131: Chapter 131 Echoes in the Tomb Passage

Shen Xiao walked very slowly, every step feeling as if he were treading on rusted blades. It wasn't out of fear of pain, but to calculate the distance and the movement trajectories of those "Puppets."

In the original novel, the description of the interior of the Kunlun Ruins was incredibly sparse, mentioning only "forbidden land," "dead silence," and "Puppets like a forest." How exactly they were "like a forest," the author clearly hadn't bothered to elaborate.

Now, it seemed the density was comparable to a subway transfer station during morning rush hour—the kind with fully automated driving that wouldn't yield to you.

Xia Lengbai followed half a step behind him, almost merging into his shadow.

Her breathing was extremely light, and her cold fingertips would occasionally curl involuntarily, as if resisting some invisible pull.

The Tomb Guardian Seal within her was like a cold heart gradually awakening. With every beat, her perception of the "call" from deep within this land became a fraction clearer, while she simultaneously endured the increasingly intense repulsion and tugging from the barrier and the power of the Heavenly Dao.

"Front left, twelve steps, there's a depression, can hide." Shen Xiao's voice was extremely low, barely moving the air, using only lip movements to signal.

His eyes remained fixed on the tall Puppet diagonally ahead that had just turned around, its back to them.

The thing was dark cyan all over, with rough metal riveting at the joints. The red light in its eye sockets glowed steadily, like two low-quality rubies.

Xia Lengbai nodded almost imperceptibly. With a light tap of her foot, she glided silently to the rocky depression like a weightless cold mist.

Shen Xiao followed closely behind. When his back pressed against the cold, rough rock wall, a chill pierced through his clothes, striking straight to his marrow.

It wasn't the cold of the weather; it was the dead, silent cold inherent to the rock itself.

They waited, holding their breath.

Heavy, rhythmic metallic footsteps approached from afar, then receded.

One step, another step, treading on the gray rock, yet it felt as if they were stepping on their hearts.

"They... seem to have fixed routes." Xia Lengbai said using lip-reading, her ice-blue eyes reflecting the faint light of the moving Puppets in the distance.

"Hmm, but don't count on it being exactly the same." Shen Xiao wiped his forehead; there was no sweat, only a cold touch. "The Heavenly Dao, this crappy System, occasionally needs to update its 'patches.' Who knows if there's a random patrol mechanism."

His gaze swept over the crisscrossing shadows and rocks ahead.

The aura of these patrolling Puppets connected into one, like an invisible net cast over the area.

Forcing their way through was equivalent to seeking death.

He needed a "path," one that might have been mentioned in passing in the original novel but was ignored by readers (including his former self) as mere background decoration.

Fragments of memory churned.

Ice Abyss, cold marrow, Xia Lengbai, altar... Kunlun Ruins... That's right, there was an obscure description stating that beneath the main peak of the Kunlun Ruins, there was an "ancient path of sacrificial rites, leading to the netherworld, connecting to the profound ice."

At the time, he had taken it as atmospheric description, but now, combined with the sense of pull from the Tomb Guardian Seal within Xia Lengbai...

"This way." Shen Xiao suddenly changed direction, creeping toward a rocky slope that looked completely unremarkable and piled with rubble.

His movements remained cautious, but carried a hint of certainty.

Xia Lengbai did not question him, simply following silently.

She felt that the "call" coming from the Tomb Guardian Seal between her brows seemed to become more "concrete" as they headed in the direction Shen Xiao had chosen; it was no longer a vague pull, but had acquired a faint "texture."

Behind the rocky slope, the shadows were even denser.

Shen Xiao crouched down, his fingers brushing away a layer of what appeared to be natural rubble and dust.

Traces were revealed beneath—not an obvious entrance, but several deep, archaic grooves that were almost integrated into the rock itself, forming an incomplete pattern.

The lines were twisted, carrying the roughness and sense of power unique to sacrificial carvings from the primeval era.

"Patterns..." Xia Lengbai whispered, her fingers unconsciously tapping her temple.

