The echoes of hurried footsteps grew sharper, reverberating off the altar chamber walls. Lin Feng and Xiao Lan exchanged a last glance charged with tacit understanding before the figures of three young cultivators burst from the tunnel, their sky-blue inner disciple robes stained from their journey.
Jian Yue, the trio's leader, stopped dead at the sight of Xiao Lan. His face, initially tense with urgency, transformed into an expression of relief and ill-concealed admiration. He completely ignored Lin Feng, his eyes fixed on the radiant figure of the young woman. Glob, on Lin Feng's shoulder, emitted an almost inaudible vibration, like a suppressed growl.
"Junior Sister Xiao Lan!" exclaimed Jian Yue, his voice resonating with a grandiosity that seemed out of place in the primeval stillness of the cavern. "You're safe! Some terrified outer disciples informed us you were facing a monstrous beast! We've rushed here to offer our assistance!"
Feng Bin and Ma Yong, his two companions, flanked Jian Yue, nodding with expressions that attempted to be heroic but failed to hide their surprise at seeing Xiao Lan not only unharmed but with an aura of power visibly more formidable than the last time they'd seen her.
Xiao Lan observed them with her usual coolness, though Lin Feng noted a new hint of authority in her posture, a confidence that bordered on royalty. "Senior Brother Jian Yue, Brothers Feng Bin, Ma Yong. Your concern is... noted," she said, her voice clear and crisp. "But as you can see, the situation is completely under control." She gestured vaguely towards the faint energy remnants of the Chimera, which had almost dissipated.
Jian Yue's eyes finally fell on Lin Feng, and his expression of relief instantly soured, replaced by a mix of disdain and suspicion. "And this...?" His gaze swept over Lin Feng from head to toe, lingering on his outer disciple robes and his seemingly low cultivation level. "Who is he, Junior Sister? And what is a mere outer disciple doing so deep within the Umbral Mountain Range and in your company?" Then, his eyes fixed on Glob, who had shrunk slightly on Lin Feng's shoulder, appearing like a strange, dark pet. "And that... thing... what abomination is that?"
Before Lin Feng could even think of a reply, Xiao Lan intervened, her voice as smooth as ice. "This is Outer Disciple Lin Feng. He has demonstrated a... surprising aptitude for navigating certain dangers and energetic anomalies of the Umbral Mountain Range that would baffle more conventional cultivators. And his familiar," her gaze briefly rested on Glob with an indecipherable expression, "possesses unique abilities for detecting and neutralizing certain harmful influences. They proved to be unexpectedly helpful in securing the Umbral Heart Lotus."
Her explanation was a masterpiece of half-truths and calculated omissions. She presented Lin Feng not as an equal, but as a specialized tool, and Glob as a mere exotic familiar, thus protecting the true secret of his chaotic power and their synergy.
Jian Yue frowned, clearly unconvinced and visibly irritated by Lin Feng's proximity to a Xiao Lan who now radiated a power he could only envy. "A 'surprising aptitude' from an outer disciple... How interesting," he said with thinly veiled sarcasm. "Perhaps you should demonstrate that aptitude so we can learn from 'great' Junior Brother Lin Feng. After all, the sect always values the discovery of new talents, however humble their origins." His gaze was a direct challenge.
Lin Feng felt a wave of discomfort. He knew that any demonstration of his true power would be disastrous. Glob vibrated, sensing the hostility.
Xiao Lan was about to respond, her expression turning icy, when a deep, resonant GROOOOOM! shook the cavern to its foundations. Dust and small crystals rained from the ceiling. The faint lights of the chaotic crystals on the walls flickered violently. The primordial energy that had been relatively calm after their cultivation session now churned like a raging sea.
"What's happening!?" cried Feng Bin, losing his composure.
Ma Yong drew his sword, his knuckles white. "The cavern is collapsing!"
