Ask the Mirror

Chapter 174: Sifting Sand

“What kind of material is this bluestone? It holds such intense heat, yet shows nothing on the surface?”

Yu Ci tapped it with the Pure Yang Talisman Sword. No matter how he looked at it, the stone didn’t seem like something capable of storing heat. He circled it a few times, then, with a thought, drove the sword into the point where the stone met the ground — there was a tiny, nearly invisible gap there.

As the sword pierced down, Yu Ci’s essence and spirit naturally flowed into the blade, extending his awareness like an extension of his senses. He could clearly feel everything the sword tip touched. With a soft shout, he channeled his strength just right. The massive stone, half the height of a man and weighing hundreds of pounds, was lifted clean off the ground, revealing a pitch-black hole beneath it—its depth unknown. Turns out, this stone hadn’t been part of the natural bedrock but had been placed here by someone.

Could this mean someone had been active here?

As the stone was lifted aside, a wave of warm air rushed out, blowing away the surrounding mist. Standing nearby, Yu Ci found that the temperature wasn’t particularly high.

The bluestone landed with a loud thud. Just as Yu Ci leaned over to peer into the hole, his heart gave a sudden jolt—not from the stone, but from another sound that echoed at the same time.

He spun around like a whirlwind. Through the mist inside the pit, a massive shadow had just slid down the opposite cliff wall and was slowly creeping closer.

Night had already fallen over Sky Rift Valley, and the pit was dim. Yet around the enormous figure, sparks flickered in the dark, and far brighter than the sparks were its glowing red eyes. The cruel and bloodthirsty gleam in its eyes, combined with the flickering shadows of fire across its beastly face, made it look utterly savage and menacing.

There was no mistaking it—the Demonic Beast!

A narrow escape? Or was this its den to begin with?

Yu Ci’s mind flashed back to the bluestone that had blocked the hole. Then he brushed away all distractions, gripped the Pure Yang Talisman Sword tightly, and activated its power. With a loud ‘whoom’, a blazing ring of fire burst forth at his feet, expanding and contracting with the flow of his qi, instantly lighting the entire pit like daylight.

The intense light made the Demonic Beast narrow its blood-red eyes. It strode forward, its huge feet crushing the cracked ground with a barely audible shuffling.

Man and beast rapidly closed the distance.

In truth, this was Yu Ci’s first real face-off with the Demonic Beast since their previous encounter. And the feeling… wasn’t great.

He’d only ever had one such encounter—with Ye Tu. Back then, in the eyes of the Demonic Beast, they were nothing more than bugs. It had treated them like cattle brushing away flies, barely acknowledging Yu Ci. Only when Yu Ci had ignited the Nine Yang Talisman Sword and severed one of its Heart-Binding Horn did it fly into a rage, sending him hurtling through the air. Back then, he hadn’t even qualified for a proper fight.

Half a year had passed. He might still be outmatched, but this time, things were different!

He raised his sword slowly, projecting clear hostility. The Demonic Beast was provoked—it opened its massive jaws and let out a thunderous roar. The gust of wind that followed crashed down like a storm.

Faced with the crushing force, Yu Ci expanded the flawless sword ring around him. It hummed and whirled in a perfect circle—like a rock in the current, smoothly deflecting the blow. Though powerful, the Demonic Beast’s roar only pushed him back a few steps until he stopped near the hole.

It looked effortless, but Yu Ci was actually struggling. Enduring that roar and pressure was like being struck by a massive hammer. His chest was tight, and he couldn’t catch his breath. And now, the Demonic Beast was charging in.

A hundred feet was nothing to the beast—just two strides. Its hulking body surged forward, strangely silent for something so large. It held its strength tight, ready to explode on impact. Though it knew no spells other than illusion, it was built for brawling, its combat instincts flowing through its very blood.

If this hit landed, Yu Ci would be flattened.

The mist billowed as the Demonic Beast thundered past—a suffocating sound echoing in the pit. But there was no collision.

It had overshot.

It barreled another twenty-odd feet before stopping and turning its head, looking around in confusion.

Where had the target gone?

Yu Ci was falling—he had jumped into the hole himself. The opening was just wide enough for one person; a beast of that size couldn’t follow.

The tunnel beneath led straight down, its walls smooth like glass. While facing off with the beast, Yu Ci had already sent a Divine Map starlight down. Although it couldn’t find a host and the sensing was faint, it had still gauged the depth: around 120 feet. Below, the space seemed filled with unstable qi but no immediate danger.

He hadn’t planned to slide all the way to the bottom—just to use the tunnel to quickly gain distance. By pushing off the walls, he controlled his descent, glancing upward in case he needed to use “Light Concealment Escape Technique” to meld into the rock. Earth Escape techniques were risky, but he had no choice.

