The air within the ruins was heavy, as if time itself hesitated to flow. With each step, Jun Tian felt the ground pulse beneath his feet-not like stone, but something alive, still breathing in the energy of ancient ages.
Fragments of ancient weapons were strewn about, while incomplete formations glowed weakly on the cracked walls. Even incomplete, they still possessed enough power to make the space vibrate around them.
"These patterns… are unlike anything I've ever seen," Jun Tian, kneeling before a circular array, murmured.
"There was order within the chaos. Even destroyed they seem to try to recompose themselves."
Yue Lian hovered silently, her eyes watching him with serenity. She knew those inscriptions—ancient symbols of the Path of the Hundred Formations, one of the schools of cultivation in times long past that had attempted transcendence through the manipulation of the Dao of space itself.
But she said nothing. She only smiled slightly.
"Continue, Jun Tian. Feel the flow," she said simply.
He closed his eyes, extending his spiritual awareness. The ground pulsed. Broken lines began to glow, slowly connecting as if recognizing him. A sequence of runes resurfaced from the dust, tracing the outline of an immense formation that covered the entire subterranean chamber.
Jun Tian frowned.
"This… is not an ordinary formation. It's absorbing energy from the environment and redistributing it to specific points."
"Hm…" was all Yue Lian replied.
Her tone contained something between approval and curiosity, but she remained neutral. It was Jun Tian himself who should understand.
He observed the inscriptions more closely.
"It's a spatial compression formation," he concluded after a moment. "But incomplete. It lacks supporting runes. Perhaps, when it was whole, it could bend space within itself."
Yue Lian simply nodded.
"Interesting, don't you think?"
Jun Tian smiled. "You knew, didn't you?"
"I just imagined. But it's good to see you figured it out on your own," she replied playfully.
They ventured deeper. Each hall seemed like a dead book—engravings, fragments of jade, ancient bones sitting in meditative positions, as if they had died trying to comprehend something unattainable.
In the last corridor, they found a larger, partially collapsed room. In the center, a still-active spiritual pillar slowly rotated with patterns of light. On its surface, spiraling inscriptions converged to a single core, enveloped by an almost invisible barrier.
"This place… is the heart of the formation," said Jun Tian, approaching.
Suddenly, a spiritual wave swept through the hall, reacting to his presence.
The lines on the floor began to light up, connecting one by one, until the entire room glowed with a golden hue.
"Careful, Jun Tian!" Yue Lian warned, her voice now firm.
But he didn't back down. He reached out over the pillar, feeling the rhythmic vibration.
"This energy… isn't trying to repel me. It recognizes me."
The pillar shone intensely, and the light expanded, projecting ethereal images into the air. Ancient cultivators sat in circles, manipulating formations that distorted space in layers, creating portals within portals.
"They sought to ascend… not through the heavens, but through space," Jun Tian murmured, impressed.
"They wanted to transcend the world… creating an alternative path."
Yue Lian remained silent. She knew he was right.
However, the images soon fragmented, and the surrounding walls partially collapsed. Much of the inscription was lost—destroyed by time.
Jun Tian took a few steps back, breathless.
"Everything is gone... only part of the story remains."
"Perhaps the rest lies at the center of the secret kingdom," Yue Lian commented softly.
Jun Tian glanced at the corridor ahead, now enveloped in a faint golden light emanating from the pillar.
"Then that's where we're going."
However, before they could take a step, the ground vibrated slightly. The core of the formation shone once more—and a spiritual wave spread like a dormant roar awakening.
From the depths of the ruins, an echo responded, coming from somewhere distant.
Yue Lian frowned.
"Something… you heard that call."
Jun Tian clenched his fists, his gaze steady.
"Then let it come. I want to see what's left of the sect that dared to defy Dao."
The spiritual mist trembled, and the chapter ended with the clear feeling that the ruins had awakened—and that Jun Tian was about to face more than mere vestiges of a forgotten past.