The fissure between the rocks was narrow, barely wide enough for two people to squeeze through sideways. Outside, the sound of car engines faded into the distance, followed by a deathlike silence—broken only by the wind wailing through piles of shattered stone, occasionally mingled with the low growls of aberrant beasts.
Lu Chen leaned against the icy rock wall and closed his eyes, regulating his breath. The Fundamental Body-Refining Art circulated slowly within him, mending his damaged meridians. The backlash from forcibly unleashing the Demon-Suppressing Seal was far more severe than he had anticipated; the energy in his dantian was nearly drained dry, and his internal organs throbbed as if they had been violently churned.
Honeycomb sat opposite him, likewise cultivating to heal his wounds. His injuries were even graver—three broken ribs, his left shoulder pierced through by shrapnel from the explosion, blood flowing without pause. Yet he did not utter a single groan, merely tearing a strip of cloth to bind the wound with rough efficiency.
Half an hour later, Lu Chen opened his eyes, his breathing noticeably steadier.
"Can you still move?" he asked.
Honeycomb nodded. "I won't die. The commotion outside has stopped—people from the Chen family and the Association should have withdrawn."
"And the aberrant beasts?"
"Most of them scattered after the explosion, but there may still be stragglers." Honeycomb glanced out through the crevice. "It's dawn. The fog's thinning."
Lu Chen leaned forward to observe as well.
Morning light filtered through the sparse mist and illuminated the ravaged battlefield. Corpses lay strewn among the rubble—Association operatives, elite members of the Chen family, and countless remains of Iron-Winged Bats. Blood soaked the gravel and earth alike, the air thick with a suffocating stench of iron.
At the edge of the crater where the formation had once stood, the Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant lay quietly, its surface coated in dust.
"I'll retrieve the pendant," Lu Chen said.
"Be careful."
He bent low and slipped out of the rock fissure, moving with a cat's silent grace across the rubble. The morning light cast a long shadow behind him among the shattered stones.
Along the way, he passed the corpse of a Chen family elite—his chest torn open by the talons of an Iron-Winged Bat, viscera spilled onto the ground. Nearby lay an Association operative with a bullet through his head, likely struck by stray fire amid the chaos.
The law of the jungle. Life and death without constancy.
Lu Chen picked up the Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant and wiped away the dust. It was completely intact, its inner luster still warm and gentle.
When he returned to the fissure, Honeycomb had emerged as well and was crouched beside a corpse, searching it.
"Looking for a communicator?" Lu Chen asked.
"Mm. To confirm they've really pulled out." Honeycomb retrieved an encrypted walkie-talkie from an Association operative, switched it on, and tuned to a public channel.
After a burst of static, fragmented voices crackled through:
"…requesting support… too many wounded…"
"Withdraw to Rally Point Three… repeat, withdraw to Rally Point Three…"
"Team Leader Chen Jing, Director Wang orders your immediate return to headquarters…"
"Understood. Withdrawing now…"
It seemed they truly had retreated.
Honeycomb switched off the device and tossed it back onto the corpse. "The Association took heavy losses. The Chen family didn't fare much better. That level-55 old bastard survived, but he's definitely internally injured. They won't be back anytime soon."
"That's our opening." Lu Chen looked toward the crater. "We reactivate the entrance and go in."
"What about Ah Hu and the others…" Honeycomb glanced toward the distance, where Ah Hu had fallen.
"I'll check on him."
Lu Chen walked over. Ah Hu lay amid broken stones, his right arm bent at a grotesque angle, his chest sunken, blood bubbling from his lips. Yet he was still alive, eyes half-open. Seeing Lu Chen, a hoarse rasp escaped his throat.
"Still… not dead…" he said with effort.
Honeycomb knelt to examine him. "Five broken ribs, comminuted fracture in the right arm, severe internal bleeding. He needs immediate treatment."
He pulled out a syringe filled with pale blue liquid—a gene enhancement serum, at a higher concentration than before—and injected it into Ah Hu's neck vein.
Soon, Ah Hu's breathing steadied somewhat, though his face remained deathly pale.
"With injuries like this, he needs a cellular regeneration pod," Honeycomb frowned. "But we don't have one."
"The secret realm might," Lu Chen said. "The Demon-Suppressing Sect existed a thousand years ago. If they had guardian deities, they must have had medical facilities as well—at least in the core ruins."