The Demonic Beast’s roars echoed from above, muffled by the tunnel. Still, Yu Ci could endure.

Another few dozen feet down, just as he was about to initiate the escape technique, a wave of heat surged up behind him.

The temperature wasn’t high, but with a sudden ‘whoosh’, his ears rang, and a force like a midnight tide surged upward, engulfing him.

He didn’t even have time to feel the full force of it before his mind went blank—like someone had crushed his throat and drained his lungs. Dizziness hit like a hammer, and all thought ceased. At the same time, his body locked up, every organ and meridian shutting down. He plummeted like a stone, and in an instant had fallen over a hundred feet.

At this rate, when he hit the ground, he’d be nothing but a smear.

Death was near.

It wasn’t a conscious realization—just primal instinct screaming at him like a burning needle.

But even under such crushing power, deep within the silence, a ripple stirred in Yu Ci’s awareness.

Though his consciousness was sealed, instinct could still move instinct.

From the endless darkness came a faint sound—barely audible at first, like threads in the wind. But it grew—vast and thunderous, like gathering clouds and rolling thunder.

The thunder rolled on, and Yu Ci’s dormant mind trembled. A vague thought suddenly broke through the seal and surged upward, guided by the thunder.

In a trance, he felt himself twisting through the void, riding the clouds, lashing at the heavens, swallowing the yin and yang of the world. Endless and free. But something unseen pressed down on him constantly, trying to shatter that freedom.

Angered, he lashed out—roaring toward the sky.

Roar of the Heavenly Dragon!

A layer of invisible restraint shattered with a ‘bang’.

At that moment, the Innate Qi of the Heavenly Dragon he had absorbed finally revealed its terrifying instinct. Though it might not overpower the opponent in sheer rank, its pride and dominance would never allow itself to be suppressed. That primal force awakened and broke through the endless dark tide.

The Heavenly Dragon’s qi and Yu Ci were now one — its instinct was his instinct. The shock it generated blasted through his soul like firecrackers, shaking his consciousness awake.

With a flash of awareness—Yu Ci came to.

In that instant, his spirit soared like a dragon!

Though unconscious for quite a while, his instincts had taken in enough information. Upon waking, he immediately sensed danger—the ground was only about thirty feet away, and he was still falling at full speed. He let out a piercing howl.

Sword qi tore through the air. 

Just then, Yu Ci’s body burst out of the vertical shaft and into a vast underground chamber.

Activating the Half-Mountain Mirage, he turned his body to mist. It was a bit sluggish, but still managed to redirect his momentum sideways at the last second.

Boom! 

He slammed into the ground and rolled aside. His sword qi shredded the stone floor, carving a deep trench and absorbing most of the impact. Though his organs churned painfully, he avoided fatal injury.

Catching his breath, Yu Ci felt a crushing pressure on his chest. He thought it was from the fall and tried to stand—then his heart skipped.

He couldn’t move!

His mind had broken free from the seal, but the immense force in this vast chamber still held his body tightly. Muscles, bones, organs, blood, and qi — even his heartbeat slowed. Only the dragon’s will that had stirred the Half-Mountain Mirage Sword Intent kept him barely alive.

It was a strange state: his consciousness burned bright, full of life, but his body lay stiff and dead on the ground—not even a finger could twitch.

Worse still, the external pressure never stopped crushing him. A powerful vortex twisted the very air around him, sweeping unique ripples across his body.

He could feel it—his body was bearing unbearable strain. His clothes had already begun to tear. His treasures—like the Divine Illumination Bronze Mirror and the True Void Violet Mist Jade— still held strong, but the storage ring on his finger was a different story.

With a crisp ‘crack’, fine cracks spread across the ring. Yu Ci’s heart leapt, but before he could react, the ring exploded with a loud ‘bang’.

Countless items shot out into the air, only to immediately shatter into dust. All the pills, herbs, tools, and magical items he’d collected over the past months were obliterated in seconds.

He watched helplessly as the jade medicine hoe Ye Tu had gifted him—a keepsake—warped, cracked, and exploded in mid-air, scattering in all directions.

Still, some items, due to their unique materials, remained intact.

The Scripture Mastery Path Treasure Seal, refined over four layers in recent months, emitted a soft glow under the pressure and landed at his feet.

A red silk ribbon, taken from Nan Songzi, glowed gently. Though its name was unknown, it was a vessel for a Core Refinement cultivator’s Yin Spirit. It floated down unharmed.

The double-headed Iron Claws, looted from the Demonic Beast’s den, emitted a sharp hum. Its green-grey shaft twisted like a live snake—eerie and strange.

Several other trinkets he had gathered remained intact but flew out of sight.

Sifting sand in a raging tide—what remains are the true treasures.