They reached the chamber of the living gate without further incident.
The corridor opened into the wide, high space they remembered. The pale tree still rose from the center of the floor, its trunk thick and bone-colored, upper branches lost in the darkness above. Curtains of vines hung motionless for the moment, some thin and whip-like, others as thick as a man’s arm. The air carried that same faint sweet scent as before. The residual life signature within the trunk pulsed slow and steady, fully aware but not yet aggressive.
Elara and Ryzek did not step into the open.
Both of them lifted off the ground at the same time and flew upward along the chamber wall. They pressed their bodies flat against the cold stone as high as they could reasonably go while still keeping a clear view of the entrance corridor and the tree below. Elara adjusted her position until the uneven surface gave her partial cover from below. Ryzek did the same a few meters away, crystalline ridges scraping lightly against the rock before he settled.
They slowed their breathing.
Qi was compressed tight and held close to the body. Movement stopped. Even the small automatic shifts of balance were reduced to almost nothing. The goal was simple: become part of the wall. If the bait poured into the chamber as planned, the predators needed to see only the tree and each other — not two cultivators clinging to the upper stone.
Below them, the living gate remained still.
The sweet scent drifted faintly upward. A few of the lower vines shifted by a fraction, tasting the air, but nothing lashed out. The tree was waiting. It had already proven it could remain patient until prey committed fully to the chamber floor.
The first sounds of the approaching swarm rolled up the corridor.
Harsh, overlapping calls from the six-legged hunters. Heavier impacts that belonged to something much larger. The scrape of claws and bone on ancient stone. The noise grew steadily, filling the tomb with the chaotic rhythm of too many aggressive creatures forced into the same narrow space. Occasional crashes suggested fights had already broken out among them in the tighter sections of the corridor.
Elara kept her eyes on the entrance.
Her body remained locked in place against the wall. Any sudden movement now would draw attention upward. Ryzek was equally still, four amber eyes narrowed, tracking the rising volume of the incoming mass. Neither of them spoke. There was nothing left to discuss. The plan had reached its critical point.
The first of the six-legged hunters burst into the chamber.
It skidded across the stone floor, four eyes wide, spines raised along its back. Two more followed hard behind it, then a surge of others. The pack that had chased Elara spilled into the open space in a tangled, aggressive wave, some already snapping at each other in the confusion of the confined entry.
The living gate reacted.
Dozens of pale vines dropped from above in a sudden, coordinated curtain. The nearest hunters were caught mid-stride, lifted, or slammed into the floor. Dark sap and blood mixed on the stone as the tree began its work.
More creatures were still coming down the corridor.
Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)
Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.
Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.
Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.
Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.
Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc
Power Scale Reminder
Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.
Elara Voss: Core Condensation Peak
Keep it as reminders
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter