Tang Jue froze.
Xu Yiran immediately raised her hand.
The formation compass spun violently.
The air between the two trees looked normal at first.
Then, when Xu Yiran pushed Spirit Sense toward it, the space trembled.
A threshold appeared.
Not a door.
Not a formation gate.
A thin invisible boundary where the air folded over itself.
Beyond it, something vast breathed.
Spirit Qi.
Mana.
Vital Force.
All three gathered in dense currents, swirling together like a storm trapped behind glass.
Tang Jue's breath caught.
Xu Yiran's eyes widened.
"That's impossible."
Tang Jue whispered, "That's rich people impossible or ancient ruin impossible?"
"Both."
The energy concentration beyond the threshold was terrifying. It was not enough to crush them from the outside, but just sensing it made their meridians tighten.
Tang Jue clenched his fists.
"Our town could use this."
Xu Yiran looked at him sharply.
"Jue."
"I know."
"No, you don't. That look on your face? That is the exact look people have before getting buried under treasure they were not qualified to touch."
Tang Jue's jaw tightened.
"My father is still coughing blood every winter because we can't afford proper marrow medicine. Half the kids back home cultivate with broken breathing arts. If there's even one useful inheritance here, I can't just walk away."
Xu Yiran's expression softened.
Then she sighed.
"I hate when you make being reckless sound morally correct."
Tang Jue smiled again.
"So you're in?"
"I was in the moment you ran into the forest with two packs of dried meat and a discount talisman."
"Best friend."
"Worst responsibility."
A slow clap echoed behind them.
Tang Jue and Xu Yiran both spun around.
A man stepped out from behind a tree.
He wore a dark yellow martial robe and carried a curved saber at his waist. His aura rolled out openly.
9th layer Spirit Opening.
Tang Jue's expression changed.
Xu Yiran's hand moved toward her sword.
The man smiled.
"Relax. If I wanted you dead, you'd already be very embarrassed corpses."
Tang Jue forced a grin.
"Senior, that's a pretty intense greeting."
The man's eyes flicked toward the threshold.
"I followed you two because you looked like broke idiots chasing a rumor. I thought I'd rob you, take your storage pouches, and call it a night."
Xu Yiran's face went cold.
"Honest criminal. Refreshing."
"But now?" The man laughed softly. "You actually found something valuable."
Tang Jue stepped slightly in front of Xu Yiran.
"Senior, we found this first."
The man stared at him.
Then laughed harder.
"Kid, that sentence only works when everyone involved has similar strength."
His aura pressed down.
Tang Jue and Xu Yiran both felt their bodies sink.
The difference between the 6th layer and 9th layer was not small.
The man took out a communication jade.
"I'll give you two a chance. Scram."
Tang Jue did not move.
Xu Yiran's fingers tightened around her sword hilt.
The man's smile faded.
"Don't be stupid. I'm already calling my Spirit Master seniors. Once they arrive, you won't even qualify to stand nearby."
Tang Jue said, "And if we leave, you definitely won't tell anyone we had anything to do with this."
"Correct."
"At least lie better."
The man's gaze turned sharp.
"You have a mouth."
"People keep telling me that."
Xu Yiran whispered, "Jue."
"I know."
"No, this time I really mean stop talking."
The 9th layer cultivator's saber slid an inch from its sheath.
Then the threshold trembled.
All three turned.
A low growl rolled out.
The air split open.
A monstrous beast rushed through.
It was shaped like a wolf, but larger than a spirit-bike, with black plates across its shoulders and green fire burning in its eyes.
9th layer Spirit Opening beast.
Then another came.
And another.
Five beasts emerged from the threshold in seconds, each carrying a ferocious aura.
The 9th layer cultivator's face changed completely.
"What the hell?"
Tang Jue grabbed Xu Yiran's sleeve.
"Run?"
"Brilliant idea."
They moved instantly.
But one beast turned toward them.
Its body blurred.
It crossed ten meters in a breath and slammed down in front of them, claws tearing the ground apart.
Tang Jue and Xu Yiran stopped at the same time.
Fear hit them.
But panic did not.
