chapter 10:Ancient Calamity Ruins
Chapter 10: Ancient Calamity Ruins
Bai Yuexian advanced cautiously down the central tunnel, his footsteps nearly silent despite the loose stones occasionally scattered across the path. The walls here were smoother than in the upper sections, suggesting either more careful excavation or some natural process that had polished the rock over time. Crystal veins ran through the stone like frozen lightning, pulsing faintly with spiritual energy that seemed to grow stronger the deeper he went.
The further he progressed, the more he noticed the density of spiritual energy in the air. It wasn't merely that his spiritual sense detected it more clearly rather, the energy itself was becoming more concentrated, manifesting as occasional motes of light that drifted through the darkness ahead of him.
"Curious," he murmured, trailing fingers along a particularly bright crystal formation. The mineral flared briefly at his touch, sending a cascade of illumination racing along the vein before settling back to its previous gentle glow.
After walking for nearly two hours, the tunnel began to narrow and slope more steeply downward. The air grew perceptibly heavier with spiritual energy, thick enough that it manifested as visible wisps flowing through the darkness ahead of him. Such density of natural spiritual essence was unusual outside of blessed cultivation grounds or ancient formation sites.
Bai Yuexian slowed his pace, extending his spiritual sense more cautiously. Something felt different here the energy seemed to be flowing with purpose rather than the random patterns typically found in natural formations.
Eventually, the tunnel opened into a small chamber that appeared to mark the end of the excavation. The walls were rough and unfinished, tools scattered about as though the miners had departed in haste. A half-filled cart stood abandoned near the far wall, its contents glittering faintly in the light of his lamp ordinary ore mixed with occasional flecks of something more precious.
Bai Yuexian circled the chamber slowly, seeking any sign of what might have befallen the workers who had last labored here. No blood, no torn clothing, no evidence of struggle just the eerie silence of abandoned work.
As he neared the cart, something caught his eye a subtle distortion in the air, almost like heat rising from sun-baked stone but more structured. His spiritual sense detected a pocket of concentrated energy hovering just above the rocky floor.
Crouching, he extended his hand cautiously, allowing his cultivation essence to flow outward in gentle exploration. The distortion shimmered, then seemed to solidify briefly before collapsing in upon itself to reveal a small object that clattered to the stone floor.
"A spatial ring?" Bai Yuexian murmured, surprise evident in his voice. He picked up the simple metal band, turning it over in his fingers. Indeed, it was a storage device of the type used by cultivators to carry possessions but what was such an item doing abandoned in a mine worked by ordinary laborers?
When he attempted to access its contents, however, he encountered resistance. The ring was sealed with a spiritual lock that would yield only to its rightful owner or someone with significantly higher cultivation. Even at the ninth level of Vital Essence Tempering, Bai Yuexian lacked the necessary spiritual authority to break such a seal.
He slipped the ring into his finger for later examination. Its presence raised troubling questions ordinary miners would not possess such items, nor would they abandon them willingly. Either a cultivator had been among the missing workers, or someone had lost the ring during whatever activities had led to the disappearances.
As Bai Yuexian straightened to continue his investigation, a faint tremor ran through the ground beneath his feet. He paused, placing one palm against the chamber wall to better sense the vibration.
The tremor came again, stronger this time less a localized disturbance than a shudder that seemed to pass through the entire mountain. Dust sifted down from the ceiling as the stone around him groaned with strain.
"Not good," he muttered, already turning back toward the tunnel entrance. Whatever was happening, remaining in this enclosed space would be dangerous if the tremors intensified.
Before he could take more than two steps, the vibrations escalated dramatically. What had been gentle tremors transformed in seconds to violent shaking that sent him staggering against the wall. The crystal lamp crashed to the ground, its light extinguished as the chamber plunged into darkness broken only by the natural glow of crystal veins now pulsing erratically with disturbed energy.
Bai Yuexian steadied himself, drawing upon his cultivation to maintain balance as the entire mine seemed to convulse around him. This was no ordinary earthquake the energy patterns felt chaotic, almost reactive, as though some massive force had disturbed fundamental balances in the area.
Rocks began falling from the ceiling, forcing him to dodge and weave as he made his way toward the tunnel. A substantial boulder crashed down mere centimeters from where he stood, the impact sending spider-web cracks racing across the chamber floor.
Before he could reach the relative safety of the tunnel entrance, a deafening *CRACK* split the air. The floor beneath his feet suddenly gave way, stone fracturing along the very crystal veins that had guided him here. Bai Yuexian leapt desperately for solid ground, but found only emptiness as the entire section collapsed into a previously unknown void below.
AHHHHH! His shout echoed around him as he plummeted into darkness, the azure essence of his cultivation flaring instinctively to protect him from the shower of falling debris that threatened to crush him from above.
The descent seemed endless, wind rushing past his ears as he tumbled through absolute blackness. His cultivator's reflexes allowed him to right himself in mid-air, but without knowing what awaited below, landing safely would be nearly impossible.
Drawing deeply on his spiritual energy, Bai Yuexian shaped it into a protective cocoon around his body, preparing for impact. When it came a bone-jarring collision with hard stone the barrier absorbed much of the force, though the remainder still sent pain lancing through his limbs.
