Death... and me

Ervan looked around the mountain as he collected a few of the herbs present. Although he didn't think they had much use, perhaps they were what Roan was looking for. The same could be said to the other two elders who were searching with him. Just like that, three hours or so went by.

Suddenly, he received a Spiritual Sense message from one of his companions.

'Ervan, come take a look at this.'

Not expecting too much, Ervan moved a few hundred meters until he arrived at the location that the elder told him. Together with him, the second elder appeared as well.

'What is it, Elder Sian?'

Sian then pointed at an aperture on the other side. It was relatively small and would be easily overlooked if one didn't pay very close attention. Sian only found it because he thought that he could find some herbs around the place as well.

'Ervan, Luo, try to use your Spiritual Senses. Can you see that crevice in there?'

Luo and Ervan narrowed their eyes as they spread their Spiritual Sense. Sure enough, they could see everything around them... except for that aperture at the wall. 

'This... Isn't it the same as what those two twins did previously? They also disappeared from our Spiritual Sense, just like when we met the Umbral Sect members.'

Sian nodded.

'Exactly. That's why I called you two over. Ervan, you were doubting that the black-haired boy really wanted the herbs, weren't you? After all, all the herbs we found here have little to no Spiritual Energy inside. They don't seem suitable for alchemy, as far as we can see. Maybe this is what he and his brother were really after.'

Ervan narrowed his eyes as he looked at the area ahead. Still, he shook his head and looked at the Mountain's Highest Peak.

'Let's call father over before we check it.'

Sian and Luo nodded. However, just as they were about to turn around, a burst of energy came out of the aperture. It was too fast for any of them to react. However, they were not attacked by that, but captured! 

"What?!"

Ervan, Sian, and Luo were shocked and immediately activated their Spiritual Energies, trying to get free of whatever was holding them. Unfortunately, they were too weak! Soon after, that aperture on the mountain wall began to engulf the Spiritual Energy, quickly pulling Ervan's group with it. 

Rovan, who was still in the Mountain Peak, suddenly opened his eyes. Ervan and his group were inside his Spiritual Sense all the time. Naturally, the place they found was the same. However, a powerful burst of Spiritual Energy appeared out of nowhere close to their location. Not to mention that he saw them struggling as they seemed to be pulled over.

'Not good!'

Rovan flash away as he quickly made his way to where his group was located. 

*Tremble!*

The mountain shook as Rovan flew there. However, the tremble was concentrated. Only those on the mountain or at most a few kilometers around could feel it. Considering the Core Region's size and the search area, most likely, no one noticed that.

It only took a few seconds for Rovan to cover several hundred meters. Unfortunately, he arrived just a bit too late. Ervan, Luo, and Sian were already pulled inside. Of course, Ervan was his son while the other two were elders of his Clan. That being said, Ervan also rushed inside straight away... or so he tried.

*Bang!*

Rovan then smashed against an invisible barrier. The blow was so hard that Rovan even felt dizzy for a few seconds. Nonetheless, he quickly recovered as he looked at the aperture in front of him in dismay. Of course, he wouldn't stay put without doing anything.

"Open for me!"

His Saber came out as he immediately attacked the barrier with all his strength.

'Emperor Flame Saber!'

Fire Element gathered all over his body for a few seconds before he sent the attack down.

*Boom!*

The ground trembled as flames spread everywhere. The earth and dirt flew everywhere around the crevice as well, increasing the gap of that aperture. Still, the barrier itself didn't even budge. 

Rovan was really shocked this time. Emperor Flame Saber couldn't be said to be a famous skill. The few seconds that it needed to charge was more than enough for cultivators at Rovan's level to release several other attacks. In a battle, it wasn't efficient. However, if given the time to do so, it was indeed a powerful single-target skill. Yet, the barrier didn't move at all. How could Rovan not be startled by that?

It was then that Rovan noticed something different. At first, there was just a small aperture on the Mountain Wall. But after his attack, that aperture expanded several times as the wall was blasted away. However, he quickly noticed that the mountain wall was, in fact, hiding something else. Now, Rovan could see something like an ancient ruin wall with several patterns carved on it.

But the impressive thing was not the carvings. Instead, it was the fact that Rovan's strongest attack also didn't leave behind as much as a dent on these ruins.

'Just what the hell is this place?'

Rovan then gathered his Spiritual Energy once more and attacked the place time and time again. Nonetheless, it brought him the same result. Rovan simply didn't have enough power to break through the ancient ruin or the energy barrier. In the end, Rovan was left in front of the barrier, gasping for air.

'Fuck!'

As Rovan complained, Latalia heard some kind of mechanical sound reverberating through the entire maze. She narrowed her eyes and looked at the roof.

'It has opened again. Someone else has just been caught. Or was it a Demon Beast this time? I'm not sure.'

She then ignored the sound and looked ahead of her. Latalia was quite good at survival. Because of that, she escaped from the Energy Beasts time and time again until she finally found something different. She was now in from another ancient ruin wall with similar patterns as the one Rovan saw outside. There was a door also made of the same material as the rest of the wall in the middle. Unfortunately, it didn't matter what she did. She couldn't force it open.

'The Laan City remnants from over ten thousand years ago. Way before Zef Jialin arrived at this place and founded the Jialin Country. Even my Amakal Family only has a few records about its existence.'

Several thoughts passed through Latalia's. It was then that she looked at a few small gaps beside the door. There were even more if one looked further away. But above all, there was a small pillar right in front of it that seemed to be necessary to open the passage.

'I don't have the keys to open this thing. As for that part...'

Latalia sighed before shocking her head.

She then looked at an open room on the back, close to the place where she used to enter this area. She seemed to have understood what it was used for and felt some relief. However, she shook her head in the end and decided to not enter it.

'I can't give up now. Better continue to investigate.'

Latalia didn't just run around aimlessly. She also made sure to memorize her path to mount a map for her use. The only problem was that the maze seemed to change its format, so it took her quite a lot of time to understand the patterns.

Latalia then focused her mind on the parts where she hadn't investigated yet and quickly left once again.

Meanwhile, Lian and his group continued their search for the twins. Finally, they got another clue from a group of cultivators who saw the twins passing by. Different from the Umbral Sect members, the other cultivators didn't have Umbral Energy in their bodies. Naturally, Rean couldn't feel their presence from further away. Not to mention that Rean couldn't keep the Hiden Radar skill activated all the time. That being said, they would end up inside someone's Spiritual Sense in case they got too close.

This one had just been one of the groups that had bumped into the twins and the Minokawa with their Spiritual Senses while they made their way to Rovan's place. Of course, it was not just because they saw Rean's group cultivation that they would decide to attack or rob the other part. Not everyone acted in that manner. In fact, most of the groups didn't come here for that but to train or acquire Demon Beasts' materials. It was that simple.

After acquiring the information, Lian contacted the other two groups. Right after, they headed in the direction the twins were seen the last time.

Back on Rean and Roan's side, they finally spotted the Four Peaks Mountain in the distance.

"We are here. Rovan should be at the highest peak waiting for us."