Chapter 46: Danger in the Tunnels

Chapter 46:

A/N: Writing still going okay with some minor hiccups. Still a bit ahead and still planning on posting three times next week. Also, next chapter is going to be our first interlude where you will get to see a different perspective.

Anyway, hope you all enjoy the chapter. And thanks for supporting me!

Edit note: Sept 16, 2025. Added a few lines to mention the possibility of traps setup by past explorers in the tunnel.

The stairs went quite far down. Though no one hThe stairs went quite far down. Though no one had likely passed through in a long time, the air was fresh and the steps free of dust. Clearly, the preservation formations down here were still functioning.

Eventually, we arrived at the end of the stairs, which was clearly more than just a basement level. We were in some kind of tunnel, which reminded me of a subway but bigger, made out of what appeared to be perfectly smooth stone. Lines of light ran through the walls in strange geometric patterns, giving us plenty of light to see.

The ground appeared to be stone as well. But like the stone floors upstairs and back at the Amber Blossom Pagoda Ruins, my Earth Sense felt incredibly muted through it. Likely the work of the formations in place. Trying to Earth Wade through this would likely not work. As for forming Earth Constructs…

“Do you think the formations would stop me from manipulating the stone with my techniques?” I asked Pan Song as he walked over to some kind of raised dais in the center of this part of the tunnel. As he did, I couldn’t help but notice the sound of his footsteps wasn’t quite right. 

In an underground tunnel like this, they should have echoed more, but didn’t. Neither had my voice. Guess that was another feature of the formations down here.

“Yes,” Pan Song said without a second pause. He reached out with a hand, and light glowed from the dais and his formation plate. “Among many other things, the formations protect every inch of these tunnels. You wouldn’t be able to bypass that. Not without being a lot stronger in cultivation.”

“Yeah… I thought so,” I said, eyeing the walls around in annoyance. “Hopefully, there’s nothing down here we need to fight. Or else that takes away one of my big tools.”

“We shouldn’t have to worry about that,” Pan Song said distractedly. “The spirit beasts above were brought in by the Starguard for the trial. And it would be madness for them to bring a spirit beast strong enough to break into these tunnels with brute force. They also shouldn’t have any expectations of us coming down here either. Aside from myself, I doubt there is anyone else taking the trial that could get in here, which is another thing we don’t have to worry about.”

“Unless they did it because they’ve heard of you?” I said, frowning at the thought. “Our confrontations with Qian Zhi were rather public, and in the Starguard Hall itself. And Sun Yun has been spreading rumors about your mastery…”

“That's…” Pan Song said, trailing off. “That’s possible… But it seems like a lot of effort just for me. Even Foundation Establishment Masters would need to expend quite some effort to get down here. And that’s assuming they even know about these tunnels. Unless the Trial Overseers were part of the original expedition into these ruins, they might not even know they exist.“

“We should probably be careful anyway, just in case,” I said, eyeing the two ends of the tunnel warily. I didn’t see any signs of movement, nor could I hear anything. Yet for some reason I felt uneasy… And part of me couldn’t help but think I was forgetting something.

“We should,” Pan Song said, still interacting with the formations centered around the dais. “There could still be traps left by past explorers down here or perhaps dangerous security formations. Although… If I understand this right, then… Yes! Yes, I am. And if I do this… Yes!”

Once again, floating symbols formed together into a larger shape in front of Pan Song. He grabbed at them, and they entered into his formation plate.

“What did you do?” I asked, turning to see his triumphant look.

“I believe I’ve gotten more control of the formations down here,” Pan Song said, looking more than a little smug. “And that should help in case you're right and there is anything dangerous down here. It should also make any dangerous security formation down here less of a problem.”

“Oh, that’s good,” I said, looking at the formation plate as if that could tell me anything. “What can you do now?”

“Well, for one,” Pan Song said, grinning and hefting the formation plate. “I should be able to disable the basic protections temporarily in parts of the tunnel. So if we fight, you should be able to use your techniques. There are also… minor—to the ancients that is—defensive formations that make up the greater formation running through the whole tunnel that I should be able to control, given time. And any formations that aren’t so easily controlled, I should at least be warned about them so we don’t walk headfirst into them.”

“Impressive,” I said, nodding. And I really meant it. That sounded amazing. So if there were any spirit beasts down here, not only would I not be held back by the formations, but we would have an advantage. We also didn’t have to worry about any traps left behind by the ancient people of this city. Just traps that other explorers might have left.

“I also have a better idea of what these tunnels are,” Pan Song said as he started heading down the right side of the tunnel. “They should run through the entire city, and I believe they were used for traversing underground. There are directional guides built into the formation as well, and if we go this way, then we could head deeper into the city.”

“Alright, sounds good,” I said, following after him. “So you want to sightsee then? Or is there still more for you to learn?”

