Re-birth: The Beginning after the End-Chapter 217: CORRUPTED LAKE
Li Hua opened her eyes as the first hint of dawn painted the sky with pale gold. The night's cultivation had replenished her spiritual reserves, leaving her meridians humming with refined energy. Beside her, Mo Xing was already emerging from his meditative state, his golden eyes catching the early light as they opened.
She found herself studying him with newfound awareness—noticing details that had always been present but never before registered with such clarity. The elegant veins that traced paths beneath the skin of his large hands captured her attention as he moved with deliberate grace. Those hands fascinated her; powerful enough to wield weapons with devastating precision, yet impossibly gentle when they held hers. The contradiction delighted her—how his palms were somehow both soft and marked with cultivator's callouses, telling the story of his dedication to strength training.
The memory of pressing her lips to his knuckles surfaced unbidden, along with the discovery that the scent of night bloom flowers was strongest there. The thought brought warmth to her cheeks.
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Without a word, they rose and began collecting their things—she tucking away the delicate tea set while he folded the silk blanket with practiced efficiency. The comfortable silence between them carried none of the previous night's tension, yet the memory of their exchange lingered like a promise suspended in time.
As they approached the main camp, they found the other disciples already in motion, packing supplies and preparing for the day's journey. Elder Fu stood at the center of activity, his weathered face serene as he monitored the preparations with the patience of centuries.
The disciples gradually formed a circle around him, conversations fading to attentive silence. "We should reach the northern shore of the Eternal Lake by midday," Elder Fu announced, his voice carrying just enough for Li Hua and Mo Xing to hear as they stood behind the group. His eyes swept over the disciples with quiet intensity. "Remember the rules—speak no names while we travel, and maintain formation at all times."
Everyone nodded in solemn acknowledgment of Elder Fu's instructions and began moving into position. The expedition formed its traveling formation with practiced ease, elite disciples taking protective positions around the perimeter while Elder Fu led from the front.
The path grew steeper as they ascended the final ridge separating them from their destination. Mist clung to the ancient stones, obscuring visibility and forcing the disciples to rely on their spiritual senses rather than sight alone.
Li Hua found herself unconsciously matching her steps to Mo Xing's. Occasionally, their hands would brush—seemingly by accident—sending ripples of warmth through her. Once they reached more flat terrain, where the path widened between ancient pines, Mo Xing deliberately reached for her hand, his fingers confidently entwining with hers in a gesture that felt both possessive and protective.
Li Hua smiled, savoring the warmth of his palm against hers. This simple connection was becoming more addictive with each passing day, a silent language of touch that conveyed more than words ever could.
As the group neared the lake, something fundamental shifted in the environment around them. The ambient spiritual energy, which had grown increasingly refined and nourishing throughout their journey, suddenly turned acrid and unstable. The air itself seemed to thicken, carrying a metallic taste that coated the tongue and burned the lungs.
"Something's wrong," Li Hua whispered, instinctively slowing her steps. "The spiritual signature ahead doesn't match Elder Fu's descriptions."
Mo Xing's golden eyes narrowed in concentration. "The terrain has been altered," he confirmed, his voice tight with unexpected tension.
Li Hua watched as Elder Fu, a minute later, held up a hand and the group stopped. The sight that greeted them shattered all expectations. Instead of the pristine spiritual waters described in ancient texts, they beheld a landscape of corruption. The Eternal Lake still existed, but its waters had turned viscous and dark, bubbling with unnatural fermentation that released plumes of miasmic vapor. The shore wasn't rimmed with vibrant vegetation but rather scorched earth—blackened soil that appeared to have been subjected to intense heat or caustic essence.
The overwhelming smell of iron assaulted their senses—not the clean scent of mineral deposits but the unmistakable odor of blood. Vast quantities of it had soaked into the ground, creating patterns that pulsed with faint, sickly luminescence under the sunlight.
"This isn't natural degradation," Mo Xing observed, his usual composure giving way to genuine concern. "The lake has been corrupted by something."
Elder Fu turned to face the disciples, his expression hardening into a mask of controlled concern. "Walk along the outer edge and stay close together," he commanded, his voice leaving no room for question. "We must verify whether the crimson flowers still grow in this location. If not, we withdraw from the lake immediately."
The disciples nodded in acknowledgment, several of them pinching their noses against the lake's metallic stench. Even the elite disciples seemed unsettled by the miasma that hung over the corrupted waters.
Li Hua felt Mo Xing's hand on her shoulder as he subtly repositioned her to his left side, placing his body between her and the lake's ominous shore. The protective gesture didn't escape her notice, but she chose not to comment on it.
The expedition continued their cautious progress along the perimeter, with Mo Xing and Li Hua maintaining vigilant observation of the lake's surface.
Halfway to the northern shore, Li Hua's spiritual senses prickled with warning. Dark bubbles had begun to form where the corrupted waters met land—initially just small disturbances that might be dismissed as natural gases, but rapidly multiplying in both size and frequency until the viscous surface churned with violent, unnatural agitation.
She instinctively grasped Mo Xing's sleeve, her fingers tightening on the silk fabric. When he turned, his expression questioning, she merely directed his gaze toward the lake with a subtle nod. Understanding passed between them instantly—no words needed.
From these turbulent waters, abominations began to emerge—limbs pulling themselves from liquid as if birthing from primordial ooze, torsos coalescing from the miasmic mist, faces forming with features arranged in configurations that defied natural order. Each manifestation seemed to absorb the surrounding corruption, growing more substantial with every passing moment as they dragged themselves toward solid ground.
Li Hua's eyes widened in shock. She had never seen anything like this before. Honestly, they looked like something straight out of a horror movie from the modern world—not that she ever had time to watch them. She was always too busy. But she had caught glimpses of those eerie promotional clips whenever she passed through the city center, and this? This looked exactly like one of them.
A piercing scream cut through the heavy air—Mei Lin's voice, stripped of its usual fake sweetness had reduced to raw terror as she pointed toward the lake where three more entities were crawling toward the group. Around her, disciples froze in various postures of shock and horror, their cultivated composure shattering at the sight before them. Even Elder Fu's weathered features registered momentary alarm, his eyes narrowing as he raised his hand and summoned a protective formation that hummed with concentrated spiritual power.
