The Thorne of Destiny

Chapter 177: 177

It was surprising that she was able to survive, given her subpar intelligence. It seemed she was lucky enough to be closer to Wyatt, so she was within the range of the barrier. However, she wasn’t able to avoid being struck by one of the arrows.

If she hadn’t used her sword to block the hit, she would probably have had a hole blown through her. However, the power was still something she couldn’t withstand. The blow shattered the bones in her arm while singing, half her face and hair.

Her arm was only being held together by the skin, as it had no support. With a shaky hand, she retrieved a pill bottle from her storage ring before dumping the contents into her mouth.

She wasn’t the only one doing this. There were a few of them mirroring her movements as they trudged behind Wyatt.

As soon as Wyatt finally made it to where Adrian was standing, he roared in anger, unleashing some of his pent-up rage.

"You! What did you do?!" He yelled as he finally stood in front of him. His aura was fully flared as it pressed down on Adrian, threatening to crush him. A lesser man would have cowered in fear, probably would have taken a step back to try to defuse the situation.

But Adrian was no lesser man. He bore the full brunt of the aura, but didn’t move. din’t even flinch. A normal Foundation Establishment realm cultivator would not be able to do this, but Adrian was not normal.

After shrugging off Wyatt’s aura, he responded.

"I didn’t do anything. I was just exploring the cave before you guys came in, and the formation activated." He replied, though he was wondering why he even needed to prove his innocence.

But his words didn’t calm Wyatt down. He needed someone to be responsible for the rut he found himself in, and that someone was going to be Adrian. A hint of killing intent leaked from his body, combining with his aura, engulfing Adrian.

Adrian, ever sensitive, picked up on it instantly. His face didn’t betray anything, but his finger twitched, ready to draw his sword at a moment’s notice. The tension in the air was thick, and it seemed like a fight was inevitable.

However, before anything could happen between them, a rumble broke the tension. The entire cave trembled as if it were experiencing an earthquake. freewёbnoνel.com

Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn to their surroundings, their eyes darting around to find what adversity they would face next.

Suddenly, a set of runes, different from the ones that flared to life, sprang into action. It started from the point where the arrow runes stopped, another wave of heat engulfing them.

This time, it wasn’t projectiles. It was raw, unadulterated fire. Tongues of fire spewed from the runes that surrounded the cave, enveloping the whole cave in blazing flames.

The heat was the first to reach them before the flames had even arrived.

Skin prickled, and armor plates hissed as the air itself seemed to ignite. Sweat beaded on foreheads, only to evaporate in the same instant.

"Run!" someone shouted hoarsely from the rear, but it was unnecessary. Everyone had already bolted, with Adrian and Wyatt leading the charge.

Their speed eclipsed the others, and they were already moving before the person even yelled. Wyatt’s speed was explainable. He was at the late stage of the Golden Core realm. Thanks to some herbs he had found, he had been able to increase his realm to better his chances in the mystic realm.

However, Adrian’s speed was surprising to him. For someone to be able to keep up with him despite seemingly just being in the first stage of the Golden Core mystic realm was surprising to him.

Thankfully, he wasn’t thinking too much into it, and was focused on escaping the flames barelling towards him. Who knewwhatt he would think if he found out that Adrian was not actually in the Golden Core realm and was actually a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator in disguise.

Adrian had chosen not to use the Astral Steps, as there was no need to for now. He didn’t want to expose too much unnecessarily.

Runes crawled along every inch of the cave walls, ceiling, and even the ground beneath their feet, lines of light pulsing with an ominous crimson-gold glow.

The fire pressed in from all directions.

It poured from the walls in continuous waves, not just a single burst. Tendrils of flame coiled and twisted like living serpents, slamming into the barrier over and over, each impact sending cracks of stress-line light skittering across its surface. The temperature spiked again.

Someone at the back screamed as the hem of their robe ignited. Another cultivator desperately slapped at the flames, only for sparks to leap from his palms.

"Stop flailing, circulate your qi!" Adrian snapped without looking back.

The cultivator froze at the command, then hastily channeled his spiritual energy, snuffing out the fire clinging to his clothes. Panic retreated from his eyes, replaced by trembling focus.

Wyatt heard the exchange, his jaw tightening. He wanted to shout again, to demand answers, to vent his fury and helplessness on Adrian. But under the crushing weight of the flames, even he understood—if he dared to lose control now, they would all burn.

The barrier shrank.

It was almost imperceptible at first, only half a step of space vanishing. But Adrian noticed. The edge of heat that had felt distant a moment ago now licked faintly at his skin, prickling like the breath of a predator growing curious.

"This is a compound killing array," Adrian finally replied. "At least three stages, maybe more. The arrows were the first stage. This fire... is the second."

"’Second’ implies there’s a third," Wyatt growled.

