Chapter 11: The Forgotten Cave and the Hidden Secret
The roar of the waterfall never stopped.
Day and night, it crashed against the rocks outside the cave, drowning out almost every sound from within.
For Han Feng, it was the perfect cover.
No one from Misty River Village would hear the movement inside.
No one would casually wander into this place.
And most importantly...
No one knew he was here.
Han Feng sat quietly in the main chamber.
His breathing was slow.
His aura was completely concealed beneath the Art of the Celestial Veil.
He had spent the last several hours testing the technique.
It worked.
Not perfectly.
But well enough.
As long as he maintained the technique, even someone with a higher cultivation level would have difficulty determining his true strength.
There was only one problem.
Maintaining it consumed his concentration.
If he entered a serious battle while using it, he would have to choose between hiding his cultivation and fighting at full strength.
Han Feng didn't consider that a flaw.
It was simply another limitation to account for.
He opened his eyes.
The cave was dark.
Only a small flame from his torch illuminated the surrounding walls.
He stood.
If this place really contained traces of an ancient cultivator, he needed to know what kind.
And more importantly...
Why had the Celestial Diagram reacted to it?
Han Feng picked up the torch and began walking deeper into the cave.
The deeper he went, the stranger the environment became.
Moss covered the walls.
Some of it emitted a faint blue glow.
Small drops of water fell from the ceiling.
Every drop carried a trace of natural Qi.
Han Feng reached out and touched the moss.
Warm.
He frowned.
Spiritual moss usually grew around areas where Qi accumulated naturally.
But this was different.
The Qi here was unusually pure.
Almost as if something had been gathering it for years.
Han Feng looked around.
"This place wasn't formed naturally."
He couldn't explain how he knew.
But his instincts told him that the cave had been altered.
He continued.
After several dozen steps, he found the first mark.
A line carved into the wall.
Then another.
Then several more.
They formed part of a pattern.
Han Feng brought the torch closer.
His expression changed.
The lines resembled the ancient formation he had discovered earlier.
Six points.
Connected lines.
A central space.
The resemblance to the Celestial Diagram was impossible to ignore.
But there was something wrong.
The formation on the wall was incomplete.
Several sections had been deliberately destroyed.
Han Feng touched one of the broken marks.
Cold.
Nothing happened.
He withdrew his hand.
"Someone didn't want this formation to remain intact."
That raised another question.
Who?
And why?
He continued deeper.
A faint pulse reached him.
Han Feng stopped.
His spiritual perception spread through the cave.
There.
Behind a pile of stones.
Something was alive.
He approached slowly.
He moved the rocks one at a time.
A small object appeared beneath them.
A chrysalis.
It was roughly the size of his palm.
Its surface was translucent.
Inside, two strands of energy slowly circulated.
One black.
One gold.
Unlike the Dual Chaos Larva, they didn't collide.
They moved together.
Almost perfectly.
Han Feng stared.
His heartbeat increased.
"This isn't a normal Gu."
He didn't touch it immediately.
Instead, he examined it with his spiritual sense.
The result surprised him.
There was no aggression.
No obvious hostility.
But there was also no submission.
The chrysalis felt...
Incomplete.
As if something inside it was waiting.
Han Feng extended a strand of Qi.
The moment it touched the chrysalis—
Boom!
His consciousness shook.
A scene flashed before his eyes.
A man.
He couldn't see the man's face.
The figure stood inside this very cave.
A formation surrounded him.
The same six-pointed structure.
The man held something in his hand.
A golden object.
Then—
The image vanished.
Han Feng stumbled backward.
His torch fell to the ground.
The flame flickered.
He caught himself against the wall.
His breathing became heavy.
"What was that?"
He stared at the chrysalis.
It hadn't moved.
But the connection remained.
A memory?
A warning?
Or simply an echo left behind by the Gu?
Han Feng didn't know.
And he didn't like not knowing.
He carefully placed the chrysalis into a small cloth pouch.
He didn't attempt to refine it.
Not yet.
Something told him that doing so would be dangerous.
The Gu wasn't weak.
It was dormant.
There was a difference.
Han Feng continued deeper into the cave.
But now his senses were fully alert.
Several minutes later, the passage opened into a large underground chamber.
Han Feng stopped.
The entire floor was covered in faint markings.
Not one formation.
Dozens.
Some were destroyed.
Some were almost completely erased.
And at the center of the chamber stood a stone platform.
On top of it...
Nothing.
Han Feng stared at the empty platform.
Something had been placed there once.
Something important.
He approached.
The Celestial Diagram reacted.
This time, violently.
Pain stabbed through his consciousness.
Han Feng grabbed his head.
