Novel Full Chapter 367: Five Days (2)
Chapter 367: Five Days (2)
He died...
The thought echoed repeatedly in Pan Zheng’s mind, like a hammer striking the same nail over and over again.
Kyrian. That boy with strange eyes and cold energy, and who never smiled.
Dead.
Because of him.
Pan Zheng let out a small, heavy sigh.
Guilt constantly gnawed at his chest.
He had hired Kyrian. He had brought him to that place.
But deep down, Pan Zheng knew, everyone knew, that exploring the Great Volcano would never be safe.
’If I had stayed behind...’ Pan Zheng thought, but quickly discarded the idea.
Even if he had stayed, he would have died instantly. The lizard would have killed him with a single blow. He would not have been useful. It would not have made any difference.
Even so, that did not make his heart feel any better.
Guilt was not rational. It did not obey logic. It simply existed, a cold weight in his chest that refused to disappear.
Pan Zheng looked down at his hands.
’I am a coward.’ Pan Zheng thought.
’A coward who abandons others to save himself.’
But he kept walking. There was no other choice.
...
Not long afterward, all the groups finally arrived at the meeting point.
It was an enormous flat region surrounded by black volcanic mountains, a natural plateau carved by ancient lava flows, now covered by a thick layer of ash. The heat there was intense but bearable.
Hundreds of cultivators were gathered in that place.
Disciples in colorful robes, elders with stern expressions, and at the very front...
The four leaders stood motionless.
Their presences were like invisible mountains pressing down on the surroundings. Even without intentionally releasing their energies, the mere fact that they were standing there, silently observing, made many disciples struggle to breathe.
Cultivators of the Spiritual Awakening Realm.
Pan Zheng felt a deep and instinctive respect toward them.
Then, one of the leaders slowly raised his hand.
Silence spread instantly.
In the next moment, a massive circular map appeared above the ground, projected through spiritual Qi. It was a complete map of the Great Volcano, every peak, every valley, and every cave recorded with meticulous precision.
Detailed.
Precise.
Everyone immediately recognized the work of centuries of exploration.
The four leaders began pointing toward different regions of the map while releasing threads of spiritual Qi. Quickly, several areas started glowing, first red, then orange.
"These are the regions the four of us explored personally," one of the leaders said calmly. His voice was not loud, but it echoed throughout the entire area as if he were speaking directly into the ears of every person present.
Then his gaze shifted toward the elders.
"Mark all the areas explored by your groups."
Immediately, dozens of elders released Qi simultaneously. Glowing lines of different colors spread across the map, each representing the territory covered by a specific group.
Yellow. Green. Blue. Purple.
Little by little, nearly the entire Outer Area and a large portion of the Intermediate Area became fully marked. The map now resembled an impressive patchwork quilt of colors.
The leaders observed everything in silence, their eyes scanning every inch of the map.
Then one of them asked.
"Did anyone find any clues related to the tomb? Any ancient formations? Any suspicious locations? Anything worthy of a second investigation?"
Silence.
The groups exchanged glances among themselves.
Disciples looked toward elders. Elders looked toward other elders. No one spoke.
In the end, the answer was always the same.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
The expressions of the leaders gradually darkened. The impatience in the air was palpable.
They had spent substantial time, resources, and effort to enter that place, to gather so many cultivators, and to organize the logistics of the exploration. The cost, in spiritual stones and lives, was not small.
But until now, they had not found even a single real trace of Ming Hai’s inheritance.
Could it all be a fraud? Doubt lingered in some of their eyes.
Then one of the leaders, the oldest among them, with a gray beard and piercing eyes, narrowed his gaze.
He noticed something strange on the map.
One region of the Intermediate Area remained partially empty.
No markings. No confirmation of exploration. And it was not a small area.
It was a large section of the mountain, located within a rugged and mountainous region where steam fissures and lava rivers made advancement difficult. But that was no excuse, other groups had faced equally hostile terrain and still completed their missions.
The leader’s frown immediately deepened.
"Which group was responsible for this part of the mountain?"
His voice was not loud, but it carried an authority that made several disciples tremble involuntarily.
Instantly, two people raised their hands.
The elder is leading Pan Zheng’s group.
And a young man belonging to another group, wearing a red robe embroidered with golden patterns. He was from the other group that had fled from the lizard.
All eyes immediately turned toward them.
The leader narrowed his eyes dangerously. The pressure of his aura increased slightly, just enough to make the air around them heavier.
"Well?"
"Why was this area not marked?"
"What were you doing instead of exploring?"
The pressure in his voice caused several disciples to pale.
The elder from Pan Zheng’s group felt cold sweat running down his back. His mouth opened, but no words came out.
For a moment, he did not know how to answer.
But before he could speak, the young man from the other group quickly stepped forward. His voice still carried traces of fear, but there was determination in his eyes.
"Honored leaders... we were unable to properly explore that region."
A pause.
"We encountered a Five-Horned Lava Lizard."
Silence became absolute.
No one breathed.
"A beast at the peak of the Core Formation Realm, with draconic blood flowing through its veins."
The young man swallowed dryly, remembering the terror he had felt.
"We... we could only flee desperately. The beast was far too powerful. We had no chance."
Silence.
The expressions of the four leaders completely changed.
Surprise. Shock. And then... something else.
Excitement.
"What?" the four spoke almost simultaneously, their voices overlapping in accidental harmony.
"What did you say, boy?"
The young man swallowed hard again, intimidated by the sudden attention.
"We... we could only flee desperately..."
"Before that," one of the leaders interrupted impatiently.
"Before that. About the beast."
The young man took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.
"We encountered a Five-Horned Lava Lizard. In the region we failed to mark on the map. It emerged from underground while we were exploring and..."
He did not need to finish.
The eyes of the four leaders were shining intensely now.