Dawn had not yet broken,yet the mountain no longer felt asleep.
Fog curled unnaturally around the pine branches.Wind circled, returning on itself like a trapped breath.The earth hummed with a vibrationthat did not belong to soil.
Yan Ming stood at the edge of the courtyard,cloak pulled tight,expression colder than the morning air.
"It's starting," he said.
Lian Hong stepped toward him.
"You said the mountain called again."
"Yes."
"And we're answering it?"
Yan Ming met his eyes.
"We have no choice."
Su Qingyue joined them, jaw set.
"I'm coming too."
Zhou Shan stumbled out of the house half-dressed.
"I'M NOT COMING—BUT I WILL CHEER FROM A DISTANCE—A VERY DISTANT DISTANCE—!!"
Yan Ming ignored him entirely.
"This will not be like the terrace," he warned.
"What's beneath the Sixth Mountainis older than cultivation,older than remnants,older than shadow."
Lian Hong's shadow stirred faintly,a ripple of anticipation.
Yan Ming noticed.
"That resonance…it will become stronger the closer we get."
Lian Hong nodded.
"I'm ready."
Yan Ming looked at him for a long moment.
Then—
"Follow me."
And the descent began.
Yan Ming did not lead them along the sect roads.Instead, he cut through an old grove—trees twisted by age and storms,roots like serpents under the soil.
"This forest was part of the original sealing perimeter,"Yan Ming explained quietly.
Su Qingyue whispered:
"No wonder outsiders avoid it…"
Zhou Shan's muffled voice drifted from far behind:
"I AVOID IT TOO—CAN WE GO HOME—"
Yan Ming continued walking.
As they moved deeper,the air thickened.
Not spiritually.
Primordially.
Lian Hong felt pressure building in his chest.
"Something's…pulling."
Yan Ming nodded.
"Yes."
"That's the echo beneath the mountainfinding your resonance again."
Su Qingyue glanced at him anxiously.
"Is it dangerous?"
Yan Ming answered honestly.
"Everything about this is dangerous."
A faint shiver ran through the earth.
Lian Hong pressed a hand against his sternum—the second heartbeat pulsed in sync.
His shadow lengthened.
Responded.
Listened.
Yan Ming slowed.
"We are close."
The forest thinned.
The ground dipped.
And then—
there it stood.
The sealed entrance to the Sixth Mountain.
A stone archway built directly into the cliff,half-buried by vines and time.
Cracked symbols—older than the Court—were carved along its frame.
Su Qingyue inhaled sharply.
"This is a sealing gate."
Yan Ming approached slowly.
"It is the first one ever built."
Lian Hong stepped toward it.
He didn't touch it.
He didn't need to.
The stone vibrated at his presence.
A faint whisper seeped from the cracks:
—you returned—
His breath hitched.
"I didn't come before."
—not youyour shadow—
Lian Hong staggered back a step.
Su Qingyue moved to steady him.
Yan Ming frowned deeply.
"This is stronger than I expected."
He placed a hand on the stone.
Silver glyphs ignited—rejecting him.
Su Qingyue blinked.
"…It won't allow you to open it?"
Yan Ming withdrew his hand.
"It won't allow anyone from the Court."
Lian Hong felt something unfurl beneath him.
His shadow.
It spread slowly across the ground—not in defiance.
But in response.
Yan Ming turned sharply.
"Control it."
"I am," Lian Hong said breathlessly.
"But it's…"
He couldn't finish.
Because the shadow wasn't attacking.
It was recognizing the gate.
Yan Ming's eyes widened.
"…No."
"Not now."
"Not like this."
But the mountain had already decided.
The stone glyphs lit—not silver, not gold,but deep obsidian.
A voice seeped through the cracks.
Cold.Ancient.Unquestionably aware.
—bearer of the second echoyour path reaches here—
Su Qingyue grabbed his sleeve.
"Lian Hong, don't go near it—!"
Yan Ming raised an arm to stop her.
"Wait."
"Something is about to happen."
The mountain trembled.
The archway split slightly.
Just enough for a sliver of darkness to seep out—black not like ink,but like memory.
Lian Hong felt it wrap around him,soft as a breath.
The whisper deepened:
—the first echowaits—
Lian Hong's pulse spiked.
"The first echo…the ancestor touched by the masked one…"
Yan Ming whispered:
"The Echo-Bearer."
The gate pulsed again.
—enter—
Su Qingyue's eyes widened.
"NO.This is a trap."
Yan Ming shook his head.
"Not a trap."
"A test."
He turned to Lian Hong, face grave.
"You can walk away now.No one would blame you."
Lian Hong looked at the gate.
The darkness moved like a living memory.
His shadow leaned toward it.
He whispered:
"…If I turn away from this,I'll never control what I'm becoming."
Yan Ming closed his eyes once.
Then stepped back.
"Then I will walk beside you."
Su Qingyue put a hand on her sword.
"And I'll guard the rear."
A distant scream echoed:
"WAIT FOR MEEE—I BROUGHT SNACKS—!!"
Zhou Shan stumbled down the slope.
The gate opened a fraction more.
Enough to let them through.
Enough to begin.
Lian Hong inhaled.
Stepped forward.
And crossed the threshold.
The mountain swallowed them in silence.