Honeycomb looked at Ah Hu. "Can you hold on?"
Ah Hu bared a bloodstained grin. "I won't die."
"Good. Then we'll carry you in."
Working together, the two of them hauled Ah Hu upright. Despite his injuries, he weighed nearly two hundred pounds. One on each side, they supported him and made their way toward the formation crater.
As for the bodies of the other team members… they could only be left behind for now. Six people, all dead—either struck down by Third Uncle Chen's palm or caught in the blast.
A shadow flickered through Honeycomb's eyes, but he said nothing. Those who seek great ends must always pay a price.
At the center of the crater, Lu Chen reinserted the Dragon-Patterned Jade Pendant into the formation's groove.
Nothing happened.
"Out of energy?" Honeycomb asked.
Lu Chen carefully examined the formation runes. The explosion had damaged part of the structure, but the core inscriptions remained intact. The problem was that the accumulated energy had been completely discharged; it now needed to be replenished.
"It needs an energy infusion—or…" Lu Chen paused, then said, "guidance from the Demon-Suppressing Stele fragments."
He took out the five fragments and pieced them together into an incomplete slab. Golden light shimmered faintly as it resonated with the formation.
[Detected: Directed Teleportation Formation (Demon-Suppressing Sect Exclusive)]
[Status: Energy depleted; structural damage 12%]
[Repair Method: Inject pure energy (equivalent to the full cultivation of a level-40 martial artist)]
[Alternative Method: Use Demon-Suppressing Stele fragments as catalyst; consume host's essence blood to forcibly activate (Success Rate: 65%)]
Essence blood…
Lu Chen fell silent for a moment, then looked at Honeycomb. "Do you have a blade?"
Honeycomb handed him a dagger.
Lu Chen sliced open his left palm. Blood poured forth, dripping onto the stele fragments as he circulated the blood-sacrifice technique recorded in The True Demon-Suppressing Canon—a forbidden art he had learned from the jade slip, using one's own essence blood to awaken part of the stele's power.
The fragments absorbed the blood, their golden radiance flaring as the runes upon them began to flow as if alive.
"Demon-Suppressing… open!"
With a low shout, Lu Chen pressed the fragments into the formation's center.
Hummm—
Silver light blossomed across the formation. Though weaker than before, it was stable enough. A portal of light re-formed, slowly rotating.
"Go!" Honeycomb supported Ah Hu and stepped through first.
Lu Chen followed close behind.
The familiar vertigo struck as they passed through the portal, but this time Lu Chen was prepared. He steadied his mind, and the blurred scenery sharpened into clarity.
They stood within a stone corridor.
It was broad enough for five people to walk abreast, nearly four meters high. Both walls were carved with exquisite reliefs—mostly scenes of Demon-Suppressing Sect disciples subduing fiends and annihilating evil, the figures vivid and lifelike. Every ten meters, a luminous pearl was embedded in the wall, providing steady illumination.
The air was dry, free of mustiness, carrying instead a faint scent of sandalwood.
"This place…" Honeycomb surveyed their surroundings. "It's remarkably well preserved."
Indeed. Unlike the ruin they had encountered earlier, this place felt almost… maintained.
Lu Chen crouched and brushed the floor. No dust. The stone tiles were polished smooth as mirrors.
"Someone's been maintaining it?" Ah Hu asked weakly.
"Not necessarily." Lu Chen straightened. "More likely an array running autonomously to stabilize the environment. This is a legacy secret realm—of course it would have safeguards."
He looked down the corridor. The light stretched far ahead, with no end in sight.
"Which way?" Honeycomb asked.
Lu Chen closed his eyes and attuned to the stele fragments. The five pieces vibrated faintly, pointing toward a branch corridor on the left.
"This way."
The three of them—strictly speaking, two supporting one—advanced down the passage.
After about a hundred meters, they reached a crossroads. Straight ahead lay the main corridor, while side passages branched left and right. The left wall bore the character Dan; the right, Qi.
Alchemy Hall and Armory?
The stele fragments pointed to the right.
"The Armory."
They turned into the right corridor. It was narrower, lined with doors marked Armory One through Armory Twelve.
Most doors were sealed. Lu Chen tried pushing open Armory One—it did not budge, clearly warded.
