Chapter Forty: The Trap

Descending to the first level, Liu Junhuai found himself surrounded by dense forest, his vision obscured by thickets. What worried him most was the absence of an internal map of the estate; his heavenly sense could only reach thirty meters or so, leaving him completely unsure of which way to proceed.

However, after overhearing the nearby cultivators’ conversation, Liu Junhuai’s mood lightened. It turned out that the others’ spiritual perception barely covered five zhang, making his Celestial Eye technique far superior—this realization filled him with secret joy.

With this in mind, Liu Junhuai no longer fretted about direction. Relying on his own gift of foresight, he decided to simply trust his instincts as he moved forward.

He strode several dozen steps ahead and saw a few others standing about, exchanging anxious glances, equally uncertain which way to go.

Upon entering the forest, he noticed many low-level spirit herbs scattered across the ground. But until he found a more valuable treasure, Liu Junhuai had no interest in digging up the lesser plants.

The forest air was thick with spiritual energy, moist and cool as he breathed it in.

After advancing roughly a hundred zhang, he suddenly felt the ground give way beneath his feet—a powerful suction gripped his legs. Instantly, he summoned his true essence and broke free of the binding force. Looking down, he realized he had stepped onto a patch of marshy mire. Amidst the sludge, fragments of shattered magical artifacts were faintly visible—evidence that many cultivators had met their end here.

Surveying his surroundings, Liu Junhuai chose a densely wooded area and made his way over; the ground there proved much firmer.

With only seven days at his disposal, he quickened his pace. In a single burst, he plunged deep into the heart of the forest.

Suddenly, a piercing whistle sliced through the air. A cold gleam flashed behind him, and Liu Junhuai instinctively dodged, somersaulting onto a nearby tree. Only then did he have a moment to survey the scene.

A giant mantis, over two meters tall and clad in emerald armor, stood before him, wielding its massive forelegs like twin steel blades. As the blades sliced through the air, they produced a sound like fabric being rent apart.

Seeing its attack dodged, the mantis spread its wings and lunged, its forelegs coming together like a colossal pair of scissors aimed at Liu Junhuai.

He struck with his Five Elements Chaos Blade, a dazzling arc of energy exploding out and cleaving toward the mantis’ blades. With a thunderous crash, the blade light shattered the creature’s forelegs. Realizing it was no match, the mantis beat its wings and shot skyward. With a cold sneer, Liu Junhuai leapt up in pursuit, slashing down with his blade midair. The blade’s energy slammed into the mantis’s back, splitting its armored body clean in two.

After a brief rest, Liu Junhuai pressed on.

In half an hour, his heavenly sense detected a light ahead. Where the light shone, a stone staircase descended further, and Liu Junhuai hurried over in delight.

It was another staircase, its end lost to his perception. Here, a crowd of cultivators had already gathered, most of them from various sects, with only a handful of solitary wanderers like himself.

A strange feeling came over Liu Junhuai. Upon reflection, he realized something was amiss.

Given his speed and the aid of his celestial sense, he should have arrived first. Yet these cultivators had beaten him here—it was clear they had maps to guide them.

He recalled the words of the Nascent Soul cultivator at the teleportation array: true treasures would only appear on the sixth level and beyond. Without a map, he was merely wasting time on the upper levels, while others would claim the real prizes before he even arrived.

Liu Junhuai was thoroughly frustrated. Without the backing of a sect, traveling alone was truly inconvenient. He wondered if he should descend to the second level and simply kill someone to seize a map.

Ignoring the curious glances of those around him, he pushed through the crowd and headed downward.

After only a few steps, he understood the others’ hesitation. The stairs, like those in the Crimson Flame Valley, grew more resistant with each step. But this brought Liu Junhuai some satisfaction—he practiced such resistance training daily, and this level’s pressure was negligible to him.

Paying no mind to the discussions behind him, Liu Junhuai quickened his pace, descending without pause to the second level.

The spiritual energy here was even denser. As he prepared to move forward, his celestial sense detected a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator hiding behind a boulder a dozen or so zhang ahead. Liu Junhuai smiled inwardly—if one wished to ambush, one needed strength. Lacking a map himself, here was an opportunity delivered right to his door.

Summoning his Primordial Shield Cauldron, Liu Junhuai strode straight toward the boulder. As he passed, the hidden figure struck, but before the attack could land, Liu Junhuai’s Shadow Blade silently stabbed beneath his own ribs, the weapon sliding through his assailant’s chest—a quick and efficient kill.

