Chapter 1096: Spirit Shift

He collapsed onto the ground, watching the spectacular scene, feeling the lingering Earth‑vein essence inside him slowly repairing his wounds. In this battle he narrowly escaped death, and by misfortune gained great fortune: not only shedding his pursuers but also obtaining a tremendous opportunity.

"Nine‑Nether Spirit‑Turning Array… black‑robed demonic cultivator… the existence behind that eyeball…" Han Wuxian muttered, engraving these clues deep into his mind.

He knew he might have inadvertently brushed against a larger conspiracy. But for now he needed to heal quickly and digest what he'd gained. When his strength was sufficient, these mysteries would be uncovered one by one.

In the distance the sunrise rose, golden light interplaying with the Earth‑vein light pillars. Han Wuxian inhaled deeply, struggled to rise, and stepped toward the distant mountains. His silhouette stretched long in the morning light, lonely yet resolute.

The rumble of the Falling Star Abyss collapsing echoed through the mountains, dust rose like a golden dragon soaring, together with the golden pillar that pierced heaven and earth forming an apocalyptic scene. Han Wuxian leaned against a weathered giant stone on the cliff edge, each breath tugging at a shattering pain.

Inside, the few strands of forcibly seized, not yet fully refined Earth‑vein essence churned like restless magma; under the arduous guidance of the Star‑Spreading Formula they slowly repaired the damaged meridians, yet brought intermittent burning stabs. Deeper, a cold, filthy thought born of the tainted earth‑lake slithered like a hidden venomous snake, occasionally gnawing his soul, causing brief dizziness and auditory hallucinations.

"Must leave this place as soon as possible…" He forced himself to stand, his gaze sweeping toward the smoke‑filled direction of the Falling Star Abyss. The Earth‑vein eruption's anomaly was so startling that cultivators within a thousand‑li radius would likely be alarmed. Those pursuers, that Hua Shen cultivator, might even attract more troublesome beings.

He identified the direction and chose a secluded path that delved into the wild mountain range. His body staggered, each step leaving blood‑stained footprints in the soft soil. The faint Dao Mark on his skin dimly clung, straining to compress his feeble qi like a candle flickering in the wind.

Three days later, a desolate mountain hollow.

Han Wuxian sat in the shadow behind a massive stone, his complexion still pale, but his breath steadied considerably. Before him lay an aged, yellowed fragment of an ancient text—the only valuable thing he had managed to snatch from a fallen cultivator's satchel amid the chaos before escaping the Falling Star Abyss.

"Record of Earth Veins – Fragment"

His fingertip brushed the rough pages, and his eyes finally settled on a blurry illustration. The picture depicted a huge sphere enshrouded by countless filthy black vapors, strikingly similar to the polluted core of the Earth‑vein he had seen deep beneath the Falling Star Abyss. Beside it were several lines of incomplete, archaic annotations:

"…Nine‑Nether Spirit‑Turning… pilfering the pivot of Heaven and Earth… the marrow of the tainted Earth‑vein… feeding master…"

"…if the array eye is destroyed… Earth‑vein will pour… yet the filth does not disperse… it will attract the Nine‑Nether Eye…"

"…when the eye appears… the master of the spirit‑turning… or… its servant… must arrive…"

"Nine‑Nether Eye…" Han Wuxian repeated softly, his fingertip unconsciously tracing the charred scar on his cheek left by a black‑purple beam. A cold, ancient, malicious will… that black eye, blood‑veined, that opened on the altar crystal! It was not the crystal itself, but the "eye" of a higher‑level existence!

"Nine‑Nether Spirit‑Turning Array… pilfering the pivot of Heaven and Earth… the marrow of the tainted Earth‑vein… feeding master…" He furrowed his brow, "The purpose of this evil array is to use the polluted Earth‑vein core as 'feed', nourishing that so‑called 'master'? That black‑robed demonic cultivator is merely a 'servant'?"

A chill rose up his spine. The eruption of the Falling Star Abyss's Earth‑vein core seemed to have destroyed the evil array, but according to this fragment, the moment the array collapsed was precisely when the "Nine‑Nether Eye" was roused, and its appearance signified that the mastermind or minion behind the array would inevitably be drawn forth!

He had shattered the altar's array eye, cut the black line, effectively blinding that "eye" and rousing the existence behind it!

"Trouble… larger than imagined." Han Wuxian inhaled deeply, suppressing the surging blood‑qi and the cold in his heart. He swiftly tucked away the fragment, eyes vigilant toward the surroundings. The vast mountains were silent, only the wind's sigh through the treetops, yet beneath that silence seemed an unseen murderous intent lurking.

He must quickly restore his strength and leave this area!

Half a month later, a settlement of mixed‑skill cultivators on the edge of the wild mountain range, Black Stone Town.

Han Wuxian was wrapped in a loose grey cloak, the brim pulled low, covering most of his face and also masking the still‑fading charred scar on his cheek. His aura was heavily constrained by the Dao Mark, maintaining a post‑Foundation Establishment level, utterly unremarkable. The injuries inside healed slowly, but refining the Earth‑vein essence and expelling that lingering evil thought proved harder than he expected.

He entered the town's only decent inn, "Gathering Wind Pavilion", took a secluded corner by the window, and ordered a pot of the plainest spirit tea. His spirit sense spread like an invisible spider‑web, cautiously sifting through fragments of chatter in the main hall.

"…Did you hear? Something huge happened over at the Falling Star Abyss!"

"Nonsense! That golden light that spanned the heavens was visible for hundreds of li! Supposedly an ancient secret realm emerged, stirring the Earth‑vein!"

"Bullshit! My third‑uncle's neighbor's brother is an Outer Gate disciple of Pure Void Sect; he heard from an Inner Gate senior that a few Hua Shen old monsters were battling for a remarkable relic at the abyss's bottom, collapsing the mountain's belly and triggering the Earth‑vein eruption!"

"Tsk tsk, that commotion… I heard Pure Void Sect and Crimson Sun Sect both sent Elders to investigate…"

"More than that! Supposedly many died, even Hua Shen cultivators were gravely wounded and fled! Tsk tsk, that scene…"

Han Wuxian lifted the rough ceramic cup, sipped the thin spirit tea. Pure Void Sect, Crimson Sun Sect… are major sects within this ten‑thousand‑li radius. The turmoil was indeed significant. He paid closer attention to the news about the "severely injured Hua Shen cultivator", which should be the one who had been hunting him.

"…but the strangest part isn't this." A lowered voice, tinged with mystery, reached Han Wuxian's ears from the neighboring table, belonging to a skinny, shrewd‑looked young cultivator.

"Oh? Tell us quickly!" The companions at the same table immediately showed interest.

The skinny cultivator glanced left and right, leaned in: "A wandering cultivator who escaped the abyss said… before the Earth‑vein's golden light burst, he seemed to see deep in the abyss… a huge, black… eye! When that eye opened, a glance could shatter one's soul! The golden light surged from beneath that eye!"

"Hiss… black eye? You're not just scaring us, are you?"

"Absolutely true! Several lucky survivors say the same! That eye was terribly evil; after the golden light erupted, some still heard an angry roar saying something like 'the profane shall be punished'… it didn't sound human at all!"