Path of the Lilies: Early Beginnings

"Great job," Wang Jun leaned on the wall. His left hand clutched his stomach to stop the bleeding momentarily.     

"We need to treat…"     

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Wan sensed sudden killing intent coming from the tunnel behind them.     

Lu Wan and Wang Jun quickly turned around to look at the tunnel. They could see Ye Jiao stood there with a smile plastered on her face. Even though the place was dim in light, they still could see her countenance.     

"It's finished," Ye Jiao spoke out. "We have to gather here."     

"Senior Sister Lin and Mu Xin are on the way," Lu Wan entered the tunnel and showed the Eon Energy Gathering Array Plate that he picked. "How do you use this?"     

"Pour your Eon Energy into the plate. I need to maintain this rune."     

Wang Jun raised his head to look at the large runes shield behind Ye Jiao. There was quite a distance between him and that rune, but he felt as if there was a high wall there. They could get out from here, but Eon Energy wouldn't be able to permeate from the other side. It was astonishing.     

"Wang Jun, here's the other plate," Ye Jiao took out hers. "As soon as Senior Sister Lin and Xin Jie return, we start our plan."     

"I'm here," Mu Xin stopped before the entrance of the tunnel. Sweat was pouring down her forehead, but she kept her calm demeanor and walked inside. Her eyes glanced at the plate in Wang Jun's hand. "Is there any specific pattern to pour Eon Energy?"     

"None, but this might make you lose a lot of Eon Energy in the process."     

"I see," Mu Xin furrowed her brows. Because she attempted to lure them and then kicked some of them into the large cave, her Eon Energy was already depleted. There was a high possibility that they wouldn't be able to maintain the array plate for a long time because of a lack of Eon Energy.     

Bang!     

Lin Cai barged into the tunnel. Her robe was dirty with dust, but a smile was hanging on her lips. At some point, it seemed that she lost her mask. "Hey! I have returned! Your killing intent surprises me a lot, Jiao'er."     

They agreed to have the killing intent as their signal both to start and to gather back. Because of the echo, it would be hard to scream in this place, so the quickest signal they picked was the killing intent. As Eon Energy Master, their senses were sharp. It would be a piece of cake to sense them.     

They already knew about Qin Zheng's killing intent, so they were not surprised. However, Ye Jiao revealed to them that she also has it.     

Though, they have just realized the degree after experiencing it for themselves.     

"I trained it," Ye Jiao replied humbly.     

Lin Cai clicked her tongue and sat beside Lu Wan. She took out an Eon Energy Pill and passed it to the others. "There's no time to absorb them slowly, so you can just use the Eon Energy contained in the pill as the fuel for this."     

"Got it."     

"Let's start."     

As soon as Ye Jiao gave instruction, the other four immediately poured their Eon Energy into the plate. The gathering array was activated, and they directed into the Emperor Stone as the suction power increased greatly.     

…     

On Qin Zheng and Qi Huan's side, the two of them realized the dire situation quickly. Their faces changed when they felt the sudden movements of Eon Energy towards the Emperor Stone and tried to run away.     

"We need to go!"     

"Like hell you will!"     

The white robed man lunged forward with his sword thrust in their direction. Qi Huan raised his hand, about to block it as Qin Zheng utilized his Eon Energy to move quickly while holding Qi Huan's left wrist.     

Bang!     

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"     

A fire wall suddenly appeared before them. Qi Huan was dumbstruck and only caught himself again when he sensed the sudden movements from Qin Zheng. His chest felt tight because of the air pressure when they traveled.     

"Circulate your Eon Energy!" Qin Zheng ordered.     

"Yes."     

In the next second, they had arrived back in the tunnel. Qin Zheng shoved Qi Huan inside before he also came in as they could feel the suction power increased. The movements of Eon Energy became visible and rather scary. It was as if there was a large whirlpool pulling them into the Emperor Stone.     

"Help us!" Lin Cai yelled when she saw them. Her hand was still holding the Eon Energy Gathering Array Plate while her eyes were looking at the two of them.     

"Got it."     

Qi Huan moved near them and crouched near Lin Cai. They were staying near the hole to the Emperor Stone because they had to direct the array into the cave. On the other hand, Qin Zheng moved to Wang Jun and Mu Xin. Even though the two of them barely had any Eon Energy left, they used a little bit of what they had to pour into the plate.     

