Satisfied.

Without another word, he turns and moves swiftly, disappearing back into the underground pathways.

The merchant exhales, rubbing his palms together, as if shaking off an unseen weight.

De-Reece doesn't follow immediately.

Instead, he memorizes the merchant's expression.

Not relief.

Not greed.

Something closer to regret.

Meanwhile, Kalia stands before the silent alchemist's stall.

The Qi-Stabilizing Root sits between small trays of less valuable ingredients, as if waiting for the right buyer to recognize it.

The elderly merchant watches her approach but says nothing.

Kalia leans down, studying the plant with an amused smirk. "Hiding treasures in plain sight?"

The merchant's pale eyes gleam slightly. "A treasure is only valuable if someone knows how to use it."

Kalia tosses the small pouch of coins onto the table. "Then I'll take it."

The merchant does not reach for the coins. Instead, his gaze flickers toward De-Reece, still standing near the Demonic Sect's former meeting place.

He sees more than most.

Finally, he picks up the Qi-Stabilizing Root, wrapping it carefully in cloth before handing it over.

Kalia raises an eyebrow. "I thought you'd haggle."

The merchant smiles slightly. "I am always paid in different ways."

Kalia tilts her head slightly but does not press further.

She turns and walks away, tucking the root into a small inner pouch.

Something about the merchant lingers in her thoughts.

But there are more pressing matters.

Kalia meets De-Reece near a quieter corner of the market, slipping the wrapped bundle containing the Qi-Stabilizing Root into his hand.

He barely glances at it before securing it inside his storage pouch.

Kalia watches him carefully. "You saw something, didn't you?"

De-Reece nods once. "The merchant gave him something dangerous."

Kalia exhales. "And we don't know what it is."

De-Reece's fingers tap lightly against the fabric of his robe, thoughts aligning.

This isn't just a casual black-market trade.

The Demonic Sect cultivator came here for something specific. Something hidden.

And whatever was exchanged was wrapped in seals and silken cloth, treated as something to be handled carefully.

If the Demonic Sect wants it… it cannot be ignored.

The underground market hums with tension, its unnatural quiet making every movement feel heavier. The scent of aged parchment, dried herbs, and metallic traces of blood lingers in the air, a stark contrast to the world above.

The Demonic Sect cultivator has what he came for. His movements are swift, calculated, his presence fading into the shifting tide of dark-robed traders and wandering rogue cultivators.

This isn't someone simply moving through Ironhold. This is someone who does not want to be followed.

And that makes it all the more necessary to follow him.

De-Reece tightens the Qi-Stabilizing Root in his grip before tucking it into his storage pouch. A crucial find, but one that can wait.

His steps shift, adjusting to the natural flow of the crowd, making sure to move without standing out.

Kalia falls into step beside him, her usual smirk absent. She knows how delicate this pursuit is.

Solar moves ahead of them, her body low, steps near soundless. Even in the flickering light, her form is almost invisible.

The hunt continues.

The Demonic Sect cultivator doesn't take the direct route back toward the main exits of the market.

Instead, he moves deeper.

Past the merchants. Past the open stalls.

Into a section of the underground that is quieter, older.

The structure around them shifts. The smooth, reinforced walls of the market give way to ancient stone passageways, rougher, cracked in places.

Carved remnants of symbols long since worn away line the walls, remnants of Ironhold's older, forgotten past.

Kalia lets out a quiet breath beside him. "He's not just heading out. He's leading us somewhere important."

De-Reece doesn't answer, but he agrees.

A simple exchange of goods wouldn't require this much secrecy.

Whatever he retrieved, it was worth hiding somewhere that most wouldn't dare to step into.

The Demonic Sect cultivator pauses briefly at a crossroad of tunnels. He glances once over his shoulder—not sensing them, just ensuring the path behind him is undisturbed.

Then, he turns left and vanishes through an archway.

De-Reece and Kalia wait several breaths before following.

