Chapter 58: Secrets in the Ashes

The air was thick with the scent of charred wood and dust as Li Feng and his allies moved deeper into the ruins. The sun hung low, its dim light barely piercing the crumbling stone pillars and weathered statues that stood like sentinels around them. The wind howled through the broken corridors, whispering secrets of the past, yet there was an eerie stillness beneath it all.

"Are you sure about this?" Mei Lian asked, arms folded, her sharp gaze fixed on Zheng Wei, who staggered slightly with each step. "You're barely standing."

Zheng Wei gave a weak chuckle. "And yet, I am still walking." He gestured toward the ruins ahead. "If these markings are correct, there should be a hidden chamber beyond that archway. We can rest there and search for supplies."

Yan Shun, who had remained brooding since their retreat from the Vault, exhaled sharply. "This is madness. We barely escaped with our lives, and now we're walking into another death trap."

Li Feng stopped abruptly, turning to face him. "If you have a better idea, I'd love to hear it."

Yan Shun glared at him. "Yeah. Stop using that cursed talisman."

The accusation hit like a blade. Mei Lian stepped in before the tension could boil over. "He's right, Li Feng. Something is changing in you. Every time you use it, you become... different."

"Different?" Li Feng clenched his fists. "I used it to save us."

"Did you?" Yan Shun's voice was laced with skepticism. "Or did it use you?"

Li Feng's grip tightened on the talisman tucked beneath his robes. He knew the answer but refused to say it aloud.

The argument was cut short when Mei Lian suddenly tensed. "We're not alone."

They instinctively fell into defensive positions. Li Feng reached for his sword while Yan Shun scanned the ruins. The Celestial Mirror at Mei Lian's side pulsed with energy, the surface shimmering.

"Something is reacting to it," Zheng Wei murmured, watching as the mirror's surface twisted into an illusionary haze.

Then, it happened.

A vision unfolded before them, the ruins flickering with ghostly images. The broken stone walls reformed, revealing an undamaged temple bathed in moonlight. At the center stood a familiar figure—Lady Yuexiang.

She was speaking with a hooded figure, their voices distant yet sharp.

"The celestial alignment is drawing near," Lady Yuexiang said, her voice eerily calm. "Everything is in place. The cycle must continue."

"You are playing with forces beyond your control," the hooded figure warned. "Even you cannot predict what will come of it."

The image wavered, then shattered like glass, leaving only silence behind.

Mei Lian swallowed hard. "She was here."

"And she knew about the celestial alignment long before any of us," Yan Shun muttered. "What else has she been hiding?"

Before they could process it, Zheng Wei gasped. "Over here!"

He had stumbled into a hidden alcove where ancient scrolls and carved tablets lay in a heap. His fingers brushed across the markings, eyes widening as he deciphered the script.

"This... this is a lost scripture," he whispered. "It speaks of the Black Phoenix Talisman."

Li Feng immediately knelt beside him. "What does it say?"

Zheng Wei swallowed, his voice hesitant. "It wasn't meant to be wielded by one person alone. The talisman's power is bound by two forces—one representing balance and one representing chaos. If the balance is lost..."

His voice trailed off as the ground beneath them began to tremble.

Mei Lian's eyes darted upward. "What did you touch?!"

"Nothing!" Zheng Wei yelped. "I think someone—or something—doesn't want us reading this."

The ruins groaned as stone cracked and dust fell from above. A deep rumble resonated through the temple.

Yan Shun cursed. "We triggered something. We need to get out—"

A deafening roar cut him off.

A massive stone slab collapsed in front of the exit, sealing them inside.

The chamber plunged into chaos as ancient mechanisms clicked and groaned, something shifting deep within the temple.

And then, from the darkness, figures began to move.