The hidden passage narrowed as they descended, the walls pressing closer with each step. Liu Yun felt the mountain's presence all around them—alive, ancient, and watchful. Behind them, the false energy signatures Jiang Tao had created would be confusing the Administrators, but for how long?
"The Earth Vein pathways follow natural fault lines," Jiang Tao explained, his hand tracing glowing symbols on the tunnel walls that illuminated their way. "Even Protocol technology struggles to map these properly."
Lin Fei moved gracefully despite the rough terrain. "And the Southern Marshlands bloodline—you've had contact with them?"
"Not directly," Jiang Tao admitted. "But the mountains speak of movement there. The Water Weaver bloodline stirs, preparing just as we are."
Liu Yun's newly acquired sword thrummed at his side, responding to the stone around them. The Sixth Technique's essence was slowly integrating with his cultivation core, but the process left him feeling vulnerable—like a snake mid-shed, caught between two states of being.
A distant rumble shook loose dust from the ceiling.
"They've entered the mountain complex," Jiang Tao said grimly. "Sooner than expected."
The Imperial Jade Seal pulsed softly. "Protocol enforcement units deploying sonic mapping technology. Estimated breach of false signature effectiveness: seventeen minutes."
"We need to move faster," Lin Fei urged, but Liu Yun had stopped, head tilted as if listening.
"Wait," he said, the Earth Shattering Sword practically vibrating in its sheath. "I feel something... a resonance."
Jiang Tao's eyes widened. "You're connecting with the mountain already? The trial changed you more than I realized."
Liu Yun placed his palm against the rough stone wall. The mountain's pulse thrummed through his fingertips—steady, ancient, but now disturbed by intruders who didn't belong. Without fully understanding how, he knew the Administrators' positions, sensed their movements through the living rock.
"They've split into three teams," he said, surprised by his own certainty. "Two groups following our decoys, but one team—two Administrators—they're cutting directly toward this passage. They know."
Jiang Tao nodded gravely. "The Earth Vein techniques are in your blood now. The mountain recognizes you as one of its own."
"Can we evade them?" Lin Fei asked, already calculating alternative routes.
"Not without losing hours," Jiang Tao replied. "This passage is the only direct route to the Southern Marshlands."
Liu Yun straightened, decision made. "Then I'll delay them."
"No," Lin Fei protested immediately. "You haven't recovered from the trial. And you've barely begun to understand the Sixth Technique."
"Precisely why I must be the one," Liu Yun countered. "The sword responds to the mountain. Here, in these tunnels, I can make use of that connection."
The Seal hovered between them. "Strategic assessment: delaying action required. Two volunteers optimal for mission success."
"I'll stay with Liu Yun," Jiang Tao said firmly. "Lin Fei, you must continue with the Seal. If we fail, the covenant still needs you to reach the Water Weavers."
Lin Fei's expression hardened. "I don't abandon my companions."
"This isn't abandonment," Liu Yun said softly. "It's ensuring the mission continues no matter what happens here."
A moment of tense silence passed between them before Lin Fei finally nodded. "How will you find me afterward?"
"The covenant will guide us," Jiang Tao assured her. "Water and Earth always find each other eventually."
Liu Yun removed a small jade token from his pocket—an ancestral artifact from his family line. "Take this. If we're separated too long, it will help me locate you."
Lin Fei accepted it solemnly before embracing them both. "Don't sacrifice yourselves. Delay only."
"We'll meet at the marshland border," Liu Yun promised. "Now go, quickly."
As Lin Fei disappeared deeper into the tunnel with the Seal, Jiang Tao turned to Liu Yun. "You felt them through the stone. That's remarkable for someone who just completed the trial."
"It's not just me," Liu Yun replied, drawing the Earth Shattering Sword. "It's this weapon. It wants to be used."
Jiang Tao nodded in understanding. "The swords created during the trials aren't merely weapons—they're extensions of the technique itself. Channels for power too great for human bodies alone."
Another rumble, closer this time. The Administrators were approaching rapidly.
"We need a strategy," Liu Yun said. "Something that buys Lin Fei maximum time without getting ourselves killed."
Jiang Tao smiled—a predator's grin. "The Earth remembers old ways of fighting that the Protocol has tried to erase. Ways to turn the very ground against our enemies."
He knelt, pressing both palms against the tunnel floor. Green energy spiraled from his hands, sinking into the stone. "The mountain is honeycombed with chambers. We can use them to our advantage."
Liu Yun felt the Earth Shattering Sword guiding his movements. He mirrored Jiang Tao's position, channeling his energy into the stone. Immediately, he sensed the tunnel system expanding in his awareness like an unfolding map—passages, chambers, dead ends, and collapse points.
"There," he said, indicating a junction ahead. "If we redirect them into the western passage..."
"...we can trigger a controlled collapse," Jiang Tao finished, impressed. "You learn quickly, Liu Yun."
They worked in tandem, preparing their trap as the Protocol Administrators drew nearer. Liu Yun could almost hear their methodical footsteps through the stone now, feel their cold purpose as they hunted.
"Remember," Jiang Tao cautioned as they took position. "The Sixth Technique is powerful but dangerous. In these confines, full deployment could bring the mountain down on all of us."
Liu Yun nodded, sword ready, feeling the weight of the mountain above. "Then we'll be precise. Earth doesn't need to shatter—just shift enough to slow them down."
The tunnel fell silent as they waited, the only sound their measured breathing and the distant, steady approach of those who sought to preserve a broken system—no matter the cost.