Chapter 135: A Hidden Path II

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: A Hidden Path II

Damon’s eyes widened.

He stood completely still.

The Ice Elemental essence inside his Spirit Origin had reacted.

Something was pulling at it. Very slightly.

Almost like a distant call.

Damon’s expression changed.

"Wait."

Shiro looked at him.

Damon focused.

The resonance disappeared.

He moved one step to the side.

It returned.

His eyes narrowed a bit.

He moved back, but it was gone.

Forward.

There.

Damon smiled.

"It really is here."

Shiro immediately became alert.

Damon didn’t move yet.

He tested it again.

Left.

Nothing.

Right.

A faint reaction.

Forward.

Stronger.

He looked down.

The ground looked completely normal.

But something beneath it was responding to the pure Ice Elemental essence inside his Spirit Origin.

Damon’s heart began beating faster.

He had spent so long searching for this.

Now he finally had a lead.

"Caelia!"

His voice carried through the area.

A moment later, Caelia appeared with Snow.

"What happened?"

"I found something."

Her expression immediately changed.

"You did?"

Damon nodded.

"Not exactly the Zone Heart."

He placed a hand over his chest.

"My Spirit Origin is reacting to something underneath us."

Caelia stared at him.

"Underneath?"

"Yeah."

She looked down.

Snow sniffed the air and moved closer.

Damon could feel the resonance again.

Stronger now.

He crouched and placed his palm against the frozen ground.

Nothing happened.

He frowned.

"There’s something blocking it."

Caelia came closer.

"Can you break through?"

"Maybe."

Damon didn’t immediately attack the ground.

That could destroy whatever was hiding beneath them.

Instead, he focused on the resonance.

He released a tiny amount of purified Ice Elemental essence from his Spirit Origin.

The response came immediately.

A faint line of frost spread across the ground.

Damon’s eyes sharpened.

He followed it.

The line stopped near a large patch of frozen stone.

Damon touched it.

Nothing.

He released another small amount of pure Ice Elemental essence.

This time, the frost spread around the stone.

Caelia watched closely.

"It’s reacting."

"Yeah."

Damon looked at the surrounding ground.

The frost wasn’t spreading randomly.

It was following something.

A pattern.

He moved to another section and released a small amount of essence.

The same thing happened.

Another line appeared.

Then another.

Damon slowly connected the points in his mind.

"This isn’t a formation."

Caelia looked confused.

"Then what is it?"

"I don’t know yet."

Damon stood.

"But these rocks are placed differently."

He looked around.

The terrain seemed natural.

That was what made it difficult to notice.

But once he knew what to look for, the pattern became clearer.

The rocks weren’t forming a normal path.

They were sealing one.

Damon crouched again and pressed his palm against the largest stone.

He didn’t force it.

Instead, he guided purified Ice Elemental essence into the cracks beneath it.

The ground responded.

A low sound came from below.

Caelia’s eyes widened.

"Did you hear that?"

Damon smiled.

"Yeah."

The stone shifted slightly.

Damon immediately stepped back.

The surrounding ground trembled.

Then the frost covering the rocks began to move.

Not outward.

Downward.

The ice sank into the ground as if something beneath it was drawing it in.

A thin crack appeared.

It ran between the stones.

Then another.

Damon watched carefully.

He still didn’t attack.

He simply continued feeding a small amount of purified essence into the hidden pattern.

The crack widened.

A section of frozen ground slowly lowered.

Cold air escaped from beneath it.

Caelia stepped closer.

"There’s a space underneath."

Damon nodded.

He could feel it now.

The resonance was much stronger.

His Spirit Origin reacted again.

This time, it almost felt like something below had recognized him.

Damon smiled.

"So that’s how you hid."

He finally understood.

The route hadn’t been destroyed.

It had been sealed into the terrain itself.

Without a Spirit Origin capable of sensing the pure Ice Elemental essence, there was no reason for anyone to suspect that the frozen rocks were hiding anything.

Even if someone searched this area, they would probably walk right past it.

Damon placed his hand against the ground again.

A final stream of purified essence entered the hidden path.

The ground shifted.

A large section slowly moved aside as a dark opening appeared beneath them.

Cold air flowed upward.

Everyone became quiet.

Caelia stared into the opening.

"So this is..."

Damon shook his head.

"We don’t know yet."

His heart was beating faster now.

He had finally found the route.

But that was all it was.

A route.

Whatever waited beyond it was still unknown.

Damon looked at Shiro.

The Frost Qilin was staring into the darkness.

Even Snow had become unusually quiet.

Damon took a slow breath.

"Well."

He smiled.

"We found our path."

Caelia looked at him.

"Are you nervous?"

Damon thought about it.

"A little."

She smiled.

"At least you’re honest."

Damon laughed.

"I’d be stupid if I wasn’t."

He looked back into the underground passage.

For days, they had searched Frostveil.

Now they finally had something.

A hidden route beneath a place where no one had noticed anything unusual.

And whatever was waiting below had already responded to his Spirit Origin.

Damon stepped toward the opening.

"Let’s see where this goes."

He stopped at the edge.

The darkness below swallowed the faint light from above.

Damon’s smile slowly disappeared.

They had spent so long searching for the Zone Heart.

Now they were finally standing at the entrance to something that might lead directly to it.

And none of them knew what they would find below.

The group slowly entered the hidden route.

Damon walked at the front with Caelia close behind, while Shiro and Snow stayed near them.

The deeper they went, the quieter everything became.

There were no beasts.

No sudden movements.

Only the sound of their footsteps against the frozen ground.

Damon looked around.

The route wasn’t large, but it continued far deeper than he had expected.

From what they had seen so far, it was hard to believe this place had been hidden beneath Frostveil for so long.

Caelia lowered her voice.

"Do you think this really leads to the Zone Heart?"