Re-birth: The Beginning after the End-Chapter 196: OUTDATED TEXTS

Li Hua’s wood essence integrated perfectly with the eastern array, her spiritual energy filling the fractures with living power. Beneath her palms, the flickering formations stabilized, lines of golden light strengthening as they reconnected with the ship’s main defense system. The barrier that had been failing moments before now glowed with renewed intensity, pushing back against the crimson lightning that probed its surface.

Around the vessel, other disciples achieved similar success with their assigned arrays. The elite cultivators’ spirit beasts added their own power to the defenses—Sun Wei’s Thunder Eagle absorbing and redirecting lightning strikes, Liu Fei’s Golden Crane creating wind barriers that deflected cloud tendrils, Zhao Jun’s Frost Wolf generating ice formations that somehow dampened the storm’s electrical discharges.

At the helm, Elder Fu worked with precise, economical movements, his centuries of experience evident in how he guided the vessel through the narrowest passages between storm cells. His weathered hands traced complex patterns in the air, each gesture adjusting their course or reinforcing a vulnerable section of the barrier.

"Hold steady!" he called out as the vessel plunged into the heart of the storm. For several breathless moments, the world outside disappeared completely, replaced by swirling crimson energy that enveloped them like a living cocoon. The barrier around the ship flickered and strained but held firm.

Then, as suddenly as they had entered, they emerged from the other side. The storm raged behind them, but ahead lay clear skies and something else—a shimmering veil of translucent energy stretching from horizon to horizon, rippling with subtle patterns that seemed to shift even as Li Hua tried to focus on them.

"The boundary," Mo Xing murmured beside her, his voice carrying a note she couldn’t quite identify. Not fear, not exactly reverence either—something more complex, like recognition tinged with memory.

Elder Fu’s voice carried across the deck, steady and satisfied. "Well done, disciples. Release your arrays gradually—sudden power changes can destabilize the barriers." His weathered face showed approval as he surveyed the intact vessel.

"We’ll cross the boundary in an incense stick of time," Elder Fu announced, his weathered face showing satisfaction at their successful navigation. "I suggest you rest and restore your spiritual energy before then."

Li Hua finally released her connection to the eastern array, feeling the familiar hollowness that came with significant energy expenditure. Her legs trembled slightly as she straightened, the aftermath of channeling so much power in such a focused manner.

"Impressive work, Little Tempest," Mo Xing commented, his steadying hand appearing at her elbow though she hadn’t seen him move. "Your wood essence integrated with the formations as if they were designed for each other."

"Thank you," she responded, as she looked out toward the barrier.

She settled onto a meditation cushion, her back straight despite her earlier exertion. From her inner space, she retrieved the ancient text on forbidden zones that she’d been studying earlier. The book’s pages felt unusually warm beneath her fingers, as if its contents somehow resonated with their proximity to the actual boundary.

Her eyes traced passages about the Whispering Forest that lay just beyond the veil—how its trees possessed a form of consciousness, how they communicated with each other through root systems that stretched for miles beneath the earth, how cultivators who entered without proper protection often found their spiritual energy slowly siphoned away.

Other disciples had retreated to their own spaces to meditate or converse in hushed tones. Occasionally, she caught fragments of nervous speculation about what lay ahead, but her focus remained on the weathered pages before her.

As she turned to a chapter on protective formations, she felt rather than saw Mo Xing settle nearby. Unlike the other disciples who kept their distance, he claimed the space beside her with casual ownership, his shoulder nearly touching hers as he produced his own text—an ancient scroll with symbols she didn’t recognize.

Neither spoke, but the silence between them held a comfortable quality—as if they had shared countless such moments before.

As she turned the page, her attention caught on a detailed illustration of the Forbidden Zone’s most common inhabitants. The text described spirit beasts that had adapted to the Zone’s unique environment over countless generations.

The Mist Leopards dominated the forest regions—sleek predators with fur that absorbed surrounding spiritual energy, allowing them to blend perfectly with their environment. Unlike ordinary leopards, they hunted in small packs, using coordinated tactics that displayed intelligence far beyond normal animals. Their claws could shear through even high-grade defensive talismans.

Shadow Owls nested in the ancient trees, their feathers black as night yet somehow reflecting starlight that wasn’t there. They hunted not for flesh but for spiritual essence, swooping down silently to extract vital energy from unwary travelers. The text noted that their haunting calls often mimicked human voices, luring cultivators away from safe paths.

Most dangerous were the Boundary Vipers—serpents that had evolved to thrive in the zone’s chaotic energies. Growing up to twenty feet long, these snakes possessed scales that naturally absorbed and redirected spiritual attacks. Their venom contained trace elements of boundary essence, causing not just physical symptoms but temporary disruption to a cultivator’s spiritual pathways. A single bite could render even elite disciples incapable of accessing their spiritual cores for days.

Li Hua carefully noted the identification markers and weaknesses of each creature. The Mist Leopards couldn’t maintain their camouflage in direct sunlight. Shadow Owls were susceptible to certain sound-based cultivation techniques. Boundary Vipers, despite their fearsome abilities, moved sluggishly in cold weather and avoided flowing water.

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She was studying a passage about the spiritual ecosystem of the Whispering Forest when Mo Xing spoke, his voice quiet enough that only she could hear.

"The text is outdated on one point," he murmured, his finger lightly tapping a paragraph describing the Mist Leopards’ hunting territory. "They’ve expanded beyond the western groves. We’ll likely encounter them throughout the forest now."

Li Hua glanced at him, curious about the source of his knowledge. His information seemed too specific to come from standard briefings or secondhand reports.

Mo Xing met her gaze with that enigmatic smile of his, offering nothing more than: "The Forbidden Zone changes, Little Tempest. Those who don’t keep current rarely return to update the texts."

Li Hua nodded thoughtfully, making a mental note of the updated information. Her fingers traced lightly over the illustration of the leopards, committing their distinctive markings to memory. In her previous life, such attention to detail had often meant the difference between life and death.