---
Meanwhile, kilometers away in Devil Mountain Valley, Bai Xueyin and her team advanced cautiously through the treacherous terrain. The valley lived up to its infamous reputation dense mimasa fog swirled around them, its particles capable of corroding flesh on contact, while an oppressive aura of death qi hung in the air like an invisible miasma. Only their protective barriers of spiritual energy kept these hazards at bay.
At the forefront of their group moved an enormous serpentine creature Frost Fang in its true form, no longer the diminutive python that typically draped around Bai Xueyin's shoulders. In this manifestation, the spiritual beast was truly awe-inspiring colossal in size, its crystalline scales gleaming with frigid power. A single horn protruded from its skull, while heterochromatic eyes one blood red, one ice blue surveyed the landscape with predatory intelligence.
Frost Fang moved with surprising grace despite its bulk, clearing a path through the valley's dangerous fauna with devastating efficiency. As the group approached a particularly dense pocket of mimasa fog, a pack of twisted beasts lunged from concealment six-limbed predators with exposed muscle tissue and elongated jaws filled with needle-like teeth.
The python didn't hesitate. Its massive body coiled with lightning speed, heterochromatic eyes flashing as a wave of intense cold radiated outward. The attacking creatures froze mid-leap, their forms encased in crystalline ice that shattered when the python's powerful tail swept through them.
"Good work, Frost Fang," Bai Xueyin said, her tone carrying rare warmth as she addressed her companion. The massive creature inclined its horned head briefly before returning to its task, crushing another corrupted beast that had evaded the initial freezing attack.
With the immediate threat neutralized, Frost Fang shimmered briefly before shrinking back to its more manageable size, coiling once more around Bai Xueyin's shoulders as the team continued their advance. Its scales still radiated cold power, reinforcing the protective barrier around its master.
"Young Mistress," one of the cultivators from the main Bai family compound spoke up, "the energy patterns in this part of the valley are unusually disturbed. Something has recently altered the natural flow."
Bai Xueyin nodded sharply. "I've noticed. The death qi concentration should be higher in these depths based on historical records, yet something is dispersing it or perhaps consuming it."
They pressed onward, each cultivator maintaining their personal shield of spiritual energy to ward off the valley's corrupting influences. Though less visibly dense than before, the death qi remained dangerous prolonged exposure would weaken even powerful cultivators and eventually overcome their protections.
Their path wound between twisted rock formations that seemed to shift subtly when viewed from the corner of one's eye. Plants here grew in unnatural configurations. flowers with teeth at their centers, vines that pulsed like veins, fungi that emitted sounds uncomfortably similar to human whispers.
"We're nearing the coordinates indicated in the reports," Elder Bai Junze informed them, consulting a formation compass that glowed with directional energy. "The disturbances should be...."
His words cut off abruptly as the ground beneath them began to shake. What started as a gentle vibration rapidly intensified into violent upheaval that sent several team members staggering. Bai Xueyin maintained her balance with preternatural grace, her expression sharpening as she assessed the situation.
"Formation shields! Full power!" she commanded, her own spiritual energy flaring around her in a silver-blue nimbus.
The earthquake intensified beyond anything natural, reaching a magnitude that tore the very earth asunder. Massive fissures opened throughout the valley floor, revealing yawning darkness below. The team leapt and dodged with cultivator reflexes, barely avoiding being swallowed by the forming chasms.
Frost Fang hissed in alarm, its small form suddenly expanding once more as it coiled protectively around Bai Xueyin, using its massive body to shield her from falling debris dislodged from the valley walls.
As they struggled to maintain their position amidst the chaos, a brilliant beam of energy erupted from somewhere deeper in the valley a dazzling column of crimson light that punched skyward with such force that the very air seemed to shatter around it. The beam expanded rapidly, creating a swirling vortex of energy that reached toward the heavens, visible for hundreds of kilometers in all directions.
"Impossible," Elder Bai Junze breathed, his face pale with shock. "That's... that can't be..."
Bai Xueyin's expression turned grave, her eyes narrowing as she studied the phenomenon. "The ancient records were correct," she said softly, her words nearly lost in the roaring of the earth. "The Ancient Calamity Ruins exists."
Without hesitation, she pointed toward the beam. "Change of plans. We move toward the light source immediately."
"Young Mistress," one of the cultivators protested, "the terrain is too unstable! We could all perish before reaching it!"
"Then perish," she replied coldly. "But I will reach that nexus before our rivals do."
As if summoned by her words, movement caught their attention from various points around the valley. Other teams from the Frost Cloud Sect, the Lei Clan, and other major powers were also converging on the energy beam, racing to claim whatever treasure or opportunity it represented.
Bai Xueyin's eyes hardened as she recognized the white robes of the all-female Frost Cloud Sect team. Though she had trained with them in her youth and still maintained her status as an outer disciple, her current mission served her family's interests, not the sect's. Any former camaraderie would need to be set aside if they became competitors for the same prize.
"Move out," she ordered, already leaping forward across the fractured landscape, Frost Fang flowing beside her like a living river of ice. "Elder Junze, maintain our rear guard. The rest of you, formation three we cut through any opposition."
They surged forward through the continuing earthquake, racing toward the pillar of light that promised either revelation or destruction. The mysterious energy emanating from deep beneath Devil Mountain Valley was clearly something of immense significance, and Bai Xueyin was determined to be the first to uncover its secrets.