There, a fragment of memory from Nangong Li regarding ancient Pill Formula sacrificial rituals was resonating weakly with the rhythm of these grooves.

Not exactly the same, but from the same source.

Shen Xiao's eyes lit up.

He had bet correctly.

Following the vague "activation" orientation from the memory fragments, he injected his remaining spiritual power into those key grooves at a specific frequency.

There were no dazzling light effects, only an extremely faint "click," like the turning of a mechanism, echoing from deep within the rock.

Rubble slid down with a rustling sound, and a downward crevice, wide enough only for one person to squeeze through sideways, quietly appeared at the base of the rocky slope.

Inside the crevice was pitch black, but the aura that surged out was completely different; it was no longer a dead, silent cold, but a deeper, more ancient, and slightly fishy... chill.

It was like opening the door to an aged ice cellar.

"Let's go." Shen Xiao was the first to turn sideways and squeeze in.

The inner walls of the crevice were exceptionally smooth, even having a somewhat greasy texture.

Below were rough stone steps, winding downward and disappearing into the deep darkness.

Xia Lengbai followed closely behind.

The moment she entered the crevice, the Tomb Guardian Seal between her brows jumped violently; it was no longer a call, but something like... excitement?

As well as a stronger warning sign.

Ice-blue light flashed and vanished deep within her pupils.

The tomb passage extended downward, the darkness replaced by a kind of moss that emitted its own faint light.

The moss was a sickly green, clinging to the walls on both sides, providing an eerie light that could only illuminate a few feet beneath their feet.

The air was stagnant and bone-chillingly cold. Every breath brought white mist, and inhaling it felt like swallowing ice shards.

What truly caught their attention, however, were the carvings on the walls.

The lines were more complex and intricate than those on the rocky slope outside, and also more... bizarre.

They did not depict Immortals riding clouds or auspicious Divine Beasts, but scenes of naked, bloody, and primitive sacrificial rites filled with a sense of power.

Tall, blurred figures (Priests?) knelt on the ground, hands cupping pulsing light orbs (Hearts? Souls?) to offer to a massive shadow coiled in the darkness.

The expressions of those being sacrificed were depicted vividly—not of fear, but of a fanatical, twisted devotion.

What made Shen Xiao's heart tighten even more was that the background patterns of some sacrificial scenes were vaguely similar to the ones he had glimpsed earlier in the memory fragments of Xia Lengbai—from the ancient altar where she had "guarded the tomb" in her childhood. They were from the same source, yet grander and more cruel.

"These... and that altar in my 'memory'..." Xia Lengbai's voice carried an imperceptible tremor.

It wasn't fear, but something deeper being touched.

"It seems the source of the Tomb Guardian Seal Legacy is not a leisurely one." Shen Xiao said in a deep voice, his fingers brushing over a relief on the wall depicting a spine-like totem. The touch was cold and slick. "It's a high-risk profession."

The tomb passage was extremely deep, extending downward for who knew how long.

The stone steps beneath their feet were severely worn, their edges rounded; one could only wonder how many footsteps had trodden here.

Apart from the sound of their own footsteps and breathing, there was no other sound; it was so quiet it made one panic.

Only the silent sacrificial murals on the walls flowed backward slowly under the light of the sickly green moss, like a never-ending horror pantomime.

A hundred zhang deep, perhaps more.

Ahead, at the end of the tomb passage, the darkness seemed to thin, replaced by a colder light.

Shen Xiao slowed his pace, signaling Xia Lengbai to be vigilant. The two of them pressed against the wall, slowly approaching the exit.

The view suddenly opened up before them.

It was a natural Ice Cave, unimaginably vast, with a towering dome that vanished into the darkness.

The four walls were all made of translucent profound ice, with indescribable, twisted shadows frozen within the ice layers—like the remains of giant creatures, or perhaps solidified nightmares.

The air actually flowed here, forming subtle, whimpering winds that whipped up a thin layer of ice crystal dust on the ground.

