Death... and me

3042  Not Planned

Outside, the elders of those young cultivators were taken aback by the sudden change. "What was that?!" Someone asked, feeling furious. His own disciple was also there, trapped.

"I also felt it a little. Was that an earthquake?"

"What bullshit earthquake? There hasn't been any for thousands of years!"

"Then what was that? I also felt it here!"

"That's the point! We barely felt it, and we are at the entrance of the Spiritual Canyon. We should have felt much more than that. It must have been done on purpose!"

"Stop the formation from reactivating!" Another one quickly shouted.

"Stupid! We all know the formation can't be stopped," One of the elders of the Galapadien Organization immediately rebuked.

Kuslau was also nervous, so he reached out to Fausto, the Galapadien Organization President. "Senior Fausto. We need to take them out."

Fausto ignored him and everyone else, though. "No one will do anything. Those are the rules, and you all know that. How many already died fighting other cultivators or the Demon Beasts inside? Also, it was indeed not an accident. Some of the youngsters who entered the Canyon set it all up, which was quite clever, in my opinion."

"Then... we will just let the disciples who remained there die?"

Fausto nodded. "It was their mistake to stay for longer than necessary. First of all, you know that it wasn't the first time someone tried this trick. It's just that no one has attempted it during the last hundreds of years. Don't worry, though. When the formation opens again ten years from now, the next disciples will have time to open the path to the Spiritual Pond once more."

Everyone looked at Kuslau after hearing that. Why would anyone try something like that? Obviously, it was because Rean was there and especially because they now knew Rean's real strength. No one dared to challenge him... so they made sure Rean would not come out. Such a genius like Rean was better being buried in the Spiritual Canyon to prevent future problems.

Kuslau returned his attention to the monitors. The surface of the Spiritual Pond was still watchable. There, Rean, Lesyu, Laica, and Tubutu stood near the Spiritual Pond, looking in the direction of the exits that were now gone. 'There is less than an hour remaining... You guys must do something,' he thought to himself.

---

Back in the Spiritual Canyon, underground, Rean scratched the back of his head as he looked at the exits. "Well, that was unexpected..."

Laica was still shaken by the event. If Rean hadn't reacted in time, she and her two friends would have been buried alive. "R-Rean... Thank you..."

Tubutu and Lesyu did the same. "Thank you."

Rean waved his hand, not feeling like he did much. "Don't worry about it. It was a scary event, but you forgot you are all in the Nascent Soul Realm. Even if you were buried, you should have been able to at least open a path back here in the Spiritual Pond with your strength."

Rean was right. As they talked, several cultivators began to appear, making their way out of the exits and entering the Spiritual Pond area again. They didn't escape fast enough, but they were close to this place to come back.

Rean had other problems. "What I'm more concerned about is the exits gone. No doubt whoever prepared this made sure all the paths collapsed all the way to the outside. There is simply not enough time to excavate our way out even if everyone joins hands."

Several other cultivators were also looking at the exits, and some had already begun to use their Spiritual Energy to try to open a path. Yet, once they excavated, the ceiling collapsed again. To open the caves, one would need to secure the ceiling so it would continue to stay open. Such a fast-paced attempt would not work.

Laica couldn't help but grow nervous. "Then... we will be killed by the slaughter formation?"

Rean sighed. "Don't worry. If we really reach the breaking point, I have a way to bring us out. I just would rather not do it here."

As he said that, he spoke to Sister Orb. 'Did you see who provoked this?'

[I wasn't really paying attention, to be honest. I was focused on controlling those projections of you and Foliana, after all. However, I'm sure it was done on purpose, and you are most likely the reason.]

'As I thought...' Rean nodded.

[What do you want to do? I can totally deactivate the formation if you want. I can even make it collapse by making the Spiritual Energy sustaining it go chaotic thorugh the wrong rune channels.]

Rean shook his head. 'No, that's a bad idea. If you did it just when I'm trapped, I would become the main target of everyone's suspicions. I'm everyone's target, after all. Disappearing from this place by using the Dimensional Realm wouldn't be good either...'

Rean then had an idea. "Alright, Laia, Lesyu, Tubutu, we are going to enter the caves of the Swordhorn Sea Race. We will try to find some way out. There are countless paths down the caves, so we can try to find some different passage out of here."

Rean didn't forget that further down the caves in the Spiritual Pond the monitoring ability of the formation doesn't work. That's all he needed.

"But... what about the Swordhorn Fish in there?" Laica asked back. "There are huge mobs of Stages five and six Swordhorn from what I know."

"Oh, don't worry. I can conceal us on the way down. They won't notice us," Rean explained.

"Is that true?" Someone reached to Rean. It was a cultivator he had never talked to before called Yuan. "Would you mind to bring me together?"

"Me too!" Someone else came to his side and begged. "Help me, friend. I can give you all my Spiritual Stones!"

Out of nowhere, several cultivators reached Rean. They didn't dare venture too deep into the caves, so Rean's words definitely caught their attention. It was better than waiting to die in this place.

Rean bitterly smiled. That wasn't exactly what he planned.

And as always, any Golden Tickets and Stones are welcome. ;)