Zhu Zhihao gave the final signal, pushing the heavy wooden doors open.
The air was cool and thick with the silence of millennia. A faint, residual energy from a long-dead protective array kept the hall dust-free, preserving it in a state of timeless abandonment. The soft scuff of their boots on the floor echoed in the vast, empty hall. Tall pillars of the same dark, unknown rock supported the roof.
”This… What is this place?” Fei Yan murmured, her voice, though soft, echoing slightly in the immense stillness.
”Look for clues,” Zhu Zhihao said, her voice low.
They moved farther into the hall. The walls were lined with massive, dark wooden plaques, carved with the same ancient, unreadable script from the gate.
This layout… Su Kang thought, his gaze sweeping the room. His mind flashed to the mission halls of the Heavenly Sword Sect. A place for assignments, for disciples to accept tasks. Many of the plaques were bare, but beneath some, empty alcoves and dark, vacant hooks suggested that tokens or tablets had once been displayed there.
”It seems this was a mission hall,” Zhu Zhihao said quietly, confirming his thought.
”If it’s true, then the administrative records, or maybe a scripture pavilion, would be on the upper floors,” Zhu Zhihao concluded, her gaze already fixed on the massive, dark stone staircase at the far end of the hall.
A brief search of the ground floor yielded nothing. The trio then ascended the stairs.
The second floor was just as vast but structured differently. One entire wall was a single, monolithic slab of polished black stone, its surface covered in a dense, cascading sea of engraved characters. Opposite this imposing wall, set back into the rock, were three small, open-faced pavilions, like shrines.
They approached the black wall first.
”This again,” Fei Yan sighed, running a finger near the carving, her polite smile tightening with a flicker of frustration.
”Don’t lose hope,” Zhu Zhihao said, her gaze sweeping the endless columns of text. “It appears to be a record of names. A roll of honor, perhaps. The script itself is a prize. Once we go back, I will be able to do something about this.”
She turned away, her attention drawn to the pavilions. They were clearly places of significance, each housing a stone pedestal. Most were empty, their treasures likely looted by the inhabitants long ago.
But not all.
The first pavilion held a few tattered scrolls, their bindings crumbling to the touch. Zhu Zhihao carefully unfurled one. Seeing the same unknown script, she rolled it back up and stored it within her ring. Though she couldn’t understand it now, she could study it later.
Su Kang watched her but made no move to claim any for himself. Deciphering an ancient language is beyond my capability, he thought. Something like this might be valuable to Senior Zhu, but for me, it doesn’t transform into immediate strength.
The second pavilion was empty.
But in the third, they found something. Resting on a pedestal of white jade, was a single, palm-sized green tablet. It looked like a communication or record-keeping talisman.
”Lady Zhu, be careful. It can be a trap,” Fei Yan said, her voice dropping to a whisper.
Zhu Zhihao didn’t answer. She knew such items were often used as bait, luring explorers into hidden traps. She would not be so careless. She raised her hand, and the small, eight-sided mirror of polished black jade materialized in her palm.
As she held it up, Su Kang felt that same sharp instinct from his very soul. He unconsciously averted his gaze again.
Zhu Zhihao infused her Qi, and the mirror’s surface went dark, drinking the ambient light. She scanned the jade tablet carefully. After a long moment, the mirror’s aura receded.
”It’s good,” she said, stowing the mirror. “There’s no spiritual traps or malevolent will.”
She stepped forward and placed her pale fingers on the tablet’s cool surface. She closed her eyes, an invisible wave of her Nascent Soul-level spiritual consciousness plunging into the jade.
They waited in silence.
A deep frown line appeared between Zhu Zhihao’s brows. She opened her eyes and slowly lowered the tablet.
”Lady Zhu? What is it? What did you find?” Fei Yan asked, her curiosity and concern evident.
Zhu Zhihao stared at the tablet in her hand, her gaze distant, as if looking through it into the past.
”It seems like a dispatch,” she said, her voice heavy. “A status report, perhaps sent from a battlefield.”
She looked up, her violet eyes meeting theirs. “It says that the Young Saint Lord… has fallen in battle.”
”A battle?” Fei Yan murmured. “Then perhaps this entire realm is an ancient battlefield.”
Zhu Zhihao shook her head slightly, her gaze distant. “Perhaps. Or perhaps the battle was elsewhere, and this was merely one of their strongholds.”