Tang Jue's aura sharpened. His bright expression vanished, replaced by focused determination.
Xu Yiran's compass snapped open into three rotating formation rings.
The bronze-black device floated above her palm, its needle no longer pointing north. Instead, it spun wildly, dragging thin threads of pale-blue light through the air. Those threads curved, folded, and locked into three circular formation rings around her and Tang Jue.
One ring sank into the ground.
One ring spun around their bodies.
The last ring rose above their heads like a glowing halo made of symbols.
Tang Jue glanced at it while gripping his spear.
"Yiran," he said, voice tight, "please tell me that thing is about to do something awesome."
Xu Yiran's fingers moved quickly through the compass seals. "It's about to do something useful. Awesome costs more spirit stones."
"Useful works."
Across from them, the 9th layer Spirit Opening cultivator froze for half a breath.
Not because of the compass.
Not completely.
It was their auras.
Tang Jue and Xu Yiran were only middle-layer Spirit Opening cultivators, but the moment they stopped holding back, their foundations rippled outward in dense waves. Their Spirit Qi was compact, stable, and heavy. It was not wide like his, not as accumulated as his, but the quality—
The man's pupils shrank.
Their foundations are dense.
Maybe even slightly better than mine?
He was a 9th layer Spirit Opening cultivator with a sixth-grade Spiritual Root. In an ordinary small city or town, that was already respectable. Not genius-level, but absolutely enough to look down on most wandering cultivators.
Yet these two random youths had foundations that felt slightly purer than his.
"What the hell are you two?" he muttered.
He wanted to question them.
He wanted to demand what sect they belonged to, what art they cultivated, and why two middle-layer brats from nowhere had Spirit Qi that made his own foundation feel a little rough.
But the monstrous beast in front of him did not care about his confusion.
The beast roared.
It was a 9th layer Spirit Opening monstrous beast, shaped like a bear and wolf fused together by a cruel craftsman. Its shoulders were as high as a small transport vehicle, its claws curved like black hooks, and a line of bone plates ran down its back. Dark green spirit light pulsed beneath its skin with every breath.
Around them, other beasts circled through the mist.
Too many.
Tang Jue spat to the side. "Big guy, maybe stare at us later? We're all on the menu right now."
The 9th layer cultivator's face darkened. "Watch your tone, brat."
"Bro, if we survive, you can lecture me for three hours. I'll even pretend to listen."
Xu Yiran snapped, "Tang Jue."
"Right. Fighting."
The beast lunged.
Its massive paw tore through the air, carrying enough force to crush stone. The 9th layer cultivator raised his blade and met it head-on. The collision sent sparks and broken spirit light flying in every direction.
Boom!
The cultivator slid back several meters, boots carving trenches in the dirt.
His arms shook.
"Damn beast," he hissed.
Tang Jue moved at the same time.
Lightning crawled up through his weapon.
At first, it was only a few pale sparks dancing along the spear shaft. Then the sparks thickened, turning into thin blue-white snakes that wrapped around the spearhead. His aura sharpened. His eyes brightened with fierce excitement.
"Alright," Tang Jue said. "Let's see if you can tank this."
He dashed forward.
Not straight.
He cut diagonally across the battlefield, using the cultivator's pressure as cover. When the beast raised its other claw to strike the 9th layer cultivator again, Tang Jue stepped into its blind spot and thrust his spear into the side of its front leg.
The spear did not pierce deeply.
The beast's hide was too thick.
But the lightning did.
Crack!
Blue-white arcs exploded from the spearhead and crawled across the beast's muscles. The creature's leg locked for one brief moment. Its huge body staggered, claws digging into the ground.
The 9th layer cultivator's eyes widened again.
Lightning arts?
He almost lost focus.
Lightning arts were not impossible to learn, but they were harder than ordinary flame, water, wood, earth, or metal arts. Lightning demanded fine control, stable meridians, and a body that could withstand backlash. For a lower cultivator to use it in actual battle without frying himself meant he had either good talent, strong training, or both.
And before the man could settle that shock, Xu Yiran struck.
The formation ring beneath the beast lit up.
"Lock."
Her voice was calm.
