Chapter 14: The hidden cave pool.

"Ahem. Are you not enjoying yourself?" A voice called out from the right of him in Chinese.

Haru was surprised. He didn't hear or see anybody come over to him. In fact, he probably wouldn't have ever noticed unless they spoke. He turned to see it was the old guy who smiled at him from the gate.

"It isn't that. Erm... I will just be honest. I don't trust you guys. You have kept to yourselves for hundreds of years, but now you willingly accept a bunch of students from another country into your home. It doesn't make sense to me." The old man looked at Haru and his eyes widened slightly.

"You speak Chinese? I didn't expect that. But I can see where you are coming from. I think if I was in your situation, I would think the same thing. But it is like you have been told. We made a deal with your government to teach all of you for two months." He said whilst skipping over the details.

The old man suddenly looked up towards the ceiling. "Sorry. I have to go. I hope we get the chance to talk once again." And just like that, he vanished.

One second, he was there and the next he was gone. Haru was once again confused.

'How did he? He definitely didn't use magic or I would have felt a mana fluctuation. Is this how cultivation works? There is no sign of him using anything. Even the people in this room. When they walk around, I don't sense them moving. It is throwing me off. I need to get out of this place.' He thought before making his exit without anyone realizing.

The night breeze was calming and the only noise that could be heard was the sound coming from the grand hall he had just been in. As Haru walked around this place, he realized it was more like a city hidden deep in the mountains. There wasn't any sign of technology apart from the lux on his wrist.

He followed one of the many pathways leading into a forest-like area. He walked and walked deep into the forest, not looking back. After about an hour of walking, he looked around. It was peaceful out here. It was just what he needed to reset. His mind was now clear. He no longer felt uneasy.

He then thought back to what was making him feel uneasy. It was the way the cultivators moved. There was no sign of life. It was almost like they were no longer human. How could they move so peacefully? It was like watching a wild animal. His brain failed to recognize these people as humans because they had no presence.

It was a strange power he didn't understand, but he did understand it was probably why they haven't been discovered for hundreds of years. Their power was so great that ordinary people wouldn't even realise they existed.

He looked around at his surroundings, it was devoid of any life. But it was also soothing to have so much silence within a space as big as this. The chilly night air made steam rise from his mouth every time he breathed. On all sides of him were hundreds of trees and wildflowers lining the edge of the pathway.

He walked for what seemed like forever before he came to a deep cavern. Haru looked down over the edge and saw nothing but darkness staring back at him. He couldn't resist the temptation. "ECHO!" He shouted down into the emptiness.

There was silence for a few seconds before his voice boomed back towards him. He chuckled to himself before sitting at the edge and lightly humming a song into the abyss. Halfway through the song, a deep growl began to emerge from the darkness rising up and creeping closer with every second that passed.

The sound suddenly stopped. Haru peaked his head over the edge. As he looked down there was a slight sign of movement. He looked closer before his head was almost decapitated. A flash of white flew past his head at an unimaginable speed.

An eagle with a wingspan of around ten meters flew up into the sky and floated in mid-air. It was casually riding the hot air current the cavern produced. It looked towards Haru with a gaze of happiness. Haru sat back down and began to hum the rest of the tune into the cavern. Just before he finished completely the eagle flew high into the clouds before plummeting straight back down into the cavern. As it flew past again it seemed to be chirping the same tune Haru had sung for it.

'Time to head back.' Haru thought before making his way back into the woods.

He was impressed by everything that he had seen today. Especially the scene he had just witnessed. Since the cultivators didn't use magic, he assumed that it wasn't just a magical beast he had just seen. It was most likely a beast that stepped onto the path of cultivation with its own intelligence.

Haru was lost deep in thought as he walked through the forest further and further until he came to a dead end. There was just a cliff face in front of him. He looked at the ground again.

'Why would anyone make a path toward a cliff? Unless they climbed the cliff? I wonder what could be up there.' He thought before reaching out and touching the cliff preparing to climb it. As he reached out his hand went straight through the rocks.

"Wait, what is this?" Haru whispered as he put his left hand onto the rock also. It went right through.

This was similar to the illusion magic people used to hide valuables in plain sight. There was also no sign of mana anywhere nearby. If it wasn't for the path that leads up to the cliff, he would never have expected anything to be there. He slowly pushed his head through the illusion and then followed by the rest of his body.

It was pitch black. There wasn't a single sign of light.

[Illuminate]

He cast a small light spell that would make a ball of light float two feet in front of his face. The whole place lit up. It was a dark, wet cave and there was a little trickle of water flowing further down into the cave. Haru bent down and touched the water.

"Ouch, it's hot!" He said as the water burnt his fingertips. "Is this place a hot spring?" He wondered and began to walk further and further into the cave until he came to a dimly lit room within.

The light from his spell seemed to be reflecting off something. He slowly poured more mana into his spell, lighting up the whole cave in doing so. He looked at the sight before him in shock. It was a large pool of water with a small amount of steam rising from the surface.

He began to take off his clothes. "Who would have expected a hidden hot spring? This place is truly beautiful." He said to himself before testing the water with his foot.

It was nice. The water wasn't too hot. It was at the perfect temperature like it was made specifically for him. Haru slowly entered the water until he was neck-deep within it. He slowly lifted his feet from the floor and began to float on the surface. It was when his ears went beneath the water, he felt strange.

He took his head out of the water instantly. 'What was that?' He thought before slowly putting his head under once again. He heard a slight noise coming from under the surface. He listened as best as he could but couldn't make sense of it at all.

It sounded like a voice calling out to him. It was smooth and gentle.

[Wind Barrier]

Haru made a barrier of wind in front of his mouth and nose so he could breathe whilst being underwater. He tried to locate the sound but it was useless. The closer he thought was getting the further away it sounded. He then looked down beneath him. He had swum so far out into the pool that he could no longer see the bottom.

'What if?' Was his final thought before deciding to swim down deeper into the pool.

As he dived deeper, he began to see a flash of light. It faded between bright and dim every time the voice played on a loop.

'Haha, I found it.' He realised he had found the source of the noise. He swam faster and faster towards whatever it was. As he got closer, the water around him began to heat up quite dramatically.

[Cooling Breeze]

A light layer of ice formed over his body. But it was no use. His magic was useless against the heat of the water. He decided to turn back before It would get too dangerous to carry on. He looked up toward the surface. There was nothing but darkness.

[COOLING BREEZE] [COOLING BREEZE] [COOLING BREEZE!]

He had to activate the spell as every second he spent in the water would break through his magic.

When suddenly the voice became clearer. "Those who try shall perish. Those who perish shall return alive." Each time Haru activated his magic the pain of the boiling water increased more and more until he was on the verge of consciousness.

"Those who try shall perish. Those who perish shall return alive." The voice seemed to shout out to him.

[Break]

He used the last of his strength to destroy both of his spells. He could no longer breathe.

Haru tried his best to swim towards the surface but suddenly he felt a force pulling him deeper down into the depths of the pool. The more he struggled the more the force increased. The water temperature began to increase more and more before he couldn't bear the pain anymore. Haru cried out as water rushed into his mouth and then down into his lungs. He looked down back towards the light as it became brighter and brighter before his vision faded to black.