The Ash Trial Road

Chapter 9: The Ash Trial Road

The wind carried a strange silence.

It wasn't the peace of a still morning, but the unsettling quiet of something holding its breath. As Shen Liang stepped away from the ruins of the Forgotten Court, the once-flickering lotus flames along the shattered tiles dimmed, retreating into the earth like wary spirits.

Yue walked ahead of him, her robes brushing ash-streaked stone. She didn't speak, and for a while, neither did he. The path before them—the Ash Trial Road—stretched like a scar across the blackened landscape. It was once a pilgrimage route for Flame Lotus disciples, connecting seven sacred sanctuaries.

Now, it was a graveyard.

Dead trees, twisted by corruption, lined the road. They bore no leaves, only hanging talismans charred beyond recognition. The scent of scorched incense lingered faintly in the air.

The System broke the silence first.

[Quest Update: Ash Trial Road - Sanctuary Two: Ember Root Cavern]

[Distance: 23.4 kilometers. Threat Level: Tier 4 - Aberrant Flamewalkers detected.]

[Optional: Purify cursed talismans (0/33) – Rewards: +Affinity: Flame Spirits, +Hidden Skill Unlock]

Shen Liang exhaled, feeling the weight of the world return to his shoulders. "So the System wants me to walk through hell, light candles, and fight fire-demons."

"Pretty much," Yue said, glancing over her shoulder. "But at least you'll have company."

He gave a dry chuckle. "Comforting."

The two pressed forward. Shen Liang focused on his steps, feeling the cracked qi stones embedded beneath the road. Each one whispered faint echoes of battles long past, of cultivators who had walked this path centuries before him.

But as they reached the fourth mile, the ground trembled.

"Hold," Yue warned.

A fissure split the earth ahead. From within, a burst of corrupted flame erupted, licking the sky with purple and black tendrils. A grotesque figure crawled out—eight feet tall, its skin cracked and molten, with glowing embers for eyes.

[Aberrant Flamewalker – Tier 4]

[Weakness: Purified Flame, Embersoul Techniques, Lotus-Pattern Attacks]

It shrieked, a wail that shattered the quiet and summoned more from the nearby ruins. Three more Flamewalkers staggered out, their limbs twitching unnaturally as they scented qi.

Shen Liang raised his palm, summoning the Ashbind Chains with a twist of his fingers. Flaming coils erupted from his wrist, wrapping around his forearm like a gauntlet.

Yue vanished in a blink—Lotus Bloom Step—and reappeared behind the first Flamewalker, her blade humming as it slashed upward. The creature shrieked and exploded into a storm of sparks.

Shen Liang darted forward, ducking beneath a swipe and wrapping his chain around the second creature's legs. He yanked hard, pulling it off balance, then slammed a burst of qi-enhanced flame into its exposed chest.

The flames erupted, turning the monster into ash.

But the third and fourth lunged together.

"Liang!" Yue shouted.

He dropped into a defensive stance and activated his newest technique—Lotus Ward Flame. A spiraling shield of fire spun around him, absorbing the brunt of their charge. He retaliated with a blast of concentrated Embersoul Qi, his fist striking the nearest Flamewalker with a shockwave of heat that turned stone to slag.

The fourth creature hesitated—but only for a second.

That was all Yue needed.

Her blade cleaved downward in a lotus-shaped arc, cutting the Flamewalker clean in two. As it collapsed, its embers scattered across the road and snuffed out.

Silence returned.

Shen Liang straightened, panting, flames licking his fingertips before fading. He looked at the burnt corpses, then to Yue.

"Was that… just the start?"

She nodded grimly. "They'll come in greater numbers soon. This road is a test not just of strength, but of will. If your conviction wavers, the corruption feeds on it."

He glanced at the cursed talismans hanging on nearby trees—some twitching, as though alive. "So purifying those might help?"

Yue motioned for him to go ahead. "Think of it as your penance."

Shen Liang moved to the nearest talisman and raised his flaming palm. Concentrating, he infused it with a sliver of purified qi.

The paper hissed. Then burned clean.

[Talisman Purified: +1]

[1/33]

He smirked. "Only thirty-two to go."

They camped that night beneath a twisted shrine shaped like a half-bloomed lotus.

The corrupted forest pressed in on all sides, but Yue carved a protective barrier around them using ancient formations etched in luminous powder. Shen Liang sat at the edge of the shrine steps, the flame on his palm crackling gently as he held up the System interface.

[New Message Unlocked - Lotus Echo Archive]

He tapped it.

"To those who walk this path... know that we once believed our fire could burn forever. But in arrogance, we invited the sky to descend. We failed. If you read this, inherit not just our strength—but our sorrow."

He lowered his hand slowly.

Yue sat beside him. "That was the last Grand Elder's voice. I heard it once, long ago. It never changes."

Shen Liang looked up at the stars—faint and distant behind red haze. "Do you think... we'll do better?"

"I think," Yue said quietly, "we already are. You're not walking this path alone."

He glanced at her, and for a moment, in the dim firelight, she looked not like a mysterious blade-wielding warrior—but just a girl who had survived too much.

He smiled. "Then let's keep walking."

And together, they watched the flames dance in the night, both knowing that the true trials had only just begun.