Chapter 96: Elowen Serath

Chapter 96: Elowen Serath

Jules’ face darkened.

Justin immediately placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Leave it."

Jules glanced at him.

"But—"

"Leave it," Justin repeated.

Jules reluctantly stepped back, though his eyes remained fixed on Elowen and the other rogue cultivators.

General Ashford activated another section of the holographic projection.

A map of the area appeared above the table.

"The Ancient Palace is surrounded by a formation that reacts to cultivation levels," he explained.

"Our strongest cultivators cannot enter the inner region. The formation repels anyone above Level 7."

Lemo frowned.

"Then why not destroy the formation from outside?"

"We tried."

General Ashford changed the projection again.

A massive beam of energy struck the palace’s outer barrier.

The attack vanished the moment it touched the structure.

A second image appeared.

The Level 7 soldier who had led the first expedition was thrown backward by the formation and suffered severe internal injuries.

"The palace absorbed the attack and returned it," General Ashford said. "The more force used against it, the stronger its response becomes."

The room grew quiet.

Even the arrogant members of the younger generation became serious.

"The first team entered through the outer gate," General Ashford continued. "Their signals disappeared four minutes later."

"Then we should simply avoid the outer gate," Arvessa said.

Professor Sy, who had remained silent until that moment, pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"That may not be possible."

Everyone turned toward him.

Professor Sy was one of the leading researchers assigned to the Ancient Palace. Unlike the cultivators in the room, he had exceptional combat ability, but he chose to do research about the use of Arrays.

However, his knowledge of ancient formations was unmatched among the human researchers.

Beside him stood Lucan Veir, his assistant and now a Level 5 cultivator.

Professor Sy pointed toward the projection.

"The palace has no ordinary entrance."

He enlarged the image.

"The visible gates are merely decorative. The formation recognizes specific energy signatures and opens only when the appropriate conditions are met."

"What conditions?" Nyren asked.

Professor Sy hesitated.

"We don’t know yet."

Lemo’s expression became cold.

"You gathered all of us here and still don’t know how to enter?"

"We know that the palace responds to blood, Qi, and spiritual pressure," Professor Sy replied. "But we have not determined the exact sequence."

Lucan looked toward the palace through the window.

"And whatever is inside appears to be influencing the surrounding formations."

A faint tremor moved through the research base.

The holographic image flickered.

For a brief moment, a strange symbol appeared across the projection.

It was a circular mark surrounded by four beast-like shapes.

Nyren’s breathing stopped.

She had seen that symbol before.

In one of the ancient records stored inside the Glacial Spirit cave.

Oren noticed the change in her expression.

"What is it?"

Nyren shook her head.

"I’m not sure."

But her voice was quieter than before.

Outside the base, the Ancient Palace remained motionless.

Then one of its highest windows briefly lit up with a faint red glow.

No one inside the room noticed it.

No one except Professor Sy.

His face paled.

"Did you see that?"

Lucan turned toward the palace.

The glow had already disappeared.

"See what?"

Professor Sy stared at the structure for several more seconds.

"Nothing," he muttered.

But his hand had begun to tremble.

The meeting continued for another hour.

The ownership dispute remained unresolved.

Lemo insisted that the Drackar family should receive the largest share because the ruin had appeared in their territory.

Estelle argued that the ruin was a threat to the entire country and therefore could not belong to a single sect.

Roan demanded that every faction be given equal access.

General Ashford insisted that the military would retain authority over the surrounding area.

The rogue cultivators refused to accept any arrangement that excluded them from the expedition.

The argument grew more heated with every passing minute.

Jules remained silent throughout most of it.

But while everyone else focused on the dispute, his fingers quietly moved beneath the table.

A faint silver spark formed between them.

He glanced toward Elowen, then toward Morran, Selia, and Kaelis.

His eyes narrowed.

They want to enter the palace and claim a share of the treasures?

A cold smile slowly appeared on his face.

Fine.

He leaned back in his chair.

Once we enter the ruin, accidents can happen.

His gaze shifted toward the independent cultivators.

If a few of them disappear inside, who will know the difference?

At that exact moment, far from the meeting hall, two figures stood at the edge of the military base.

Their appearances had been altered by a Concealment Talisman.

To everyone watching, they looked like two ordinary young cultivators who had arrived with one of the later supply groups.

No one paid attention to them.

No one remembered seeing them.

Lothe stood beneath the shadow of a damaged watchtower, his eyes fixed on the ancient palace in the distance.

Seana stood beside him, her arms folded across her chest.

"You heard him," she whispered. "They don’t know how to open it."

Lothe nodded.

"And they have no idea what they’re walking into."

Seana’s gaze shifted toward the palace.

A faint unease stirred within her.

"The symbol on the projection..."

"I’ve seen something similar," Lothe replied.

His newly awakened Qi Sight stretched toward the palace, but the moment his perception touched the outer barrier, it was swallowed by a dense layer of ancient energy.

Lothe’s expression became serious.

"There’s something inside."

Seana’s fingers tightened.

"Something alive?"

"I don’t know."

Lothe continued staring at the palace.

But deep within his soul, the strange Jade Token hidden beneath his robe suddenly grew warm.

A faint pulse traveled through it.

Once.

Twice.

Then it went still.

Lothe’s eyes narrowed.

The palace had responded to the token.

He lowered his gaze, hiding the change in his expression.

"Whatever is inside knows we’re here."

Seana looked at him.

"Us specifically?"

Lothe glanced toward the palace.

"I’m not sure."

At that moment, the Ancient Palace released another faint pulse.

The surrounding air trembled.

Every cultivator within the military base felt it.

The conversation inside the command hall stopped.

Outside, soldiers raised their weapons.

The palace’s gates remained closed.

But beneath its black surface, countless ancient Runes slowly awakened.

And somewhere deep within the palace, something let out a quiet, almost inaudible laugh.

The expedition had not begun yet.

But the Ancient Palace had already chosen its first targets.​