Chapter 77: Cave Emanating Such Powerful Thunder Energy (2)
Lin Yuan descended toward the mountain range situated on the fringes of Azure Cloud City’s territory. His black-and-white Daoist robes snapped violently in the rushing wind, their intricate embroidery shimmering beneath the midday sun as his figure rapidly approached the rugged peaks below.
His deep purple eyes remained fixed on a gaping, pitch-black fissure nestled near the base of the tallest peak. At first glance, it appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary cave, its entrance surrounded by withered weeds and crumbling gray stone. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, yet from within its depths came the faint, unmistakable aura of thunder that had drawn Lin Yuan’s attention.
As Lin Yuan slowed his descent, his boot touched down gently upon the loose gravel a few dozen yards from the cave entrance. He took a deep, steadying breath, his gaze remaining fixed on the dark fissure ahead. Then, without another word, he began walking toward it, each measured step carrying him deeper into the strange, thunderous aura.
One step. Two steps. Three steps.
When he was exactly ten feet from the cave entrance, the undeniable laws of reality violently asserted themselves.
BZZZZT!
As Lin Yuan was about to take the final step across the cavern’s maw, his entire cultivation base suddenly trembled violently. This was not a mere flutter of unease within his Dao Heart. Something far deeper was reacting.
The Nascent Soul sitting cross-legged within his dantian let out a silent scream, its tiny form flickering violently as though it were a fragile candle caught in the midst of a raging hurricane.
His body began to actively break down under the terrifying aura. Lin Yuan’s skin flushed a deep crimson, while the forged bones within his arms and legs groaned under the strain. Fine fractures instantly spider-webbed across his femurs and ribs, spreading with alarming speed. His blood began to boil within his veins, and a sickening metallic taste of blood flooded his mouth.
Lin Yuan abruptly halted his forward momentum, his boots scraping violently against the ground as he forcibly threw himself backward, retreating beyond the cavern’s threshold.
He landed heavily on one knee, violently coughing up a mouthful of blood. He clutched his chest, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he desperately circulated his spiritual energy to rapidly heal his fracturing bones.
His deep purple eyes were wide with sheer horror and a profound realization.
Lin Yuan was absolutely, and undeniably certain that if he had moved even a single inch further into that cave, his physical body would have been instantaneously destroyed! He would not have been pushed back, nor would he have been injured—he would have been reduced to a fine, bloody mist in a fraction of a second. The sheer power of the thunder energy emanating from the depths of the cave was simply immense. It was an aura that completely threatened his existence.
He knelt there on the desolate mountain path, wiping the blood from his chin, his mind racing at a million thoughts per second.
How is this possible? Lin Yuan wondered, his gaze fixed on the pitch-black entrance. The thunder energy buried within this mountain is truly extraordinary. Its mere aura is already powerful enough to permanently cripple an Early Nascent Soul cultivator simply by standing near it’s entrance.
As his breathing slowly stabilized, a something unusual suddenly struck him.
He looked around the mountain range, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding landscape. There were no defensive formations, no encampments, and not even the remnants of a blood-soaked battlefield. It was simply a quiet, unremarkable mountain standing at the edge of the wilderness, as though nothing extraordinary had ever happened here.
Why is this place not getting any attraction?!
The question echoed loudly in his mind. The cultivation world was fundamentally driven by greed and the relentless hoarding of resources. If a treasure, ancient inheritance, or supreme beast corpse capable of emanating such terrifying power existed in the open, it would have been an irresistible beacon, drawing countless cultivators toward it like moths to a flame.
Surely, what was resting inside that cave was powerful enough to attract the absolute apex of cultivators. It wouldn’t just draw the attention of the local Core Formation patriarchs or the Nascent Soul envoys scattered throughout the Zhao province. An energy signature this profound, this heavy, should have instantly attracted the terrifying old monsters from throughout the entire Central Continent!
By all logic, the sky above this mountain should currently be blotted out by the massive floating fortresses of super-sects. The ground should be heavily stained with the blood of tens of thousands of cultivators who had waged a devastating battle for the right to claim whatever lay in the dark.
Yet, there was nothing. It was entirely abandoned.
This thunder energy was something else entirely. It was a paradox.
As Lin Yuan remained kneeling in the dirt, carefully regulating his breath and contemplating exactly what to do next since he fundamentally could not enter the cave without committing suicide, a subtle fluctuation in the ambient spiritual qi above caught his attention.
His deep purple gaze snapped upward.
High in the sky, tracing a path directly over the jagged peak, was a cultivator. He was riding atop a standard flying sword, leaving a faint trail of condensed spiritual qi in his wake.
Without needing to move, Lin Yuan seamlessly spread a thin, undetectable layer of his divine sense upward to analyze the passerby.
The cultivator was a young man, dressed in flowing blue robes adorned with a faint, silver crest. Lin Yuan instantly deduced his cultivation level: Early Foundation Establishment. Judging by the specific crest on his robes and the direct trajectory he was flying, it was highly likely that this youth was a peripheral Bai clan member returning to their estate from a sect mission or a merchant run.
Lin Yuan watched the young man intently, expecting the Foundation Establishment cultivator to suddenly convulse in agony. If the ambient aura near the cave entrance was enough to cause Lin Yuan’s Nascent Soul to shake, then simply flying directly over the mountain should have instantly pulverized a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. The sheer aura of the thunder energy should have yanked the flying sword out of the sky and dragged the boy to an instantaneous death.
But nothing happened.
The young Bai clan member flew smoothly through the air. He even reached into his robes, pulled out a small flask, and took a casual, refreshing sip of wine as he passed directly over the apex of the mountain. His face was completely relaxed, his breathing steady, and his sword’s flight path remained perfectly true.
He did not react to the thunder aura coming from the cave in the slightest. He didn’t even cast a downward glance at it direction.
Why is that? Lin Yuan’s brows furrowed deeply, his mind reeling.
How could an Early Foundation Establishment cultivator effortlessly ignore an aura that had caused him to act? Unless...
Unless the energy was not actually interacting with the physical world in a normal manner.
Then, like a bolt of brilliant lightning, somewhat of a conclusion hit Lin Yuan.
His eyes widened as he looked back down at the pitch-black entrance of the cave.
Does it mean that others can’t perceive the thunder energy?
The revelation sent a profound chill down Lin Yuan’s spine. To Bai Chen and every other cultivator within Azure Cloud City, this mountain was nothing more than an ordinary pile of dull rocks, completely unworthy of their attention.
They were completely oblivious to what lay beneath it.
A treasure capable of making even a Nascent Soul cultivator tremble was hidden in plain sight, yet no one had realized its existence. The thought alone made Lin Yuan’s expression grow solemn.