And in the very center of the Ice Cave stood a solitary, broken stone platform.

The stone platform was built from rough black rock, collapsed in many places, its surface covered in deep cracks and dark red stains suspected to be dried blood.

Resting quietly atop the stone platform was an object.

It was a crystal about a foot long, presenting a deep ice-blue color throughout, with a twisted shape that actually resembled a piece of... a spine.

Light flowed within the crystal, as if sealing a frozen galaxy. The aura it emitted was intense, pure, and ancient, resonating at the same frequency as the power of the Tomb Guardian Seal within Xia Lengbai, instantly triggering the most violent reaction from the mark between her brows!

"It is..." Xia Lengbai's breath hitched, her ice-blue pupils contracting sharply, all her calm and self-control showing cracks at this moment. "The other core fragment of the Tomb Guardian Seal!"

That attraction and longing originating from the depths of her Soul almost overwhelmed her reason.

Subconsciously, she wanted to step forward, her foot already slightly lifted.

"Wait!"

Shen Xiao's hand was like an iron pincer, gripping her wrist.

The force was so great that Xia Lengbai instantly regained some clarity, looking back in astonishment.

Shen Xiao's gaze was cold, devoid of any warmth, staring intently at that ice-blue crystal and the air around it that appeared empty.

In his field of vision, the System interface was flashing a blinding, unprecedented blood-red warning:

[Warning! High-intensity directed Karma trap detected!]

[Target: Ice-blue spinal crystal (Tomb Guardian Seal core fragment - damaged)]

[Trap type: Karma Anchor · Fate Retrospection]

[Trigger condition: Contact (Physical / High-concentration homologous energy)]

[Effect: Forcefully triggers the most painful memory cycle in the contactee's "predestined fate," siphons their Luck/emotions/Soul fragments, and reverse-transmits them to the "Anchor" setter (Child of Destiny · Lin Yun).]

[Analysis: The trap-setting technique is high-level, fusing the corrective power of the Heavenly Dao; it is not something the target could do independently. Judged as a pre-planned layout.]

Predestined fate... most painful memories...

Shen Xiao understood in an instant.

This was Lin Yun's doing, perhaps even with partial support from the Heavenly Dao.

This trap wasn't meant to hurt people at all; it was meant for "harvesting"!

If Xia Lengbai or he himself (as the "predestined cannon fodder") touched this crystal, they would immediately fall into a cycle of their own most desperate and painful memories, and while their Soul was at its most vulnerable, their "value" would be frantically siphoned to feed that bastard Lin Yun!

What a great way to wait for a hare to hit a tree, what a great way to recycle waste.

Shen Xiao released Xia Lengbai's wrist, his knuckles turning white from clenching.

Anger coursed through his veins like an ice flow, but his brain remained exceptionally clear.

"Karma Anchor... Fate Retrospection..." He repeated the System's prompt in a low voice, his gaze sweeping rapidly between the crystal and the surrounding ice walls, his mind racing.

Force break? Seeking death.

Give up? Those two words didn't exist in Shen Xiao's dictionary, especially since this core fragment was crucial for Xia Lengbai and for resisting the Heavenly Dao in the future.

How to break it?

The trap was aimed at the "contactee," based on "predestined fate."

Then, what if the contactee wasn't the "predestined" one?

Or, make the trap misidentify the contactee's identity?

An extremely bold, almost fire-playing idea emerged.

Lin Yun was the Child of Destiny; his aura was "blessed" by the Heavenly Dao and also recognized by this trap.

What if, using some method, they simulated Lin Yun's aura to "contact" this crystal?

Would the trap set Lin Yun himself as the target?

No, simulating Lin Yun's aura was too difficult, and the risks were unknown.

But thinking in reverse—the trap was laid by Lin Yun; who was the target it was most "familiar" with and most wanted to "feed back" to?

It was Lin Yun himself!

Shen Xiao's gaze turned to Xia Lengbai, his eyes sharp as knives. "Can your Tomb Guardian Seal simulate Lin Yun's aura fluctuations? Even if just for a moment."

