Defiance of the Fall Chapter 1387: Bleeding Through

“No sense of self-preservation,” Zac muttered as the Peak E-grade bird carcass in his grip dissolved into an illusory shimmer.

To his surprise, the weak attacker left an item behind—a footstool with a missing leg. Similar to the other trinkets he’d found over the last few hours, it was a mortal-grade object devoid of engravings or innate spirituality. Among the nearly two hundred birds he had slain, not one had yielded a Corruption Crystal.

Zac wondered if the rain made avian creatures less tainted than land animals, or if the flock simply lacked the level required to form a nucleus of corruption. Every crystal he had gathered so far originated from Beast Kings, suggesting a clear link between a creature's grade and the likelihood of a crystal drop.

Of the thirty-six crystals collected during their jungle trek, only a single one came from an Early Beast King. Conversely, Zac had already secured three Peak D-grade crystals after slaying a solitary Peak Beast King. It was a respectable haul, and he was rapidly deducing the mechanics of this new cultivation resource.

“Will you stop that?” Idiche remarked with a look of revulsion as Zac wiped blood from his face.

“Don’t worry, I’m finished,” Zac promised.

He had essentially confirmed that blood itself wasn't the key to stirring the intent. Rather, it was the presence of a draconic bloodline that triggered the reward. This flock of blue birds possessed an ordinary lineage by the standards of the Left Imperial Expanse, making them useless for his specific needs.

Bloodlines weren't the only trigger, however. The Peak D-grade Beast King he had fought previously possessed a potent toxin infused with an Earthly Dao. That combination had made Zac nauseous despite his various resistances, proving even more effective than drake blood at provoking a reaction from the foreign Killing Intent. Zac concluded that any sufficiently powerful force—whether Daos, Soul Attacks, or lethal natural phenomena—would likely suffice.

“How is your progress?” Zac inquired after cleaning himself up.

The current attack occurred because they had been stationary for nearly five minutes. They were stuck at a junction of dimensional layers where Esmeralda and Idiche were debating which path to take. Their strategy of following the drakes' path of destruction had failed almost immediately when the trail vanished. It was likely that Idiche had guided the drakes through a dreamrealm or spatial corridor that was no longer active.

Instead, Idiche and Esmeralda employed various techniques to locate the forest’s concealed routes while Zac handled the local wildlife. The pace was sluggish, as corruption introduced a layer of unpredictability to their calculations. Both Esmeralda’s and Idiche’s theories were frequently proven incorrect.

Following two hours of trekking, a particularly nasty turn in a warped formation even led them back to the beach. The scorched landscape in the distance confirmed they had only progressed twelve miles north. Nevertheless, every failure provided a lesson, and rules seemed to govern even the chaotic influence of the Lost Plane. The mountain loomed ahead; they only needed to navigate the final layers of the Natural Formations to reach their initial destination.

“We believe we’ve found the way. Neither path is currently viable. We must wait a few minutes for the routes to merge,” Esmeralda stated, showing a rare lack of confidence. A string of failed predictions had humbled the toad. That frustration had quickly manifested as sharp remarks toward their companion. “We wouldn’t be in this predicament if someone had bothered to place guiding flags through the formation. You know, like any competent adventurer exploring a complex environment would do.”

“Hey, don’t pin this on me. As I mentioned, I have no control over—or memory of—what my sleepwalking self does,” Idiche snapped. “Without me, you’d likely still be stuck on the beach given your calculations. So much for being a master.”

Zac barely listened to their bickering. His attention had been caught by something strange on a nearby tree. He approached it, running his hand along the bark and focusing on a specific branch. Then, he started clearing away the grass with his boot.

Moving closer, Idiche watched him with confusion. “What did you find?”

“This branch was grafted on maybe a few years back. It has some new growth, but it looks like it was nearly dead before. Also, check these scars. Something was suspended from this branch back then,” Zac explained as he continued to dig. “Here it is.”

The trio looked down at a two-foot length of rope partially buried in the soil. It appeared scorched at both ends. When Zac picked it up and channeled energy into it, the rope crumbled instantly. A faint trace of unstable Temporal Energy flickered briefly before vanishing.

Zac hummed, continuing his excavation. After digging up an entire patch of ground, the only other discovery was a cracked cobblestone. It resisted his spiritual infusion but was clearly just a standard E-grade material. The important detail was its faint aura—the same one they had detected from the [Peregrine Gondolas]. The stone wasn't an illusion, and it didn't belong to this world.

“Overlapping timelines,” Esmeralda remarked thoughtfully. “The breach here must have been incredibly unstable, unlike the one at the Transformation Docks.”

“What’s the big deal about a piece of pavement?” Idiche asked, failing to see the significance.

“Think about it,” Zac replied. “Why would there be pavement on this island?”