He stowed the body and swiftly left the scene.

After rounding several boulders, Liu Junhuai examined the assailant’s storage ring. As hoped, there was a simple map made of beast hide, detailing the routes from level one through six, marked with potential dangers, grades of herbs, and types of minerals on each floor.

With someone already approaching from twenty zhang behind, Liu Junhuai memorized the map’s routes and hurried toward the next entrance.

According to the map, there were some treasures above the fifth floor, but nothing special for someone already armed with powerful artifacts. The sixth level, however, was rumored to have yielded a high-grade earth-class cultivation technique in the past—making it the place most likely to produce valuable treasures.

Within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Liu Junhuai reached the next stairway. To his surprise, the entrance was deserted; he was among the first few to arrive.

Testing the steps, he found the resistance still manageable. He summoned his Primordial Shield Cauldron, wary of possible ambushes on the third level.

Descending to the third floor, he found himself in a barren desert. The spiritual energy remained dense, but there was no sign of life. Orienting himself, Liu Junhuai pressed onward at a brisk pace.

The desert was vast; it took nearly three hours to reach the next entrance.

Along the way, he encountered several demonic beasts, but his celestial sense allowed him to avoid them in time. His eagerness to search for treasure led him to forgo even the demon cores of fourth-rank beasts.

In this manner, he pushed on, reaching the fifth level by midday of the second day.

This level was a region of rolling hills. Though his celestial sense could not penetrate far, Liu Junhuai could tell the entire space was made up of undulating mounds.

The map indicated that fifth-rank demonic beasts roamed this level—he would need to be extra cautious.

By evening of the second day, he had covered nearly half the distance indicated by the map. Liu Junhuai decided to find a safe place and enter his Myriad Phenomena Pavilion to recover his true essence.

Searching with his heavenly sense, he found no safe hiding spots. What he did find, twenty-some zhang away, was a female Foundation Establishment cultivator sprawled at the base of a hill, her face streaked with blood, a ragged wound torn across her left shoulder.

At once, Liu Junhuai grew alert. He gathered his true essence and approached her cautiously.

When he was within twenty zhang, the woman seemed to sense someone’s approach. She scrambled to her feet and rushed in his direction.

Catching sight of him, she cried out, “Fellow Daoist, please save me! Please save me!”

Liu Junhuai halted and asked, “What has happened to you? Are you alone?”

Panting, the woman replied, “Fellow Daoist, I beg you—my brother and I were ambushed. He fought desperately to help me escape, but now he’s surrounded by two Foundation Establishment cultivators. Please, I beg you to help save him.”

“How far from here?” Liu Junhuai inquired.

“I ran here without stopping—maybe half a stick of incense’s time, so less than a li,” the woman answered, pushing back her disheveled hair.

Liu Junhuai’s suspicion grew. He had just seen her lying prone on the hillside—how could she have been running nonstop?

Feigning hesitation, he carefully replied, “Two Foundation Establishment cultivators? Even the two of us might not be able to save him. And after all this time, your brother may already have met misfortune.”

“No, my brother is at mid-Foundation Establishment—he just took a minor blow to the head. I also have a formation disk I didn’t have time to use. Once I trap them, any storage rings we seize will all go to you.” The woman spoke anxiously.

Liu Junhuai pretended reluctance. “Why don’t we go together, and if we can’t win, I’ll just have to leave.”

Delighted, the woman grabbed Liu Junhuai and hurried back the way she’d come.

Sure enough, in less than half a stick of incense’s time, Liu Junhuai saw three people some ten zhang ahead, all bloodstained.

The woman whispered, “I’ll go ahead and activate the formation disk. Please support me in a moment.” Without waiting for his reply, she rushed forward.

Liu Junhuai’s celestial sense had already swept over them. The supposed ambushers were not early-stage Foundation Establishment at all, but rather cultivators concealing their true strength at mid-Foundation Establishment. The young man pretending to be her brother was actually at late Foundation Establishment.

Seeing the woman dash ahead, Liu Junhuai raced after her and called urgently, “You’re wounded—let me go first and hold them off. Give me the formation disk and support your brother from the side.”

She hesitated, but handed over the disk. Liu Junhuai activated his Primordial Shield Cauldron to protect himself, channeled his true essence with all his might, and sprang forward, drawing his Five Elements Chaos Blade as he leapt.