Chapter 513: Chapter 513

The chaotic sounds from afar slowly faded. The air became still again, heavy with an uneasy quiet. Han Yu remained in place, conserving his qi and trying to regain his focus. His spiritual sense stretched outward, though it could not pass through the barrier.

He could feel faint vibrations from the direction of the tomb, like a deep pulse resonating through the land.

Then, a sudden shift occurred.

The red glow that had dominated the skies began to dim. One by one, the towering pillars of light emanating from the tomb flickered and shrank, their radiance weakening until they finally vanished completely.

Han Yu stood up immediately, his senses alert. The trembling beneath the earth ceased, and the air seemed to lighten. The cracks across the ground began to mend, the fractures in the sky gradually closing as though reality itself was repairing its wounds.

"Is it… over?" he whispered.

He waited, unsure if it was a trick. Everything seemed to be calming down. Even the oppressive weight of spiritual pressure that had blanketed the realm was easing away. For the first time in what felt like forever, there was a sense of stillness.

Han Yu turned, placing his palm against the barrier again. It felt different. The energy that had once pulsed beneath the surface was gone. He frowned and pushed slightly, and to his astonishment, his hand slipped through it.

The barrier was gone.

For a heartbeat, disbelief froze him in place. Then it hit him... he was free.

Without thinking, Han Yu leapt to his feet and began to run. His boots pounded against the dirt as he sprinted away from the tomb, away from the direction those two dark cultivators had gone. His breath came in sharp bursts, his body driven purely by instinct.

"Just run," he told himself. "Run and live."

The shattered terrain blurred past him. Trees, rocks, and fractured boulders rushed by as he poured all his strength into his legs. He did not dare look back. The tomb, the ritual, the slaughter, it could all go to hell for now.

He had only one thought in his mind.

Even as the exhaustion began to weigh on his limbs, Han Yu forced himself forward.

His qi flared faintly around his feet to keep his speed steady, and his halberd gleamed faintly across his back. The world around him had been twisted beyond recognition, but as long as he could still breathe, there was still a chance.

Behind him, far away near the tomb, a faint rumble echoed once more. The red glow flickered for a brief moment deep within the distance, as if mocking his escape. Han Yu did not stop. His determination had solidified into a burning core within his heart.

He would survive. He would return. And one day, he would make those responsible pay.

Han Yu ran without pause, his feet pounding against the broken earth as he pushed his body to its limit.

His breath came out in harsh bursts, the dry air scraping his throat as if reminding him that he was still alive, still trapped within this collapsing nightmare. The glow from the tomb had faded behind him, but its presence still lingered in his mind, a scar of crimson light etched into memory.

The deeper he went, the more the land around him began to shift.

What had once been forest and hill now gave way to a chaotic fusion of terrain, as though the realm itself had been torn apart and stitched together by a mad god.

The trees of the old forest were abruptly replaced by jagged cliffs that rose at strange angles, some floating slightly off the ground as if gravity had forgotten its place. Shattered temple ruins lay half-buried beside what looked like plains from another land entirely.

Han Yu slowed his pace, blinking in disbelief. "What… what is this place turning into?"

He crouched briefly behind a cracked stone pillar, observing the distant landscape.

The air was thick with residual energy, faint traces of spatial instability still distorting the horizon. Floating shards of crystal drifted through the air like ghostly embers, each one reflecting an unfamiliar sky.

Some sections of the ground seemed scorched, others lush with vegetation that clearly did not belong in this region. It was as if countless realms had collided and their fragments had been thrown together without logic or reason.

He pressed onward carefully, weaving through what patches of cover he could find.

He did not dare draw attention to himself. Every few moments, he extended a sliver of his spiritual sense outward, only to retract it quickly each time he detected another presence. The black-robed cultivators were everywhere.

Their movements were swift and deliberate, each one radiating an oppressive aura far stronger than a typical Core Condensation cultivator.

'Need to stay as stealthy as possible...' Han Yu's heart pounded harder.

If he was discovered, he would not stand a chance. He knew his limits, and right now, even a single mistake could mean death. And even death was no guarantee of escape.

He touched the inner pocket of his robes where Chitterfang was present. The rat was still alive, but had been knocked out from the pressure of the tomb. Han Yu didn't know when he would awaken, but for now he could only make sure he could keep both of them safe.

He kept to the shadows, ducking behind broken rocks and creeping through the warped terrain. The forest had changed into something monstrous. Some of the plants were alive, glowing faintly with qi, while others resembled skeletal remains of beasts long extinct.

Hills rose abruptly from the ground, shaped like claws scraping up from beneath the surface. The soil was uneven and in some places pulsed faintly, as if something beneath it still breathed.

Han Yu gritted his teeth, forcing himself to stay alert. He avoided the strange hills, kept his distance from any glowing plants, and moved as quietly as he could. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ NoveI(F)ire.net