”Unfortunately, this jade talisman doesn’t have other information, so we can’t find out more,” Zhu Zhihao added.
They searched the rest of the floor, but nothing else of value was found. So they decided to move on.
The next building they approached resembled quarters for disciples. A brief search confirmed their suspicions. The rooms were spartan, containing little more than stone beds and empty shelves.
Zhu Zhihao emerged from the final room, her expression thoughtful. She stood outside the hall, her gaze sweeping over the surrounding peaks. Her spiritual sense radiated outwards, probing over the nearby buildings. It swept past the lesser peaks, scanning their empty halls in an instant. Then, it reached the base of the central mountain.
After a moment, she stopped. “The surrounding peaks seem to be more disciple halls,” she announced. “But when I tried to scan the main peak, my consciousness was interrupted.” Her gaze fixed on the tallest, most imposing mountain at the valley’s center. There could be seen many different buildings on it. “Let’s go there.”
They followed the white pebble path as it sloped upward, leading them toward the main peak. The white pebbles gave way to a massive staircase carved from a luminous yellow jade. The stone glowed with a warm light, casting a gentle amber hue on the surrounding rock. Each step was wide and flawless, ascending into the upper reaches of the peak.
Zhu Zhihao stopped at the base, her hand hovering just above the first step. “Here comes the first obstacle,” she murmured, a frown touching her lips. “My spiritual sense was stopped here, so be careful.”
Su Kang looked at the glowing staircase, and an immediate thought struck him. It resembles one of the common trials used by major sects to select disciples.
Fei Yan had a more thoughtful expression. “It seems like they deliberately left this here,” she murmured, her gaze sweeping over the flawless jade. “Otherwise, it’s not possible that they would empty the mission hall and forget to take something like this with them.”
Su Kang nodded in agreement, then added his own theory. “Maybe they were in a hurry as well, and taking it with them must have required more time, which they didn’t have for some reason.”
Fei Yan turned to their leader. “Lady Zhu, it’s clear what these stairs are…” Her polite smile was gone, replaced by focused caution. “Whether it is just for testing people like us or if it’s something else, we can’t know until we give a try. But it’s a risky move.”
Zhu Zhihao nodded, her expression grim. She was well aware of the consequences if this turned out to be more than a mere trial. No one would happily abandon their sect, leaving behind treasures for others to claim. They often left deadly traps, designed to kill intruders and ensure that only a select few survivors could ever get their hands on the inheritance and resources left behind.
We have only three people here, she thought, her gaze resting for a moment on her two companions. If something goes wrong, Fei Yan and Su Kang both might end up dead. She hesitated, weighing the potential consequences of her decision.
After a moment of heavy silence, she made her decision. “Both of you, stay behind,” she commanded sternly, looking at them. “I will go ahead and test it. Do not follow unless I give the signal. Otherwise, you wait here.”
”Lady Zhu—” Fei Yan began immediately, her voice sharp with protest.
”You promised to follow my words,” Zhu Zhihao cut her off flatly, her violet eyes flashing with authority. “I will not hear anything else on this.”
Fei Yan’s expression was fraught with worry, but she could only nod her head in stiff obedience. Zhu Zhihao then retrieved a storage ring and handed it to Fei Yan. “This might come in handy if things go wrong. Use it to escape.”
Fei Yan scanned the ring. It was filled with high-grade pills, powerful talismans, array plates, and defensive scrolls. But nestled among them was something else: a small, flickering soul lamp. The message was subtle, but louder than any words: if that flame went out, they were to escape without her.
Fei Yan’s heart grew heavy, but she nodded. “I understand.”
”Good,” Zhu Zhihao said. She turned and stepped towards the massive staircase. She stood before the first glowing step. Taking a deep, steadying breath, then moved her right leg and planted her foot firmly upon it.
A faint pressure bloomed in her dantian. She ignored it easily. Her gaze immediately snapped back toward her companions. She saw them clearly.
Seeing Su Kang and Fei Yan still clearly visible behind her, she sighed with relief. My vision isn’t obstructed, she thought. Some trials of this nature were designed to isolate climbers, making them unable to see those who followed. At least this one was not like that.
She gave a single, sharp nod. It was a signal. She was fine. Then she turned back and continued the climb.
