With the door open, the Mater's group continued their journey, but there wasn't much distance left to cover. A couple steps from the door was the edge of the ground they stood on, and beyond that was a barrier sealing a black entity.
One of them fumbled to the ground after one look at the entity, but even those standing weren't free of the cold sensation of death that gripped their hearts. Some of them, including Mater, had already guessed that this wasn't a treasury while on the staircase, but it was shocking to see what was really being held here. It didn't seem to have a fixed shape, so all they saw was a black wave that covered the ground, rampaging inside a flickering barrier. Even though the barrier was several feet below them, the oppressive presence of the being within it filled the room.
"What is that?!"
That was the question that all of them wanted the answer to, but none of them could provide it. Mater had believed that even if it wasn't treasure, whatever was held here had to be valuable, but he didn't know what this black thing was or had any idea how to defeat it. Even his greed couldn't overcome his survival instinct, so he was about to order a retreat, but then a sudden earthquake shook the precipice they stood on. Without their cultivations, they weren't able to use flying artifacts, so all they could do was try their best to maintain their balance.
The young man that had fallen upon seeing the sealed black creature had the easiest time keeping his balance since he was down on all four limbs, but that didn't end up being to his benefit.
"Run!"
When the shaking created cracks in the precipice, everyone else hurriedly headed towards the entrance, but he had to crawl his way there since standing was too difficult during the quake. No one in this group was compassionate enough to help him and fate rejected the option of waiting for him, so when the precipice shattered and fell towards the barrier, he was among the rubble.
"No! No! Ahhh!!"
The lucky survivors thought he would crash into the barrier and be crushed by the rubble, but instead, he slipped through the barrier, an arguably worse option for him and the worst possibility for the spectators, who thought themselves safe.
"Curses! I'm too late."
The remainder of Mater's group was surprised to see the red spirit hovering above them, but she had no interest in them. Her eyes were focused on the rampaging monstrosity engulfing the young man in its body. Compared to its size, the young man's body was tiny, but his flesh, blood, and energy would be enough to invigorate it.
"Leave, quickly. Though you bear some of the blame, I'm reluctant to hand that thing any more snacks."
Mater and the rest didn't see any reason to go against the spirit, so they made their exit. Once they left the area, the red spirit floated over to the space above the barrier. The persistent tremors caused pieces of the ceiling to fall, but no rubble could invade her airspace as she watched the filthy creature. The black sludge had gathered to form the shape of a four-legged animal with a long, thick tail and five heads. It was smaller than before, but the red spirit knew that this only made it more dangerous.
Once its form had stabilized, the creature aimed at the barrier and released a loud screech. Despite protecting her ears, the red spirit still grimaced at the sound and her surroundings didn't fare much better. The falling rubble turned to dust and the barrier caging the creature cracked in several places.
"As I thought. The manor that that child mentioned must have persistently harvested the bounty of this land. Though it's my fault for not putting better restrictions in place, the current resources within the sanctuary won't be enough to suppress it, especially not now when it's regaining its intelligence. Perhaps I should just..., No. If this is the land that he once reigned, then as ##### I should at least make a show of protecting it."
Waiting for the moment when the creature inevitably escaped the seal, the red spirit gathered her strength and bided her time.
Elsewhere, Kate's group hadn't gotten any closer to finding an exit, but they had made some progress in deciding a plan. By studying the changes affecting the space, they could discover that the exit was closed in order to reinforce the seal spread throughout the sanctuary and so once that seal was broken or became dormant, the exit would reveal itself. Unfortunately, in the event that the seal was broken, the space itself would also become unstable, so they would have to leave as soon as possible.
"It's a shame I didn't get a chance to punch Mater or that scum who had me chased around," said Kate.
While waiting for the exit to appear, the group returned to the forest in front of the palace wreckage. They didn't see it, but the creatures inside the Spirit Nest had noticed the danger inside their home and were causing chaos since they couldn't escape, so the forest was now more of a savanna.
"It'll have to wait for another time. I do agree though, a chance to fight against them without the interference of elders is rare," Reinhart responded.
None of them had foreseen these events, so they had to go back to the drawing board. Given the underhandedness of Mater's faction, there would be tough days ahead, but there was a good chance that they could at least slow Mater's momentum since it was largely his fault that the Spirit Nest was put in this condition.
However, if they were truly disappointed that they weren't able to have a fight against Mater's group, then hope was not lost.
"Look everyone, it seems like it's our turn to take the initiative."
As the first one to notice them, Shui directed the others to the sight of Mater's group breaking out of the wreckage of the fallen palace. Some might call it cowardly to attack someone while they were unaware, but even Reinhart, who was normally against injustice, was willing to turn a blind eye in this case.
Ignorant of the hunters who had caught them in their sights, Mater's group extracted themselves from the rubble. Given that the palace was a cover for a seal, they had ended up empty-handed after so much effort, but no one complained about it to Mater. Mater was also disappointed by this outcome, but he recognized that they weren't completely free from danger yet.
"Dal, Riot. Check if there are any nearby groups that haven't left the Spirit Nest yet. If they seem useful, then this is a good chance to win their favour by warning them of the danger. If they refuse to listen, then bring back their keepsakes."
Although he hinted at taking advantage of the chaos to rob and murder his fellow disciples, none of them presented any objections.
"Understood."
"Order received."
Dal and Riot moved to carry out Mater's order, but they were soon forced back to Mater's side.
"To have such insidious thoughts in a time of emergency. You truly aren't fit to lead us, Eldest Brother."
With Pon at the lead, Kate's group revealed themselves, looking down at Mater and his followers from the bottom of a short hill. They had intended to launch a powerful attack while they were together, but Mater's malicious order forced them to change their plans. It was a shame, but they didn't plan on losing a head-on confrontation either.