Too calm.
The ground around the beast shimmered. Dozens of thin formation lines shot out like chains, wrapping around its limbs, joints, and shadow. The symbols did not bind it completely. A 9th layer monstrous beast was too strong for that.
But they slowed it.
The beast tried to lunge, and its movement dragged as if it had stepped into deep mud.
Tang Jue grinned. "See? Useful."
Xu Yiran's forehead glistened with sweat. "Don't get proud. I can't hold it long."
The 9th layer cultivator stared at her.
Formation arts too?
His confusion deepened.
Lightning arts.
Formation arts.
Dense foundations.
Neither of these two should be ordinary.
Still, confusion did not mean victory.
The beast recovered quickly.
Its muscles bulged, and the formation lines around its legs began snapping one after another. Tang Jue stabbed again, sending lightning into the beast's joints, but this time the creature endured it and swung its head toward him.
The air screamed.
Tang Jue's expression changed.
"Okay, that's bad."
He threw himself backward.
The beast's jaws snapped shut where his upper body had been a moment earlier. The shockwave from its bite alone sent him tumbling across the dirt.
"Tang Jue!" Xu Yiran shouted.
"I'm alive!" he yelled back, rolling to his feet with grass stuck in his hair. "Not gracefully, but alive!"
Another beast rushed from the right.
The 9th layer cultivator cursed and turned to block it. His blade flashed again and again, cutting open its shoulder, but more beasts closed in around him.
The situation was collapsing.
None of them were weak.
But 9th layer monstrous Spirit Opening beasts were different. On average, they were stronger than martial cultivators of the same layer. Some could even pressure Body Warrior experts through raw physical force. Their bodies were heavier, their instincts sharper, and their tolerance for pain disgusting.
Even with Tang Jue's lightning stunning the main beast for moments and Xu Yiran's formations slowing it down, neither side was winning.
They were only delaying death.
Xu Yiran's breathing became rough. The compass rings flickered.
Tang Jue wiped blood from the side of his mouth and raised his spear again.
The 9th layer cultivator looked at the surrounding beasts and finally lost his arrogance.
"This is insane," he said. "There shouldn't be this many 9th layer beasts in this area."
Xu Yiran said coldly, "Then maybe the rumors weren't fake."
The cultivator's eyes sharpened.
Rumors.
The beast gathering.
The hidden threshold.
Before he could respond, the air changed.
It did not shake.
It stopped.
The mist froze in place.
The beasts froze.
Even the tiny sparks crawling along Tang Jue's spear seemed to slow down.
A presence descended from above the battlefield like an invisible mountain.
Tang Jue's knees bent slightly before he forced himself upright.
Xu Yiran's face paled.
The 9th layer cultivator's entire body stiffened.
Someone walked through the mist.
Step.
The ground cracked lightly beneath his foot.
Step.
The pressure deepened.
Step.
Every Spirit Opening cultivator present felt as if their power had become laughably small.
The man who appeared looked to be in his thirties, wearing a long dark martial coat with silver embroidery along the cuffs. His hair was tied behind his head, his expression calm and utterly uninterested.
A Spirit Master.
Not half-step.
Not some fake expert relying on artifacts.
A true Spirit Master.
Tang Jue swallowed. "Yeah, okay. That's a grown-up."
Xu Yiran whispered, "Don't talk."
The Spirit Master barely glanced at them.
His gaze swept over the beasts, the blood, the torn ground, the unstable formation rings, and the 9th layer cultivator.
Then he lifted one hand.
No art name.
No dramatic chant.
Just a casual wave.
The 9th layer monstrous beasts exploded into blood mist.
One after another.
Pop.
Pop.
Pop.
Their heavy bodies vanished as if crushed by invisible hands. Blood sprayed across the field, turning the mist red. The smell was thick enough to make weaker cultivators gag.
Tang Jue stared.
Xu Yiran's compass trembled in her hand.
The 9th layer cultivator broke into cold sweat.
That was the difference.
Spirit Opening cultivators still had to fight, calculate, bleed, and risk their lives.
A Spirit Master could erase the battlefield with one lazy gesture.