Chapter 263: Battle Begins

Just as the "New Era" was brimming with morale due to its abundant resources and bright prospects, deep within the Kunlun Mountains, at the edge of the domain shrouded by the anomaly of Shenhua Tianfu, a silent "battle" had already begun.

Xia Wan stood at the entrance of a valley littered with bizarre, jagged rocks. This was the boundary where Dragon Country's reconnaissance team had lost contact; beyond, the air itself visibly warped, light refracting into strange hues as if seen through rippling water. Faint whispers lingered at her ears, indistinguishable whether wind or some energy disturbing her spirit. The ground beneath her feet transmitted a subtle, continuous vibration—not an earthquake, but more like the pulse of a living thing sleeping.

The surface of her specially designed suit flickered constantly with micro-lights responding to various energy radiations and particle impacts. Data on her wristband surged wildly, showing extreme chaos in the energy readings, spatial curvature, and gravity gradient of the forward zone.

She did not rashly advance.

Following Qin Feng's orders, the Low-Altitude Skimmer had delivered her to the perimeter and then hidden itself at a safe distance, on standby. Now, she could rely only on herself.

Xia Wan closed her eyes. Instead of relying on instruments as conventional scouts would, she slowly extended her uniquely calm perception, like tentacles cast into murky water, cautiously probing toward the twisted region.

In an instant!

A vast stream of cold, chaotic, and fiercely repulsive information surged back along her perception like a dam breaking—fragmented images embedded within: collapsed ancient halls, flickering strange runes, twisted, screaming shadows, and a heavy, ancient wail of grief and rage!

This information stream was not an active attack, but rather an unconscious "domain" effect emitted by the abnormal environment itself. Any entity attempting to peer inside would be struck by this chaotic data.

Xia Wan grunted softly, her face paling slightly; her extended perception retracted as if burned. Merely touching the edge had caused significant Vibration in her spirit.

The interior of Shenhua Tianfu was far more perilous than Han Lao's data described! This was not merely an anomaly of energy and space—it involved some kind of… spiritual or informational contamination!

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the churning Qi and Blood and the lingering chaos echoing in her mind. Her gaze grew heavier.

Forcing entry would mean certain death.

She recalled her mother's occasional mentions of ancient admonitions and vague records passed down from her grandmother's side—things she had once dismissed as folk superstitions, yet now seemed to carry new meaning. She also remembered her own innate, incompletely controllable bodily nature, one that resonated with certain ancient things.

Perhaps… the key lay within herself.

She closed her eyes again. This time, she did not attempt to "peer" into the twisted region, but instead retracted her perception, sinking into her own deep-treasured spiritual world. She tried to activate and guide the latent power hidden deep within her Bloodline—a power that usually merely made her quieter than ordinary people.

A faint, extremely weak vibration, carrying an ancient, desolate quality, quietly emanated from her.

This vibration differed entirely from the chaotic energy frequency ahead—it was more restrained, more orderly, like a form of… authorization verification, or perhaps a faint resonance of shared origin.

When this vibration touched the boundary of the twisted region, a miracle occurred.

The once violent, repelling energy field experienced a minute, nearly imperceptible hesitation. The ever-present whispers seemed to dim by half. Though the scenery ahead remained distorted, the suffocating pressure eased slightly.

Effective!

Xia Wan's heart steadied. Indeed, the anomaly of Shenhua Tianfu was connected to her inexplicable Inheritance.

But this was only the beginning. Like whispering softly beside a sleeping giant, she had merely avoided waking it. To truly enter the core and uncover the truth, she needed to draw deeper upon this power and find a way to "communicate" with it—or "suppress" it.

This was destined to be an extremely perilous "battle."

Her opponent: this world, twisted by ancient prohibitions and unknown anomalies.

Her stakes: her life, and secrets that might determine the future of the "New Era" and all of humanity.

She sat cross-legged, adjusted her wristband to minimum-power monitoring mode, and began fully mobilizing and familiarizing herself with her mysterious power, attempting to establish a more stable "connection" with the chaotic field ahead.

In the core of the "New Era," Qin Feng could not directly see the scene within Kunlun Mountain, but through indirect data returned by the Low-Altitude Skimmer regarding the perimeter's energy field changes, and through the faint, mysterious connection established by her calling him "brother," he could vaguely sense that the "battle" on that side had begun.

"How is progress?" he asked via encrypted channel to the hidden Low-Altitude Skimmer.

"Target area energy field shows minor fluctuations, regularity increasing. Xia Wan's vital signs stable, energy response… slowly rising and shifting frequency," replied the cold electronic voice.

Qin Feng's gaze grew deep.

He knew Xia Wan was engaging in a dangerous game with that domain, in her own way.

All he could do was wait.

And trust the girl who called him "brother" to deliver a surprise.

Deep within Kunlun Mountains' Belly, amid twisted light and shadow, beads of sweat formed on Xia Wan's forehead; her spirit was locked in a silent, fierce tug-of-war with the ancient chaos.

The battle has officially begun.