Adrian’s lips pressed into a thin line. "There is. And if we sit here and let the array cycle fully, we won’t survive to see it."

As if in response to his words, the flames howled.

They surged higher, condensing, the wild tongues of fire suddenly drawing together into thicker streams. Instead of battering mindlessly against Wyatt’s barrier, they began to coil, spiraling like a storm tightening its eye. Runic circuits along the walls shifted, channels of light rerouting, refining the inferno.

The heat doubled.

The inferno to their left and right twisted, streams of flame bending unnaturally, dragged by some unseen pull. The runic lines along the cave shifted color, from crimson to a deeper, more sinister purple, protesting the interference. For an instant, the flames lashed more violently, as if enraged.

Then, all at once, a large portion of the fire lunged in the direction Adrian had chosen, slamming into the already weakened point in the stone.

A thunderous crack split the air.

The wall did not break—not yet—but a jagged fracture appeared, running from floor to ceiling. Through it, for the briefest of moments, a rush of cooler air spilled in, a whisper of something other than suffocating heat.

The cultivators closest to the front gasped, greedily sucking in that fleeting breath—even filtered as it was through the barrier.

Adrian opened his eyes.

"Again," he said.

Wyatt didn’t argue this time. He grunted and adjusted his focus, reinforcing the front of the barrier where Adrian’s palm rested, pouring more of his energy into that point.

The flames swirled once more.

The array resisted.

Runes flared furiously, trying to correct the manipulated flow, but Adrian did not relent. His spiritual sense sank deeper into the structure of the formation, threading through its channels, nudging here, severing there. He wasn’t truly capable of taking control of such a complex array—not in his current realm, not with his limited cultivation—but he didn’t need control.

He only needed to destabilize it.

The fire surged a second time.

This wave was stronger than the last, a condensed pillar of molten light and heat that howled as it crashed not against Wyatt’s barrier, but along the fracture in the wall just beyond it.

Stone screamed.

With a resounding boom, the weakened section of the cave wall gave way.

Chunks of rock exploded outward, disintegrating into shards and dust that evaporated in the encroaching heat. Beyond the shattered stone, a dark passage yawned open, its depths lit only faintly by distant, pale-blue light.

Cool air—truly cool this time—rushed through the breach, colliding with the flames. Steam exploded where hot and cold met, a billowing cloud of white mist that rolled into the cave.

The flames recoiled slightly.

"There’s our exit," Adrian said, arm trembling slightly where it pressed against the barrier. "Wyatt, can you push us through?"

Wyatt stared at the opening, then at Adrian.

"You’re insane," he muttered.

But his feet were already shifting, his stance lowering as he prepared himself.

"Everyone, hold on to something," he roared. "If you lose contact with the barrier, don’t expect me to come back for you!"

A chorus of fearful affirmations rose up.

Adrian drew in a slow breath and focused on the front of the shield. Wyatt’s spiritual energy, dense and forceful, surged around his hand. Adrian shaped it, compressing it into a wedge.

"Now," Adrian said.

Wyatt roared again—not in anger this time, but in exertion.

The barrier lunged forward like a battering ram.

They crashed into the wall of flames.

For a heartbeat, all there was... was fire.

The world vanished in searing light and screaming heat. Senses overloaded. Several cultivators cried out, certain that they had finally been engulfed.

Then, just as suddenly, the pressure broke.

They burst through the inferno and the fractured wall in the same motion, the barrier carving a path into the newly revealed passage beyond. The flames clawed at them as they passed, ripping at the rear of the shield, but the forward momentum carried them through.

They stumbled into relative darkness.

The drop in temperature was so abrupt that it made someone retch. The pale-blue light they had glimpsed before now shone more clearly, emanating from crystalline growths along the walls of the new tunnel. A faint chill seeped from them, soothing scorched skin and burning lungs.

Behind them, the opening they had blasted through roared with contained fury.

The array wasn’t done.

The runes in the previous chamber flared one last time, and the flames within convulsed as if something within them had snapped.

A low, ominous hum reverberated through the stone.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

"The third stage is activating," he said.

As if to confirm his words, a new pattern of runes began to light up along the floor of the tunnel they now stood in—different from the ones before, colder, their glow tinged with eerie blue.

No one spoke.

They had escaped the fire.

But the trial of the formation was far from over.

Wyatt scoffed.

"This entire cave is the trap," he said. "And that—" he jabbed a finger toward the hovering crystal "—is the key. Everything here is centered around it. Once we control it, everything else will follow."

Adrian’s gaze flicked briefly to the complex array beneath the floating sphere.

"Control it?" he asked mildly. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?"

Wyatt’s lip curled.

"As if I would share that with a stranger," he said. "You should be grateful we don’t cut you down right now and offer your blood to this thing."

The crimson-armored woman smirked. "We still might."