The moment they step beyond the archway, the air changes.

No longer the damp, incense-filled scent of the market.

This place is drier, colder.

Aged.

The pathway narrows, the stone more uneven, less maintained. This isn't part of the underground market's controlled passageways.

This is something older, hidden beneath the city itself.

The dim lanterns that lit the market are absent here. Only natural luminescence from faintly glowing moss and the distant flicker of torches further ahead provides guidance.

Kalia mutters, "I don't like this. If he disappears in here, we lose him."

De-Reece nods, adjusting his breathing. "Stay close. No unnecessary movement."

Solar remains ahead, moving like a living shadow.

Every step forward is measured, silent.

Then—

The faintest echo of a footstep ahead.

De-Reece stops, barely shifting his weight. Kalia follows his lead.

The Demonic Sect cultivator has slowed.

He's nearing his true destination.

A faint glow emanates ahead, the source obscured.

De-Reece slows further, keeping to the shadows as he moves closer, pressing against the rough stone wall before glancing ahead.

The narrow corridor opens into a larger chamber, its walls lined with eroded carvings, depicting figures in battle, some in meditation, others seemingly kneeling before a grand structure.

The Demonic Sect cultivator stands near the center, adjusting the cloth-wrapped bundle he retrieved.

He kneels briefly, pressing his palm against a flat section of the stone floor.

A deep, dull vibration ripples through the air.

The stone shifts.

A small cavity opens beneath his touch, revealing a hidden space.

De-Reece's breath stills.

He isn't taking this back to his sect.

He's hiding it here.

The Demonic Sect cultivator carefully places the bundle inside, ensuring it rests securely before placing a separate slip of parchment over it.

Then, he presses his palm to the ground again, sealing the cavity shut.

The vibrations fade.

The floor becomes smooth once more.

No markings. No indication that anything was disturbed.

The Demonic Sect cultivator exhales, standing slowly.

Then, after a final glance around the chamber, he turns and begins retracing his steps.

Kalia leans in slightly, whispering, "We need to open that."

De-Reece already knows.

But they must wait until he leaves completely.

The Demonic Sect cultivator moves past them, retracing his way through the darkened halls, never looking back.

De-Reece silently praying his invisibility formations withstand the demonic cultivators gaze

De-Reece and Kalia wait.

One breath.

Two.

Three.

Then, and only then, do they move forward.

De-Reece kneels where the Demonic Sect cultivator had been moments before.

He places his palm against the stone, feeling for the vibration, the shift beneath the surface.

The sealing method isn't complex, but it requires precision.

He presses lightly—too soft, and it won't activate; too hard, and it will distort the mechanism.

A second later—a faint tremor.

The stone gives way.

The hidden cavity reappears.

Inside, the carefully wrapped bundle rests undisturbed.

Beside it, the parchment slip left behind.

Kalia crouches beside him. "We open it?"

De-Reece picks up the parchment first.

The parchment contains only a single phrase, elegantly written.

"The dragon's breath lies waiting. When the stars align, we return."

Kalia frowns. "That's... vague."

De-Reece doesn't answer, but something about the wording lingers in his thoughts.

He sets the parchment aside and reaches for the bundle.

With careful fingers, he unwraps the cloth, layer by layer.

And then—

A faint pulse of energy trembles through the air.

Inside the cloth, a small stone medallion rests.

Dark in color, etched with symbols resembling the faded carvings along the chamber's walls.

A marking of something ancient, something powerful.

Something the Demonic Sect deemed important enough to hide, not claim.

Kalia exhales. "That... doesn't look like something they should be leaving behind."

De-Reece turns it in his hand. The weight feels... balanced. Controlled.

Not cursed. Not tainted.

Just... waiting.

Solar growls softly. Not in fear, but in recognition.

De-Reece's eyes narrow.

This wasn't just a Demonic Sect artifact.

This was part of something larger.

And now, he has it.