Chapter 50: The Path to the Abyss

The tremors had finally begun to settle, but the chamber still carried the scent of dust and scorched stone. Li Feng sheathed his sword with a quiet exhale, his body aching from the relentless battle. Around him, his allies gathered, bruised but breathing.

Across the chamber, the Celestial Mirror shimmered, its surface no longer swirling with chaotic energy. The trial was over.

But the real danger had only just begun.

Yan Shun clenched his fists, eyes fixed on the gaping passage beyond the mirror's altar. "Shen Longwei isn't retreating. He's heading deeper."

Zheng Wei groaned, leaning heavily against his staff. "How much deeper does this place go?"

Yan Shun's expression was grim. "If the records are true… far enough that even the Jade Empress herself feared what lay within."

Mei Lian turned to Li Feng. "Then we don't have a choice. We follow him."

Li Feng nodded. His exhaustion was bone-deep, but there was no turning back now.

Before they could move forward, a pulse of light flickered across the Celestial Mirror's surface. Mei Lian tensed as the mirror's energy surged outward, wrapping around her like invisible threads.

Her breath caught.

The chamber around her blurred and twisted. A vision took hold.

She saw a courtyard—ornate, pristine, lit by the glow of lanterns. Two figures stood before her. A man and a woman, their faces soft yet strained. They reached out to her, but before she could take their hands—

A shadow loomed over them.

Lady Yuexiang.

She stood over their fallen forms, the Celestial Mirror cradled in her hands, its light reflecting in her cold, unreadable gaze.

Mei Lian's chest tightened. This can't be real.

The vision shifted. Yuexiang turned her head—her piercing gaze meeting Mei Lian's across time.

A whisper brushed against her ears.

"You were never meant to find the mirror, child."

The vision shattered.

Mei Lian staggered backward, her breath ragged. The others turned to her in alarm.

"Mei Lian?" Li Feng stepped forward. "What happened?"

Her hands trembled. The image of Lady Yuexiang standing over her parents burned into her mind. She swallowed hard, trying to steady herself.

"Nothing," she murmured, voice hollow. "It's nothing."

But deep down, she knew the truth.

The Celestial Mirror hadn't just shown her a memory. It had shown her a warning.

A sudden rumble filled the chamber.

At the far end of the room, a massive stone door groaned open, revealing a descent into pure darkness. The air beyond it was thick, heavy with something ancient and unseen.

Yan Shun's eyes narrowed. "The Abyssal Vault."

Zheng Wei shivered. "That name alone makes me want to turn back."

Li Feng exhaled sharply. "No turning back." He looked at the others. "Shen Longwei is after something beyond the mirror. We stop him here, or we risk losing everything."

Mei Lian hesitated for only a moment before nodding. Whatever the truth about Lady Yuexiang, she would find it on the path ahead.

One by one, they stepped forward, passing through the ancient threshold.

The stone door rumbled again.

Then, with an eerie finality, it slammed shut behind them.

Sealing them inside the Abyss.