But Armory Seven stood slightly ajar.
Inside was a modest workshop. A forging bench occupied the center, bearing several unfinished weapons: a broken sword, a corroded spear, scattered metal components. Shelves along the wall held various materials—iron ingots, copper blocks, and unfamiliar metals. On one shelf sat several jade boxes.
Lu Chen opened one. Inside lay a fist-sized lump of silvery metal, its surface speckled with starlike glints.
[Detected: Star-Pattern Steel (Earth-tier, Low Grade)]
[Use: Can forge weapons with +30% sharpness or repair magic artifacts]
Excellent.
The other boxes held equally fine materials—Refined Scarlet Copper, Cold Iron, Wind-Grind Stone… The most valuable was a tiny sliver of Geng Metal, no larger than a fingernail, yet priceless—a supreme material for forging flying swords.
He stored everything away.
Honeycomb searched the other side and found tools—hammers, tongs, engraving knives. Ordinary in function, yet exquisitely crafted, far more refined than modern industrial products.
"No medical supplies," Honeycomb said. "Let's keep searching."
They left Armory Seven and pressed on. At the corridor's end stood a hall marked Armory Hall.
Inside lay a vast forging workshop, at least five hundred square meters. A massive furnace three meters tall dominated the center. Though long extinguished, residual heat still lingered. Around it were scattered half-finished products and scraps—and several skeletons.
The skeletons wore Demon-Suppressing Sect robes. Some had collapsed beside the furnace; others lay slumped over forging tables, frozen in postures of sudden death.
"These people…" Ah Hu frowned.
"Likely attacked while working," Lu Chen said, examining one skeleton. "No external injuries. Possibly killed by mental assault or poison."
His gaze shifted to a raised platform at the far end, where a stone box rested.
Inside lay a thick volume: Records of Demon-Suppressing Sect Forging.
It detailed the insights of successive forging masters and the methods for crafting various artifacts—including the Demon-Suppressing Stele itself. The required materials, however, were all legendary treasures, and the process demanded earthfire-level flames—conditions long extinct on modern Earth.
Lu Chen stored the book and continued searching.
In a corner, he found a small door marked Storehouse.
Inside stood racks filled with finished weapons—blades, swords, spears, halberds, axes, whips—over a hundred in total. Most had lost all spiritual energy and were no better than mundane iron. Only a few still emitted faint light.
Lu Chen lifted a short sword, its blade thin and glowing blue. When he injected energy, frost surged forth.
[Detected: Frostedge Sword (Mystic-tier, Low Grade)]
[Description: Forged from cold iron; wounds inflicted will freeze]
He picked up a small shield etched with tortoiseshell patterns.
[Detected: Black Tortoise Shield (Mystic-tier, Mid Grade)]
[Description: Defensive artifact; can withstand three attacks below level 40]
There was also a longbow of dark wood, its string translucent as spider silk.
[Detected: Cloud-Piercer Bow (Mystic-tier, High Grade)]
[Description: With specialized arrows, range up to one kilometer; arrows fly soundlessly]
All exceptional finds.
Lu Chen selected practical pieces—the Frostedge Sword, the Black Tortoise Shield, and a quiver of twelve Armor-Piercing Arrows. Honeycomb chose a long saber and a pair of bracers. Ah Hu, too injured to wield weapons, took only a healing pill from a jade vial—its potency reduced by time, but better than nothing.
"No medical facilities," Honeycomb muttered. "Did Demon-Suppressing Sect disciples never get hurt?"
"They must exist—just elsewhere," Lu Chen said. "Let's check the Alchemy Hall."
They returned to the crossroads and entered the left corridor.
Its layout mirrored the armory: doors marked Dan One through Dan Nine. Dan Three stood open.
Inside was an alchemy chamber with a waist-high furnace at its center. The fire was long dead. Herb racks lined the walls, their contents reduced to ash. Jade bottles lay scattered across the table—most empty.
"Looks like the pills were either used up or expired," Honeycomb said.
Lu Chen examined the furnace. At its base was a small fire-control array, its core set with a red crystal.
[Detected: Fire Spirit Crystal (Earth-tier, Low Grade)]
[Description: Contains refined fire-aspect energy; usable for alchemy, forging, or direct absorption (requires fire-aspect cultivation)]
Lu Chen pried it free. It was warm to the touch, like holding a live coal.
