267: Chapter 267 Corridor of Order

Stepping into the cave entrance felt like crossing an invisible, icy membrane of energy.

The chaotic buzzing from the outside, the stinging sensation of turbulent energy, and even the primal aura of the canyon itself were instantly cut off, as if shut behind a heavy door.

In its place was a strange sense of "Order"—extremely quiet, yet filled with invisible pressure.

It was not pitch black inside the cave.

The dark purple crystals covering the edges of the entrance extended inward, acting like natural, glowing sconces that illuminated a narrow, straight, upward-sloping stone passage.

The walls of the passage were incredibly smooth, as if meticulously polished by some force, presenting a deep, dark gray color with a metallic sheen.

The floor was covered in a thin, fine layer of dark gray dust. Stepping on it produced a faint, rustling sound that was amplified countless times in the absolute silence.

What made Ling Ye feel most apprehensive was the highly orderly, stable, yet cold and inhuman energy field permeating the air.

It was omnipresent, flowing and seeping slowly like viscous liquid.

Ling Ye could feel the warm current of his "Star Visualization" struggling within this energy field; its circulation became abnormally sluggish and slow, as if caught in an invisible quagmire.

His external perception was also severely suppressed and distorted, able to extend no more than two or three meters outside his body before being assimilated and devoured by the orderly energy field.

This was a power completely different from the chaotic distortion of "abyssal eye" contamination, yet it was equally instinctually unsettling and subtly threatening.

It was neither evil nor insane, but cold, exclusionary, and unquestionable, as if following some strict, absolute Law beyond human understanding.

Ling Ye steadied his mind and pushed the perception of the "xuanyuan ring" to its limit.

The ring transmitted a clearer, icy sensation and even vibrated slightly, emitting a more refined and "Orderly" fluctuation, as if resonating with—or perhaps resisting—the energy field within the passage.

The coldness of the ring helped him resist some of the pressure from the external orderly energy field, keeping his mind clear and making the flow of his warm current barely smoother.

He gripped his spear tightly, lightened his footsteps, and slowly moved forward along the straight, upward-sloping passage.

His gaze swept sharply across the smooth rock walls and the floor on both sides.

There were no decorations, text, or patterns in the passage—only an absolute, functional simplicity.

The air was dry, carrying a faint, indescribable, icy scent similar to ozone mixed with some kind of mineral.

After walking upward for about twenty meters, a ninety-degree turn appeared at the end of the passage.

At the turn, a palm-sized, strange, thin flake—neither metal nor stone, with a mirror-smooth surface and dark silver light slowly rotating inside—was embedded in the rock wall.

The energy fluctuation emitted by the thin flake was of the same source as the energy field of the entire passage, but it was more concentrated and restrained.

Ling Ye stopped at the corner, not turning immediately.

He listened intently, but there was no sound.

He carefully poked his head out and used the perception enhanced by the "xuanyuan ring" to "look" behind the corner.

Behind the corner, the passage continued to extend upward, but it was no longer straight; it had an extremely slight, yet definite, curve.

On the walls and floor on both sides, extremely fine and complex dark silver energy patterns, resembling circuit board textures, began to appear. They flickered in and out of existence, as if pulsing with energy according to some pattern.

The energy field in the passage became more concentrated and stable here, and the oppressive feeling of "Order" grew stronger.

This place absolutely could not be naturally formed!

It was a ruin left behind by some highly Advanced civilization or entity that utilized this special "orderly" energy!

And it seemed to be… still operating to some extent?

Ling Ye's heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably.

Was it a pioneer of the "Dark Nest"? Or a more ancient, more mysterious civilization?

What secrets were hidden here? Did it have any connection to the "abyssal eye" contamination or "the key"?

He suppressed the surging waves in his heart and forced himself to analyze calmly.

Currently, it seemed that this ruin was in a state of "low power" or "hibernation," showing no active aggression or defense.

But that omnipresent, exclusionary, orderly energy field itself was the greatest defense.

If not for the help of the "xuanyuan ring" and the special resistance brought by his own "Star Visualization" and "Ancient Ring" mark, he would likely have been completely suppressed or even assimilated by this energy field as soon as he entered.

He continued forward, even more cautiously.

