Chapter 52: Entering the Western Region
The mist of the Western Region was different from the fog Han Feng had encountered in the Southern Region.
It was heavier.
Colder.
It clung to the mountains like something alive.
Han Feng walked silently between the towering rock formations, his long white hair occasionally disappearing into the mist.
The moment he had crossed the border, the Celestial Diagram had reacted.
Only once.
But that single pulse had been enough to confirm his suspicions.
Something in the Western Region resonated with the ancient system he had encountered beneath the Ruins of Eternal Night.
He did not know what.
And he did not intend to investigate recklessly.
For now, observation came first.
Han Feng slowed his steps.
His spiritual perception spread through the surrounding area.
Nothing.
Then—
A faint movement.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
Someone was following him.
No.
Several people.
He continued walking as though he had noticed nothing.
The figures behind him became bolder.
Branches cracked.
Footsteps moved through the fog.
Then a rough voice echoed through the trees.
"A lone cultivator?"
A deep laugh followed.
"What good fortune."
Han Feng stopped.
Five figures emerged from the mist.
Their clothing was worn and patched, but their weapons were surprisingly well maintained.
They were not ordinary travelers.
They were bandits.
The leader was a middle-aged man with a scar running from his left eyebrow to his cheek.
He carried a heavy saber across his shoulder.
His eyes moved over Han Feng's body before settling on the jade token partially hidden beneath his robe.
"A sect cultivator," he said.
The other four immediately became more alert.
The leader smiled.
"Leave your storage items and cultivation resources. If you cooperate, we'll let you leave."
Han Feng remained expressionless.
He slowly lowered his gaze.
Then he allowed the Art of the Celestial Veil to suppress his aura even further.
His spiritual presence became almost nonexistent.
One of the bandits frowned.
"Boss..."
"What?"
"I can't sense his cultivation."
The leader stared at Han Feng.
For a moment, suspicion appeared in his eyes.
Then greed replaced it.
"Perhaps he's only a mortal."
The youngest bandit laughed.
"Then we're even luckier."
Han Feng sighed inwardly.
They are careless.
But he did not underestimate them.
Five people.
The leader was probably around Qi Cultivation Rank 2.
Two others were weaker.
The remaining two had almost no cultivation.
None were truly threatening.
But killing them openly would still create unnecessary noise.
Han Feng preferred silence.
He stepped forward.
The nearest bandit raised his weapon.
"What are you—"
Han Feng moved.
His body blurred.
He appeared beside the man's shoulder and struck the side of his neck.
Crack.
The bandit's body collapsed instantly.
The other four froze.
The leader's smile disappeared.
"Kill him!"
Two men rushed forward.
Han Feng avoided the first blade and grabbed the attacker's wrist.
He twisted.
The weapon fell.
A strike to the chest sent the man crashing into a tree.
The second attacker swung wildly.
Han Feng stepped inside the attack.
His elbow struck the man's ribs.
The bandit staggered.
Han Feng followed with a palm strike.
The man fell unconscious.
Three remained.
The leader finally understood.
"This isn't a mortal."
His expression became ugly.
He drew his saber.
Spiritual energy surged through the weapon.
Han Feng's eyes sharpened.
Qi Rank 2.
The man charged.
The saber descended.
Han Feng raised his arm.
Dark flames flashed across his sleeve.
CLANG!
The saber struck his condensed spiritual energy.
Han Feng was pushed several steps backward.
His eyes narrowed.
The leader's strength was greater than expected.
The bandit smiled.
"So you were hiding your cultivation."
Han Feng said nothing.
The man attacked again.
This time, Han Feng did not meet him directly.
He shifted.
The saber passed beside him.
Han Feng struck the man's wrist.
The weapon flew away.
Before the leader could recover, Han Feng placed two fingers against his chest.
A thin thread of Celestial Dark Flame entered his spiritual circulation.
The man's face changed.
His Qi became chaotic.
He staggered backward.
"What did you—"
Han Feng struck him once.
The leader collapsed.
The final bandit immediately turned and ran.
Han Feng watched him disappear into the fog.
He did not chase.
There was no need.
A corpse was silent.
A frightened survivor could become a rumor.
And rumors attracted attention.
Han Feng turned toward the fallen leader.
He searched the bodies.
There was very little.
A few spirit stones.
Several low-grade Gu materials.
A broken communication talisman.
And a folded piece of animal skin.
Han Feng opened it.