“I think there’s still more I can learn,” Pan Song said, his formation plate still out as he glanced at the walls while walking. As he passed the walls, the lines of light would brighten and symbols would appear. “Both from looking at more of the formations besides the control centers, as well as from looking at the formations deeper in the city. They should get more complicated and powerful the closer we get to the center of the city.”

“Alright then, lead the way,” I said. Since the biggest danger down here would be traps, it made more sense for Pan Song to lead. He’d be more able to spot anything to do with formations. And that was the most likely kind of trap we might find down here. “Although, can you try turning off the formations that stop me from shaping the stone around us? I want to practice something.”

“Yes, just give me one moment,” Pan Song said. He looked away from the wall and started gesturing and forming hand signs over his plate. When he finished, the plate pulsed for a moment, and all the lights of the tunnel within two dozen yards of us dimmed slightly. “I can only affect a single section of the tunnel’s formations at a time. So you might want to just gather up some stone now, or else we’ll be moving quite slowly if I have to keep doing this.”

“Okay,” I said, activating Earth Construct and doing as he said. 

My Skill seemed to work now, though it was still a bit slower than before. For a moment, I thought it might just be the formation, but the more I shaped the stone into what I wanted, the more I thought it might be the stone itself. It was a lot denser than I thought it would be. Strange.

Or perhaps not. Maybe the formations weren’t the only thing protecting these tunnels. Regardless, it was something to keep in mind if the worst came to pass and the tunnels weren’t as safe as we wished.

I formed a rather ugly-looking hammer of stone for ease of carrying. Using both hands, I grabbed it and hefted it over my shoulder. Despite my incredible strength now, I still felt the weight, really showing just how dense the rock was. 

With that taken care of, the two of us continued to walk through the tunnel. Pan Song examined the walls every now and then with his formation plate out, while I separated portions of my hammer into balls of stone and played around with refining my constructs. I still kept most of my attention on our surroundings just in case, but the rest of my attention went to experimenting.

I focused most of my efforts on imagining what I wanted, and activated the actual Skill sparingly to test. I didn’t want to use more Qi than I could recover naturally. Not while there was any chance we could run into danger.

There really did seem to be a difference between my constructs that looked like just basic shapes and my constructs that looked like actual things. I’d already seen that in the fight with Zhu Fu, but it really hit home now when I could test it in a much less stressful situation.

But was it because using my imagination and maybe the symbolism of actual objects that caused this? 

The more logical part of my brain said it could just be that these shapes were stronger than the ones I used before. On the other hand, this wasn’t science. It was magic. Spirit magic stuff. And that wouldn’t explain why Zhu Fu mentioned the intricate details of his bear. Sure, it could have been him messing with me, but I didn’t think so.

Yet, could it really be so simple? Make more intricate and cool-looking constructs, and they would get stronger? Was there a limit to this? Did I need to develop into a sculptor or something? According to Zhu Fu, it wasn’t so simple. But how would I figure out the truth?

Maybe… maybe I needed to try and learn some techniques. Buy them or earn them from the Starguard. Get more advanced earth techniques that weren’t harvested from spirit beasts. Perhaps that would teach me more.

Of course, there were other options… Harvest a more advanced earth technique from a cultivator. Not a random innocent person, of course. But a bandit or something. Though finding someone who fit that criteria probably wasn’t going to be as easy as finding spirit beasts. The only people the Starguard might keep detailed information about and have a bounty on them would probably be too much for me to handle.

It was probably better to just buy or earn a technique at the moment.

As for right now, I would just have to learn by experimenting. 

I continued to do that as we made our way through the tunnels, heading in the direction of the center of the city. I focused on both forming more and more intricate forms from my constructs, while not letting my attention waver from our surroundings. It didn’t matter how strong my constructs were if it took all my attention to accomplish that after all.

Eventually, though, I started to think back to that feeling of forgetting something I had before. And it was then that I realized what I’d been trying to remember. Yin Tai—or Qian Zhi—had connections with an Array Master. One that could prepare a trap formation for a non-Array-Master to attach to an ancient ruin.

Could that Array Master have made something to let them bypass ancient arrays as well? Maybe not all ancient arrays, but some in particular? Like the ones in Stormcaller’s Glory? Or heck, depending on where these tunnels lead, could that Array Master have broken into the formations from the edges of the city, allowing a team of people to sneak into the trial through these tunnels?

But no, the Trial Overseers should be able to detect them with their spirit sense if they tried to use these tunnels? Unless… what if these formations could block out more than just my Earth Sense…

Shit.

“Hey,” I called out, my body tense.

Pan Song turned to look at me, and he frowned when he probably noticed my tension.”What is it?”

“Could that Array Master—the one working with Qian Zhi. Could he have made some kind of formation device that would let Qian Zhi or other non-Array-Masters break into these tunnels? Like he made that trap formation.”

Pang Song’s frown deepened for a second before he relaxed. “Oh… no, I don’t think so. Creating a formation to set up a formation hidden within an ancient formation is one thing. But to actually bypass an ancient formation? There are far too many moving and shifting parts when it comes to ancient formations. One would need to be a peerless master to do something like that.”