"It's not a collapse," said Xiao Lan, her voice tense, her eyes fixed on the chamber walls. "It's something else. The energy fluctuations from our cultivation... and the death of the Chimera... it seems we've awakened something. An ancient defense system, or... the true guardian of this place."
As she spoke, the smooth, dark walls of the chamber began to glow with intricate patterns of ancient runes Lin Feng had never seen. They emitted an oppressive red light. The ground trembled more violently, and figures began to emerge from the rock walls themselves.
They were tall, nearly three meters, with humanoid but crude forms, as if carved from the same black stone of the cavern, but their bodies were scarred with veins of purple and crimson chaotic energy that crackled with power. They had no faces, just an ominous glow where their eyes should be. Golems. Primordial Energy Golems. And there were at least a dozen of them.
"Damn it!" exclaimed Jian Yue, his previous arrogance replaced by genuine alarm. "I've never heard of such creatures in the sect's reports on the Umbral Mountain Range!"
The golems began to advance, their movements heavy, yet imbued with relentless force. One of them wielded an arm that ended in a solidified energy blade and struck the nearby wall, sending rock shards flying.
"Our internal disputes are irrelevant now, Senior Brother Jian!" Xiao Lan's voice cut through the tension, full of authority. "These things will kill us all if we don't cooperate. Your strength and your companions' are necessary. I propose a truce and a temporary alliance! Our lives depend on it!"
Jian Yue looked at the advancing golems, then at Xiao Lan's resolute expression, and swallowed hard. Survival instinct overruled his pride. "Agreed, Junior Sister Xiao. You lead. What's the plan?"
Xiao Lan nodded sharply. "Jian Yue, Ma Yong, you two handle the right flank. Your Spiritual Foundation power should be enough to contain those three. Feng Bin, you and I will take the center and the left flank; they seem more numerous there. Try to find a pattern in their attacks or some weak point in their energy cores!"
Then, her gaze fell on Lin Feng. "Lin Feng, you and Glob stay behind me. Your familiar seems sensitive to anomalous energies. And your studies of ancient texts... observe the formations of these golems, the patterns of the runes on the walls that seem to be feeding them. Look for weak points, resonances, anything that doesn't respond to standard elemental Qi. Your perspective could be crucial in finding a way to deactivate them or an escape route."
It was a clever assignment. It kept him out of the main direct combat, protecting his secret, but gave him a vital role that played to his supposed strengths (his "erudition" and Glob's sensitivity).
The battle began. Jian Yue and Ma Yong charged with war cries, their swords gleaming with elemental Qi. Feng Bin, more cautious, supported Xiao Lan, who became a whirlwind of Umbral Phoenix Flame. Her power was spectacular; every strike of her sword unleashed waves of tricolor fire that forced the golems back, her chaotic flames seeming to have a particularly corrosive effect on the energy animating them. Jian Yue and Ma Yong, though strong, found their pure Qi attacks less effective; the golems seemed to absorb part of the energy, or their stone bodies were incredibly resilient.
"These bastards are tough!" gasped Ma Yong, dodging an energy punch that pulverized the rock where he had been.
Lin Feng watched everything intensely, his Chaotic Heart vibrating in response to the primordial energy of the golems and runes. Glob, on his shoulder, rapidly changed color, his pseudopods extending and retracting as if testing the air.
"Senior Sister," Lin Feng suddenly said, his voice surprisingly clear amidst the din. "The runes on the ground… they glow more intensely just before a golem regenerates damage. They seem to be drawing energy directly from the cavern floor!"
Xiao Lan, mid-dodge, heard. "Feng Bin, attack the sections of the ground that glow when a golem is near them!"
Feng Bin, though skeptical, obeyed. When a nearby golem began to regenerate a crack in its arm, he unleashed a blast of icy Qi at the ground beneath it. The glow of the runes wavered, and the golem's regeneration noticeably stalled. "It works!"
Lin Feng felt a small pang of satisfaction. His "observation" had been useful. Glob emitted a soft pulse, and Lin Feng felt a mental image: Glob pointing to a series of specific runes on the furthest wall, ones that glowed with a different, faster, almost frantic pattern.
