After ensuring all disciples were escorted outside the ruin's unstable zones, the elders of the Azure Cloud Sect began their own descent into the depths of the ancient cave.
The flickering light of spiritual torches revealed sprawling corridors etched with inscriptions too ancient to belong to any known language. The walls shimmered faintly, humming with residual energy — like echoes of an era long forgotten.
Elder Mu Fan led the group, his steps steady as he extended his spiritual sense forward. "The disciples did well not to venture deeper," he murmured. "This place is far more dangerous than it appears. The isolation formations here… they conceal something far beyond the Qi Awakening realm."
Elder Mei Hua raised a hand, flames dancing at her fingertips to dispel the lingering miasma. "Strange. These wards are self-sustaining. No mortal formation master could craft something like this."
Elder Jian Tong's sword pulsed faintly, responding to the aura seeping through the walls. "It feels… ancient. Almost alive."
As they pressed deeper, the air thickened — not with killing intent, but with reverence, as though the ruin itself remembered the might of its creator.
Finally, they reached a wide stone chamber sealed behind twelve glowing runic pillars. At its center floated a black jade monolith, its surface covered in chaotic symbols that shifted constantly, refusing to be read.
"This must be it," Elder Mu Fan said, voice low. "The heart of the ruin."
Elder Mei Hua formed a hand seal, releasing a thread of pure fire essence into the runes. The symbols flickered and stabilized, revealing a passage beneath the monolith.
With a cautious nod, the elders entered.
Inside lay a grand hall filled with treasures beyond imagination — shelves of jade slips, racks of refined ores, and several sealed crystal containers housing drops of beast blood that glowed with a divine luster.
But among all the wonders, one object stood apart: a golden coffin, suspended mid-air, surrounded by countless isolation talismans.
The temperature dropped instantly. Even the flames around Mei Hua's hand dimmed.
Elder Jian Tong frowned deeply. "This… is not a coffin of the living. It seals a soul."
They exchanged wary glances.
Elder Mu Fan stepped forward, activating a defensive barrier. "Careful. This might be the nemesis mentioned in the carvings."
As they approached, faint whispers began to echo in the hall — cold and ancient.
"You dare trespass… mortals… you dare touch the remnants of gods…"
The voice made the air tremble. Elder Jian Tong's sword flared to life instantly, its blade singing as he slashed the air, severing the spiritual echo.
The whispers faded, but a mark appeared on the coffin — a crimson seal depicting a single broken sigil.
Elder Mei Hua's eyes widened. "That's… an Oath Seal of Reversal! Those were used during the War of Ascension to bind souls that defied heaven's order!"
Elder Mu Fan exhaled slowly. "So it's true. This ruin belonged to a cultivator who was one step away from ascending — and this was his nemesis, a fallen ascendant."
He turned toward the far end of the hall, where a pedestal rose from the ground. Upon it rested a cracked jade slip, radiating a faint golden aura.
The words engraved on it pulsed with divine resonance:
"Here lies the legacy of the one who defied the final tribulation. To those who walk my path, may your heart remain unshaken, for the heavens will always demand your submission."
— Dao Monarch Yulan
Elder Jian Tong reached out with both hands, bowing slightly before lifting the jade slip. "Dao Monarch Yulan… one of the last mortals to nearly ascend before the Fracturing Era."
Elder Mei Hua frowned. "Then the one sealed here must be his enemy — perhaps another who sought ascension through forbidden means."
As they carefully secured the jade slip and sealed the chamber once more, the formation around the ruin began to quiver faintly — reacting to the disturbance.
Elder Mu Fan turned to the others. "We take everything we can stabilize. The Sect Master must see this personally. If these are truly near-immortal artifacts, then this discovery will shake not just our Sect… but the entire southern realm."
As they ascended toward the surface, the faint hum of the golden coffin echoed behind them.
A single, imperceptible crack ran across one of the seals.
And a whisper, faint as mist, drifted through the hall:
"The fracture widens… chaos stirs once more…"