Adrian felt their killing intent flicker toward him, hot and eager.

But beneath their hostility, he sensed something else too.

Fear.

They were injured, depleted, and trapped in an unknown formation. They needed someone else here, if only as a potential scapegoat or extra set of hands.

Wyatt, especially, understood the cost of reckless moves. For all his arrogance, he wasn’t a complete fool.

Adrian let his posture sag a little more, playing the part of the intimidated wanderer.

"If you want to take it, go ahead," he said, making sure to inject a tremor into his voice. "I’m not interested in your family’s affairs. I just want to leave this place alive."

Wyatt snorted.

"Then stay out of my way."

He stepped forward.

At once, the rune-lines beneath the floating True Flame Essence flared.

The cavern’s temperature surged, making the air ripple like a mirage. A deep, low hum rumbled through the stone, vibrating in Adrian’s bones.

Wyatt’s next step faltered.

"Boss..." one of his men whispered, clutching his charred arm. "Maybe we should be careful. This looks—"

"Shut up," Wyatt snarled without turning around. "You’re still alive because of me. You think you have the right to question me now?"

The man flinched, lowering his gaze.

Adrian’s heart beat faster.

The runes were reacting to Wyatt’s approach. Not merely in a generic, trap-like way, but with... interest.

Like a predator recognizing a suitable prey.

"Don’t let him get too close," the Bloodstar said sharply in his mind.

"Why?" Adrian asked silently, even as he took a discreet step sideways, aligning himself closer to the periphery of the central array.

"Because if his unstable Qi interacts directly with the Essence without proper control, the backlash will not be limited to him," Bloodstar replied. "This entire cavern might... reset."

Adrian’s eyes narrowed.

"Reset?"

"A formation of this sophistication does not simply expend its power and go dormant," the Bloodstar said. "It recycles. If detonated prematurely, it may restructure itself around new parameters. Such as the cultivators present. You do not want to be bound as a permanent ’component’ of such a design."

Adrian’s skin crawled at the implication.

"I need more than vague warnings," he thought sharply. "Is there a way to stabilize it?"

"Yes," Bloodstar said, voice suddenly smooth and certain. "But it will require you to act before that idiot pokes the Essence."

Adrian grimaced.

"Of course it does."

"Wyatt," Adrian called out, modulating his tone to sound respectful but urgent, "wait."

Wyatt froze, back still facing him.

"I told you to stay out of my way," he said, voice dropping to a dangerous low.

"I know," Adrian replied. "But unless you want all of us to die, myself included, you should listen to me for a moment."

Wyatt slowly turned around, eyes narrowed into slits.

"You’re very bold for someone in your position."

"I value my life," Adrian said simply. "And right now, my life is tied to yours. If you provoke that thing"—he nodded toward the Essence—"recklessly, the formation will react. Violently."

Wyatt sneered.

"And you know this because...?"

"Because I have actually studied formations," Adrian said. "Enough to recognize a containment array when I see one. That thing isn’t just sitting there for you to take. It’s the heart of this entire set-up."

The crimson-armored woman frowned slightly.

"Boss... he might have a point. Look at those lines. They’re not like the ones outside."

Wyatt shot her an irritated look but did glance down at the central array again.

The runes at the heart of the formation were different. Where the outer sections had been sharp, angular, and obviously lethal, these were smooth, flowing, and interlocking in a way that suggested balance rather than immediate destruction.

"Fine," Wyatt said grudgingly. "Then what do you suggest, oh great formation expert?"

Adrian exhaled slowly.

He had his opening.

"I’m not a Formation Master," he said. "Not yet. But I know enough to see the main structure. If you give me a moment to study it, I might be able to find a way to weaken the external killing functions. At least enough to open a safer path back out." ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

"And what about the treasure?" one of the men demanded. "You think we’ll just leave without it? After all this?"

"I didn’t say that," Adrian replied. "But taking it without understanding the array will likely destroy it... and us. If you want the Essence, studying the formation first is your only chance."

Wyatt stared at him long and hard.

Adrian let the man stare.

He deliberately let a faint tremor show in his hand, as if overwhelmed by the situation, but kept his gaze steady.

Finally, Wyatt grunted.

"You have half a stick of incense," he said. "Figure something out. If I think you’re stalling or trying to trick us..." His expression twisted, and the golden flames around his fists flared. "You’ll wish the arrows finished you instead."

Adrian bowed his head slightly.

"I’ll need to get closer to the array," he said.

"Don’t touch anything," Wyatt warned. "Not a single rune. Not one step onto that circle until I say so."

"Relax," Adrian murmured, turning toward the central formation. "I’m not suicidal."

As he approached the web of runes beneath the Essence, the heat intensified to a painful degree.

His spiritual barrier flickered, straining.

He stopped just at the edge of the main circle. From this distance, the intricacy of the array was staggering.