Chapter 5

The Blood Core

The stairs beneath the trapdoor spiraled deep into the cold granite bedrock of Yanshan.

The air grew progressively thicker, reeking of oxidized iron, burnt tallow, and the stagnant, heavy stench of dying spirits. Damp moss coated the stone walls, glowing with a faint, sickly green luminescence under the oppressive weight of forbidden Qi.

Ming Xian descended without a sound. His black boots barely brushed the steps, his right hand gripping his stolen steel sword while his left kept a reverse lock on his hunting knife. Beside him, Baihua drifted through the dark, her pale green eyes cutting through the gloom like two burning embers.

‘Thirty paces ahead,’ Baihua warned, her voice vibrating directly in his mind. ‘The ley lines here are mangled. Someone sliced through the mountain’s veins and redirected the natural flow into a singular point.’

‘Master Chen’s array,’ Ming Xian thought back. ‘Stay close. Array masters don't leave underground vaults unguarded.’

They reached the base of the stairwell. The passage opened into a massive, subterranean cavern supported by four carved stone pillars. In the center of the chamber, suspended five feet above a raised stone altar, was a pulsating sphere of crimson light—the size of a carriage wheel.

Inside the sphere, dozens of crystalline lumps, carved like crude human hearts, rotated in a slow, unnatural orbit. Every time a heart passed through the center of the sphere, a wet, heavy thud echoed against the cavern walls.

THUMP... THUMP... THUMP...

"Magnificent, isn't it?"

A voice echoed from behind the central pillar.

A tall, thin man in long grey robes stepped out into the crimson light. His face was gaunt, his cheekbones sharp, and his eyes bloodshot from long nights of forbidden cultivation. Around his neck hung a heavy iron chain carrying three brass compasses that spun erratically, tracking the corrupted flux of spirit Qi.

Master Chen, Grand Scholar of Array Formation.

"I spent four years calculating the exact harmonic frequency needed to bind spirit hearts to a artificial vessel," Chen said, his tone filled with the quiet, terrifying pride of a mad scholar. He didn't look at Ming Xian; his eyes were glued to the glowing crimson core. "The elders call it a sin. But when this core is fully charged, it will force the spirit veins of the entire province to obey the Righteous Sword Sect."

"It's a corpse core, Chen," Ming Xian said, stepping into the cavern light. His posture was low, his eyes locked onto Chen's hands. "You're building an engine out of dead spirits. It will collapse the moment it draws full power."

Master Chen finally turned his head, his bloodshot eyes narrowing as he recognized Ming Xian's face.

"Ah... the disgraced disciple from the trial," Chen chuckled, a dry, raspy sound. "Deacon Zhao was a fool for letting you escape the forest. But you coming here was a mistake, boy. An array master in his own sanctum is an emperor."

Chen raised his right hand, revealing a small, black slate covered in silver runes.

"Activate," Chen whispered.

CRACK!

The floor beneath Ming Xian's feet exploded with bright blue light.

Complex geometric runes flared into existence across the entire stone chamber, forming a double-layered Iron-Cage Lock. Instantly, gravity within the circle multiplied tenfold. The sudden pressure slammed onto Ming Xian's shoulders like a falling boulder, forcing his knees to bend and cracking the stone beneath his boots.

"A simple heavy-gravity array," Chen sneered, stepping closer. "Your physical strength is impressive, renegade, but without a Golden Core, your bones will shatter in ten seconds."

Ming Xian didn't panic. He didn't waste his breath screaming. He gritted his teeth, feeling the pressure compressing his lungs, and looked up toward the ceiling.

"Now," Ming Xian grunted through clenched teeth.

Master Chen frowned. "What—?"

SWOOSH!

A sharp, sub-zero draft blasted down from the ceiling directly above Master Chen.

Baihua dropped out of the shadows like a falling spear of ice. Her white sleeves billowed as she flicked both wrists downward. Dozens of razor-thin needles, forged from compressed frost and ancient spirit Qi, rained down on the array master.

"A spirit?!" Chen gasped, pulling his black slate up to raise a hasty barrier.

BANG-BANG-BANG!

The ice needles shattered against Chen's barrier, but the sheer force knocked the array master backward. His foot slipped, and the black slate fell from his hands, clattering across the stone floor.

The moment the slate left Chen's fingers, the blue gravity array beneath Ming Xian flickered and died out.

The heavy pressure disappeared instantly.

Ming Xian didn't wait a single millisecond. The moment his weight lightened, he kicked off the stone floor, his body launching forward like a released crossbow bolt.

He closed the twenty-pace gap in less than two seconds.

Chen panicked, wildly drawing two paper talismans from his sleeve. "Guard Puppets, awaken!"

Two heavy stone statues standing by the pillars vibrated, their carved eyes lighting up with crimson Qi as they stepped forward to intercept Ming Xian.

"Too slow!" Baihua screamed.

She slammed her palms against the ground. Pale, frost-covered pine roots burst through the granite, wrapping around the stone puppets' legs, snapping their heavy joints and locking them in place before they could raise their weapons.

Ming Xian drove straight past the frozen puppets, his stolen steel sword executing a lightning-fast Dragon-Tail Sweep.

CLANG!

Chen managed to draw a short iron ruler to parry, but Ming Xian's strike was fueled by raw physical momentum. The stolen sword shattered Chen's iron ruler into three pieces.

Before Chen could pull back, Ming Xian twisted his body, stepped inside the scholar's guard, and drove his left elbow hard into Chen's sternum.

THUMP!

Chen choked, spraying blood as he was thrown backward, crashing hard against the base of the central altar. His paper talismans fluttered away, burning into useless ash in the air.

Ming Xian stood over him, his stolen sword pointed straight at Chen's throat.

"The key to the Vault in Tianzhou," Ming Xian demanded, his voice cold and unwavering. "Where is it?"

Chen lay coughing on the floor, his chest caving in from the blow. He looked up at Ming Xian, a bloody, hysterical smile spreading across his face.

"It's... it's already there," Chen wheezed, blood spurting from his lips. "The... the main shipment left Yanshan two days ago. This core... is just the catalyst. The Grand Elder... is already setting up the master array beneath the capital..."

Chen reached up with a trembling hand, grabbing the edge of Ming Xian's cloak.

"You're... too late, traitor," Chen whispered, his eyes widening in madness. "The city of Tianzhou... will burn to nourish the sect!"

Ming Xian didn't flinch. He flicked his wrist, driving the blade through Chen's neck, ending his words instantly.

Silence settled over the vault, broken only by the heavy, unnatural beating of the crimson spirit core above the altar.

Baihua drifted down beside Ming Xian, her pale face darker than usual as she stared at the pulsating sphere of harvested hearts.

"He was telling the truth," Baihua said softly, her green eyes reflecting the blood-red light. "The spirit Qi in this core is connected to a larger network pointing south. Toward Tianzhou."

Ming Xian sheathed his sword, pulled a heavy cloth wrap from his belt, and began gathering the remaining array blueprints scattered across Master Chen's desk.

"Then we go to Tianzhou," Ming Xian said, slipping the documents into his vest.

"Into the heart of the empire?" Baihua asked, looking at him with a sharp, inquiring glint in her eyes. "You'll have the entire Righteous Sword Sect and the Imperial Guards hunting you the moment you step through the city gates."

Ming Xian walked up to the altar, drew his hunting knife, and with one swift, precise strike, severed the primary Qi feed connecting the crimson core to the cavern floor.

The glowing red sphere flickered, cracked, and burst into harmless grey dust.

"Let them hunt," Ming Xian said, turning back toward

the stairs. "It's easier to kill an empire from the inside."