Three days had passed since Lan Qingyun sealed himself inside the cave. Outside, the Steel-Taloned Sky Hawk still circled. Patient. Relentless. Predators at that level did not abandon wounded prey easily.
Lan Qingyun sat cross-legged against the inner stone wall, breath steady despite the dull throb in his left shoulder. The healing pill had aligned the fractured bone, but recovery would take time. Time he did not have.
His spiritual sense extended cautiously toward the cave entrance. The hawk's aura pulsed faintly above. High Golden Core. Dense. Cold. Calculated. If he exited now, he would die within ten breaths.
He exhaled slowly. Three days wasted. He had already secured one hundred thirty thousand spirit stones' worth of assets. That was enough.
Enough to stabilize Azure Wind. Enough to purchase vein-repair arrays. Enough to sustain Master's life. Enough to survive. He could use a Peak Golden Core Combat Card, force his way out, and escape.
That was safe. Practical.
His eyes opened slowly. Safe. The word felt small.
The valley contained more. He had sensed it before the hawk attacked deeper fluctuations within the mineral vein. Stronger. Older. Something guarding something else.
He lowered his gaze. "Enough," he muttered softly.
The system's voice did not answer. It remained dormant in observational mode.
He flexed his fingers. Crimson Cloud had five Golden Core elites above his previous level. Even with High Golden Core breakthrough later, he would not dominate them alone. If he wanted Azure Wind to rise into the Top Five again, he needed more than enough.
He stood slowly. His shoulder protested, but held. If he could not exit upward, then he would go deeper.
The cave interior sloped downward at a gradual angle, the air growing heavier with mineral scent. Veins of dark crimson ore glimmered faintly along the walls, pulsing like veins beneath skin. The temperature rose as he descended. Not heat. Energy density.
His spiritual sense brushed against something faint. Movement. He halted. Breathing controlled.
Ahead, faint light flickered. Not torchlight. Bioluminescent moss clung to the cavern ceiling in patches, casting eerie violet glow across a wide chamber.
He stepped into view and froze.
Hanging upside down from jagged rock formations were five figures. Not human. Bats. Enormous. Their wings folded tight around their bodies like cloaks. Black fur with faint silver edges shimmered in low light.
Two of them radiated Peak Golden Core pressure. The other three Low Golden Core. Shadow Bats.
But not ordinary ones. Their bodies seemed to blur at the edges, as if half-merged with darkness.
At the center of the chamber, resting upon a natural stone pedestal, a glowing orb of swirling seven colors. Red. Blue. Gold. Green. Purple. White. Black. Interweaving in perfect harmony.
Lan Qingyun's pupils narrowed. Seven-Colored Spirit Essence. A top heavenly material below Transformation tier.
Capable of restoring shattered meridians, purifying corrupted cores, extending lifespan, reinforcing breakthrough foundation.
For Elder Wei, it could stabilize his collapsing Golden Core. For Azure Wind, it could reverse fate.
His breath slowed. The bats had not yet reacted. The concealment talisman had expired, but he had suppressed his aura instinctively upon sensing them.
He calculated. Two Peak Golden Core. Three Low Golden Core. In confined space.
Using Peak Golden Core Combat Card, he could overwhelm them. But thirty minutes only. And the hawk still waited outside. Risk layered upon risk.
One of the Peak bats twitched. Its head rotated slowly. Red eyes opened. Locked onto him.
No warning screech no hesitation It launched. A blur of shadow and wind.
Lan Qingyun activated the Combat Card instantly. A surge like tidal wave flooded his meridians. Power. Immense. Violent. His aura exploded outward Peak Golden Core density crushing the chamber air.
The bat collided with him mid-charge. The impact cracked stone beneath his feet. He did not retreat. He countered.
Sword intent condensed into blade of pure brilliance, cutting across wing joint. Black blood sprayed. The bat shrieked, twisting in air.
The second Peak bat dropped from ceiling like falling blade. He pivoted, releasing a spiraling arc that forced it back. The three Low Golden Core bats screeched and joined the assault.
The chamber erupted into chaos. Shadow afterimages flickered everywhere.
Lan Qingyun moved without wasted motion. Peak Golden Core strength made each strike lethal. But bats were agile.
One low-tier darted behind him. He turned and backhanded it into the cavern wall, crushing skull instantly.
Two more swarmed simultaneously. He thrust upward, sword qi piercing one through chest. The third latched onto his forearm, fangs sinking deep.
Even Peak Golden Core skin could not fully negate their bite. He slammed it against rock repeatedly until it went limp.
