Finding the exit didn’t take long, yet the path fought us like tangled reeds.

After sweeping and sensing again and again, we pinned it down: a layered space.

No—this whole tunnel is stacked like panes of glass, only here the currents run steadier.

The exit hides inside one of those small pockets, like a door nested in boxes.

Once we grasped that, hunting it felt less like wandering fog, more like following a seam.

If only Qianji Sister were here—my chest tightened before my hands moved.

Lixue and I aren’t great with space; every step feels like walking on thin ice.

Qianji knows every school of magic; space to her is a calm river.

She would have found the door like a swallow finding its eave.

“Lingxiao, Lingsaki—are you two any good with space?”

They favor light and dark, but with their talent, branches touch other arts.

“Good? Not really—nowhere near Qianji Sister,” Lingxiao said, eyes bright as dawn.

“But we’ll do our best. We won’t let our dear brother down!”

“Finding a door like this should be fine. Please don’t worry, brother,” Lingsaki added, voice like night rain.

They flipped open their Dual Daynight Tomes, pages whispering like wings at dusk.

I couldn’t just stand like a stone lantern, so I spread my Sword Domain.

Within its boundary, I sharpened Sword Intent till it sang like a taut string.

I had to nail the exact spot, like pinning a firefly in the dark.

The rest, I’d leave to my two adorable sisters, bright as twin stars.

“Emperor, is there anything I can help with?” Lixue asked, cool as moonlight.

“Not yet… huh? The exit drifts when the space shifts, like a door on waves.

Once I fix it, Lixue, freeze that pocket for me.

That’ll let Lingxiao and Lingsaki ‘pull’ the exit out.”

“Got it.”

Ten minutes slid by like sand through fingers.

The moment I locked the spot, Lixue moved—ice blossomed with a glance.

We traded a look; she caught the message like a hawk catching wind.

“Jitian Silent Night.”

At that instant, their law domains unfurled, like aurora curtains over a winter sea.

Under the blazing light, the layered space receded like a falling tide.

A door-shaped shadow surfaced, black as ink, steady as a cliff.

“No delay. We go through now, before trouble grows teeth.”

I hadn’t studied that door, and dread rose like cold mist in my chest.

Better to leave quickly than court a storm we can’t read.

We didn’t hesitate. We sprinted for the exit like arrows leaving the string.

Even as the layers peeled back, resistance pressed like heavy water.

We pushed harder, muscles burning like coals.

…

Elsewhere, the Allsaints Spirit Staff proved its peak as a Semi Origin Artifact.

Fully awakened, it drove the maze’s lingering Primordial Source back like grass in a gale.

“W-wow—that power is terrifying,” Holy Voice said, hands shaking like quivering leaves.

“Wansheng, Wanling, find the exit now. I can’t hold long!”

Her grip trembled; the force roared like a flood inside a fragile vessel.

Without Wansheng and Wanling suppressing it, she’d have burst like a clay jar in a river.

“So this is a Semi Origin Artifact’s true power?” Xinyin whispered, breath tight.

“Just the leaking aura crushes the heart.

If we faced it head-on… how horrifying would that be?” Celia Maya murmured, stepping back.

“Understood. Holy Voice, hold on a bit—we’ll find the exit,” Wansheng said, calm as steel.

“Ten minutes… no, five at most. Holy Voice, you must endure,” Wanling vowed.

They flung out their divine sense, covering the maze like a net of starlight.

Compared to before, their ‘sight’ cleared thirtyfold, fog torn by wind.

With the Primordial Source’s interference muted, the path would show soon.

“Hurry,” Holy Voice answered, voice tight as a knotted cord.

She guided the Staff’s flow with meticulous care, fearing one slip, one storm.

If it raged, everyone here would be swept away like boats in a typhoon.

The Supreme Divine Elixir she brought burned down like oil in a lamp.

Xinyin and Celia Maya watched, hearts aching, as the precious glow thinned.

With Holy Voice’s strength, even aided by Wansheng and Wanling, full release was a dream.

Unless they fed it a constant stream of pure rule-laced energy, it wouldn’t obey.

Three or four minutes passed like flickers of lightning.

Still no exit—the closer they drew, the richer the Primordial Source.

The Staff’s edge dulled, like a blade pressed into bark.

When Holy Voice was about to break, soft green light bloomed like spring.

Leaf-notes drifted on the wind, music made of life, beautiful and bright.

“This surge of life… thanks, Qianji,” Holy Voice breathed, relief like rain.

Strength returned like sap climbing a trunk.

The burden on her shoulders eased, and breath came back.

The Sacred Life Sword hummed in Qianji’s hands, a gentle river against a storm.

“It’s good I can help you,” Qianji said, voice steady.

“The Life Sword can buffer the Staff for a while.

I hope Wansheng finds the exit soon.

I can’t hold forever, and the Sword can’t either.”

She took part of the Staff’s load, a mountain shared but still heavy.

The Sacred Life Sword ranked lower than the Allsaints Spirit Staff.

Under full release, it trembled like a bird in rain, a quiet lament.

Celia Maya rushed forward, spreading a healing barrier like a field of light.

It might not do much, but even a reed can brace a bridge in storm.

Two or three more minutes, and Wansheng with Wanling found the spot.

No hesitation—they blasted the exit’s direction with everything they had.

A thunderous crash followed, stone doors shattering into gravel like dry bread.

Ahead yawned a road, black and cold, like a cave mouth swallowing light.

“W-wow, the Primordial Source is so dense,” Wanling said, brow tight.

“Ten to one, an Origin Realm being waits out there.

If it’s an enemy, we’re in trouble.”

“Thinking more won’t help,” Wansheng snapped, iron in her tone.

“At this point, there’s no turning back.”

“Holy Voice, get over here, now!

Leave before the Primordial Source gathers again!”

“Hu—coming! I almost died from the strain,” Holy Voice panted.

“Don’t relax yet. We leave first.”

At that, Holy Voice and Qianji straightened, spirits kindled like sparks.

They called Celia Maya and Xinyin, then sprinted for the exit, full speed, no doubt.