Chapter Seventeen: The Dragon Raises Its Head!

The air at the base of the tower seemed to solidify into substance itself, each breath echoing heavily. He lifted his gaze toward the towering summit, piercing the clouds but sealed shut by layers of stone. A resilient spark flickered in his eyes.

“The summit is sealed; this abyss must be entered,” Yu Fan murmured to himself, his voice soft yet resolute beyond doubt.

He stepped forward, each pace challenging the oppressive silence that surrounded him.

Fragments of stone scattered from the walls with his movement, sounding like the faint rustle of an ancient melody.

Yu Fan’s gaze penetrated the dimness, focusing deep within the tower’s base, where an ancient cauldron lay firmly imprisoned under heavy stone seals. Moss and mottled runes, aged by time, cloaked its surface as if guarding untold secrets.

He paced gently to the edge of the abyss, eyes blazing like torches, his heart stirred by an indescribable impulse. The air around him seemed to solidify in response to his determination, every breeze carrying whispers of antiquity that softly echoed in his ears.

His steps grew even more resolute in the gloom, each one stirring centuries of accumulated dust, generating faint reverberations. Holding a talisman shimmering with faint light—like a key to an unknown world—he slowly ventured into the abyss below.

The air grew heavier with his descent; the ancient aura nearly tangible, entwining around him. Shadows stretched from his figure under the dim light, cast upon the uneven stone walls in twisted, eerie shapes.

Deeper down, Yu Fan distinctly felt a suffocating, immense force awakening. The tower’s base seemed to harbor an ancient, vast will, silently communicating with him in imperceptible ways.

His heartbeat quickened with this awareness, yet his eyes shone with unprecedented resolve and curiosity. Finally, standing at the abyss’s deepest point, he looked up at the partially stone-sealed cauldron and silently vowed, “Whatever lies ahead, I must leave this place.”

His eyes burned steadfast in the darkness. Stomping lightly, the ground trembled faintly beneath his power.

The air at the tower’s base seemed to congeal with every breath, heavy and echoing.

He lifted his gaze to the summit, towering and cloud-piercing, yet locked behind layers of stone seals.

Yu Fan inhaled deeply, suddenly radiating a dazzling light. His inner spiritual energy coalesced into a ring of silver ripples, delicate and intricate, enveloping his entire form.

At his command, the ring transformed into a pair of translucent wings, fluttering softly with crisp, clear sounds. His figure shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, plunging into the bottomless abyss below.

As he gradually retracted the wings, the spiritual ring dissipated into specks of silver light that merged into his body, leaving only a faint ripple of spiritual energy lingering in the air.

Yu Fan stood firm, eyes like blazing stars, surveying the strange scene beneath the abyss.

His right hand slowly extended, fingertips trembling as warm, gentle vital energy flowed from his palm, forming a soft beam that tore through the boundless darkness like the first light of dawn, barely illuminating several feet ahead.

The surrounding shadows still swallowed everything in thick, sinister blackness.

Bang—

That sudden noise rang again, clearer and more thunderous, seemingly just a short distance from Yu Fan’s feet.

His heartbeat quickened. He took a swift step back with his right leg, planting firmly in a bow stance, lowering his center of gravity. Clenching both fists before his chest, his vital energy surged within, forming a thin protective aura around him, ready to withstand any impending assault.

His right hand rose like the morning star in the night sky, gathering vital energy into a slender beam of light that pierced the heavy darkness, illuminating a corner ahead.

Under the glow, the once chaotic space gradually took shape but remained suffused with chilling dread.

He held his breath, eyes scanning carefully along the beam’s reach, his heartbeat pounding loudly against the profound silence.

Just as the light neared the ground, a strange gleam caught his attention. Yu Fan’s body tensed involuntarily; his right foot swiftly kicked back, his figure slightly turning. Both fists clenched, poised for any sudden threat.

As his gaze lowered, the gleam became clear—a scattering of human bones sprawled across the ground, pale and ghastly under the faint light. Some bones were entwined with tattered fragments of decayed clothing, a grim sight that pierced the soul.

Yu Fan drew back his leg and gently patted his chest, as if soothing his heart racing from the shock. He exhaled slowly, eyes drifting over the scattered white bones, their ghostly sheen lending an even more sinister atmosphere in the weak light.

Forcing calm upon himself, he carefully stepped around the gruesome remains, each step heavy as though the dust beneath whispered mournful tales of the past.

Suddenly, an icy chill wind blew up from the deeper abyss, carrying an indescribable cold that made Yu Fan shiver involuntarily.

The wind stirred dust and torn scraps of cloth, swirling in the air before slowly descending to rest once more upon this silent, lifeless ground.

Yu Fan clenched his fists tightly, fingertips paling from the strain. His eyes widened as he vigilantly scanned the surroundings, wary of any unknown danger lurking in the dark.

Muttering quietly to himself—his voice surprisingly clear in the quiet abyss, tinged with a hint of nervousness—he said, “Am I doomed? So many bones... maybe I should just leave quickly.”

“Such bad luck, running into these strange things. But maybe ahead, there’s treasure, or some peerless power that’s enchanted so many,” he added with a slight smile.

Yu Fan’s lips curled into a wry grin. “Fortune’s coming my way, the lucky star shines on me, Yu Fan! Ha ha ha!”

He kicked a bone that threatened to trip him far aside, stirring a small cloud of dust. A reckless smile played on his lips, his voice carrying self-mockery and boldness: “To hell with it! Today, I’m stepping onto the road of riches. A few bones won’t stop me!”

With another powerful kick, he sent a skeletal remnant tumbling deeper into the darkness. The dull thud echoed faintly, dust rippling outward in tiny waves.

His smile grew wider, eyes sparkling with a fearless curiosity toward the unknown, and a proud declaration of his own fate.

“To hell with it! Today, I make my fortune!” Yu Fan declared earnestly. “Who says humble Yu can’t rise one day?”

He let out a low roar that reverberated through the cavernous abyss, filled with defiance and confidence.

His steps grew ever firmer, each one striking with unprecedented momentum, as if even the surrounding chill and darkness quivered before him.

He reached out to brush the rough stone wall beside him, fingertips tracing the marks left by time—each crack telling stories of bygone eras.

He imagined the endless treasures or peerless secrets awaiting him ahead, capable of propelling him far beyond his current fate.