92: Chapter 92 Changbai Mountain

Wednesday, 4:00 AM.

Chen Zhen stood in the center of the Secret Base, taking one last look at the place he had stayed for over two months.

Six pots of spiritual plants grew quietly, five hundred Talismans were pasted on the walls, and four Celestial Star Arrays were still emitting a faint glow.

He put the purified fragment into his Storage Space, and the two Fusion fragments rotated slowly within his Dantian.

He pushed open the door and walked out.

The night outside was deep, and the city lights flickered in the distance.

He took a deep breath and activated [Star Radiance Flash].

Fifty meters.

Once more.

After ten consecutive teleports, he had left the urban area and was standing in an open field on the outskirts.

From here on, he could not use teleportation. It consumed too much spiritual energy and was easy to attract attention.

He took an Invisibility Talisman from his Storage Space and stuck it on his body.

With a flash of light, his aura was completely concealed, blending into the surrounding night.

Then he took out another Talisman—a Speed Talisman.

He stuck it to his lower leg, and instantly, a feeling of lightness surged through his whole body.

He started to run.

The speed was three times faster than normal running, but the spiritual energy consumption was extremely low.

At this speed, he would be able to reach Changbai Mountain by noon tomorrow.

Wednesday, 2:00 PM.

Chen Zhen stood at the foot of Changbai Mountain, looking up at the snow-covered peak.

It was higher and colder than he had imagined.

But the Stellar Energy in his Dantian circulated automatically, isolating the cold outside his body.

He activated [Fragment Perception].

Sixteen light points.

Yun Xi was about two thousand meters up the mountain, standing still.

The green point for Changbai Mountain was near her.

The green point for Wuyi Mountain had also arrived, not far from the foot of the mountain.

There were also five red points; the farthest was in the northeast, and the nearest was three hundred kilometers away.

The black source—was still at Kunlun Mountain.

But the fragment memories indicated that the source was here.

He withdrew his perception and began to climb.

He didn't use teleportation or a Speed Talisman, just walked up step by step.

The snow was deep, covering his ankles. But with every step he took, his spiritual energy automatically protected his feet, blocking out the cold and moisture.

After walking for two hours, he reached an altitude of two thousand meters.

Yun Xi stood on a boulder, her back to him, looking at the distant peaks.

Hearing footsteps, she turned her head.

"You're here."

Chen Zhen walked over and stood beside her.

Following her gaze, he saw a black dot on the distant peak.

It was very small, but being visible from this distance meant that the thing was not small at all.

"What is that?"

"His lair," Yun Xi said. "Or rather, the traces he left behind."

Chen Zhen looked at her.

"He?"

Yun Xi was silent for two seconds.

"The source is not a person."

She turned around and looked at Chen Zhen.

"It is a thing."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

Yun Xi continued, "We were all wrong before. The source is not some Out-of-Control fragment holder, but the fragment itself—the very first fragment."

The very first one.

"That fragment was somehow corrupted, and then it started to corrupt other fragments. The holders of the fragments corrupted by it would lose control and turn into those things that are neither human nor ghost."

She paused.

"I suspect that the black light point on Kunlun Mountain is a fake signal he deliberately released. The real one is here."

Chen Zhen looked at the black dot in the distance.

"Can that thing be killed?"

Yun Xi shook her head.

"I don't know. No one has ever tried."

She looked at Chen Zhen.

"But we have to try. Otherwise, everyone will die."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

Then he started walking, continuing up the mountain.

Yun Xi watched his back, stunned for a moment.

"Aren't you going to wait for the one from Wuyi Mountain?"

Chen Zhen didn't turn back.

"We'll see when they get here."

5:00 PM, altitude two thousand five hundred meters.

Chen Zhen stood in front of the black dot.

It was a building. No, not a building, but a huge rock, naturally formed, but its surface was covered with runes.

He recognized those runes.

Core circle with three dots, radial curves, nested geometry, peripheral dot matrix.

Dongshan Rune.

But larger, more complex, and more numerous.

He walked around the rock and found an entrance.

The entrance was small, only big enough for one person to squeeze into.

It was pitch black inside, and nothing could be seen.

[Anomaly Perception] probed inside.

Deep. Very deep. At least five hundred meters.

At the deepest point, there was a light point. It wasn't the light of a fragment, but another kind of light.

Dark red, but very faint, like a flame about to go out.

He withdrew his perception and stood before the entrance.

Yun Xi walked up from behind and stood beside him.

"Did you sense it?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Yun Xi took a deep breath. "Going in?"

Chen Zhen didn't answer.

He took ten Protective Talismans from his Storage Space and stuck them on his body. He also took out ten Attack Talismans and held them in his hand.

Then he took a step and walked into the cave.

Yun Xi was stunned for a moment, then followed.

Inside the cave, it was very dark, cold, and damp.

Chen Zhen activated [Star Radiance], and a ball of dark blue light lit up in his palm, illuminating the surroundings.

The cave walls were also covered with runes, just like what he had seen outside. The further he went in, the denser the runes, and the brighter the light—not his light, but the runes themselves were glowing.

After walking three hundred meters, the cave suddenly opened up. It was a huge underground space, about fifty meters high, with an area at least the size of a football field.

In the center of the space, a huge stone was floating.

Dark red, translucent, with something moving inside.

Chen Zhen stared at that stone.

In [Internal Vision], that thing emitted the same aura as the Out-of-Control before he died—chaotic, violent, and full of malice.

But thicker, stronger, and more ancient.

"That's it," Yun Xi said beside him, her voice trembling. "The earliest fragment."

Chen Zhen didn't speak. He stared at the stone.

The thing inside the stone seemed to be staring at him too.

The silence lasted for three seconds.

Then, a voice rang in his mind. It wasn't language, but intent.

"You have come."

Chen Zhen didn't respond.

The voice continued, "I have waited a long time."

Chen Zhen spoke, "What are you waiting for me for?"

The voice was silent for a second.

"Waiting for you to make a choice."