Volcanic Age

Time flew by, and it was now the eleventh month of the year. The Autumn leaves dyed in a variety of colors withered and fell, creating small piles of leaves on the ground.

Zhou Xuchuan spent all this time using Meng Gang’s records to search for the Dark Heavens Association’s secret base. The Valley of the Phantoms and Xia Wu Sect were helping him analyze the information.

Several locations had turned out to be false positives. It couldn’t be helped, as these locations were merely Meng Gang’s guesses. After a while, Zhou Xuchuan managed to narrow down the likeliest locations. He picked one and began his preparations.

"Why, Hyung-nim? Aren't we on friendly terms?"

Zhou Xuchuan nodded and replied, "Yes, we are."

"In that case, can’t you just let me be? Why do you have to torment me like this?" Zhuge Shengji asked with tears in his eyes and a pitiful face.

The members of the secret base raid had been decided—Zhou Xuchuan, Luo Xiaoyue, Little Ghost, and Zhuge Shengji.

"That’s because we’ll definitely stumble upon mechanisms."

The art of mechanisms had already faded away into obscurity in the current-day Murim. However, the Dark Heavens Association often relied on it. The Dark Heavens Association's secret bases or caches would definitely have quite a few mechanisms.

"Mechanisms, you say? You should have told me that first!" Zhuge Shengji exclaimed, his frown instantly morphing into a bright grin. "I guess the Dark Heavens Association does have a discerning eye. Indeed, indeed! You need that level of expertise if you wish to conquer the Central Plains!"

His evaluation of the villainous group improved at the news of how it often relied on mechanisms to protect its branches and caches.

"Listen to this guy," Zhou Xuchuan said, "He might probably go with the Association if they promise to give him a tour of all their mechanisms."

"No way, Senior Brother. No way that's going to happen," Luo Xiaoyue replied with a wry face.

However, Zhuge Shengji’s ear perked up instantly upon hearing that.

"Huh?! They’ll give me a tour…?"

"…"

Zhou Xuchuan and Luo Xiaoyue grew silent; they stared at Zhuge Shengji with dead fish eyes.

"There’s no need to worry," said Tang Hui. She smirked derisively and explained, "Even though Young Master Zhuge here is such a moron that it's questionable whether he’s really from the famed Zhuge Family, he’s not a little kid who’ll blindly follow shady people.

"First of all, he has no friends. Without us, he’ll have no one to talk to and even play with, so he will never betray us. Oh, don’t take what I said as an insult, Young Master Zhuge. I’m merely stating facts, you see?"

"…!"

Luo Xiaoyue rushed to defend Zhuge Shengji, but…

"Lady Tang, please stop hurting Young Master Zhuge with facts like that. He’ll get scarred for life, you know?" Luo Xiaoyue said. Unfortunately, her defense wasn't exactly a defense.

"F-Facts…" Zhuge Shengji stammered upon receiving a second wave of emotional damage from Luo Xiaoyue. How come these two are so merciless…?

Zhou Xuchuan stared alternatingly between Luo Xiaoyue and Tang Hui, but he merely sighed in the end.

"Setting that aside, will the four of you suffice?" Tang Hui asked. They were talking about the Dark Heavens Association’s secret base here. It had to be a dangerous place, so four raiders seemed inadequate.

"Yes, we're enough," said Zhou Xuchuan. A group with many people would be too eye-catching. Speaking of eye-catching, someone's spying eye had "caught" his attention recently.

Zhou Xuchuan wanted to hide his identity before the raid on the secret base was carried out, so he had to stay incognito until then. In addition, if there were many participants in the raid, there'd be a higher chance of setting off the mechanisms in the secret base, which was surely chock-full of traps.

The odds of unknown variables popping up would increase as well. Since that was the case, it’d be better to travel with only a handful of people. That way, Zhou Xuchuan wouldn't be a bit more at ease.

"Take care of things while we’re not here," said Zhou Xuchuan, turning to Tang Hui.

The four bade their goodbyes and left Jinan to head south. To avoid being recognized, they decided to travel surreptitiously. They tried their best not to stop at villages and stuck mostly to forests, mountains, and rivers to fill their stomachs and get some rest.

They also proceeded to use the lightness art rather than travel on horseback.

Zhuge Shengji’s attainment in the lightness art was negligible, but it was still better than simply walking. More importantly, his qi reserve was rather considerable all thanks to ingesting spiritual medicines all those years ago.

Zhuge Shengji whined and complained nonstop, but the group cleanly ignored him. The only silver lining for him was that he had been able to train his lightness art thoroughly.

Zhuge Shengji wasn't good at fighting, but he'd become good at escaping this way. To prepare for any unexpected crises, Zhou Xuchuan made sure to train Zhuge Shengji harshly.

Thanks to their diligent running, the group estimated that they'd only need a few days to reach the Jiangsu Province.

They didn't run into any bandits or any issues along the way. Perhaps it was because they had been moving surreptitiously, but they felt like Jiangsu boasted better public security than the other provinces in the Central Plains.

