*WHOOOSH!*
The cold wind whistled through the jagged cliffs of the ravine, carrying with it the dry scent of ancient dust and the occasional, ominous creak from the long-forgotten stone faces carved into the valley walls. Li Wei's convoy advanced cautiously, their armored beasts and sturdy carts rolling over broken ground that hadn't known the weight of a human step in nearly a century.
At the front of the convoy, the hamdah, a towering elephant-like beast with mossy hide and sun-kissed tusks, trudged with slow certainty. Its every step released faint pulses of spiritual energy that rippled through the earth. Engravings along its tusks shimmered faintly under the twilight — old glyphs that pulsed like breathing sigils.
Li Wei sat atop the beast, his robes undisturbed by the wind, his gaze cutting through the valley's shadows like twin blades. Behind him rode Leng Yue, her silver whip coiled at her side, eyes narrowed like a hawk circling prey.
Behind the vanguard, murmurs stirred among the elite group of cultivators that had joined the expedition late, their banners fluttering beside their ornate carriages and mounts. Their voices, though hushed, held weight — like wolves whispering in the dark.
"The seal… it should not have broken yet," one old scholar whispered, his beard trembling as his eyes darted between his ancient scroll and the now shattered barrier behind them.
"By all the heavens, that seal was wrought to endure another century. Who could've—?"
"Do not question what you've seen," said a warrior in plum-colored armor. "That beast… those tusks… Did you not feel it? The engravings awakened when it approached. That alone is proof. The rumors were true."
*CRACK— BOOOOM!*
The ground still bore the bruises of the recent battle. The mangled remains of the razor-mandibled beasts that had ambushed them earlier lay strewn like discarded weapons. Blood painted the valley floor in streaks of black-red, still sizzling from the spiritual heat of Leng Yue's whip.
It had been a battle so brief, so one-sided, that many hadn't even drawn their blades. The bulk of the threat was crushed under the hamdah's tusks or eviscerated by Li Wei's silent strikes — palm techniques so swift they left afterimages. And the rest? Dispatched by Leng Yue with a sneer and a crack of her whip.
Many in the group had scoffed at the tales of the duo. Gossip, they called it.
Exaggeration. Crescent Moon City's so-called "ghost calamity" was surely the work of hysteria, not these two young cultivators. And yet—
"We were blind pigs in a field of pearls," muttered a general with a broken pauldron. "Heavens forgive us…"
Now, as they proceeded further into the winding vein of the valley, fear mingled with awe. Li Wei had made no grand proclamation, no threat nor boast. He had simply acted. That, above all, had shaken the would-be opportunists who'd hoped to piggyback off his efforts and split the spoils.
"Best not to bite the hand that parts the heavens," one elder murmured grimly.
"Aye," another nodded. "The fox who underestimates the tiger gets skinned twice."
The convoy came to a halt as the path narrowed near a towering stone wall — jagged and untouched by the ravages of time. It loomed like a sentry watching over a secret, its rough surface completely ordinary… to the untrained eye.
Li Wei eyed his emerald compass, which pulsed with warm light. A flash of intent glinted in his gaze. In one blink, he vanished from atop the hamdah. The wind whomped in his absence.
*WHUP* — He reappeared before the stone, his hand calmly brushing against its surface.
Leng Yue remained seated on the beast, head cocked, eyes watchful. The whispers resumed behind her.
"He vanished without a ripple in the Qi…"
"Void Step? No… Something rarer."
With the serenity of a painter brushing his canvas, Li Wei extended his index finger and gently tapped the stone.
*SHHHHHHRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIING!!!*
A flash! The air crackled. The stone howled like a beast being exorcised. A kaleidoscope of colors burst upward as a pillar of rainbow light soared into the sky, piercing the low-hanging clouds above. Energy surged from the stone, forming rings of rippling aurora that shimmered and condensed — twisting into a glowing, five-meter tall door. The air hummed with power.
Gasps rose. Some fell to their knees. Others scrambled backward, shielding their faces from the divine brilliance.
"Heaven's mouth has opened," an elder whispered, eyes wide.
"By the ancestors… This boy—he was born of fate's deepest thread," said a monk, clutching prayer beads now glowing faintly in response.
Li Wei, eyes calm as still water, turned and gestured for his entourage.
"Come," he said, voice neither commanding nor gentle — just final. "The tomb has waited long enough."
Leng Yue dismounted with a single bound, boots thudding softly against the dust. She shot one last look at the crowd before following Li Wei into the door of lights. Her silence said more than any warning.
But behind them, the brewing storm began.
"We can't let him go alone!" snapped a noblewoman in golden robes. "We've waited generations for this!"
"Speak softly," growled a hunched man with glowing green eyes. "You saw what he did. That beast... his palm alone cracked the sky."
"Are you suggesting we wait?"
"I'm suggesting we don't get turned to ash."
Yet ambition is a flame that devours caution. Already, sects were sending scouts forward. Strategies were forming like clouds before a storm. The great clans would soon hear of this — and they would come. When the true mouth of the tomb was opened, its cries would echo through the entire region.
"Once the real treasures are uncovered," one merchant mused, "blood will stain the riverbeds of this valley."
Still, for now, none dared step ahead of Li Wei.
And within the aurora doorway, the young master walked steadily into the unknown — the passage yawning before him like the throat of a celestial beast. The colors danced around his form, illuminating his confident stride.
Behind him, Leng Yue smirked slightly, whispering low under her breath.
"They follow like moths to a flame, unaware the fire is alive."
*BOOM* — The door pulsed once, then slowly began to close behind them.
From the darkness beyond, faint echoes began to rise.
*Drip… drip… THUD. THUD. GRRRGHHHHH…*
Something old had stirred.
Something watching.
And Li Wei? He merely smiled. His eyes gleamed like twin moons beneath a storm-wrought sky.
"Let the games begin," he muttered.