They left the ravine before noon.
No one suggested staying.
The junction was stable, and the investigation had already moved beyond it.
Now the direction was clear.
East.
Senior Qiao reorganized the formation.
Instructor Han remained near the center to monitor fluctuations in the spiritual flow.
Xu Liang moved to the front.
Lin Xuan walked slightly behind him.
The masked Hollow Vein cultivator stayed near the rear.
Yan Rui did not try to join any specific position.
He simply followed at a steady pace.
The forest changed gradually as they moved deeper.
The terrain became uneven.
More stone.
Less soil.
Old root systems twisted through exposed rock like frozen waves.
Instructor Han stopped once after an hour.
He placed a small sensing plate on the ground.
The device hummed faintly.
Then a thin line of light stretched toward the east.
Han frowned slightly.
"The flow is increasing."
Senior Qiao looked toward the forest ahead.
"Distance?"
Han thought for a moment.
"If the pressure gradient continues like this… two to three days is accurate."
Yan Rui had not exaggerated.
They continued.
The deeper they moved, the more noticeable the change became.
Not dangerous.
But unnatural.
Spiritual energy did not circulate smoothly here.
It moved in subtle pulses.
Like a slow heartbeat beneath the ground.
Lin Xuan felt it clearly.
The fragment inside his dantian responded each time the pulse passed.
Weak.
Then quiet.
Weak again.
Rhythmic.
Xu Liang noticed his breathing pattern shift slightly.
"You feel the pulses."
Lin Xuan nodded once.
"Yes."
Xu Liang glanced toward the ground.
"So do I."
By late afternoon they reached a narrow stone pass between two rising ridges.
The passage forced the group into a tighter formation.
Senior Qiao stopped briefly.
"Short rest."
Instructor Han immediately began checking the surrounding spiritual flow.
The masked cultivator watched the ridge above the pass.
Yan Rui sat on a flat stone, completely relaxed.
Lin Xuan remained standing.
Listening.
Feeling.
The fragment pulsed again.
But this time—
Something else answered.
Very faint.
But present.
Another structure somewhere deeper in the network.
Xu Liang noticed him turning slightly.
"What is it?"
Lin Xuan looked toward the forest beyond the stone pass.
"The pulses are… synchronizing."
Instructor Han overheard that.
"Explain."
Lin Xuan considered the sensation.
"The outer junctions we saw earlier… they were unstable."
Han nodded.
"Yes."
"But here the flow isn't unstable," Lin Xuan continued.
"It's being pulled."
Instructor Han's eyes narrowed.
"Pulled?"
"Yes."
"Toward the convergence point?"
Lin Xuan nodded slowly.
"That's my guess."
Yan Rui opened one eye.
"That's not a guess."
Everyone looked at him.
He pointed toward the stone ground beneath the pass.
"This place used to be a secondary pressure gate."
Instructor Han frowned.
"Used to be?"
"It's inactive now," Yan Rui replied.
"But the structure is still here."
Xu Liang looked around carefully.
"You're saying this entire pass is part of the formation network."
Yan Rui smiled slightly.
"Exactly."
Senior Qiao's expression hardened.
"That means the convergence point is controlling the outer network."
"Yes."
Instructor Han looked east again.
"If that is true…"
The implication was obvious.
Someone — or something — had begun activating the ancient system from the center.
Lin Xuan felt the fragment pulse again.
Stronger this time.
Not violent.
But clear.
Like a signal responding to another signal.
Xu Liang noticed immediately.
"You feel it again."
Lin Xuan nodded.
"Yes."
"Closer?"
"Yes."
Instructor Han closed his sensing plate slowly.
Then he spoke quietly.
"If the core is truly circulating again…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Because everyone here understood the same thing.
They were no longer investigating ruins.
They were approaching an active system.
And the closer they moved east—
The stronger the network became.