Chapter 326

Chapter 326

A captain trusted by the Million Sword Vault took Anton on the relatively short journey from the Mantane Piers on the eastern shore to the island that once was inhabited by the Chain Harmony Sect. Agus continued to travel with him, and Chikere decided to tag along as well. There were also a smattering of Million Sword Vault disciples led by Elder Vasu, while Elder Wardah continued his duties at the sect despite his desire to come himself. Apparently being reminded of some of the features in the area encouraged them to send an expedition once more.

As they approached the shores, Anton took in the island in front of them. I wouldnt have expected an ancient sect to have been here, if you didnt tell me, Anton admitted. I cant feel much of anything.

Thats by design, I think, Elder Vasu nodded. Plus the interference of the volcano. Im sure you can sense it power.

Yes, Anton nodded. Its quite distracting. It feels as if it could erupt at any moment.

It does appear to be eruption season, so that feeling isnt incorrect.

Of course it is, Anton sighed. Besides the obvious dangers dont the circumstances damage the remains of the sect? I heard there were bodies but

Oh, theyll still be around. Just buried a bit. We dug out some tunnels to get to them from below, which should still be the same.

Thats nice, Anton looked around. I imagine everything else is fairly well picked through?

Pretty much. Except one area inside there. Some sort of trap. We use it for training though.

What is it? Lava spilling from the ceiling, poisonous gasses, blades filling a corridor? The last one seemed like something Million Sword Vault would be fond of.

Nah, none of those, Vasu shook his head. Just an energy draining array. Suppresses everything in the hallway. That sort of thing.

Like a weighty pressure? I have some experience with those.

Not quite. It directly draws energy from those in the area. Its actually effective on all cultivations. Its quite impressive.

Whats beyond it? Anton asked.

Dont know, Vasu admitted. No ones ever gotten past. Were pretty sure there arent any swords though.

Is it dangerous?

Nobody has taken the initiative to stay when out of energy. It could just kill someone, Vasu shrugged. But as long as you arent careless, there havent ever been any surprises. Thats just there, however. Plenty of traps exist in the rest of the place.

Anton presumed they did, as the area didnt seem to be completely filled with lava. A few moments later, everyone found themselves inside a black stone hallway, the visible glow from the underside of a lava flow lighting the hallway in front of them.

It was there that Anton saw the first bones. Are these the ancient cultivators? From what he had heard, they should have been more preserved than the few scattered pieces he saw.

Dont think so, Vasu admitted. These should be others who died here at some point. Nobody from our sect, or we would have retrieved the bodies.

I assume that means there are traps here? Anton looked around, feeling carefully.

Some. Many dont work anymore for various reasons. Lack of energy or wear and tear. And of course you can see where the area was just destroyed, he gestured.

While Anton was still calculating the best path forward, Chikere- closely followed by disciples of the Million Sword Vault- was already moving. She ran forward at a high speed, not quite randomly triggering traps. Or rather, the way Chikere flipped and turned her way through an alarming number of blades indicated shed chosen those traps in particular, while avoiding others.

Id suggest you follow me, after you see my path, Anton said to Agus. I intend for something less flashy.

Unlike Everhearts traps, either due to how they were constructed or just time, the various openings for the blades and other traps features were quite easy to see. It helped that Antons observational skills could penetrated through denser materials and see finer details, but some things were quite obvious, even if he hadnt seen blade swing out of the cracks moments before.

Anton began his route with some dart traps- or rather traps that used to have darts. Some of them still had a few, but most had been triggered so many times that the supply had run out. It seems they were either not retrieved or the mechanisms failed at some point. A flame trap was easy enough following that, and swinging blades in smaller numbers were not too difficult to avoid. Anton did get about a quarter of the same traps as the group that had run in front, since knowing how the attacks would come gave him a great leg up. Compared to facing off against attacks from Elder Wardah, he found it a walk in the park.

As Anton waited for the various gasses to filter away, he took note of several levers on their side of the trapped hallway. It seemed likely that those would add more complications when manually triggered, and of course in the case of an actual battle there could be attacks from cultivators thrown in and perhaps barriers. Yet Anton was pretty sure this particular entrance hadnt come into play in the actual invasion. It was far too intact for that, when Ascension cultivators could have just smashed it apart.

Alright, Elder Vasu said. Lets stop by that formation first, see if its still intact. Then I can bring Anton to look at the bodies.

It sounded a bit morbid that way, but it was technically what they were going to do. A good portion of the sect was untrapped, though Anton saw many signs that there had been formations in place. For the most part empty halls greeted them, as valuables- including furniture- had been taken away. He even saw indications that some pillars had been removed in various places, though the area still seemed structurally sound.

Everyone continued to be very aware they were walking further into a volcano when the ground shook, but everything continued to be as it had for centuries. There were several more half-trapped areas, but unless they were stumbled into on accident they were barely a threat.

Anton saw the runes making up a massive formation going down the hallway in front of them. It was merely a hundred meters long, and seemed as if a cultivator could cover it in an instant, but he knew it was much more than that. He curiously extended a strand of energy into the area, only to have it immediately devoured. He couldnt sense beyond it, and he found he couldnt sense around it either. As he felt out the wall through the ground, the outside of the formation reacted in the same way.

Others were testing the area in various ways. A few disciples simply stepped into the formation to feel it directly. Anton could feel the formation gaining power from their presence. Yet it also drew from the volcano itself, if he was right. He recognized many patterns in the area, but couldnt put together the whole of what he did. Not quickly, anyway. He simply didnt have the experience for that. As his knowledge of formations grew, the ones he had to deal with also advanced.

Anton moved forward to test the formation himself. It wasnt a violent or terrifying feeling as the energy drained away from him, but it was unpleasant. He relied on natural energy for many things, including maintaining the strength of his body. It was difficult to do without. No cultivators could- not even those who specialized in a continuation of body tempering beyond the early stages. Natural energy was still require during the tempering process, and used in battle.

After perhaps a tenth of his energy was drained, only a few steps in, Anton made his way back beyond the borders of the formation. He found himself quite curious about its purpose, and if there was actually anything beyond it. There certainly could be, if there was a way to disarm it. But he would come back later. There were other things to at least take a glance at first. Specifically, some preserved bodies.