A rough map had been drawn across the surface.
Most of the Western Region was absent.
Only one area had been marked carefully.
A circle surrounded a valley.
Beside it were three words.
Ruins of the Nine Tombs.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
There were several small symbols surrounding the ruins.
Not treasure symbols.
Warning symbols.
He looked at the leader's body.
"Interesting."
These men had not been wandering randomly.
They had been looking for the ruins.
Han Feng folded the map.
Then he searched again.
Inside the leader's sleeve, he discovered a small piece of black stone.
The moment he touched it—
The Celestial Diagram pulsed.
Han Feng immediately released it.
His expression became serious.
The black stone was not particularly valuable.
But it carried a faint resonance.
The same strange feeling he had sensed after entering the Western Region.
Not identical.
But close.
So they were carrying something connected to it.
Han Feng wrapped the stone in cloth and placed it inside his storage pouch.
He would examine it later.
For now, the ruins were worth investigating.
The Road to the Nine Tombs
Han Feng changed his route.
The journey toward the marked valley took several days.
During that time, he avoided all large settlements.
The Western Region already felt dangerous enough without attracting unnecessary attention.
He also noticed something strange.
The further west he traveled, the more frequent the ancient ruins became.
Broken stone pillars stood beside mountain paths.
Half-buried statues appeared beneath cliffs.
Some formations had already collapsed, yet faint spiritual fluctuations remained trapped inside their foundations.
At one point, Han Feng discovered the remains of an ancient battlefield.
Dozens of skeletons were scattered across the valley.
Some belonged to humans.
Others belonged to spiritual beasts.
Broken swords protruded from the ground.
A shattered spear was still embedded inside a boulder.
Han Feng stopped.
He carefully examined the surroundings.
There were no signs of recent battle.
These remains were ancient.
Very ancient.
He crouched beside one of the skeletons.
The bones had been preserved by the spiritual environment.
A strange black line ran across the skull.
Han Feng's expression became thoughtful.
The mark resembled one of the symbols he had seen near the Mountain-Sealing Array.
Only slightly.
But enough to make him cautious.
He stood.
The Western Region has more connections to the ancient system than I expected.
He did not stay.
Every mystery did not need to be solved immediately.
Some mysteries became more dangerous the longer one stared at them.
By dusk, Han Feng reached the valley shown on the map.
The landscape changed abruptly.
The mountains surrounding the valley were shaped almost like enormous tombstones.
Mist gathered near the ground.
Ancient stone structures stood throughout the valley.
Some had collapsed.
Others remained partially intact.
Nine enormous stone mounds dominated the center.
Each one was surrounded by broken pillars.
Han Feng stood at the edge of the valley.
"The Nine Tombs..."
He did not enter immediately.
His spiritual perception spread outward.
A moment later, his expression changed.
Formation.
The entire valley was covered by a hidden formation.
It was old.
Extremely old.
But it had not completely died.
Several formation lines were still active beneath the ground.
Han Feng carefully studied the flow of spiritual energy.
Then he noticed something else.
The formation was not designed simply to protect the ruins.
It was designed to keep something inside.
His gaze became serious.
"That changes things."
He stepped back.
He had come looking for resources.
But if the formation was still functioning after countless years, there was probably a reason.
Before he could investigate further—
A sharp cry tore through the sky.
Han Feng looked upward.
A massive black shadow descended from the clouds.
Its wings stretched more than ten meters.
Its body was covered in dark feathers, and its eyes glowed with a cold silver light.
The Spectral Claw Condor.
A powerful flying spiritual beast.
Its greatest advantage was not strength.
It was speed.
The condor folded its wings.
Then dropped from the sky.
Han Feng immediately moved.
SHING!
The creature's claws tore through the place where his head had been.
Han Feng rolled across the ground.
Three deep marks appeared in the stone.
He looked up.
The condor was already turning around.
Fast.
It attacked again.
Han Feng activated the Art of the Celestial Veil.
His presence faded.
The condor's eyes searched the valley.
For a moment, it lost him.
Han Feng used the opportunity to move behind a broken stone pillar.
The condor screamed.
Its wings suddenly spread.
Several sharp feathers shot outward.
They were not ordinary feathers.
Each one carried compressed spiritual energy.
Han Feng's expression tightened.
He jumped.
One feather grazed his sleeve.
Another struck the stone behind him.
BOOM!
The pillar exploded.
Han Feng landed and immediately changed direction.
He could not fight the beast in an open area.
