Chapter 64: The Buried Secret

The sky above the valley stretched vast and gray, heavy with the weight of an impending storm. The wind howled through the jagged peaks, carrying whispers of the past—echoes of long-forgotten battles that had taken place in this forsaken land.

Li Feng and his companions stood at the edge of the valley, gazing upon the remnants of war. Scattered across the rocky terrain were broken weapons, rusted armor, and skeletal remains frozen in battle. The valley was a graveyard, untouched by time.

Mei Lian broke the silence. "This place… It's not just ruins. It's a battlefield."

Yan Shun crouched beside a half-buried shield, brushing away centuries of dirt and dust. The emblem of the Azure Dragon Clan was etched into its surface, barely visible beneath the corrosion. He exhaled sharply. "And not just any battle—this was a massacre."

Zheng Wei, still weak but pushing forward, scanned the landscape. "It's as if time itself stopped here. These bodies weren't moved. They weren't buried. They just… remained."

Li Feng felt the weight of the Coiled Dragon Ring throb against his skin, reacting to something unseen. He clenched his fist as a sudden dizziness overtook him. His vision flickered, the world around him shifting.

The valley blurred into a mirage of fire and chaos. Li Feng staggered as ghostly figures emerged from the mist—warriors in azure and gold, their blades clashing with monstrous entities wreathed in shadows. The ground trembled beneath their battle cries.

A voice, ancient and deep, echoed in his mind. The celestial alignment… it was never about power. It was about a prison.

Li Feng gasped as the vision intensified. A towering beast loomed over the battlefield, its form shifting between solid and spectral, a mass of writhing darkness with eyes that burned like dying embers. Something far worse than Shen Longwei or Lady Yuexiang had once roamed these lands.

A warrior clad in Azure Dragon armor—his face familiar, yet unplaceable—raised his blade high, chanting a spell in a language lost to time. The battlefield erupted in an explosion of golden light, chains of celestial energy latching onto the beast.

The vision shattered.

Li Feng's breath came in ragged gulps as he collapsed to one knee, his heart hammering.

"Li Feng!" Mei Lian was at his side, gripping his arm.

He blinked hard, trying to steady himself. "I saw it," he panted. "The battle. The war that happened here wasn't for conquest. It was to seal something away."

Yan Shun's expression darkened. "You're saying the celestial alignment wasn't meant to bring power—but to keep something from escaping?"

Li Feng nodded, swallowing hard. "And we're walking straight toward it."

The wind howled again, carrying whispers through the valley. The Coiled Dragon Ring pulsed in warning.

Zheng Wei studied the shattered remnants of a banner still clutched in a long-dead warrior's grip. "If the Azure Dragon Clan fought to seal whatever was here, why would Shen Longwei or Yuexiang want to open it?"

Mei Lian's grip tightened around the Celestial Mirror. "Because they don't believe it's a prison. They believe it's a source of power."

Yan Shun exhaled sharply. "Then they're either fools… or they know something we don't."

A deep tremor rolled through the valley, causing the ground to shudder beneath them.

A terrible sound filled the air—the groan of shifting stone.

The group turned as one toward the base of the valley, where a massive fissure split the earth. Dust and debris rained down as an enormous gate—its surface covered in celestial inscriptions—began to open on its own.

The Gates of the Abyss.

A low, guttural sound rumbled from deep within, something ancient stirring at its core.

The final words of the temple inscription burned in Li Feng's mind.

"The twin flames shall decide the world's fate."

The ground beneath them trembled. The past was no longer buried.

It was waking up.

The gates continue to open as a chilling, spectral energy begins to seep from the darkness beyond. Li Feng and his allies have no choice—they must step forward before Shen Longwei reaches the abyss first.