"This can temporarily suppress Ah Hu's internal bleeding," he said. "Fire-aspect energy accelerates circulation and healing—but it's only a stopgap."
"Better than nothing." Honeycomb pressed the crystal against Ah Hu's chest.
Ah Hu groaned softly as a red flush spread across his skin; the bleeding slowed noticeably.
"It works," Honeycomb exhaled in relief.
They continued searching and, in Dan Six, found a medicine cabinet. Most contents were useless, but within a white jade bottle lay three pale green pills etched with cloud patterns, their fragrance rich and pure.
[Detected: Life-Genesis Creation Pill (Earth-tier, Mid Grade)]
[Description: Sacred healing elixir of the Demon-Suppressing Sect; restores organs, reconnects broken bones, heals internal injuries. Effective for cultivators below level 50]
At last—what they truly needed.
Lu Chen fed one pill to Ah Hu. It dissolved instantly. Color returned to Ah Hu's face at a visible pace, his breathing deepening and strengthening.
"This pill… it's incredible," Ah Hu murmured, feeling his ribs knit back together and the internal bleeding cease.
"There are two left." Lu Chen stored the bottle. "They could save lives at a critical moment."
They left the alchemy hall and returned to the main corridor.
With Ah Hu's condition stabilized—still unable to fight, but able to walk—they pressed onward.
The corridor widened, and the reliefs along the walls changed. No longer scenes of demon-slaying, they now depicted the sect's history: its founding, the succession of patriarchs, great wars… The final relief portrayed the sect's annihilation—countless demons besieging the mountain gate, disciples fighting in blood-soaked desperation before the gate collapsed.
"That seems to confirm the sect was wiped out by demons," Honeycomb said.
"Not necessarily." Lu Chen pointed to the details. "Look at these demons—their formations are orderly, disciplined. And their eyes… they don't look like beasts. They look human."
Honeycomb studied them closely. It was true—the demons moved with coordination, advancing and retreating like a trained army.
"You think… someone was controlling them?"
"Perhaps." Lu Chen said no more and continued.
At the corridor's end loomed a colossal bronze door.
Five meters tall, three meters wide, its surface was covered in intricate runes. At its center lay a recess perfectly matching the Demon-Suppressing Stele fragments.
"This should be the core area," Lu Chen said.
He assembled the five fragments into their incomplete slab and pressed it into the recess.
Click.
The fragments fit seamlessly.
The bronze door trembled and slowly swung inward.
Beyond lay a majestic grand hall.
Circular in shape, over a hundred meters in diameter and thirty meters high, its domed ceiling was inlaid with countless glowing gems, forming an artificial starry sky. The floor was paved with white jade tiles, smooth as glass, reflecting every figure.
At the hall's center stood a three-tiered altar. Above it hovered a complete black stele—the final four fragments of the Demon-Suppressing Stele.
Yet around the altar rose twelve stone pillars, each bound with a skeleton—some Demon-Suppressing Sect disciples, others invaders, all seemingly sacrificed here.
Before the altar knelt a distinct skeleton.
It wore a golden robe and a jade crown. Though reduced to bones, it still radiated authority. In its grasp was a scepter, topped with a fist-sized purple crystal.
[Detected: Remains of the Last Patriarch of the Demon-Suppressing Sect]
[Detected: Inheritance Scepter (Heaven-tier, Low Grade)]
[Warning: Powerful sealing formation detected. Unauthorized contact may trigger restrictions]
Lu Chen halted.
Honeycomb and Ah Hu sensed the danger as well, scanning their surroundings.
The hall was unnervingly silent.
"Those pillars…" Ah Hu pointed to the nearest one. "The skeletons on them—are they… moving?"
It was no illusion.
Blue flames ignited within the eye sockets of all twelve skeletons. They twisted free of their chains and leapt down from the pillars.
Clack… clack…
The sound of bones grinding echoed through the hall.
The twelve skeletons lined up, hollow gazes fixed upon the intruders.
Then the golden-robed skeleton before the altar slowly rose.
It turned, its scepter striking the ground.
An ancient, majestic voice resounded directly within their minds:
"A thousand years… at last… someone has returned… bearing the Demon-Suppressing Stele…"