“Okay,” I said, nodding. Though I still didn’t feel relieved yet. “That’s good. But do you know if these tunnels might lead all the way to the edges of the city? And do you think an Array Master can sneak into the trial grounds through these tunnels from there? Can the Trial Overseers sense us in here?”

Pang Song’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out as he got a vacant look on his face. “That… No, the Overseer's spirit sense should be able to… Well… The tunnels might block out… Oh…”

“Oh?” I asked, not liking the frown forming on his face again.

“That’s… That might be possible. Do you think…”

“This is how Yin Tai and whoever else will sneak into the trial grounds to assassinate Xing Yaling?”

“Yes, that…” Pang Song said, his face going paler. He lifted his formation plate, and it lit up as he started to work it. “If that’s the case, then I should… Do you hear that?”

He whispered that last part, and I froze as I heard what he must have as well. 

The formations around us dampened the noise, preventing sound from traveling too far. Yet I could still hear the faint sound of footsteps as well as mumbled words coming from the intersection we were heading towards.

Pan Song and I shared a quick look before we both turned and started walking back in the direction we came. I was tempted to run, but that would just create more noise. And Pan Song was working on something with his formation plate. Hopefully, he was activating those defensive formations he’d talked about earlier. Because if it was who we thought it was, just turning off the formation keeping me from making Earth Constructs wouldn’t be enough.

“Do… hear… people…”

Back towards the intersection, the voices grew louder, and the sound of footsteps slowed for a moment. It was enough that I could make out some words.

“Those are footsteps!” a voice called out. 

It was followed by the sound of footsteps speeding up and getting louder. Shit.

“Activate the defensive formations,” I whispered to Pan Song as I turned around. With how straight the tunnels were, there was no way we could get far enough away to get out of sight if we ran. So the only thing to do was fight if it came down to it.

I put down what was left of my rock hammer and unsheathed my sword. As I did, the people we’d been hearing reached the intersection. And the moment I saw the distinctive white and gold robes, I knew that things just got a whole lot more complicated.

Well, at least now I have a chance of stopping Xing Yaling’s assassination. As long as we weren’t killed by a larger and superior force.

Fuck.

“You!” a voice called out. Despite the distance between us, I easily recognize Scarface as the one who called out. He and the rest of the Qian clan goons from the boat were there. All six of them. And, of course, so was Qian Zhi himself.

“Pan Song?” I whispered, gripping my sword tightly. “How is it going?”

“A few more moments,” he whispered back, focused on the formation plate.

“What are you—no, it does not matter! The Overseers can’t see in here, and you have seen us! It's time for you to pay for your arrogance with your lives!”

And with that, the goons of the Qian Clan rushed forward.

I gripped my sword so tightly that my knuckles were probably white. But I held my ground. 6 likely Early-Stage Qi-Gatherers might be manageable between Pan Song and me. Add in Qian Zhi, who was at Mid-Qi Gathering, and that was a whole other story. 

The only chance we had was whatever ancient defensive formations might exist down here. Which meant all I could do was trust in Pan Song.

“I have it!” Pan Song cried out.

I saw some kind of flash of light out of the corner of my eyes. Then lines light up along the walls and ground in front of us. They formed a cutoff circle in front of us, starting from the left where the wall met the ground. 

I grinned at the sight, relaxing my grip as a wall of light started to form. The cultivators heading towards us were fast. But not that fast. None of them would make it.

Or so I thought.

Right before the shield finished forming, with only a person-sized hole left, a blur rushed into our side of the tunnel. The shield snapped shut a moment after. The Qian Clan goons attacked it from their side, but it held firm despite an onslaught of techniques being used against it. We couldn’t even hear them from this side.

Which just left us alone with the one that got through. Qian Zhi.

My grip tightened again, but I forced myself to calm down. This was fine. With both me and Pan Song together, we should be able to take Qian Zhi. He was a Mid-Stage Qi-Gatherer. And he was considered quite talented. But at best, he was probably around Zhu Fu's level. And even if he likely wouldn’t hold back, I didn’t have to hold back on my trump card either.

We had this.

“That was a mistake,” I said, breaking the silence that fell over the three of us. “You’re going to regret thinking you can take the two of us just because of your advanced cultivation.”

“Oh, I don’t think I will,” a soft voice said.

I froze. That… hadn’t been Qian Zhi's voice… His mouth hadn’t opened, and instead, he just kept glaring at us mindlessly. Like more beast than man. 

As for the source of the actual voice, I was having a hard time believing it. It just… didn’t make sense.  Or… No, I suppose it did make sense, but things might have just become a lot worse.

Because the voice had seemed to come out of the stupid white fox that Qian Zhi carried on his shoulder. The one who was always glaring at me. Except now, it was looking at me with what I could only describe as a smile.

That wasn’t good. Because most spirit beasts did not begin to speak until the later stages of Rank 2. Which, if that was the case for this fox… Then we were doomed.

God damned foxes…