Chapter 175: Weird Cave 2
Due to his heightened senses, Adrian was able to sense that the danger that was seemingly inexistent in the cave previously had just increased by several orders of magnitude.
While Adrian was still wondering what was causing the dangerous feeling, the group that had entered the cave also sensed the change in temperature. Despite not having a spirit sense like Adrian, the spike in temperature was enough for them to realize that the cave was not normal.
However, unlike Adrian, their thoughts didn’t veer towards that of danger. Instead, they thought the cave contained a wonderful treasure of the fire attribute. Their eyes shone with greed as they quickly made their way further into the cave.
Meanwhile, Adrian was still rooted to his spot and didn’t take a step forward. From what he could sense, the whole cave gave him a very dangerous feeling. It was this feeling that didn’t let him have the courage to take even one more step.
Consequently, the new arrivals met him standing there. Adrian had also sensed them coming and debated whether to hide or not. He entertained the thought of briefly hiding inside the Bloodstar, but quickly shook away the thought.
If he did so, he would be leaving it in too inconspicuous a spot, and the group would definitely find it. Even if they couldn’t sense the extraordinariness of the pendant, they would surely not leave it behind. From then on, he would be at their mercy.
That was not something he wanted. So when the group went further into the cave, they saw a tall, skinny man wearing a bamboo hat, standing rooted to a spot while scanning his surroundings. Of course, even though he couldn’t move, there was nothing stopping Adrian from hiding his identity with the Veil of a Thousand Faces, which was what he did.
What surprised them even further was the cultivation level of this man. Thanks to the veil, they could only sense that he was at the early stage of the Golden Core realm.
What surprised them wasn’t the fact that he was at the Golden Core realm, after all, most individuals who entered the mystic realm were at the Golden Core realm.
They were surprised because a single early-stage Golden Core realm cultivator shouldn’t have been able to reach this deep into the mystic realm.
In the mystic realm, which was teeming with beasts of Rank 4, for a single early-stage Golden Core realm cultivator to reach here was unprecedented. In their signature brash fashion, they stepped closer to him without a second thought.
Not one of them had a single cautious thought in them. Not even their leader, who was the first person to step closer to Adrian.
Very soon, he was standing right behind him. Even so, Adrian didn’t turn around, and his eyes were still roaming around the cave. Seeing that the man wasn’t even giving him any attention, the bald, burly man’s face dimmed in frustration.
He crossed his sleeveless arms in front of himself before speaking.
"Do you not have eyes? Or are you so ignorant as to not recognize who is in front of you?" He said even though he was behind him. He was right to question Adrian, though, because he was someone very popular, at least in Stonehold City.
In fact, everyone who entered the mystic realm would be able to recognize him at a glance. That was because he belonged to one of the few Large families that could challenge the Richards family, even though they were the City Lords of Stonehold city.
That’s right. The one Adrian had the misfortune of encountering was Wyatt Cole. Without even glancing at him, he spoke.
"Can you not sense it?" Adrian asked in a cryptic tone that puzzled Wyatt. Just as he was about to ask what he was supposed to be sensing, a change occurred in the cave.
The cave, which was seemingly empty before their arrival, now lit up with runes, from the earth beneath their feet to the walls and ceiling of the cave.
The air thrummed.
Lines of scarlet light crawled over the stone like veins, intersecting in dizzying patterns that made the eye ache. A moment ago, the cave had simply been a hollow gouged out of the mountain’s insides; dark, oppressive, and silent. Now it felt as if they were standing inside the heart of some ancient beast that had just been jolted awake.
Heat poured out of the runes in phantom waves. The temperature, which had already spiked, now climbed to a level that made even the burly cultivators behind Wyatt instinctively circulate their spiritual energy to protect their bodies.
Wyatt’s pupils contracted. "What is this?" he muttered under his breath.
Adrian did not answer immediately. His gaze swept across the blazing inscriptions, his expression hidden by the brim of the bamboo hat. Underneath the Veil of a Thousand Faces, his features were those of a nondescript, slightly gaunt man in his late twenties, someone who would draw no attention in any crowd. Yet, at this moment, he didn’t need attention. He needed understanding.
Though he had been studying, he hadn’t learnt enough to be recognized as a Formation Master yet. Still, he was able to recognize what was going on.
The more he focused, the more his heart pounded.
Unlike what Wyatt and his cohort were thinking, the heat in the cave wasn’t caused by a treasure. No, they were the distinct signs of a formation. One that they had unknowingly triggered when they all rushed into the cave.
As for why the formation didn’t trigger when Adrian was the only one to enter, he was able to infer that it probably needed a minimum number of people to enter before activating.
As for what that number was, he didn’t know, and frankly, it was the last thing on his mind right now.
Behind him, some of the cultivators, as dense as they were, finally understood that something was off.
"Boss, this... this doesn’t look like a natural phenomenon," one of them said warily. He was a lean man with narrow, triangular eyes and a sword strapped to his back. Sweat already beaded on his forehead despite the protective layer of Qi covering him.
Another, a woman clad in crimson leather armor, forced a smile. "Isn’t this good? For the formation to be this active, the treasure fueling them must be extraordinary. Maybe it’s a high-grade fire spirit vein, or even the core of a flame beast. If we secure it, our Cole family will definitely..."
"Shut up," Wyatt snapped, the veins on his thick neck twitching. He glared at Adrian’s unmoving back.
"You!"
"What is this? What the hell have you dragged us into?" He barked, conveniently forgetting that Adrian was not one of them, nor was he the one who dragged them into the cave.
Adrian finally turned around to face him and deliver a retort. However, before he could even speak, his eyes widened in shock and a hint of fear.
Without paying any more attention to Wyatt and his gang, he bolted. His steps were taking him even deeper into the cave.
His actions surprised Wyatt and his team, who were not expecting that from him. Wyatt, however, was not as clueless as his team. He saw the look in Adrian’s eyes. He saw the shock and terror in his eyes.
That was not something he believed could be faked. At least, not something he thought could be faked. His head snapped backward, his eyes scanning for what could make Adrian run away like that.
A few of his teammates followed his gaze as well, trying to figure out what the boss was looking at. When they all finally saw it, waves of terror shot through them.
A barrage of flaming arrows was barrelling in their direction. The formation, which had been dormant all this time, had suddenly sprung to life, raining on them with arrows made of flames.
Multiple runes in different directions, from the roof of the cave to the jagged walls. Even some on the ground flared up with gusto as they began spewing lances of fire disguised as arrows towards them.
The arrows were fired indiscriminately, but most of them were aimed in the general direction of the group. The lean man who had spoken earlier was one of the unlucky ones. He had been standing at the back of the group and was one of the first to be struck.
Before he could even let out a scream, the first arrow pierced through him, leaving a hole as big as his head where his chest is supposed to be.
The wound didn’t even bleed, as the scorching heat cauterized it instantly. Half his heart could still be seen if you looked closely, desperately trying to force out one last beat.
However, it was all in futility, as he crumpled to the floor, the life fading away from his eyes. His teammates didn’t have the luxury of watching the tragic scene, though, as they were also running for their lives.
