n

n

n

n

"Xue Yue was this what you sensed earlier?

" Ming Yue asked.

n

"Yes, it is. Though, I wasn't expecting it to be another sword. It's strange…

" she replied.

nThe young woman looked at Blood Moon, furrowing her brows.

n

"What do you mean?

"

n

"Remember what I said earlier, whatever was down here could be a treasure or a living thing. In fact, it is both. That sword is like me… a weapon spirit but after becoming a vessel for all of that energy, it is barely holding on

", Xue Yue explained.

nThe young woman turned back to the sword, revealing a bit of surprise.

n

"So that is why it howled at me, it knew what I said but couldn't speak

", she realized,

"And the only reason it could was because that dragon is absorbing some of the energy.

"

nBut even though, she understood the plight of this sword, there was nothing she could do.

n

"I have no way of dealing with this. If I let it free, the consequences could be unimaginable. I could die, or turn insane just like Yan Yi. I could just let the dragon continue to do what it has been doing but, that's just solving one problem by creating another.

"

nHowever, she remembered something.

n

"Then what about the spires? It will absorb the energy, won't it? But then, it would just hasten the transformation of the continent. The Savage Lands would grow and those beasts would only be more dangerous. Though… if I can weaken those roots, destroy that permeating energy, I could create space for this new energy to come in. The process would be long but it is doable, isn't it?

"

n

"It's… not the best but there's probably no better option

", Xue Yue commented.

n

"Right, right, I'll have to get to it then…

"

nMing Yue then turned to back at the sword before suddenly stopping, clutching her head.

n

"Damn it, why now?

"

nGroaning in pain, the flashes and the sounds returned, pounding into her head. She fell to her knees but stood back up, heading for the spiral stairs. Taking several steps, Ming Yue stumbled from forward, falling to the nineteenth floor.

n

"I need to… find someplace secluded… Or else… That dragon is going to sense me.

"

nAt this rate, she wasn't going to be able to leave without succumbing to this attack. The struggling cultivator would only try and hope that this was enough.

nShe leaned against the wall, walking through as quickly as she could. Her eyes were blurred as light seemed to flash in and out. She could barely see where she was going.

nBut then a door appeared before her and she pushed through, finding herself in a room of sorts.

n

"Agh, good enough.

"

nFaintly speaking, Ming Yue could no longer endure, collapsing within this unknown room. She didn't even have the strength to stay conscious, not long enough to grab Blood Moon even. Her body was barely moving, gently rising and falling with every breath she took.

nAnd after some time, her body trembled as her arms moved, slowly getting back up. Groaning as she sat up, Ming Yue grabbed her head with a pained expression.

n

"Damn it, when is this going to stop?

" she muttered to herself.

nOpening her eyes, Ming Yue looked around, trying to get her bearings.

n

"Where did I go? I remember going to the nineteenth floor but which path did I take?

"

nSlowly taking in her surroundings, she found herself within a spacious room with work tables everywhere. And there were a few other things as well, a few papers on them, some on the floor crumpled up. There were even a few strange tools that she had no clue what their purpose would be.

n

"If the dragon didn't sense me, I must've come pretty deep into this level

", she thought.

nTurning around, Ming Yue looked to see the half-opened door and walked out, trying to determine where she had gone. Seeing the pathway, she walked down and entered the main hallway.

n

"Oh… this was the path I hid in before

", she realized, finding herself in the very corner she used to hide from the dragon.

nMing Yue then looked down the hallway, checking out the other paths as well.

n

"Are all of these research rooms?

"

nWondering this, she left the first path and went to see the other paths. Each one contained a similar scene, a spacious room filled with worktables, papers, and strange tools. It wasn't until she entered the farthest and last path that there was something a bit different here.

n

"This is…

"

nAs she walked in, she saw that the room was massive, and at the center of it was not a worktable but a circular platform. Furthermore, it seemed to be a replica of something, an object she recognized immediately.

n

"The teleportation array, it's a smaller model of the teleportation array!

"

nTaking a few steps forward, she looked at the smaller version more closely, studying it.

n

"Is there where they created it? Is the Order of the Astral the reason for its creation? How is that possible? How ancient is this group?

"

nThere were many questions but the answers to them would be hard to find.

n

"It's just one mystery after another, isn't it?

" she muttered to herself.

nThere was a tinge of annoyance in her tone but she continued on, walking around the room. Other than this smaller version of the teleportation array, there really was nothing else. Not even a table or desk could be found, or even a scrap of paper.

nThere was just that circular platform at the center of the room. And that was the center of her attention.

n

"How would it be activated?

" she wondered,

"As long as I could figure it out, I could go back home. I could even take Hongyu back with me.

"

nThis was at the top of her priority. If she knew how to activate it, then she could go back home. At this point, the idea of it was slowly becoming a reality. But even that reality was far from her reach.

nMing Yue sighed and she turned to leave in disappointment.

n

"Hah, maybe I should've asked to learn about formations at Heaven's Gate. Maybe I would've understood this damn thing

", she lamented.

nAlas, her knowledge of such things barely scratched the surface and she could not make heads or tails as to how she could activate it. After all, this thing was just a model, it didn't even seem like it worked.

nBut then she stopped and turned to look at it.

nTaking her sword out, she walked towards it and swung out, cutting through the stone and separating the model from the floor. Fortunately, it didn't seem like it was connected to the floor, all her strike did was clear the dust away. Without missing a beat, she pointed her spatial ring at it, taking it with her.

nAs she ascended the stairs to leave, there was a bit of worry on her face.

n

"I hope I wasn't gone for too long, maybe the sun had just risen.

"

nShe hoped it would be so but as she touched the stacked stones and returned to the cave, she was met with a rather unhappy child. Seeing Hongyu in front of her, the little girl had her arms crossed and quite a frown on her face.

n

"Ah…

"

nMing Yue could only react in that way, like a child who had been caught doing something they shouldn't have.

n

"Hongyu, I was just investigating it, okay? It could be very dangerous.

"

nShe spoke softly trying to reason with her but Hongyu wasn't having it, pouting and looking away. The little girl was certainly jealous that Ming Yue could go but she couldn't and so she stomped off. Ming Yue stood up and watched her go before turning her attention towards the three beasts who stood there.

n

"You three really let her come through here?

"

nShe couldn't help but ask with a sharp tone causing the trio to look down at the ground in shame.

n

"Hah, let's just go.

"

n