Chapter 102: Seperated

Chapter 102: Separated

Using his passive [Advanced Array Analysis], Lothe had instantly identified the energy flow of the Guardian’s core.

The [Tri-Runic Disruption Array] didn’t try to destroy the core with brute force; instead, it reversed the direction of the energy flow, forcing the incoming power back into the core itself!

The sphere of compressed energy in the Guardian’s right hand flickered and dissolved.

The creature stumbled backward, its limbs shaking as its internal energy pathways clashed violently.

"Now, Seana!" Lothe called out.​

Seana was already moving.

Dropping from the pillar, she condensed a thick, needle-like spike of concentrated Blood Qi—coated entirely in her most potent neurotoxic poison—and drove it straight into the crack created by Lothe’s array!

PUCHI!

The crimson spike pierced deep into the core.

The dark-green poison flooded the Guardian’s central energy node. The ancient symbols across its metallic shell flickered wildly before turning completely dark.

BOOM!

The massive Guardian collapsed onto the stone floor, its metallic plates crashing down like falling iron shields.

Silence descended over the corridor once again.

——————————​

Seana landed softly beside the fallen construct, her breathing slightly elevated as she recalled her remaining Blood Qi. She looked at the dead guardian, then wiped a thin bead of sweat from her forehead.

Lothe walked over, resting the end of his Void Spear against the ground. He didn’t look at the monster’s corpse. Instead, he raised his head, spreading his [Spatial Perception] outward into the dark corridor ahead.

He searched for several seconds, his brow furrowing deeper with every passing moment.

"What is it?" Seana asked, noticing his solemn expression.

"Nothing," Lothe replied slowly. "That’s the problem."

Seana looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"When we entered the gates, over thirty people crossed the threshold at almost the exact same time," Lothe explained, his eyes narrowing. "Nyren, Oren, Adrian, Asher, the Drackar brothers, the Serath siblings... yet even with my spatial perception extending fifty meters, I can’t sense a single human soul."

Seana froze slightly as the realization hit her.

"The entrance wasn’t just a gate," she murmured, looking back down the dark hallway. "It was a spatial displacement matrix."

"Exactly," Lothe nodded. "The moment anyone step inside, the palace’s outer formation scatters them into different isolated corridors or sub-dimensions. Unless two people are holding onto each other—like we were—they will end up completely alone."

Seana thought of Nyren, Oren, and the other young cultivators. While they were undoubtedly talented, being separated in an ancient, hostile structure where every monster was connected to a central array made the situation exponentially more dangerous.

"They’re on their own for now," Lothe said, stepping past the guardian’s remains. "We need to find the central pathway before the secondary formations activate."

Seana nodded and followed closely behind him.

The corridor stretched deeper into the darkness. The stone walls here were smoother, carved with intricate murals depicting ancient battles, floating palaces, and strange, multi-eyed creatures bowing before a shadowy throne.

As they walked, Seana kept her [Herbal Sight] active, scanning the walls for any hidden spirit herbs or alchemical nodes embedded in the ancient stone.

About fifty meters down the hallway, the corridor opened into a wider, circular chamber. In the center of the room stood a stone pedestal holding an empty, dusty glass vessel.

"Look," Seana pointed toward the walls surrounding the pedestal.

"There are spirit vine roots dried up inside the stone cracks."

Curious, she stepped forward toward the edge of the room to inspect a cluster of withered, dark-purple roots clinging to the base of a wall pillar.

"Be careful," Lothe warned, his eyes scanning the floor with [Qi Sight]. "Don’t touch anything until—"

CLICK.

A faint, almost completely silent mechanical click echoed beneath Seana’s boot.

Seana stopped instantly. Her eyes widened. "Lothe..."

Before she could even lift her foot, the stone tile beneath her sank half an inch into the floor.

HUMMMMM!

A blinding, silver light erupted beneath her feet!

In a split second, an intricate, circular array composed of glowing silver runes expanded across the floor, enclosing Seana within a two-meter pillar of swirling spatial energy.

"Spatial trap!" Lothe’s heart leaped into his throat.

CLICK!

Without a moment of hesitation, Lothe activated [Void Step].

He vanished from where he stood and reappeared directly beside the silver pillar of light, reaching his right hand out to grab Seana’s arm!

"Seana! Give me your hand!"

Seana reached out desperately, her fingers extending through the blinding silver light toward his. "Lothe—!"

Their fingertips grazed each other for a microsecond.

However, the silver array was not a simple attack trap. It was an ancient, high-tier single-target Teleportation Mechanism built directly into the palace’s floor!

FWOOSH!

The silver light flashed with blinding intensity, distorting the surrounding space so violently that Lothe’s hand was pushed back by a wave of spatial recoil.

When the light vanished a second later—

The silver runes dissolved back into the stone floor.

The pillar of light was gone.

And Seana was no longer there.

——————————

The circular chamber fell into complete, terrifying silence.

Lothe stood alone in the center of the room, his hand still outstretched in mid-air, his fingers hovering over the empty space where Seana had been standing a second prior.

The cool, ancient air of the palace brushed against his face.

Lothe slowly lowered his arm.

His face was completely devoid of emotion, but deep within his dark pupils, an ice-cold, murderous light flared into existence.

His Void Qi surged wildly around his body, making his simple black robes flutter violently without any wind.

He raised his left hand and looked at his palm.

His [Spatial Perception] buzzed slightly. He could still feel a faint, lingering spatial coordinate vibrating in the air—a remnant of the silver array’s trajectory.

She hadn’t been killed. The array was a displacement mechanism designed to separate intruders even further into the palace’s inner trials.

Lothe took a deep, steady breath, forcing his surging Qi back into his core. Panic would solve nothing.

"Wait for me Love," Lothe whispered softly into the quiet room.

He raised his [Void Spear], the sharp tip glowing with a sinister, high-torque purple light as he planted a permanent [Spatial Anchor] right in the center of the chamber floor.

Then, turning toward the dark archway at the far end of the room, Lothe stepped forward into the darkness alone.​