He walked another thirty or forty meters upward along the curved passage.

The curvature of the passage became increasingly obvious, as if he were spiraling upward along the inner wall of a massive, cylindrical space.

The dark silver energy patterns on the walls on both sides became more numerous and complex; in some places, they even converged into small energy nodes emitting a soft white light, like lamps embedded in the walls.

Finally, light appeared ahead in the passage—not the faint glow of the dark purple crystals or energy nodes, but a more stable, brighter white light, as if it were natural daylight.

Ling Ye slowed his pace, held his breath, gripped his spear, and moved step by step to the exit of the passage.

The scene before him made him hold his breath instantly, his pupils constricting!

The end of the passage connected to a massive, hemispherical, incredibly empty underground hall with a diameter of at least one hundred meters!

The dome of the hall was extremely high, emitting that stable, bright white light that illuminated the entire space.

The floor was made of the same mirror-smooth, dark gray material, spotless.

In the center of the hall stood a massive, three-story-tall, pyramid-shaped device that was extremely complex and precise, composed of countless dark silver metal (or similar material) components, energy conduits, glowing runes, and a slowly rotating transparent crystal column that seemed to contain swirling nebulae!

The device stood there silently, making no sound, but a majestic, vast, yet coldly ruthless and indescribable "Order" energy field was pulsing slowly and steadily from it, as if breathing, filling the entire hall!

Ling Ye could even "see" countless, extremely fine, dark silver streams of energy in the air. Like living things, they flowed, intertwined, annihilated, and regenerated silently between the device and the walls and floor of the hall according to some incomprehensible, seamless pattern.

And in front of the base of that huge pyramid device, Ling Ye saw something that almost suffocated him—

Rows upon rows of transparent, cylindrical incubation pods, arranged as tightly as a honeycomb!

There were about a hundred of them! Each was over two meters tall and about a meter in diameter.

Most of the pods were empty, filled with that stable, white, glowing liquid.

But inside more than a dozen of the pods… things were soaking!

The distance was too great to see the details clearly.

But Ling Ye could barely make out that those things seemed to have humanoid outlines!

Moreover, the surfaces of the bodies of several of those humanoid outlines inside the pods seemed to be covered with strange, dark silver structures that resembled the material of the surrounding device, as if metal and biological tissue had fused together!

Some were even connected to dark silver energy conduits hanging down from the tops of the pods!

Was it… human experimentation?! Or… some process of modification or "manufacturing"?!

A chill shot up Ling Ye's spine, instantly freezing the blood in his entire body!

He remembered what Old Shi had mentioned about the "Dark Nest" high-ups seemingly conducting "human modification or evolution experiments using 'Abyssal Remains' and contaminated energy"!

Could this be one of the secret experimental sites?

And was it a more Advanced, more terrifying experiment conducted using this strange "orderly" energy?!

No! Old Shi had said that the low-level researchers of the "Dark Nest" did not know the specific form of "the key," nor did they know about this special "orderly" energy.

The technological level and energy tier here seemed to far exceed the known level of the "Dark Nest"!

Moreover, the style and energy nature of this ruin were completely opposite to the chaotic distortion of the "abyssal eye" contamination!

Could it be… a ruin left behind by another, more ancient, more mysterious faction unrelated to the "Dark Nest"?

Were they also conducting some kind of experiment related to energy and the human body?

And it seemed related to "Order," forming some kind of… opposition to the "Chaos" of the "abyssal eye"?

Countless questions and speculations burst in Ling Ye's mind like an explosion.

But he forced himself to calm down; now was not the time to think about these things.

He needed more information, needed to confirm whether it was safe here, and whether he needed to leave immediately.

He crouched in the shadows of the passage exit, carefully observing the hall.

Except for the massive device in the center and the surrounding incubation pods, the hall was empty, with no signs of any activity.

The energy field was terrifyingly stable, with no aggressive or exploratory fluctuations sweeping through.

It was as if everything here had fallen into an eternal, icy slumber.

His gaze swept over the incubation pods.

Suddenly, his gaze locked onto the largest incubation pod, which was closest to the base of the device.

Inside that pod, a complete humanoid figure was soaking!

And, that humanoid figure… seemed to be wearing clothes?!

