"No, Chen Yang," Senior Brother Fan Xiao said grimly. "We go in the direction farthest from the water."
Yang frowned, unable to understand the reason. "Why?"
"Haven't you noticed, Chen Yang?" Senior Brother Fan Xiao said. "We have been hearing water drip for a long time, but we have yet to come across it. It has remained just out of reach, yet close enough to be heard clearly. Does that not strike you as odd?"
Realization struck Yang like a bucket of cold water.
Right. They hadn’t been following the sound of water.
No, they had simply been walking the only available path without having to turn back to the chamber they started out from. There was a difference.
It was only now, faced with multiple branching tunnels, that they were even given a choice.
"It’s a lure," Yang said.
"Yes, and I fear it is part of what led these people to end up as they did."
"When dying of thirst and driven by desperation, it's only natural for people to abandon reason," Senior Brother Qing An said flatly from a few steps ahead. "They follow the sound without thinking, hoping it will lead to salvation."
"But cultivators don't depend on water the way mortals do," Yang pointed out. "Even in an arid environment, standard techniques can condense moisture directly from the air."
"Can they?" Qing An asked, cocking a skeptical eyebrow.
Yang faltered. "Can't they?"
“We—or rather, they," Senior Brother Song Weilong corrected, gesturing with a tilt of his chin towards Senior Brothers Qing An, Zhen Hao and Yuan Shen, "thoroughly tested the limits of this place. Almost all techniques work normally, with one exception: water-based arts are completely suppressed."
Yang went quiet at this. In hindsight, it did make sense. After all, in a place with a plethora of desiccated bodies, it is not surprising that the restriction on water-based techniques may have played a part in their condition.
"We'll take that route," Senior Brother Fan Xiao said, indicating towards the passage farthest from where the sound was coming from.
Again, Senior Brother Qing An led the way, and the rest of them followed in the same order. Thankfully, they were all cultivators and could see clearly in the dark, barring any outside interference. He would have hated to traverse this passage deprived of his senses.
The inside of this passage felt identical to the last, and as Yang trailed deeper and deeper, walking behind Senior Brother Zhen Hao, he realized that the sound of water was still present, exactly the same distance, just out of reach.
Now that he was aware of the peculiarity, it felt a great deal more sinister walking in this dark passage. And just like the previous path, this one was far from empty; desiccated corpses lined the walls like macabre Halloween decorations.
This time they walked with slight urgency, stepping past and ignoring the dead bodies and just trying to find a way out. Yang even saw Senior Brother Song Weilong maneuver his free hand to retrieve his crystal pendant, passing it to Senior Brother Yuan Shen, who held it up, attempting to probe the stone walls for concealed doorways or spatial distortions.
Yang had his doubts about its usefulness here. It hadn't exactly revealed a way out of the previous chamber while Yang was refining the beast cores, and as Senior Brother Song Weilong had warned him earlier, the pendant was far from infallible. It could reveal hidden doors or spatial folds, but it possessed no instinct for danger; if anything, relying on it blindly could lead them into even more peril.
Finally, the end of the passage came into view ahead. Those in front of him abruptly halted, exchanging silent, heavy looks as Yang squeezed past Senior Brother Zhen Hao to see what had stopped them, only to freeze.
They were in an open chamber with various passages opening into it. The exact same one they had just left from.
"We're trapped," Senior Brother Fan Xiao said as he came from behind Yang and calmly took everything in. Yang felt this situation required a more worried expression than the calm, unbothered one his Senior Brother was currently wearing, though Senior Brother Qing An contributed a pissed-enough expression for all of them combined.
Senior Brother Qing An let out a long, weary sigh as he walked over to the nearest stone wall, stepped into a stance with his feet wide, and began hammering his fists directly into the rock surface.
BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.
Yang watched, shocked as the impact sounded like massive boulders colliding, echoing violently through the whole cavern. Yet when Senior Brother Qing An finally pulled his hands back, not a single speck of dust had been dislodged from the rock. He took a slow, deep breath, adjusted his sleeves calmly, and turned back to the group with a relaxed, pleasant smile.
"I feel much better now," he said lightly, turning to Senior Brother Fan Xiao. "So. We walk into the trap?"
Senior Brother Fan Xiao gave a single, firm nod, turning his gaze toward the tunnel from which the sound of dripping water had been calling to them all along.
"Come. Let's confront whatever it is while we still have our wits," Senior Brother Fan Xiao said as he led the way this time, motioning for Senior Brother Song Weilong to fall back to the rear.
Stepping into the new passage, the atmosphere shifted immediately. The heavy stench of decay was replaced by clear air. The passage even appeared brighter, though Yang couldn't really fathom how; there were no visible light sources or breaks in the stone above for either air or light to get through. It gave an uncanny valley feeling despite the lack of desiccated corpses acting as bollards. He would have preferred to parkour over freeze-dried corpses rather than walk through this sinister path.
This time, as they went in deeper, with every step, the sound of water gradually grew clearer and louder. The distance between them and the source of sound was rapidly closing. Instinctively, everyone's pace slowed, turning cautious and guarded.
Yang noticed that every single one of his Senior Brothers seemed to have drawn their weapons, fingers clenched tight around their hilts as they rounded a sharp bend in the passage and saw a glow.
It was the first ray of light since they had descended into the temple. So far they had all been relying on their enhanced senses.
The torches mounted on the wall appeared first. One, then another, then an entire series at regular intervals. Alongside the torches, the passage walls changed as well. The rough cave stone gave way to smooth and symmetrical walls. The transition from crude cavern to refined hallway took less than thirty paces.
Deeper in, the passage widened further only to end up in front of a pair of towering carved iron doors. Yang could see the sinister images carved into it, showing images of ritual sacrifice and devotional practices. It was similar to what they had seen before, but surprisingly enough, the style was completely unlike the previous carvings.
The group halted and looked at it before Senior Brother Fan Xiao used the tip of his sword to push one. It swung open, leading into an enormous chamber beyond.
All of them filed in, but when the last of them, Senior Brother Song Weilong, cleared the threshold, the heavy iron doors slammed shut behind them with a deafening CRACK. Senior Brother Yuan Shen spun around and tried to pull it open without any result.
Even Senior Brother Fan Xiao stepped back, trying to pull it open, but even his strength proved to be of no use.
They were locked in.
Yang looked around the chamber. It was enormous; the ceiling stretched so high up that it was lost to shadows, and the walls were carved from black stone of the cave that had been sanded smooth.
As they moved further in, he could see more of the space opening up around them, and then, looming in the distance at the far end of the sanctuary, a massive silhouette appeared from the dark.
"Do not look it in the eyes."
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