Chapter 197 - The Fluid Mist and the Command Seal
By the twenty-fourth day inside the Fallen-Star Sanctuary, the group had gone deeper than any of them had ever expected.
The pressure on their resources had also become heavier. The Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pill supply had dwindled with every passing day.
The Low-grade and Mid-grade pills Su Bai had given Tang Sisi had long been consumed.
In the end, Tang Ziyan silently handed her some of the Transcendent-grade Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pills.
The others were not much better.
Fortunately, not everything in Layer Two worked against them.
The lingering weapon intents were deadly, but they sometimes helped.
Where a sword scar crossed the battlefield, the nearby miasma would be cut apart again and again. Where a burning blade intent still smoldered on a broken wall, the surrounding miasma became restless and avoided the heat.
The group did not dare approach those intents carelessly, but they learned to use the edges of those cleared areas as temporary breathing spaces.
They would stop at a distance, restore themselves briefly, replace weakened lotus barriers, record what could be recorded, then move on before the intent reacted or nearby formations stirred awake.
It was a strange feeling.
The same ancient killing intents that could tear them apart were also cutting open small spaces for them to breathe.
Su Bai was quieter than usual.
His reversed Immaculate Lotus-Heart Pill had already run out too. The inverted lotus barrier had lasted longer than ordinary barriers because it did not resist the Ashen-Blood Miasma.
Su Bai felt a little regretful.
It had been useful.
...
As they advanced, the amount of treasure they gathered became almost unreasonable.
At first, everyone had been excited whenever they found something valuable.
Later, excitement became silence.
After that, silence became worry.
Because their storage rings were filling up.
Su Bai’s own storage rings had actually become full long ago. The only reason he still looked calm was because he had quietly moved the excess items into his system inventory. That place seemed to have no clear limit. No matter how much he placed inside, it accepted everything without complaint.
This made Su Bai feel complicated.
The system inventory was really convenient.
Convenient things often made people greedy.
Su Bai was already greedy enough without help.
Lin Weiyang, on the other hand, was beginning to suffer openly.
She had brought more storage rings than most people present. As someone from the Divine Artificer Citadel, she had clearly prepared for a treasure-rich ruin. At first, everyone had admired her foresight.
Now even she was frowning at the rings on her hand.
"This one is full too."
Chen Feng glanced at her.
"How many is that?"
Lin Weiyang looked down, then she pretended not to hear.
Zhuge Jing coughed lightly. "Most of the contribution items are with Miss Lin for now. We will divide everything properly after we leave."
Still, the truly dangerous things had not been touched at all. Especially the artifacts with spirits.
After the first few encounters, everyone’s attitude toward them had changed from temptation to avoidance.
At first, a weapon with an artifact spirit had sounded like an unimaginable opportunity.
But the deeper they went, the more they understood that not every voice inside an artifact belonged to the artifact itself.
Some called out.
That was the most frightening part.
One ancient sword lay across a broken stone altar. As the group passed from a distance, a faint voice drifted from the sword.
"Young one..."
The voice was gentle.
"Come closer. I have waited too long..."
Yan Lie had almost turned his head.
At the same time, Zhuge Jing’s Profound Eye opened, Lin Weiyang’s mechanism snapped toward the sword, and Tang Sisi silently drew three needles.
The voice continued.
"I can grant you an inheritance..."
No one moved.
The sword trembled slightly.
"Do you not desire power?"
Su Bai looked at it for a moment, then turned away.
"Let’s leave."
The group left immediately.
Only after they were far away did Yan Lie exhale.
"That was not an artifact spirit?"
Lin Weiyang’s expression was ugly. "Not a clean one."
Zhuge Jing closed his eye and rubbed his brow.
"It felt like a remnant soul wrapped around an artifact spirit. Perhaps the original spirit was devoured. Perhaps it was suppressed. Perhaps the weapon was only bait now."
No one wanted to guess further.
Ancient artifacts with spirits were supposed to be prideful. Even if they chose a master, they would not usually beg strangers in the mist. Loyal artifact spirits might sleep beside their dead masters for ten thousand years rather than casually call out to passing cultivators.
A weapon that called too eagerly was not inviting a master.
It was inviting a body.
After that, no one coveted such artifacts anymore.
They were geniuses, not fools.
Their storage rings were already full anyway.
Tang Sisi muttered, "If it cannot be carried safely, it is not treasure."
Chen Feng glanced at her.
"That sounded almost wise."
Tang Sisi smiled.
"Almost?"
Chen Feng chose silence.
The journey continued.
...
By the twenty-fifth day inside the Fallen-Star Sanctuary, the miasma ahead finally changed.
It moved like fluid.
The red darkness gathered in slow waves, folding over itself in thick layers.
Even the lotus barriers around the group dimmed when they looked at it for too long.
As they continued deeper, the group finally saw the boundary Tang Sisi had described.
The solid Ashen-Blood Miasma barrier.
It stood in the distance like a wall made of condensed red-black water.
Countless strands of miasma twisted inside it, pressing together so densely that even Glass-Lotus Clear Sight could not penetrate more than a shallow layer.
The moment most of them saw it clearly, a chill rose in their hearts.
Even Zhuge Jing’s fingers tightened around his fan.
Only Su Bai remained unaffected.
His gaze stayed calm behind the Glacier-Lung Bone Mask.
The group stopped a hundred meters away.
No one suggested going closer.
It’s not because they were timid, but because the ground before the barrier was covered with a massive formation array.
It stretched across the boundary like a net of ancient authority. Most of its lines were buried beneath dust and miasma, but enough remained visible to make Lin Weiyang’s face change the moment she saw it. Several small mechanisms flew out from her sleeves and crawled across the ground, recording the outer parts from a safe distance.
She did not let them get too close.
"This formation is still active."
No one was surprised.
Everything terrifying in this place seemed to be still active.
Lin Weiyang’s voice became more careful. "No. Not merely active. It is complete enough to function."
Zhuge Jing opened his Profound Eye of Heavenly Abacus and stared for a long while before slowly lowering his fan.
"It is not an attack formation."
That made everyone pause.
Su Bai already knew.
He had seen fragments of it in the memories of the dead.
The massive formation stretching across the boundary was a countermeasure. It existed to control passage into the deeper region. Without recognized authority, no one could approach the solid miasma barrier and pass through it.
Those without authority would be rejected. They would simply be forced back.
In a way, that made it more troublesome.
If it attacked him, Su Bai might have a way to endure it, reverse it, or let it hurt itself. But rejection was not harm. It was a rule.
His constitution could not turn "you are not allowed to enter" into "welcome inside."
Su Bai looked at the formation silently.
This was very inconvenient.
The group also understood the problem after Lin Weiyang and Zhuge Jing explained the outer structure. The formation was not meant to be broken by force. Perhaps in its complete state, even ancient experts had needed proper authority to cross. For them to force through with their current strength was impossible.
Even worse, they did not have much time left.
Only five days remained before the expected opening of the exit portal.
They could not fully explore the Fallen-Star Sanctuary.
That realization settled over the group quietly.
They had already gone farther than almost anyone in the current era. They had found records of immortals. They had seen Layer Two. They had gathered enough treasures and knowledge to shock every force behind them.
But the true secret lay beyond the solid miasma barrier... and they might have to leave without seeing it.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Su Bai sighed softly.
He also felt regret.
There was no next time for this current generation.
He looked at the formation again.
At that moment, Tang Sisi blinked.
She looked at the formation, then she looked at Su Bai, then she looked at the solid miasma barrier.
Her expression became a little strange.
Tang Ziyan noticed immediately.
"Sisi?"
Tang Sisi raised one hand slowly.
"Brother Su."
Su Bai turned to her.
Tang Sisi’s voice was very careful. "When I followed those human figures before, I saw them walking toward that solid miasma. Some entered. Some came out."
Everyone’s gaze fell on her.
Tang Sisi continued, "They used something."
Su Bai’s eyes shifted.
Tang Sisi reached into her storage and took out an ancient command seal.
It was dark, heavy, and covered in old markings. The moment it appeared, the massive formation ahead gave off a faint response.
Tang Sisi held it up.
"I stole one from them."
Silence.
Su Bai stared at the command seal, then his eyes widened slightly.
A moment later, laughter came from behind the Glacier-Lung Bone Mask.
It was low at first, then it became impossible to hide.
Tang Sisi looked at him cautiously.
Su Bai laughed for several breaths before finally calming down.
So the command seals had not disappeared.
The enemies had taken them.
Perhaps they had simply learned to carry the authority left behind by the ancient battlefield.
Anyway, Tang Sisi had stolen one without knowing what it truly meant.
Su Bai looked at Tang Sisi with rare sincerity.
"Miss Tang Sisi, may I have it? I will exchange it for something better after we leave."
Tang Sisi shook her head.
"You can take it."
Su Bai paused.
Tang Sisi smiled lightly.
"Consider it thanks for the pills earlier."
Su Bai did not stand on ceremony.
He reached out and took the command seal.
The moment it entered his hand, the formation lines in the distance brightened faintly, as if something ancient had noticed him.
With this, he could go deeper.
But only one person could use it safely.
Su Bai looked at the barrier, then he turned to the group.
"Return first."
Everyone froze.
Su Bai’s voice remained calm.
"I will go alone."