"Guh, the wind is insane."     

Ye Jiao was staying right behind the defense rune. Her hand was placed right behind them, constantly giving out Eon Energy to support the runes. She could feel the harsh absorption rate of the Emperor Stone before her. Dust scattered all over thanks to the movements of the Eon Energy.     

Those white robed Eon Energy Masters that Mu Xin and Lin Cai kicked inside were pulled into the Emperor Stone without any chance to retaliate. Even those at the tunnels were pulled inside one by one.     

"NOOOOOOOOO!"     

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"     

A scream filled with despair enveloped the entire area. However, they didn't stop pouring the Eon Energy into the plate. They knew. If they didn't do this, the one inside the cave to be pulled into the Emperor Stone would be them. There was no need for mercy against people who tried to kill them.     

Ye Jiao watched expressionlessly from her seat. Her body was aching from the Eon Energy movements that she poured out of her body at an increased rate. It was tiring, so she had to do everything possible to make sure that she could support it.     

"How much longer….?" Lu Wan has already depleted all Eon Energy inside his body. His hand left the plate as he used his hand to prop himself. It was hard to move around with his current condition.     

"I don't have any Eon Energy left," Mu Xin also released her hand and leaned back to the wall. Her eyes landed on Ye Jiao, who was just a few centimeters away. From her sitting position, she could see the tunnel where that white robed man stayed. Her eyes widened when she saw that white robed man tried to escape with all he could.     

*cough*     

Qin Zheng also released his hand. He had already used up a lot of Eon Energy to fight, leaving nearly none of them. Pouring all that left inside him to the plate was the last thing he could do.     

Looking towards the tunnel, his gaze was cold. "No matter how strong you are, you won't be able to defeat Emperor Stone's insane absorption."     

Just like what he said, the white robed man's Eon Energy soon depleted. With nothing to help him propped himself, he was pulled into the Emperor Stone without delay. Fear filled his body, but there was nothing he could do.     

There was no miracle that could save him.     

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"     

Mu Xin looked at the two's expressions. Her eyes flashed when she saw the coldness within Ye Jiao and Qin Zheng's eyes. They looked as if they were already used to such images that it no longer mattered that much to them.     

"I'm out of Eon Energy." Qi Huan also released the plate at almost the same time as Wang Jun.     

Lin Cai was the last one. She looked at the others as her brow creased. "I can no longer activate the plate, but why is the absorption rate still this large?"     

"It's the Emperor Stone's natural absorption rate."     

"Do you mean we can no longer control it?" Lu Wan's face turned pale. He thought they would be saved once they finished it, but it didn't seem to be the case.     

Qin Zheng looked at the Emperor Stone with a cold expression. He had heard about the Emperor Stone's peculiarity, but this was the first time he truly encountered it. Looking at the Eon Energy that started to form into a pool, he understood that there was no longer any way to stop it.     

"We have to get away from it," Qi Huan tried to stand up but found himself unable to.     

"It's useless. If we get out of this tunnel, we're going to die because it's absorbing more Eon Energy from the air," Lin Cai yelled. She could sense the rapid movements of Eon Energy in the air. It was much faster compared with the rock.     

Crack! Crack!     

Their expression changed when they saw the crack on the wall. Their eyes landed on Ye Jiao, who was still providing the shield with Eon Energy. Blood trickled down from the corner of her mouth as she had to absorb Eon Energy and directed them to the runes. Her core was already empty.     

"Jiao'er!"     

"I… can't… do… anything….about it," Ye Jiao said through gritted teeth. Her body felt like it was about to crumble to pieces, but their only lifeline was this rune shield. Without the runes, they would surely be pulled into the Emperor Stone.     

The bracelet on her arm flashed as Eon Energy traveled to the runes on Ye Jiao's hand. It was defensive runes that would activate when Ye Jiao was in danger. The Eon Energy contained within the runes helped Ye Jiao to keep the rune shield intact for a few more seconds.     

"This…"     

Crack! Crack! Crack!     

They looked at their surroundings and noticed that everything was cracked, including the dusty ground under the Emperor Stone.     

In the next second, everything crumbled.