"Senior Sister, those runes on the back wall," he said, pointing. "Glob seems to indicate they're different… perhaps the main control of the golems' energy matrix." He framed it as an interpretation of his "familiar's" reaction.
Xiao Lan looked. "Jian Yue, cover me! I'm going to try to destroy those runes!"
The battle intensified. As Xiao Lan fought her way to the wall, Jian Yue and his companions battled with renewed ferocity to protect her, though it was evident they were suffering under the golems' constant pressure. One of the golems, larger and with brighter runes on its chest, focused on Xiao Lan, launching a beam of pure chaotic energy.
Xiao Lan tried to block it with her sword, but the beam was too powerful, pushing her back. Just as she was about to lose her balance, Lin Feng, who had stayed close following her orders, feigned tripping accidentally over a loose rock and his hand braced on Xiao Lan's back to steady herself.
It was a brief touch, almost imperceptible in the chaos of battle. But for both of them, it was as if lightning had struck.
Lin Feng felt a small strand of his chaotic energy, refined and calm after the Lotus ritual, flow into Xiao Lan by instinct. Xiao Lan, in turn, felt that familiar energy merge with her Umbral Phoenix Fire, and her power surged for a fraction of a second to an even more terrifying level.
With a cry that made the cavern tremble, her sword, now glowing with a light that eclipsed everything else, sliced the golem's beam in half and continued, striking directly at the runes on the wall.
There was a blinding explosion of purple and crimson light. The runes shattered. And all the golems in the cavern, like puppets with their strings cut, froze and then crumbled into piles of inert stone and chaotic dust.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Everyone looked at Xiao Lan, who was slightly panting, her sword still vibrating with power. Jian Yue and his companions were dumbfounded, incredulous at the display of power that had just annihilated a threat that had pushed them to their limits.
Xiao Lan turned slowly, her gaze meeting Lin Feng's. He quickly pulled his hand away from her back, his face slightly flushed, aware of the others' gaze. "Excuse me, Senior Sister, I tripped…"
But Xiao Lan barely heard him. She was looking at her own hand, then at him. A deep understanding, a confirmation of her theories, gleamed in her eyes. No one else had noticed the brief contact, nor the subtle fluctuation in her power. But she had. And Lin Feng had too.
"As you can see, Senior Brothers," Xiao Lan finally said, her voice regaining its coolness, but with a new edge of authority that silenced any possible questions from Jian Yue, "sometimes usefulness is found in the most unexpected sources. The Umbral Mountain Range demands adaptability, not just brute force. Disciple Lin Feng and his familiar have proven to be… effective in their assigned role."
Jian Yue gritted his teeth, his face a mixture of humiliation, envy, and a growing, dark suspicion towards Lin Feng. But he couldn't argue against the results. They had survived, and Xiao Lan was clearly the main reason.
As the dust settled, Glob, who had been absorbing the chaotic energy released by the destroyed golems, emitted an excited chirrup and slid towards a section of the wall where the runes had shattered. There, behind a now loose stone slab, a faint light shone.
"It seems your creature has found something else of interest, Lin Feng," Xiao Lan said, her calculating gaze returning. She approached the slab. "This wasn't here before. The destruction of the golem matrix must have revealed a hidden passage."
With a joint effort (primarily from Xiao Lan and Ma Yong), they removed the slab, revealing the entrance to an even deeper chamber, from which emanated an aura of antiquity and a different, purer, almost sacred power, but tinged with the same echo of primordial chaos.
Jian Yue looked at the new entrance with renewed greed. Feng Bin seemed apprehensive. Ma Yong, curious.
Xiao Lan looked at Lin Feng. "Ready for more discoveries, 'assistant'?"
Lin Feng swallowed. The Trial of the Spirit Beasts was turning into an expedition into the world's deepest and most dangerous secrets. And he, somehow, was at the center of it all.