To the south was the Zhejiang Province—the Evil Valley’s territory. The Anhui Province was to the west, and it was home to the Murim Coalition.

More crucially, Jiangsu’s Nanjing City used to be the capital city during the Ming dynasty’s early days. Thus, the imperial government still boasted considerable influence over the region.

In any case, the group traveled nonstop, reaching their destination in less than a week.

Their destination was Suzhou, the canal city located south of the Jiangsu Province.

The Grand Canal was opened during the Tang Dynasty, and it led to Suzhou's drastic growth. Even now, it was still one of the largest cities in the Central Plains.

It was located south of the Yangtze Delta, while the Grand Canal and other smaller canals encircled the city. Since the olden days, the city had always been famous for its beautiful waterways and gardens… as well as for its abundance of beautiful ladies!

Thanks to its fertile soil, Suzhou's harvests were always bountiful, and the people eventually called it a blessed land filled with fish and rice.

The group arrived at night and found a suitable place to sleep. Once the sun rose, they went to a restaurant famous for its local specialties to fill their bellies.

They hadn't been able to cook and had only been able to satisfy their hunger by hunting game. They had been dying to enjoy some good food for quite a while now.

With plenty of travel money in hand, they spared no expense and ate until three members of the traveling party were satisfied. As for Little Ghost… she was dressed like an ordinary teenage girl rather than as a Phantom.

For some reason, she seemed unimpressed by the food.

"What do you think of the food?" Zhou Xuchuan asked. He realized that whenever they ate something, Little Ghost would never say anything. The realization made him feel curious about her impressions of the food here.

"This dish used a freshwater fish, sir. To season it, salt and various other seasonings were used. I detect no poison."

"…"

It was a good thing they rented out a private room. If the chef or the employees heard Little Ghost, their faces would surely crumple hideously. To think she’d bring up poison while they were enjoying the food in their restaurant! The remark couldn't be any ruder.

Now that I think about it, I don't think we've found any leads yet, even though we're already in Suzhou.

A secret base of the Dark Heavens Association could be in this city. In other words, they could be inside the backyard of that villainous organization, so Zhou Xuchuan was extremely careful during their journey to this city.

Upon arriving, he spared no expense and booked secure, isolated rooms in a highly secured inn for them to spend their days here. He also booked a private dining room for them to eat today.

Zhou Xuchuan ensured that his group’s sphere of activity was as small as possible, and he also didn’t spend a lot of time in one place. They arrived late at night and slept for only a few hours before filling their stomachs as quickly as possible.

Ever since their arrival in Suzhou, Zhou Xuchuan had been pushing his perception to its limits to monitor the surroundings. Thankfully, he hadn't sensed any suspicious gazes so far.

"Good. Let's wait until nightfall before paying them a visit," said Zhou Xuchuan to the others. He’d love to explore Suzhou’s famous tourist attractions and sample local specialties, but they hadn’t come here to act like tourists.

Besides, they only got to enjoy this small respite solely because the Vast Gate division had failed to perform its duty. In short, they could not underestimate the Dark Heavens Association.

After making all the necessary preparations, Zhou Xuchuan’s group headed to where the secret base was supposedly located—one of the renowned gardens of Suzhou, the Lion Grove Garden.

***

"The shadow cast beneath a lamp" or "hiding in plain sight." These words perfectly fit the Dark Heavens Association's secret base in Suzhou.

Who could have guessed that a branch of a secret organization wasn’t hidden in some deserted, unnamed location but smack dab in the middle of a city where government officials were frequently seen?

The large-scale garden was built toward the tail-end of the Yuan Dynasty in memory of Abbot Zhongfeng, and it was rather famous even in the Central Plains.

In other words, infiltrating it was not an easy task at all. The group waited deep into the night. At around one in the morning, the clouds up above concealed the moon, extinguishing its moonlight. At the same time, the group finally slipped into the garden.

Rather than going through the Garden’s entry hall, they picked a spot with poorer security and scaled the walls while hiding their presence as much as possible.

The Divine Phantom Art displayed its true strength in this stealth situation.

Zhuge Shengji’s footwork art was subpar, so Zhou Xuchuan had to carry him between his armpit. The Phantom Steps’ effectiveness was reduced drastically, but evading the guards’ attention was still more than doable for Zhou Xuchuan.

Starting from the Central Garden’s Pointing to Cypress Hall, the group crossed the large garden and headed to the Lion Grove. They held their breaths and moved within the shadows for around fifteen minutes before they eventually crossed a bridge that led them into the Lion Grove.

The Taihu stones shaped like lions and hills of stone created a bizarre yet memorable spectacle.

A cavern made out of stones piled up on each other was at the foot of one of the hills. The cavern seemed to be an entrance to a man-made underground labyrinth.

It truly is a bizarre place, Zhou Xuchuan remarked inwardly. The Lion Grove Garden was surrounded by man-made stone hills, and there weren't just one or two of them but hundreds! It was truly a bizarre place!

