Chapter 33: Does this cave really exist?
Memories and illusions mingled with reality. She bit her tongue to maintain her rationality.
Zhulan gasped for air. Her mind clouded, her body reacting instinctively. She drew her sword in a fluid motion and lunged at BaiShe.
He had only an instant to perceive Zhulan’s aura, now saturated with hostility. Her attack was swift but lacked precision. With a simple sidestep, BaiShe dodged the blade that slashed mere inches from his chest.
He did not retaliate immediately. His eyes analyzed her movements. She was still weakened, but her Qi had grown erratic, uncontrollable. Her breath was short, her pupils dilated.
’The illusions have trapped her?’ BaiShe furrowed his brow.
She charged again, her blade slicing in a wide arc. BaiShe parried with the back of his hand, deflecting the sword’s trajectory before pivoting. His foot struck Zhulan’s sternum directly, momentarily disarming her.
She was thrown, crashing violently into a nearby tree. He seized the opening.
He placed his index finger on her forehead. A wave of Qi infiltrated her meridians, instantly neutralizing her energy flow. Zhulan froze, her body paralyzed by the technique.
He was no expert, but he knew illusions were a disruption of Qi in the meridians. By forcing the normal flow, she would return to her normal state.
She trembled, sweat beading on her forehead. Her breath hitched as reality gradually returned to her.
BaiShe did not release his hold. In the meantime, he inadvertently glimpsed a vision.
’ So that was it.’ A faint smile spread across his face as another sound caught his attention.
A dark mass undulated between the trees. Shadows gathered, merged, compressed into an amorphous entity.
Seven scarlet pupils glowed in the darkness. The air itself seemed to twist under its gaze. It floated, shapeless, yet oppressively present.
A rank 5 monster, very close to the sixth.
BaiShe released Zhulan and stepped back slightly, adopting a combat stance. His Qi intensified, enveloping his body in a silvery aura. The air around him vibrated with accumulated energy.
It lunged at him with lightning speed, its shadows stretching into razor-sharp blades. BaiShe sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the first assault. He immediately countered with a palm strike charged with Qi, his energy exploding against the dark mass.
A dull impact.
The monster recoiled but was not destroyed.
It coiled around a tree before launching a multitude of shadow tentacles toward him. BaiShe leaped, spinning in the air before landing in a flurry of undulating attacks. His fists, amplified by his Qi, struck with superhuman force, dispersing the shadows with each impact.
The monster growled, its distorted body re-forming from scattered darkness. Its silhouette resembled an amalgam of corrupted beasts, its eyes glowing with a scarlet light, fixing BaiShe with pure hostility. The air around them grew denser, charged with oppressive energy.
BaiShe landed softly, his feet firmly anchored in the ground. A glint crossed his pupils as he analyzed the adversary.
’ This wasn’t just a rank five monster. It touched the beginnings of the sixth, its Yin is incredibly dense.’
A shockwave exploded around the monster, tearing up the ground and hurling debris in all directions. BaiShe narrowed his eyes and sidestepped, dodging a landslide with a fluid motion. He had no time to breathe.
The shadow surged, condensing into a slender spear that pierced the air at a blinding speed. BaiShe leaned back, narrowly avoiding the deadly tip that grazed his chest, tearing his tunic. Without hesitation, he counterattacked.
His arm glowed, his silver Qi intensifying.
*Astral Blade*
His energy concentrated into a sword purely forged from Qi. He sliced the air with a precise movement. The cutting wave was released, slashing through the shadow.
The monster howled. Its body was severed into several fragments, but instead of disappearing, it re-formed, slower than before.
BaiShe narrowed his eyes.
The monster roared and lunged at terrifying speed, its black claws tearing through the space. BaiShe reacted at the last second, crossing his arms in front of him. A Qi shield appeared just in time to absorb the impact.
The energy shattered under the pressure, propelling BaiShe backward. He pivoted in the air and planted his foot against a massive trunk to regain his balance.
BaiShe reacted instantly. He surged forward, his blade describing a swift arc, slicing through the shadows in one precise strike. The monster retracted, an ethereal pain coursing through its body.
A sphere of light burst above the battlefield, pouring a pillar of pure energy onto the trapped monster. The impact created a crater, the light consuming the shadows.
A piercing scream rose, then silence fell.
The monster was no more than a dark mist evaporating under the moonlight.
BaiShe landed gently, dissipating the remaining Qi. He exhaled deeply, his gaze fixed on the space where Zhulan lay unconscious.
Her breathing was weak. Her half-closed eyes testified to her extreme exhaustion.
He took her in his arms.
Without losing a moment, BaiShe leaped forward, leaving the forest. Behind them, the shadows were already reforming.
...
The mist clinging to the trees gradually receded as they finally left the cursed forest. The air grew lighter, less oppressive, and the moonlight revealed a rocky valley stretching before them.
Zhulan, still weakened, walked silently beside BaiShe. Each step was an effort, her body protesting under exhaustion, but she could not afford to slow down. Her gaze swept the horizon until she spotted, between the rocks and wild vegetation, an opening carved into the mountain.
It was a cave, but not a simple natural cavity.
Stone steles, worn by time, lined its entrance. They were covered in ancient inscriptions, some barely visible beneath the moss that clung to them. Erosion had not completely erased the carved symbols, and though BaiShe did not understand their meaning, she felt a singular presence emanating from these relics.
The son of Sijin paused for a moment, observing the surroundings carefully. His gaze fell on the broken columns and scattered sculpture fragments around the entrance. There was finally a sign of a past civilization, something that testified to the existence of the eternal ruins.
"Does this cave really exist?"