Its speed gave it too much of an advantage.
So he needed to change the battlefield.
His eyes moved toward the ancient ruins.
The formation.
If he could use it—
The condor attacked again.
Han Feng waited until the last possible moment.
Then he stepped sideways.
The beast's claws missed.
Han Feng placed one hand against the ground.
A thread of Qi entered the ancient formation.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
Too damaged.
Another attack approached.
Han Feng rolled away.
The condor's claws shattered the stone.
He gritted his teeth.
Then he noticed something.
One formation line was still connected to another.
The entire system was damaged, but not completely broken.
Han Feng's eyes brightened.
He sent a controlled stream of Qi into the surviving line.
The formation flickered.
The condor attacked.
Han Feng jumped backward.
At that instant—
A pale barrier rose from the ground.
The condor slammed into it.
BOOM!
The beast was thrown backward.
Han Feng did not waste the opportunity.
He gathered the Celestial Dark Flame around his right hand.
The flames compressed.
The Dual Chaos Larva stabilized the conflicting energy.
The Celestial Transmutation Gu adjusted the circulation.
Han Feng rushed forward.
The condor recovered.
It opened its wings.
Han Feng changed direction in midair.
He avoided the claws by a narrow margin.
Then his fist struck the beast's chest.
BOOM!
Black flames spread through its feathers.
The condor screamed.
But it did not fall.
Instead, it struck Han Feng with one wing.
He was thrown backward.
He crashed against a stone pillar.
Pain spread through his back.
Han Feng coughed.
Still alive.
The condor turned.
It prepared to attack again.
Han Feng's eyes became cold.
He had one chance.
He waited until the beast entered the formation's range.
Then—
He activated the damaged formation.
The surviving spiritual lines ignited.
The condor froze for a fraction of a second.
Han Feng appeared beneath it.
His right fist struck upward.
BOOM!
The Celestial Dark Flame exploded against its chest.
The condor screamed.
Its body fell from the sky.
Han Feng landed heavily and immediately stepped back.
He did not approach until he was certain the creature had stopped moving.
Only then did he release a breath.
His body was bruised.
His Qi had been significantly depleted.
The battle had not been easy.
That was precisely why he was still alive.
Han Feng crouched beside the corpse.
The Dual Chaos Larva reacted again.
A faint stream of compatible spiritual essence entered his body.
He allowed only a small amount.
Then he stopped.
Enough.
He looked at the ancient formation.
The battle had awakened part of it.
That was more interesting than the condor itself.
The Hidden Entrance
Han Feng returned to the main entrance.
The formation lines were still faintly glowing.
He studied them for nearly half an hour.
The more he examined them, the more certain he became.
The formation was not simply a defensive barrier.
It was a seal.
And the Nine Tombs were built around whatever that seal was protecting.
Han Feng's curiosity deepened.
He slowly formed several hand seals.
Instead of breaking the formation, he carefully redirected a small portion of its energy.
One line.
Then another.
The ancient restriction trembled.
Dust fell from the surrounding stone structures.
Han Feng stopped.
Nothing happened.
He continued.
A deep rumbling sound traveled beneath his feet.
RUMBLE—
A crack appeared in the ground.
Then another.
The stone platform at the center of the ruins slowly moved.
A hidden staircase appeared beneath it.
Cold air rose from the darkness below.
Han Feng stared into the underground passage.
There were no torches.
No inscriptions.
No obvious traps.
That made him more suspicious, not less.
He took out a small spirit stone and tossed it down the stairs.
It bounced once.
Twice.
Then disappeared into the darkness.
No explosion.
No formation activation.
Han Feng waited.
Nothing.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Too quiet."
He took one step forward.
Then stopped.
A faint sound had come from below.
Not a voice.
Not an attack.
A heartbeat.
Once.
Then silence.
Han Feng's expression changed.
He looked down into the darkness.
The Celestial Diagram pulsed inside his consciousness.
The black stone hidden inside his storage pouch responded at the same time.
Once.
Twice.
Han Feng slowly clenched his hand.
The Ruins of the Nine Tombs were not simply ruins.
Something beneath them was still alive.
And whatever it was—
It had just noticed him.
Han Feng stared into the darkness for several seconds.
Then he smiled faintly.
"Now this is interesting."
He stepped onto the first stair.
The darkness swallowed him.
Above the ruins, the mist continued to move.
And beneath the Nine Tombs, something ancient began to wake.