Although soaked in liquid, with the clothes clinging to its body, he could tell it was some kind of dark-colored, simple-styled uniform, quite different from modern or "Dark Nest" styles.

What made Ling Ye's heart race even more was that the face of the humanoid figure did not seem… to be covered by that dark silver structure. Although the features were somewhat blurry in the liquid, the outline was clear, looking like… a young man in deep sleep!

Was it a living person? Or a corpse? Was it an experimental subject? Or… the former "master" or "staff member" of this place?

Just then—

"Zzz… click…"

An extremely faint, yet in this absolute silence of the hall, incredibly clear sound—like mechanical gears meshing or an energy switch toggling—came from inside the massive pyramid device in the center of the hall!

Ling Ye instantly tensed all his muscles, almost turning to run away immediately!

But the anticipated attack or alarm did not occur.

He saw the energy patterns on the surface of the massive device suddenly light up for an instant, the light several times stronger than before!

Immediately afterward, a clearer, more "Orderly" energy fluctuation, seemingly carrying some "instruction" or "inquiry," swept across the entire hall like a water wave, with the device as the core, and also swept past the passage exit where Ling Ye was hiding!

The "xuanyuan ring," at this moment, vibrated violently and became scorching hot!

It erupted with an unprecedented, piercing, dark blue light!

It even automatically hovered up from where it was close to Ling Ye's body, as if trying to break free from its restraints and fly toward that massive device!

The ring itself also emitted a rapid, sharp, strange energy ringing, as if "responding" to or "resisting" some kind of summoning!

Damn! Exposed!

Ling Ye was horrified and immediately reached out to grab the violently vibrating ring, trying to hold it down and hide it!

But the ring's power was surprisingly great, causing his hand to tremble!

At the same time, he felt a cold, powerful, irresistible consciousness, accompanied by that "Orderly" energy fluctuation, instantly invade his mind!

It was not language or images, but a direct, pure stream of information, filled with cold logic, rigorous formulas, and a… non-human sense of scrutiny, as if "scanning," "identifying," and "evaluating"!

"Detected… unauthorized… high-Order energy mark… fluctuation match rate… 37%… association protocol… retrieving… security level… re-evaluating…"

"Detected… low-Order… unstable… contamination symbiont… energy characteristics… mixed… threat level… low… suggestion… isolation observation…"

"Detected… vital signs… activity level moderate… energy adaptability… abnormal… compatibility with 'Seed of Order'… preliminary judgment… 0.003%… no modification value…"

"Comprehensive judgment: Intruder. Not 'Chosen of Order'. Not 'Abomination of Chaos'. Energy mark abnormal. Executing… basic detention and deep scanning procedure. Activating… Defense Unit α-7…"

The cold, non-human conscious information flashed through Ling Ye's mind instantly!

Immediately afterward, he saw more than a dozen hidden doors slide open silently on the smooth walls around the hall!

From the hidden doors, more than a dozen metal Puppets, about two meters tall, slowly "walked" out. They had humanoid outlines, but their entire bodies were made of dark silver metal, with energy light flowing at their joints, and their faces were smooth metal planes with only two scarlet light points!

They were coordinated, silent, and swift. As soon as they emerged from the hidden doors, their scarlet light points instantly locked onto the passage exit where Ling Ye was hiding!

At the same time, they raised their arms. The ends of their arms were not palms, but some kind of dark silver conical spikes formed by energy, rotating constantly and emitting dangerous fluctuations!

"Defense Unit"!

Been discovered! And judged as an "intruder," to be subjected to "detention and scanning"!

Escape! Must escape immediately!

Ling Ye did not hesitate anymore. Using all his strength, he forcibly stuffed the violently struggling "xuanyuan ring" back into the deepest part of his chest (the ring's light and vibration were slightly blocked by his clothes, but not completely calmed), turned, and rushed madly toward the passage he had come from!

Behind him, the scarlet gazes of those metal Puppets were like maggots on a bone, locking tightly onto him!

They did not chase immediately, but raised their arms. The energy cone spikes began to rotate rapidly and charge, emitting a low energy hum—

"Shu! Shu! Shu!"

Several dark silver, solid-looking energy beams, like the scythe of the Grim Reaper, cut through the silent air and shot toward Ling Ye's back!