Only the two Peak remained. They adapted. Instead of frontal charge, they circled.
One emitted high-frequency screech. Sound waves condensed into visible distortion. Lan Qingyun felt it hammer his mind. Spiritual attack.
He gritted his teeth. Returned a focused blast of sword intent directly into its open mouth. Internal explosion. The bat convulsed violently.
The second seized opportunity and slashed across his back with wing-blades. Pain flared. Borrowed power dulled it.
He grabbed the injured bat mid-air and drove it into stone floor repeatedly. Cracks spidered outward. On the fourth slam, its skull fractured. It fell still.
The final Peak bat hesitated. For a single second That was enough.
Lan Qingyun surged forward and drove a spear of condensed qi through its chest cavity. It shrieked once, then went silent.
The chamber fell still. His breathing remained controlled, but inside the power roared. Thirty minutes had not yet passed.
He forced himself to calm down. Borrowed strength was intoxicating. He could feel it. He could feel how easy it would be to destroy everything in reach.
That was dangerous.
He exhaled slowly. Peak Golden Core aura receded as the Combat Card timer ended. The immense strength drained from his limbs like receding tide. Suddenly, he felt tired. Heavy. Mid Golden Core again.
He glanced at the corpses. Two Peak cores. Three Low cores. Extremely valuable. He stored them quickly.
Then approached the stone pedestal. The Seven-Colored Spirit Essence pulsed gently. Warm. Pure. Alive.
He extended his hand carefully. The energy brushed against his palm and flowed slightly, reacting to his Golden Core. He could sense its quality immediately.
If refined properly, it could heal Master fully. Perhaps even allow slight breakthrough chance.
He swallowed slowly. "Worth it," he murmured.
Then something else caught his attention. Behind the pedestal, partially concealed within a shallow depression, an egg.
Matte black shell with faint silver streaks. Subtle fluctuations emanated from within.
He extended his senses carefully. Life. Golden Core-level potential. Variant bloodline.
If nurtured properly, Nascent Soul potential easily.
His eyes sharpened. If sold at auction, it could bring millions. But selling something like this would draw catastrophic attention.
He crouched slowly. "Shadow Bat variant," he murmured.
The aura within was different. Darker. More concentrated.
He could not leave it he stored the egg carefully. Then reached for the Spirit Essence.
The moment his fingers touched it, the ground trembled violently. A deep, wet sound echoed beneath his feet. The stone pedestal cracked. Red light burst from beneath.
Tentacles Dozens, Hundreds.
Thick, fleshy crimson tendrils erupted from beneath the floor, coiling around his legs instantly.
He slashed downward, cutting several. But more replaced them. The ground collapsed. Stone shattered.
He fell downward into darkness.
Red light pulsed around him as tentacles dragged him deeper. He slashed wildly, cutting free from several, but gravity pulled him down regardless.
He landed hard upon cold stone. The impact knocked air from his lungs. He forced himself upright. And froze.
The chamber below was vast. Walls lined with mummified beast corpses. Peak Golden Core. Mid Golden Core. Hundreds. Drained. Shriveled.
At the center, a blood-red orb the size of a human torso pulsed steadily. It beat like a heart. With each pulse, faint threads of red energy extended toward surrounding corpses. Absorbing. Feeding.
Lan Qingyun's expression hardened. Now he understood.
The bats were guardians. The essence was bait. The valley was feeding ground. And the sect that once mined this place had discovered this horror.
The orb pulsed faster. As if sensing him. Red tendrils rose again from beneath the stone. He cut through several. But the chamber ceiling sealed above him with layers of flesh-like growth.
No exit the orb trembled. Then it launched straight toward him.
He activated the second Peak Golden Core Combat Card instantly. Power surged again. He prepared to strike.
But something was wrong the orb did not attack physically. It phased through his defensive strike. And slammed directly into his mouth.
Pain exploded. His vision went white. Something ancient and coarse erupted within his mind. "What a miserable vessel…"
The voice was old. Cold. Disgusted. "This talent… trash."
Lan Qingyun tried to push it out. His consciousness buckled instantly under overwhelming pressure.
"You should feel honored," the voice continued smoothly, "this monarch has chosen you."
Monarch. Nascent Soul. Transformation-stage failure.
The realization struck like lightning. He fought back with everything he had. But the remnant soul crushed his resistance effortlessly.
Then a new voice echoed. Cold. Mechanical. "Host in danger Defense protocol—."
Everything turned red, then black.
And Lan Qingyun's consciousness began to fade.