“Obviously, someone built a—”

“Precisely. Our enemies conquered the island in their dimension years ago. They’ve constructed roads and who knows what else,” Zac sighed, standing up. “Look at these items. The branch from the other dimension was nearly dead, the rope looked sun-bleached, and the tile was cracked from extreme heat. It hasn't rained where these came from for a long time. Whatever the invaders are planning with Sevona’s Hunting Lodge has been in development for years.”

“We need to move faster. They likely understand this terrain much better than—” Esmeralda cut herself off as all three turned toward the same spot.

Two exhausted disciples, a man and a woman, stumbled out of the illusory mist that blanketed the forest. It took them a moment to realize they had successfully navigated the Natural Formation. They didn't look particularly relieved, as the outer formations hadn't been very lethal so far. The true danger lay in the beasts prowling in the shadows.

Zac didn't recognize the two Late Hegemons, but he noticed the ring on the man’s finger. It was the same signet ring he possessed. Zac quietly readied a fragment of Corruption, seeing an opportunity to test a hidden function of his ring. In Adventurer’s Cove, identity verification via signet rings wasn't common, but the feature existed to confirm loyalty when encountering strangers at sea.

The two disciples soon spotted Zac’s group, though Esmeralda had already vanished from sight.

“Vice Leader Levos, is that you?” the young man asked, his voice filled with relief.

“Mikas, you’ve certainly looked better,” Idiche sighed.

“This place is a nightmare,” Mikas grimaced. “I’m going to demand a refund from the Intelligence Office the moment we return.”

“You’ll be at the end of a long line,” Idiche laughed, looking at the woman standing close to him. “I take it this is Veisa?”

“It’s an honor, Miss Levos,” the young woman replied.

“Wait,” Zac interrupted, stepping between Idiche and the pair. “Show me your ring.”

“Who are you?” Mikas asked with a scowl, looking at Idiche for an explanation.

“He’s our newest recruit. Just humor him. You can’t be too cautious in a place like this,” Idiche said with a smile.

Mikas nodded slowly and pushed energy into his ring. Zac did the same, mixing in a tiny bit of corruption. While his normal energy surfaced, the corruption triggered the hidden arrays within his ring. When the forces connected and returned, Zac felt a mental confirmation. The corrupted array appeared to scan his own energy, and finding nothing, the corruption simply faded away. No one seemed to notice the process.

“Are you satisfied?” Mikas asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nearly. Yours too,” Zac said, looking at the woman.

“Oh, I’m not a member of the Guild. Mikas and I are—” Veisa’s words ended in a scream as Zac suddenly blurred into motion.

Mikas, already exhausted from the formations, was too slow to block the punch aimed at his temple. The impact sent him spinning before he collapsed, unconscious. Veisa followed suit moments later. She had frozen, paralyzed by the choice between helping her Dao Companion or fleeing. Zac made the choice for her.

“What the hell are you doing?” Idiche shouted, rushing toward the fallen pair. “Thank the Heavens, they’re still breathing.”

“I know how to regulate my power,” Zac said, resting a hand on Mikas’s chest. Esmeralda reappeared nearby, holding the man’s signet ring.

“This ring seems normal?” the toad asked, seeking Zac’s confirmation.

“I got no reaction. I was just making sure,” Zac explained, thoroughly checking Mikas for any signs of corruption. Aside from some minor surface traces, he was untainted.

“Aren’t you concerned the Disciplinary Elders will take you away for this?” Idiche asked as Zac repeated the check on Veisa.

“The invaders wouldn't have started such a massive operation if they weren't certain they’d be undisturbed. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire island is already isolated,” Esmeralda remarked, eyeing the pair’s Spatial Rings with greed.

“They’re clean, so we’ll leave them. They probably don't have anything worth taking anyway,” Zac said with a smile before looking at Idiche. “Check your Disciple Token if you don't believe her.”

“It’s dead!” Idiche exclaimed moments later. “I can’t even find the fixed coordinates. This is bad; this has never happened before.”

“It’s fine. We weren't expecting help anyway,” Zac shrugged.

Idiche nodded slowly, though she couldn't hide her anxiety. She had likely been clinging to the hope that her master or an elder would intervene if things went south. Now, the gravity of their situation was setting in. Zac understood her feelings; he often relied on his Void abilities as a safety net when facing the unknown.

“Look on the bright side. It’s only in these conditions that one truly reaches their potential,” Zac said as he stood up.

“We can’t just leave them exposed. Tie them up,” Idiche said, handing Zac some rope. Seeing his look, she shrugged. “What? These are standard for treasure hunts. Should we let them wander around and reveal our alliance? Or steal our finds? These ropes will keep them hidden, and they’ll be teleported out in three days.”

