New chapter 23

# Chapter 23 — Beneath the Crimson Glow

# Sun City — Xu Family Temporary Camp

Morning arrived without sunlight.

Dark crimson clouds covered the sky above Sun City while cold mist drifted through the streets silently. The entire city looked exhausted after the previous battle.

Yet nobody truly rested.

Because everyone understood—

the disaster had only begun.

---

Inside the Xu Family temporary camp—

disciples gathered around formation fires while discussing the eastern gate nervously.

“No ancient ruin should affect the weather…”

“I heard the city lord requested reinforcements from nearby cities.”

“Will anyone even come?”

Another disciple answered bitterly:

“If they’re smart? No.”

---

Xu Yuan slowly walked through the camp while listening quietly.

The atmosphere felt tense but strangely alive.

Fear pushed people closer together naturally.

Guards joked more.

Disciples argued louder.

Even elders seemed less distant than usual.

Disasters revealed people differently.

---

Ahead—

Lin Hao sat beside several injured disciples while loudly explaining how he “heroically survived” yesterday’s battle.

“I alone protected three streets.”

One injured disciple stared blankly.

“You hid behind a broken wall.”

“That wall was strategically important.”

Xu Yuan calmly walked past.

“His greatest cultivation talent is surviving shamelessly.”

Lin Hao immediately looked offended.

“And I’m still alive.”

“That unfortunately supports your argument.”

---

Several nearby disciples laughed lightly.

Even the injured ones relaxed slightly afterward.

Moments like that mattered during crises.

---

Meanwhile—

the eastern mountains continued pulsing faintly beneath the crimson clouds.

Every few hours—

that deep heartbeat echoed across the region again.

And each time—

the resonance inside Xu Yuan’s chest responded.

---

He disliked that increasingly.

---

Then suddenly—

a Xu Family guard hurried into the camp.

“All direct descendants report to the inner hall immediately!”

Nearby conversations instantly quieted.

---

Xu Yuan exchanged a glance with Xia Yu before both walked toward the temporary meeting hall together.

Naturally side by side.

As always.

---

Several younger disciples whispered behind them.

“They’re always together.”

“They’ve slept in the same room since childhood.”

Lin Hao casually joined the conversation immediately.

“And somehow still act calm about it.”

One disciple blinked.

“…Why are YOU telling us this?”

Lin Hao sighed dramatically.

“Because I suffer emotionally every day.”

---

Inside the temporary hall—

multiple elders already waited alongside Zhao Tianhe and several city cultivators.

The atmosphere felt serious again.

---

Third Elder Xu Jian finally spoke first.

“The corrupted creatures retreated last night.”

One elder nodded slowly.

“But not far enough.”

A map spread across the table showed the eastern forest completely surrounded by crimson markings now.

---

Zhao Tianhe’s expression remained grim.

“The corruption continues spreading.”

Several younger cultivators immediately frowned.

“How fast?”

Another elder answered quietly:

“Too fast.”

---

Formation masters had marked entire sections of the eastern forest already consumed by crimson mist.

And the corrupted area continued growing.

Slowly.

Relentlessly.

---

One disciple spoke nervously:

“If it reaches the city completely…”

Nobody answered.

Because everyone already understood the outcome.

---

Then—

another elder pointed toward the crimson gate drawn on the map.

“We believe the seal beneath the mountains is connected to an ancient underground civilization.”

Xu Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Underground again.

Everything kept returning there.

---

The elder continued:

“Old records mention forbidden experiments beneath the eastern mountains thousands of years ago.”

Another elder frowned deeply.

“Human experimentation?”

“Possibly worse.”

---

Silence spread briefly afterward.

---

Lin Hao quietly whispered toward Xu Yuan:

“How does every ancient civilization become evil eventually?”

Xu Yuan answered calmly:

“Because ancient cultivators apparently enjoyed making terrible decisions.”

“That’s honestly convincing.”

---

Then suddenly—

Zhao Tianhe looked directly toward Xu Yuan.

The entire hall became quieter instantly.

“We need to discuss yesterday.”

Xu Yuan already knew this conversation would happen eventually.

Unfortunate.

---

The city lord’s gaze remained sharp.

“The corrupted giant recognized you.”

Multiple elders looked toward Xu Yuan seriously now.

One elder asked carefully:

“Do you know why?”

Xu Yuan answered honestly.

“No.”

Unfortunately—

that answer sounded suspicious now.

---

Another elder frowned.

“Then explain the symbols appearing on your arm.”

Xu Yuan stayed silent briefly.

Because he genuinely didn’t know.

---

Before the pressure inside the hall could worsen—

Xia Yu suddenly spoke calmly.

“He’s not lying.”

Several elders looked toward her immediately.

Her voice remained steady.

“We’ve been together since childhood.”

“If he knew something like this before now, I would know too.”

---

The hall quieted slightly afterward.

Because nobody doubted Xia Yu’s words.

---

Xu Yuan glanced toward her briefly.

She defended him naturally.

Without hesitation.

---

Lin Hao quietly leaned toward another disciple nearby.

“They really are impossible to separate.”

The disciple whispered back:

“At this point I think separating them might destroy the city somehow.”

Lin Hao slowly looked toward Xu Yuan.

“…Honestly that feels possible now.”

---

Even Xu Yuan almost agreed internally.

---

Then suddenly—

BOOOOM…

The heartbeat echoed again.

This time—

much louder.

The entire hall shook violently.

Dust fell from the ceiling instantly.

---

Several cultivators rushed outside immediately afterward.

Xu Yuan followed alongside everyone else.

And the moment they stepped outside—

they froze.

---

Far beyond the city—

the crimson gate had opened further again.

Almost halfway now.

Massive black chains stretched across the mountains while crimson mist flooded the surrounding forest endlessly.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

---

The sky above the gate had changed.

A giant crimson eye now floated within the clouds themselves.

Watching Sun City silently.

---

Civilians throughout the city panicked instantly.

“What IS that thing?!”

“The heavens…”

“The sky opened…”

---

Even high-level cultivators looked pale now.

Because the pressure from the eye alone distorted spiritual energy nearby.

---

Xu Yuan suddenly grabbed his chest again.

The resonance exploded violently.

And before his eyes—

the system screen flickered repeatedly.

---

> Warning

>

> Host synchronization increasing

>

> Ancient observer detected

>

> Soul instability rising

---

Then—

another line appeared slowly.

---

> Hidden function temporarily unlocked:

>

> Observe

---

The words faded instantly afterward.

And suddenly—

Xu Yuan could see it.

---

Invisible crimson threads stretched throughout the city.

Connected to cultivators.

Buildings.

The eastern forest.

And all of them—

led back toward the giant eye above the gate.

Watching.

Connecting.

Observing everything.

---

Xu Yuan’s breathing slowly became heavier.

Because one thread—

thicker than all the others—

connected directly to him.