Chapter 76: The Awakening of the Abyss

The ground trembled as the monstrous entity loomed over the battlefield, its form shifting like a storm of shadows and spectral fire. It had no true face, only a mass of flickering energy, the voices of the dead whispering from within its depths. The souls of the Abyss had been gathered into one nightmarish force, and now, under Shen Longwei's command, it threatened to consume everything in its path.

Li Feng tightened his grip on his sword, his heart pounding as the oppressive weight of the entity pressed against his spirit. Beside him, Mei Lian and Yan Shun stood ready, though the fear in their eyes was impossible to ignore. Zheng Wei, barely standing, clenched his staff, his breath shallow but determined.

Shen Longwei stepped forward, his aura crackling with abyssal power. His once-human form had become something else entirely—his skin darkened like scorched earth, veins glowing with an eerie red light. His voice, when he spoke, was no longer entirely his own.

"You are witnessing the rebirth of the Abyss," he said, spreading his arms wide. "This power is eternal. The spirits that once haunted these ruins now serve me. And soon, so will you."

Yan Shun hesitated, the weight of his doubts pressing on him like an iron chain. He could still see his brother's face in the shadows of the past. His failure, his regret—it all threatened to swallow him whole. Mei Lian turned sharply toward him, her voice cutting through his haze of uncertainty.

"Yan Shun! Now is not the time for hesitation. We need you!" she snapped, her eyes blazing with urgency.

Still, he did not move.

The entity let out a low, echoing wail, and suddenly, spectral tendrils lashed out, surging toward them. Li Feng reacted on instinct, slicing through the first wave of darkness, his blade igniting in defiance. Mei Lian spun, her daggers flashing as she cut away another strike, but more were coming.

Zheng Wei raised his trembling hands, chanting an incantation. A barrier of light flared up around them, holding the entity's reach at bay, but only barely. "I… can't hold this forever," he gasped.

Shen Longwei smiled. "You won't have to."

He raised his own weapon—a curved, jagged blade pulsing with abyssal fire—and with a single downward slash, the ground beneath them cracked like glass.

A deafening roar erupted from the depths, and the battlefield began to shift. The ruins trembled, stones breaking apart as something beneath them awakened. The darkness of the Abyss grew deeper, swirling into a vortex of raw power. Then, as if the world itself had exhaled, the earth split open, revealing an enormous temple buried beneath the battlefield.

The temple was ancient, its massive dragon-shaped structure glowing faintly with forgotten energy. A stairway, jagged and broken, led downward into its depths, its entrance yawning like the maw of a beast. The air around it felt different—heavy, sacred, and untouched by time.

Li Feng's breath caught in his throat. "The Jade Abyss…"

Shen Longwei, unfazed, merely chuckled. "The true battlefield awaits."

The entity shrieked once more, its form twisting as it surged toward them again. Mei Lian grabbed Li Feng's wrist. "We need to move! If we stay out here, we won't survive another attack!"

Zheng Wei collapsed to one knee, his strength fading. "I can hold them off for a moment, but—"

"No," Li Feng said firmly, gripping his shoulder and helping him up. "We go together."

Yan Shun exhaled sharply, finally shaking himself free of his hesitation. "Then let's end this."

The group dashed toward the temple's entrance just as the entity lunged again. Shen Longwei and his forces did not pursue immediately—they didn't need to. They were all being drawn toward the same inevitable confrontation.

As Li Feng crossed the threshold into the temple, the weight of history pressed down on him. He knew, with chilling certainty, that once they entered, there would be no turning back.

The fate of the Abyss would be decided within these walls.