The hexagram appeared.
One of its six points began glowing.
Then another.
Then another.
Three points.
Han Feng's breathing stopped.
He had never seen this happen.
The seventh mark appeared.
For less than a heartbeat.
A tiny symbol between the six points.
Then it vanished.
Han Feng opened his eyes.
The chamber was unchanged.
But the stone platform was no longer empty.
A faint golden line had appeared across its surface.
It formed a single character.
Han Feng didn't recognize it.
Yet somehow...
He understood its meaning.
"Return."
His blood ran cold.
"Return to where?"
No answer.
The light disappeared.
Han Feng stared at the platform for a long time.
He had a terrible feeling that he was not the first person to stand here.
And perhaps...
He wouldn't be the last.
A low growl suddenly echoed through the chamber.
Han Feng's expression changed.
He extinguished the torch immediately.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Another growl.
Closer.
Something was moving through the passage.
Han Feng activated the Art of the Celestial Veil.
His aura disappeared.
He pressed himself against the wall.
Silence.
Then came the sound of claws scraping against stone.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Something entered the chamber.
Han Feng held his breath.
Two faint red eyes appeared in the darkness.
A beast.
But not an ordinary one.
Its body was covered in dark scales.
Several old scars crossed its neck.
And around one of its legs was a broken metal ring.
Han Feng's eyes narrowed.
A restraint?
No.
A shackle.
Someone had captured this creature before.
And the metal ring bore the same symbol as the formation.
Han Feng didn't move.
The beast sniffed the air.
It could sense something.
Perhaps not him.
Perhaps the chrysalis.
The Dual Chaos Larva stirred inside Han Feng's body.
Han Feng immediately suppressed the connection.
Don't move.
Don't breathe.
Don't react.
The beast slowly approached the stone platform.
It lowered its head.
Then stopped.
Its gaze turned toward Han Feng's hiding place.
Han Feng's hand slowly moved toward his knife.
His mind raced.
The creature was stronger than him.
He could feel it.
If he fought directly, the noise could damage the cave.
Worse...
It could destroy the formations.
Han Feng needed another solution.
He looked at the broken shackle around the beast's leg.
Then at the ancient markings.
Then at the chrysalis hidden beneath his clothes.
An idea appeared.
Dangerous.
Very dangerous.
But possible.
Han Feng slowly released a tiny thread of Qi.
Not toward the beast.
Toward the formation beneath his feet.
The ancient markings flickered.
The beast suddenly froze.
Its eyes widened.
For a moment, the entire cave became silent.
Then the creature lowered its head.
It stared at the glowing formation.
Han Feng's heart pounded.
The formation was responding to his Qi.
And the beast...
Was reacting to it.
The Celestial Diagram pulsed.
The seven-pointed mark appeared again.
This time, Han Feng saw something inside it.
A door.
Then the image vanished.
The beast roared.
The entire cave shook.
Han Feng's expression hardened.
So much for remaining unnoticed.
The creature charged.
Han Feng moved.
The battle lasted less than a minute.
Han Feng didn't try to overpower the beast.
That would have been foolish.
Instead, he used the cave itself.
He dodged between the stone pillars.
Used the narrow passages to restrict the beast's movements.
And every time the creature attacked, Han Feng redirected it toward one of the damaged formations.
The ancient symbols began to glow.
The beast became increasingly agitated.
Finally, one of the formations activated.
A burst of golden light erupted.
The beast was thrown backward.
Han Feng didn't waste the opportunity.
He rushed forward and pressed his palm against the broken shackle.
The Celestial Diagram activated.
The shackle cracked.
The beast froze.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then the metal ring fell from its leg.
The creature looked at Han Feng.
Its red eyes remained cautious.
But the hostility had disappeared.
Han Feng breathed slowly.
He hadn't defeated it.
He had simply...
Broken its chain.
The beast turned toward the cave entrance.
Before leaving, it looked back once.
Then disappeared into the darkness.
Han Feng stood there silently.
His clothes were torn.
His arm was bleeding.
His Qi was nearly exhausted.
But his eyes were fixed on the broken shackle.
Someone had kept that creature here.
Someone had built those formations.
Someone had left the chrysalis.
And someone had carved the word Return.
Han Feng looked at his palm.
The Celestial Diagram pulsed faintly.
He whispered:
"What exactly did I inherit?"
No answer came.
Only the distant roar of the waterfall.
Han Feng slowly sat down.
Tonight, he had come here looking for a place to cultivate.
Instead...
He had found the first real trace of something far older than himself.
And he had the uncomfortable feeling that the cave had not been waiting for just anyone.
It had been waiting for him.