Final Chamber! Accused of Crime?

"..."

Su Xiaobai approached cautiously, his footsteps barely audible against the cold, uneven floor of the cave.

Before him stood a fiery figure, bathed in an ethereal glow, her presence commanding yet calm.

Bai Yujian held a delicate parasol in her hands, her expression unreadable beneath the flickering light of the cave.

She stood beside the crumbling wall, her sharp eyes blinking slowly, as if deep in thought.

A surge of unease rippled through Su Xiaobai's chest. Did she know? Had she sensed what had happened?

And then the answer came, sudden and violent.

BOOM!

With a casual flick of her wrist, Bai Yujian unleashed a devastating wave of sword intent.

The energy shimmered with blinding light, like the edge of a blade cutting through the very air, before crashing into the wall.

The impact was immense—powerful enough to shatter stone, causing the entire cave to tremble.

Su Xiaobai's eyes narrowed. 'Sword intent?' The sheer force of it left him speechless.

Only cultivators who had fully committed themselves to the way of the sword could wield such power, and yet... she carried no sword.

His mind, trying to piece together how she could command such lethal intent without a weapon in hand.

As the wall crumbled beneath her attack, the cave groaned in protest, shaking violently. Dust and debris fell from the ceiling as cracks snaked their way through the rock.

Su Xiaobai's pulse quickened—this was the exit to the next level, and Bai Yujian had reached it before him.

The realization sent a jolt of surprise through him. Unlike him, she had the raw strength to tear through the formation effortlessly, her sword intent tearing the once-impenetrable seal apart.

The cave shook even more violently as the entire formation collapsed under the force of her attack.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

Stones began to fall from above, crashing around them like a violent rainstorm. Su Xiaobai's instincts screamed at him, his legs moving before his mind caught up.

He bolted toward the exit, dodging falling rocks as the tunnel began to collapse in on itself.

"There!"

"The exit!"

"Finally!"

Behind him, the disciples of Xiantian sect scrambled in desperation, their footsteps echoing in chaotic unison.

With the femoral formation destroyed, the cave's unnatural stasis shattered. Time resumed its endless march, the environment around them returning to its wild, unpredictable nature.

________

*BAM!*

Su Xiaobai stumbled out of the collapsing cave, wiping the sweat off his brow. His robes clung to his body, but that was the least of his worries.

The massive chamber before him was bathed in a dim, otherworldly glow, making the treasure at the center of the room shimmer like a seductress winking at him.

Whoosh!

There it was—a glowing chest, floating above an intricately carved altar, pulsing with an almost desperate, 'come touch me' aura.

"That's it... the treasure!" Liu Zhenhai gasped, eyes wide with barely-contained greed and relief.

He looked like a dog that had finally found the bone after all the damned trials they'd suffered in the cave.

Wang Fei licked his lips like a starving man eyeing his next meal. "What do you think's inside?"

Chen Yong strutted forward like a peacock, sneering. "Whatever it is, it's mine!" His voice carried that special blend of arrogance only someone who hadn't done shit could muster.

Fatty, now rejuvenated, wasn't having it. "And what exactly did you do to deserve it, huh? You hid behind the rest of us like a cowardly bitch the whole time."

Chen Yong's face darkened, his inner disciple status bruised. "Watch your mouth, outer disciple! We inner disciples have first rights to treasures like these."

Liu Zhenhai and Wang Fei nodded in agreement, their eyes fixed on the glowing chest like it was the answer to all their problems.

Amidst the rising tension, Xiao Yu wiped the sweat from his brow, still trying to catch his breath. He looked around, his expression tightening. "Wait... where's Lan Meiyu?"

"Hm?"

"Huh?"

The chamber fell silent as all eyes turned to the shadows, where a slow, deliberate figure emerged.

Lan Meiyu.

Her steps were steady, but the fury emanating from her was thick enough to cut through. Her chest rose and fell with heavy, labored breaths, and her robes—what was left of them—clung to her sweat-soaked body, torn in all the right places.

The flickering light of the chamber only made her look more dangerous... and, well, hotter than she had any right to.

Su Xiaobai had to swallow a bit harder than expected.

Shit.

Her curves were impossible to ignore, every movement making her look like some kind of avenging goddess. The fabric of her robe was barely hanging on, revealing smooth, flushed skin, her wild hair sticking to her glistening body. But it was her eyes—burning with murderous intent—that drew the everyone's attention.

She looked like she was moments away from burning the entire world to ashes.

And she was walking toward him.

'Oh fuck.'

He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up like they always did when something was about to go horribly wrong.

He forced a smile, trying to keep his cool, but a bead of sweat rolled down his temple. 'Don't act like a guilty bastard!'

Lan Meiyu's heaving chest, the slow sway of her hips, the angry flush of her skin—it all made her look damn irresistible. If he wasn't so sure she wanted to kill him, he might have appreciated it a bit more.

But her expression left no room for interpretation. Her eyes locked on Su Xiaobai, and her lips trembled with fury, barely containing the storm building inside her.

"I will kill you," she hissed through clenched teeth, her voice venomous.

Su Xiaobai's heart skipped a beat. 'Well, fuck me sideways. I should've known she'd come for me. But why the hell now?' His eyes darted around the room. 'I can't afford to look like the guilty asshole here.'

"Senior sister..." he began, trying to sound as confused as possible. "What are you talking about? Why would you—"

"Shut. Up." Her voice cracked with rage, her hands clenched into fists so tight her knuckles were white.

Su Xiaobai couldn't help but notice how the torn fabric of her robe exposed the curve of her thigh, slick with sweat.

Everyone else in the room noticed too, but nobody was about to point it out.

They were all watching like a bunch of rabbits caught in the glow of a fire, unable to look away.

Elder Bai, watching from a distance, raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "What is going on here?" She muttered.

Lan Meiyu's voice sharpened, "You... dared to lay your filthy hands on me in that cave!" Her breath hitched, her face flushed with a mix of fury and embarrassment as she pointed a trembling finger at Su Xiaobai. "You... molested me! Took advantage of me while I was trapped! I swear, I will kill you a thousand times over!"

Gasp!

A collective shock rippled through the chamber like a slap to the face.

"Did he really...?"

"This bastard...?"

"No fucking way..."

Su Xiaobai's mind raced, but he kept his expression calm, serene even. 'This bitch is really trying to ruin my good reputation in front of everyone. I can't let that happen.' His thoughts spun, but his outward appearance remained composed, a slight narrowing of his eyes the only indication of his inner panic.

"Senior sister, you must be mistaken," he said, his voice calm but laced with a tinge of sadness, like he was the one being wronged here. "I would never harm you. We're allies, aren't we? Why would you accuse me of something so horrible?"

Lan Meiyu's face twisted with rage, her chest rising and falling even faster now. "You liar!" she shrieked, her voice breaking.

Whoosh!

A sword materialized in her hand, glowing with pure, murderous sword intent. The pressure it emitted made the air hum with deadly energy, sending a wave of fear.

Elder Bai stepped forward, his frown deepening. "What is this about?"