“What if a beast finds them first?” Esmeralda asked as Idiche tucked the pair into a thick canopy and added illusion layers.

“These ropes have a built-in teleportation feature. If they detect a threat, they’ll move the captives and then vanish. That should wake them up. After that, it’s up to luck,” Idiche explained. “To be honest, they had a higher chance of dying on their own. They should have stayed at the beach once they realized things were wrong.”

“I’m not sure the beach is safe. If I were the invaders, I’d send a team to eliminate any stragglers,” Zac noted. “Let’s move, we’ve lingered here too long.”

Despite Zac’s urgency, they stopped twenty minutes later upon reaching the mountain slopes. They hadn't lost their way; they had simply encountered a second overlapping zone. This one was far more obvious than the first. Zac approached a cracked pillar that stood nearly four meters tall with caution.

The pillar was heavily damaged but still pulsed with volatile temporal ripples. It seemed partially active, reminiscent of the arrays in the Mercurial Court ruins. The overlap was fresh, confirmed by the dry sand around the base. It seemed Sevona’s island in the other dimension had become a wasteland.

“A large-scale array flag,” Esmeralda noted.

“Can you determine its function?” Zac asked, moving closer. He was drawn to the twenty-four Peak D-grade Corrupted Crystals slotted into the base. They were more than half-drained, but they still represented a major addition to his hoard.

“Impossible. Only a Temporal Cultivator could find clues in the echoes of time,” Esmeralda said, tapping Zac on the head. “I suggest you stop before it hits you with a final energy surge.”

“Fine, you handle it,” Zac urged.

Esmeralda bypassed the flag’s defenses easily, and the Corruption Crystals were soon stored in Zac’s Cosmos Sack. Since the energy source was gone and they couldn't identify its purpose, Zac smashed the pillar before they departed. He made the damage look like it was caused by a tainted Beast King seeking the crystals.

“It’s here!” Idiche shouted some time later.

Zac looked but saw nothing unusual—only a rocky slope at a forty-five-degree angle. Idiche stopped him as he prepared to climb.

“Wait, that’s an illusion.”

“Really?” Zac asked, squinting at the rock. “I don't see anything.”

“It’s there. I saw it in my dreams,” Idiche stated firmly. “Give me a moment to break the illusion.”

Zac’s eyes widened as the slope transformed into a sheer vertical wall containing a large tunnel. Heat radiated from the opening. Idiche had been right; if he had tried to climb, he would have been trapped in an illusory realm. They entered the passage before the formations could reset, finding a tunnel that stretched for miles.

The tunnel was devoid of beasts and side paths, and the illusory energy was lower than outside. Consequently, the corruption was higher than in the forest, though not as intense as expected. Zac suspected the sweltering heat was keeping it at bay. It was becoming obvious that this mountain was an active volcano.

The passage eventually opened into a massive cavern filled with nearly a hundred lava pools. The space was as vast as a major settlement in Earth’s Underworld. Fortunately, Unvai Drakes were more like dragons than humans regarding reproduction, so their numbers were small, which explained why the theft of their eggs was such a massive blow.

A few dozen drakes remained in the pools, but given the size of the cavern, it felt empty. Idiche had successfully lured away the elites; the remaining drakes were weaker, mostly Peak E-grade. They hadn't noticed the intrusion as Idiche and Esmeralda worked together to mask their presence.

“Over there!” Idiche whispered, gesturing toward a massive lava lake.

Zac looked and saw a jagged ridge rising from the molten surface. Initially, it looked like standard rock, but upon closer inspection, it resembled the spinal ridge the drakes had summoned. This one was calcified, and Zac felt no draconic aura beyond the general heat of the cave.

“The remains of a Peak C-grade Lava Dragon,” Esmeralda whispered. “It’s likely the source of all this heat. It’s a pity the energy has merged with the mountain, or those bones would be priceless.”

“And now?” Zac asked.

“Not worth much. Besides, could your [Mercurial Sack] even process them?” the toad teased.

“Right, they’re probably illusory anyway,” Zac sighed, feeling bad that Verun would miss out. “Still, I’m glad we didn't fight here. Their Ancestral Sacrifice would have been much more dangerous using those remains as a medium.”

“See? I told you I have my reasons,” Idiche said with a smirk.

“Why so proud? You weren't the one who lured them to the beach, remember?” Zac countered, making Esmeralda chuckle.

The trio moved silently through the cavern to avoid trouble. The drakes remained oblivious. Those not resting were too preoccupied looking for their elders to watch for intruders. The illusion at the entrance had given them a false sense of safety that a single theft hadn't yet broken.

There was one clear path on the far side and several exits hidden beneath the lava. None of them were eager to swim through magma, knowing that the only thing waiting there was—