“Is this an illusion?” Maceo muttered. “I swear there was nothing there a moment ago. This has to be fake.”
Without hesitation, Maceo raised his palm and struck at the mountain. If it were an illusion, the blow would be useless.
Boom!
A deafening sound erupted as the strike hit solid rock. Dust and debris flew in all directions.
“It’s real?” Maceo’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“This isn’t an illusion. If it were, I’d have seen through it,” Jared said firmly. He possessed the illusion nascence; no illusionary realm could trick him.
Just then, a terrifying aura burst out from the cliff above.
Boom!
Before Maceo could react, was launched backward, crashing to the ground.
“D*mn, the mountain fought back! Is it alive?!” He groaned, dazed.
I hit the mountain, and it hit me back. Even the mountain’s holding a grudge?
“There’s an arcane array on it. When you attacked, the array rebounded the force back at you,” Jared explained, eyes fixed on the shimmering golden light pulsing from the cliff face.
“An arcane array?” Maceo muttered. “So now what? I didn’t even know this place had a mountain, let alone one with an arcane array on it.”
“It’s just a small arcane array. It won’t stop me.” Jared walked up confidently to the base of the mountain, staring up at it.
With a flick of his wrist, the Dragonslayer Sword appeared in his palm.
Boom!
With a single slash, the golden light exploded. The arcane array shattered in an instant. Where the golden light had been, a winding stone staircase was now exposed. It led deep into the mountain, casting an ominous shadow as it descended.
“Jared, you’re amazing…” Maceo muttered in awe, giving a thumbs-up.
Despite Maceo’s higher status, couldn’t help admiring Jared’s strength. He’d been amazed over and over by what the latter could do.
“Come on, let’s check it out. Stay behind me, and don’t die if you run into any danger.”
“Got it!” Maceo nodded obediently and followed closely behind.
They began their descent, each step echoing through the mountain as they moved deeper inside. Maceo stayed close, but the oppressive aura from earlier still lingered, making uneasy.
As they journeyed deeper into the mountain, the negative energy In the area became more prominent.
While Maceo struggled to suppress the negative energy with his inner strength, Jared seemed completely unfazed. In fact, had already activated his Focus Technique, actively absorbing the negative energy.
What was poison to Maceo was a cultivation resource to Jared. After a while, the stone steps ended abruptly. A stone wall now blocked their path.
Jared and Maceo stood frozen in front of the stone wall. It was covered in dense, cryptic runes that glowed with an eerie light. The symbols were arranged in a pattern that made absolutely no sense to them. It didn’t resemble any known formation or writing system either
“What the heck is this thing?” Maceo muttered, frowning.
He reached out, intending to touch it, but the moment his fingers neared the surface, a sharp jolt of pain shot through him. It felt like a swarm of invisible needles stabbed at his skin.
He jerked his hand back with a wince. “D*mn, I can’t even touch it!”
