Qianji Sister and the others didn’t keep us long; like figures stepping from mist, they came through the Necropolis’s exit gate and merged with us.

“Qianji Sister, Aunt Saintvoice, you’re okay?” Relief washed through us like a warm tide, and our shoulders finally dropped.

“We’re fine. Xinyin and Celia Maya hit a snag, but it wrapped up perfectly.” Aunt Saintvoice ruffled my hair, her smile like a lantern cutting fog, telling us not to worry.

“Good. Do we push on, or catch our breath first?” Outside the Necropolis stretched another corridor like a throat of stone with no end in sight; the Soulless Sanctuary’s layout still felt like a maze drawn in smoke.

“Hmm. We’re okay. Xinyin, Celia Maya, do you want a rest?” Holy Voice glanced at Heartvoice and Celia Maya, concern flickering like a thin veil of rain.

“Thanks to the Supreme Divine Elixir you gave us, what we spent is back. Our state’s excellent.” Heartvoice paused, then her cheeks warmed like peach blossom. “We were the ones who asked to explore the Soulless Sanctuary, yet we ended up troubling Qianji and you.”

“That’s not it. If you two hadn’t pinned those four wraiths, we’d have run into worse storms.” Qianji Sister met Heartvoice and Celia Maya’s eyes, her head shaking like a steady bell.

“Exactly. Don’t dwell on it. Without the Allsaints Spirit Staff, I’d have lasted only a few minutes.” Aunt Saintvoice’s tone chimed in, firm as a staff planting in earth.

“Thank you. Hearing that from Qianji and you puts me at ease. Please keep guiding us.” Heartvoice and Celia Maya shared a glance, then a smile like dawn; you could see the knot inside them loosen.

“Dear brother, did anything happen while we weren’t around?” The question came soft as a cat’s paw.

I felt a flicker of embarrassment, then answered. “I’ve been with Lingxiao and you all. How would I know what happened with Heartvoice’s side? But it sounds like small stuff we can let go.”

“You’re right, dear brother. Those little things aren’t worth fretting over.”

“Trouble, huh… I think where we’re going next will be worse than the Necropolis.” Unlike our light chatter, Lixue looked ahead, her gaze cold as winter glass.

“Lixue’s right. Holy Voice, it’s too early to relax. We only cleared the first trial of the Soulless Sanctuary.” Wansheng’s voice carried the weight of stone.

“The first stage? How many trials wait ahead?” If anyone knew this place, it was Wansheng and Wanling; before we set off, we needed clearer stars to steer by.

“If I’m not wrong, you need to pass two more stages to reach the deepest prison—the place sealing that Origin Realm existence.” Wansheng’s words fell like iron beads.

Wanling picked up smoothly. “Two more hurdles. Each harsher than the Necropolis, danger stacked like thunderheads. You need to stay razor sharp.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The words had barely left her when furious knocking boomed behind us, like fists on a coffin lid. Good thing Qianji Sister shut and locked the gate when they came out, or the dead would be on us again.

“No more dawdling. Before they break the door, move to the second-stage trial!” Wansheng layered sealing magic on the gate, chains of light clicking into place, then urged us on. The urgency hit like cold water; we cut the chatter and sprinted down the corridor at full tilt.

We’d planned to teleport out, but the space here had been tempered by the Primordial Source for ages, hard as quenched steel, so we couldn’t slip through.

…

The corridor was longer than we guessed, a serpent of stone winding without end. Now and then, dead things drifted through like soot on a breeze, and they nibbled our time. It took almost two hours to reach the exit. The cost wasn’t huge, but it wore on us like sand in a shoe, especially on the mind.

The place was foul. The blood-stink hung in the tight, sealed passage like iron rain. Worse, the corpses—so many—bones underfoot like a hidden field of teeth. I kept stepping on skull and rib. Thank the heavens the Garden of Eternal Sleep in the Nine Cold Labyrinth had hardened my nerves; my heart held steadier.

Lingxiao and Lingsaki were different. They were teen girls; their bodies recoiled, fear rising like a chill tide. So they clung to me the whole way. Heat pricked my ears; to be honest, it felt less like fear and more like an excuse to hold on.

“What’s this?” We stepped out to an open patch of ground, bare as a shaven head, with one thing only—a giant magic array drawn across the dirt. Its lines tangled like roots, packed with ancient characters that twisted the eye. The central sigil was eerie as a staring pupil. I stared, got dizzy, and understood nothing.

“This circle… it looks like it’s from the ancient era?” Holy Voice studied it a long moment, then asked Wanling and Wansheng at her side.

“Yes. It’s ancient, and its preservation’s astounding, like jade dug up still shining.” Wanling’s voice carried quiet awe.

“What type is it?” Qianji Sister asked, curiosity bright as a spark.

“A teleportation array.” Wanling answered, sure as a blade. “It should send challengers to the second-stage trial ground.”

“So we just step into the center and activate it?” My mind snagged on a practical thorn. It was ancient; would it still hold enough power? Then I remembered the whole Soulless Sanctuary soaked in the Primordial Source like cloth in dye. A trickle of energy here was nothing.

“Yes. But caution first. Prepare fully, then trigger it.” Wansheng and Wanling moved in concert, weaving an unbreakable warding barrier around us, tight as a clam shell.

“Done. Let’s go to the center and wake it.” Only after Wanling added a few more layers like lacquer did her shoulders ease. We cut the chatter again; in a breath, we stood at the array’s heart.

We checked the surroundings—still as a held breath—then Wansheng gathered power, a tide of magic pouring into the lines. That’s when the array jolted—

Purple glare burst from the runes, sharp as lightning on snow. A monstrous suction tore our protective barrier like wet paper, and the array itself split open with a gaping maw.

“What?!” The shout tore out of us.

The ground vanished like a rug yanked away. A blade-cold wind slapped our cheeks raw, and when sense returned, we were already falling fast.

Below was black, a depth where even a hand would vanish. It felt like hell, like an abyss, a door yawning wide to swallow us whole.

After that, as my consciousness thinned like fading ink, everything slipped beyond my reach.