All right, Shengji. Where do we go next?

At this point, they were certain that the secret base was in the Lion Grove, but its exact location was still a complete mystery.

Over here.

However, it was an unnecessary concern. As long as the entrance was hidden by mechanical means, it’d never escape Zhuge Shengji’s discerning eyes.

After walking for a bit, Zhuge Shengji gestured at a certain part of the cavern using his chin. He briefly locked eyes with the nodding Zhou Xuchuan before pressing the wall and sliding it cautiously to the side.

It was unknown what the Dark Heavens Association had done to the stone wall, but it opened without generating any noises.

"So? How does it look?" Zhou Xuchuan whispered, tapping Zhuge Shengji’s shoulder.

"It looks more or less fine, Brother," replied Zhuge Shengji.

Zhou Xuchuan smirked, but he knew that it was still too early to smile.

They had to remain as silent as possible while slipping past the entrance.

The entrance was promptly closed once everyone was inside. They'd be in trouble if others were to find the entrance, after all.

"Haaa… Now, we can finally breathe."Zhou Xuchuan groaned in fatigue.

It was pitch-black inside, making it impossible to see anything. Zhou Xuchuan took out a Luminous Night Pearl to illuminate the surroundings.

"Ah!"Zhuge Shengji gasped.

Wondering what happened, Zhou Xuchuan shone some light on Zhuge Shengji using the Luminous Night Pearl, and he instantly saw the latter's ugly expression.

"What’s the ma—"Zhou Xuchuan's face stiffened as he stopped mid-sentence.

"Those are…!"Luo Xiaoyue’s eyes widened. There were a myriad of man-made holes on the ceiling, walls, and on the floor—there were holes everywhere.

The light from the Luminous Night Pearl slipped into those holes, illuminating what looked like thin lines inside.

Dammit!

They had made a mistake!

Zhuge Shengji was caught off guard. He didn't expect that they'd stumble upon traps so early into their journey. He was a mechanism genius, but he'd still find it difficult to decipher mechanisms if he couldn't see them properly.

If he had allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness, Zhuge Shengji would have seen through these traps. Unfortunately, the opposite happened, which was a big mistake, and now, they were in a quandary.

They also got impatient at the sight of an entrance; they entered it without examining the surroundings first, and it was another big mistake that they had unknowingly committed.

The worst mistake is using a Luminous Night Pearl without thinking things through. I should have circulated qi through my eyes and allowed myself to get used to the darkness! Zhou Xuchuan thought, kicking himself mentally.

Meanwhile, Zhuge Shengji narrowed his eyes, scanning the surroundings.

"But this place is supposed to be—"

"Run!"Zhou Xuchuan exclaimed, lunging forward. He grabbed Zhuge Shengji, who was standing like a dazed dummy, and held the latter beneath his armpit before unleashing his footwork art to its limit.

Luo Xiaoyue and Little Ghost followed him a breath later.

Shwik!

Something sliced past them, and the noise was accurately recognized by their ears. Zhou Xuchuan looked back and saw that a massive blade had fallen from the ceiling just in front of the entrance.

To make matters worse, it wasn’t an ordinary-looking blade; it was curved, like a scythe.

It was also so huge that it was as big as the entire tunnel.

Moments later, another blade fell, and then another.

Blades fell one after another, but the worst had yet to come. The same blades burst out of the ceiling and the walls, filling up the tunnel to the brim.

"Look ahead; stare at the ground! Five paces!" Zhuge Shengji shouted as his senses went into overdrive. He circulated his qi rapidly, enhancing both his vision and hearing.

"Jump!" Zhuge Shengji exclaimed.

There wasn’t any time to question or ponder over Zhuge Shengji's words.

Everyone simply believed him and jumped forward.

After landing over six feet away, they kicked off of the ground and dashed madly away from the blades. The tunnel eventually became downhill, boosting their running speed.

"Right! Left! Left! Left! Right!" Zhuge Shengji’s eyes tirelessly and urgently scanned their path up ahead.

Click! Rumble!

The group didn’t trigger any traps and evaded them all.

However, the mechanism at the entrance remained the biggest issue.

The thrusting, slicing, and swinging blades triggered the mechanisms nearby, causing a massive chain reaction.

This is bad! Zhuge Shengji had already analyzed the layout of the labyrinth. He had memorized the mechanisms that they had run past and analyzed them before comparing them to the layout.

There are far too many of them! Zhuge Shengji wasn’t sure about the purpose of so many mechanisms, but one thing was for certain—there simply were too many of them in just one tunnel.

Even worse, Zhuge Shengji's keen mind could already tell what was about to happen.

This tunnel was going to collapse!

The tunnel acting as the central pillar of this labyrinth was going to collapse!

Zhuge Shengji’s prediction proved true.

A short while after, lumps of dirt fell ominously from the ceiling.

"Everyone, watch out! The ceiling is caving in!"