Xia Lengbai, whose face was pale from her earlier lapse and lingering fear, looked up sharply upon hearing this. Shock flashed through her ice-blue eyes, followed quickly by a dawning realization.

She understood Shen Xiao's plan, which was crazy to the extreme: to use the trap designer's own aura to trigger the trap itself!

This was simply... dancing on the tightrope of Karma.

"I... will try." Xia Lengbai closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

The cold air of the Ice Cave surged into her lungs, but it couldn't suppress the violent beating of her heart.

She no longer resisted the pull of the Tomb Guardian Seal, instead sinking her consciousness into it, while recalling the memory fragments she had plundered from Shen Xiao regarding Lin Yun receiving the "baptism" of the Heavenly Dao; and from her own perception, the cold, waveless nature of that Heavenly Dao favor when Lin Yun approached...

The power of the Tomb Guardian Seal began to circulate, adjust, and simulate in an extremely subtle way.

It was not a simple imitation of appearance, but a "forgery" of aura that touched upon the essence.

Ice-blue light emerged on the surface of her body, but looking closely, deep within that light, it seemed to be mixed with a trace of an extremely faint, yet essentially completely different... cold sense of "order."

A wisp of aura spilled from her fingertips, so faint it was almost non-existent, yet it successfully fused that trace of the forged "Child of Destiny" characteristic with the bit of spiritual power Shen Xiao had passed over as a carrier.

The process was difficult; fine cold sweat seeped from Xia Lengbai's temples, and her body trembled slightly.

It was done.

Shen Xiao flicked his finger.

That wisp of spiritual power fused with the "pseudo-Lin Yun aura" transformed into a subtle stream of light, shooting toward the ice-blue crystal on the stone platform.

Just at the moment before the spiritual power made contact with the crystal...

The crystal flared with brilliant light!

The temperature of the entire Ice Cave plummeted by dozens of degrees, and the profound ice on the four walls groaned under the unbearable strain!

A phantom light barrier covered in complex runes appeared out of thin air, carrying the corrective and harvesting power unique to the Heavenly Dao, and slammed down toward that wisp of spiritual power!

The trap was forcefully triggered!

However, the target of that light barrier, that wisp of spiritual power, carried at its core the very aura characteristic of Lin Yun—the one the setter was most "familiar" with and most longed to "connect" to!

The light barrier clearly hesitated for a split second.

The "Karma Anchor" logic within it seemed to suffer a brief confusion: Was this the target to be harvested? Or... a channel for a gift?

It was this split second of confusion.

The light barrier did not miss; it firmly locked onto that wisp of aura and began to operate frantically.

But the direction of the siphoning and feedback underwent a fundamental shift!

It was no longer siphoning from the "predestined contactee" outside the crystal, but following the "Lin Yun" characteristic within that wisp of aura, along the mysterious threads of Karma, reverse-transmitting toward a more distant, unknown location—to Lin Yun's true body!

Hiss, hiss, hiss...

The light on the ice-blue crystal dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if its power was being rapidly siphoned and transferred by the mistakenly triggered trap.

The invisible force field binding the crystal (the very Karma Anchor itself) also fluctuated violently and weakened as a result.

The energy of the trap was being "enjoyed" by its own designer.

Watching this scene, Shen Xiao slowly curled his lips into a cold, humorless arc.

Although it was only a temporary weakening and misdirection, this crystal, which condensed the core fragment of the Tomb Guardian Seal, was no longer an untouchable taboo for the time being.

He looked up, gazing toward the area behind the crystal that had previously been obscured and blurred by the trap's energy field.

At this moment, with the fluctuation and dimming of the energy field, some deeper outlines vaguely appeared.

There, it seemed, there was another passage.

Shen Xiao did not immediately walk toward the crystal, but turned to Xia Lengbai, his voice sounding low in the dead-silent Ice Cave:

"It seems your 'old employer' is truly 'generous' to Lin Yun."