The Root-Forged Guardian collapsed with a thunderous crack, its bark-flesh splitting apart as the fiery sigil on its forehead dimmed. The air still rang with the remnants of the combined array—embers drifting like fading stars.
For several breaths, no one spoke.
Zu Tian lowered his broken sword, its edge still faintly glowing from the overwhelming surge of power. His fingers trembled, though he hid it quickly behind a composed expression.
Bai Kuan was the first to break the silence, exhaling a ragged laugh."By the ancestors… we actually killed it."
Yen Mo collapsed to one knee, sweat dripping down his chin. "Killed it? It nearly killed us first…"
Li Xueyao's flames slowly dimmed around her hands. Her Flame Lotus Mist technique still lingered in the air—thin petals of ember-light dissolving into drifting smoke.
"Check for injuries," Zu Tian said quietly, scanning them. "We can't afford weakness in a place like this."
Everyone was bruised, cut, burned, or battered—but no lives were lost.
A victory.
A hard, earned victory.
The guardian's body twitched once more, then dissolved into cascading fragments of root-ash. At its heart, where bone and bark intertwined, something pulsed.
A core.
Not the smooth crystalline cores of common beasts—but a jagged, ember-red lump of condensed ancient qi, veined with thin strands of root.
Li Xueyao knelt beside it, eyes widening.
"A First Vein Guardian Core… this alone is worth ten high-grade spirit stones."
Yen Mo stared. "But it's not meant for selling. Look at the patterns—this is saturated with primordial fire. It could temper any fire-aligned sword art!"
Zu Tian approached, feeling its heat brush against his palm even before touching it.The core responded faintly… humming, as if recognizing the aura of their earlier array.
But when Zu Tian grabbed it—
It pulsed.
Not violently. Not dangerously.
Almost… approvingly.
He frowned. "Strange."
"Senior Brother?" Bai Kuan asked.
"Nothing. Let's move."
He slipped the core into a reinforced pouch.His broken sword at his side vibrated once, silently.
No one noticed that the sword drank a faint thread of the core's escaping flame qi.
Not even Zu Tian.
The forest around them grew unnaturally still, as though the death of the guardian had been a signal.
A welcome?A warning?Neither could be said.
But the crimson glow at the base of the collapsed stone stairway continued to pulse.
"Over there," Yen Mo said, pointing to a half-buried slab.
They approached cautiously.
The object revealed itself as a stone tablet, fractured but still intact enough to display intricate carvings. Thick moss clung to it, but lines of faint red light pulsed beneath the grime.
Li Xueyao brushed the surface with a sweep of flame, burning away the moss without damaging the stone.
The carvings cleared.
And all of them inhaled sharply.
What they uncovered wasn't scripture.
It wasn't a warning.
It wasn't even a memorial.
It was… a map.
Zu Tian traced the runes. Ancient, but not unrecognizable—many mirrored the structural forms of formation arrays still taught in Blaze Sword Sect, just far more complex.
Yen Mo swallowed. "Is this… a record of the Scarlet Gorge?"
"No," Li Xueyao whispered. "This is older. Look—these markings don't show boundaries… they show seals and depth layers."
Bai Kuan leaned in. "Depth layers?"
Zu Tian nodded.
"A forbidden land like this is rarely a naturally chaotic region. It's usually… structured."
He tapped the tablet.
"These lines—see how they interlock like meridians? This place was segmented. Purposefully."
"For what purpose?" Yen Mo asked.
Zu Tian didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he pointed to a specific section—one marked by a spiraling emblem.A vortex runic design, ringed by three sigils.
Each sigil glowed faintly… as if resonating with the array they had just used in their fight.
Li Xueyao gasped softly."That's the same tri-flame structure we used "
"But the elders never taught us that this array was part of something greater," Yen Mo murmured.
Zu Tian's expression deepened. "Of course they didn't. Because they never knew."
The map extended much farther than any recorded chart of the Scarlet Gorge.Deep layers.Sealed caverns.Ancient battleground relic sites.
And at the center—
A single symbol.
A broken flame.
Zu Tian's heartbeat tightened for a reason he could not explain.
"What does it mean?" Bai Kuan asked.
Li Xueyao shook her head. "I don't know. But if this tablet is really a map… then we're standing on one of the entrance points."
"And the next sealed region…" Yen Mo whispered, trailing his finger along the runes, "…should be just ahead."
Zu Tian's broken sword vibrated again—this time loud enough that the others almost heard it.
The tablet responded with a sharp shimmer of red light.
Zu Tian stepped back. "Get away from the tablet."
The runes rearranged themselves, shifting like puzzle pieces unlocking.
A glowing line extended from the tablet across the forest floor—like a path revealing itself.
A direction.
A destination.
A choice.
Zu Tian tightened his grip on his sword.
"This wasn't a random teleportation," he murmured. "We were placed exactly where the first seal was weakest."
Li Xueyao stepped beside him, voice hushed."Then… Senior Brother… the deeper we go, the stronger the guardians become."
"And the closer we get to the true heart of the gorge," he said.
Bai Kuan grinned, despite the bruises. "Good. That means more treasure."
Yen Mo swallowed. "It also means more things that want to kill us."
Zu Tian nodded once.
"Then we prepare. Rest. Regroup. We advance in one hour."