The words were barely out of his mouth, “It is that scripture! I fear not to tell you, Zhao, my friend, that my purpose here goes beyond the souls of savage beasts. My true desire is to gaze upon the keystone itself!” Elder Cangsong’s eyes glittered with an unholy light.

The woman in the azure robes, Zhao, started, glancing at Cangsong, “So many seekers have marked this place. Surely the scripture is no simple thing. Cangsong, you…”

Cangsong raised his gaze to a colossal stone idol. “Do you not recall, Zhao, the saying among us before we reached the zenith of alchemy?”

Zhao softly spoke, “He who hears the Way may die at dawn or dusk, and it is enough.”

“Then let us be gone,” Cangsong said, turning and striding forward with haste. After a moment of hesitation, Zhao followed.

As they pressed onward, a chorus of whispers filled the air, growing louder with each step. These sounds were unnerving, playing upon the mind, bending thoughts to their will. It required great effort to resist their influence, but with every pace deeper into the fog, the feeling of losing control intensified. Each footfall felt burdened with a weight of a thousand tons, and their minds trembled.

Cangsong’s face was ashen, yet his eyes burned with fervor. Together, he and Zhao slowly navigated the mist, the passage of time marked only by the endless, swirling fog. Three days passed in this manner.

On the fourth day, they glimpsed a small mountain veiled in the distance. It stood only a thousand feet tall, barely visible through the dense vapor. A curtain of black energy shrouded the mountain, barring their way. Cangsong took a deep breath and turned to Zhao, clasping his hands in a gesture of supplication.

“Friend Zhao,” he began earnestly, “my skill with enchantments pales in comparison to your own. I implore you, aid me in breaking this barrier! Within lies the sealed domain, teeming with the souls of savage beasts. Open it, and they are yours for the taking.”

Zhao studied the black barrier, placing a hand upon it. After a long moment, her face grew troubled. “This is a Seal of Epoch, drawing upon the power of the ages. Its strength increases with each passing year, and I cannot fathom how long it has stood. Had I known such a barrier guarded this place, I would never have come!”

Cangsong smiled faintly. With a wave of his hand, a tear appeared in the air, revealing the contents of his storage. From within, he produced a black drill, etched with spiraling runes. The moment it appeared, an aura of overwhelming power filled the air. “Do you recognize this?”

Zhao stared at the drill, her eyes widening. After careful consideration, she spoke slowly, “The Ancient Artifice: the Barrier Breaker!”

“Indeed! You are a master of enchantments, friend Zhao, with knowledge far surpassing my own. With this artifact in your hands, what chance do we have of shattering this barrier?”

Zhao paused, weighing her words. “How many Barrier Breakers do you possess?”

“Four,” Cangsong replied.

“Against a Seal of Epoch sustained for only a brief time, four would suffice. But this barrier has endured for countless years. I give us but a single chance in ten.”

Cangsong considered this grim assessment. With another wave, he produced a black shard, no larger than his palm. The moment it appeared, a wave of unimaginable power swept through the fog, creating a swirling vortex that cleared a ten-foot radius around them.

Zhao gasped, her gaze fixed on the shard. “A Fragment of Annihilation?”

“With this in hand, what are our odds?” Cangsong asked, without explanation.

“Four in ten. Were we to combine it with the Mark of the Spiritbinder, perhaps five, alas…” Zhao trailed off, lost in calculation.

Cangsong hesitated, then produced one final object from his storage. It was a crystal, luminous and vibrant, as if filled with swirling blood. Its appearance unleashed a wave of world-shattering energy that rippled outwards. “And with this? Is it enough?”

“You possess a vast fortune, Cangsong,” Zhao said, her voice hushed. “To wield not one, but two Fragments of Annihilation! And this crystal…its potency far exceeds the shard. With these three treasures, I give us seven chances in ten.”

“Seven is enough!” Cangsong declared, tossing the four Barrier Breakers to Zhao. He had prepared for this moment with painstaking detail, knowing that his own skill with enchantments could never match hers. “Tell me when I must unleash my own power.”

Without another word, Zhao began to weave a web of enchantments, her body consumed by a swirling black aura that pulsed with her incantations. With a flick of her wrist, her power surged towards one of the Barrier Breakers! A series of impacts echoed as her enchantments took hold, infusing the drill with dark energy and unleashing a wave of power capable of shattering any barrier.

Zhao’s eyes flashed as she bit her tongue, spitting a gout of blood onto the Barrier Breaker. The drill sang with power, then shot forward towards the barrier. As it neared, the black curtain twisted and writhed, unleashing a wave of epochal force that threatened to consume the drill. “Break!” Zhao cried.

The Barrier Breaker flashed with crimson light, unleashing tendrils of black energy that hammered against the barrier, sinking into its depths. The drill shuddered, on the verge of annihilation. At once, the first Barrier Breaker crumbled!

Zhao channeled more dark energy, infusing the second Barrier Breaker and launching it towards the barrier, followed by the third and fourth. In the instant that all four Breakers struck, a deafening roar echoed through the mountain. The barrier, once a smooth curtain of darkness, rippled and convulsed as the energies clashed, disturbing the ancient balance.

Zhao, without pause, thrust her hand to her forehead and spat another mouthful of blood, her wrinkles disappearing, replaced by a youthful mid aged beauty! Streams of black air lashed the barrier, colliding with the dark magic, and creating a swirling vortex, clashing and colliding with the barrier! “The shard!” Zhao screeched.

Cangsong did not hesitate, throwing the shard, the Fragment of Annihilation, towards the vortex. A flick of his wrist, and the shard trembled, with chaotic energy swirling, breaking as it flew. A thunderous sound shook the mountain.

Zhao leaped in the air, channeling her power to contain the energy and send it towards the barrier. More echoing roars shook the area as the barrier continued to resist. On instinct, Cangsong hurled the crimson crystal. Zhao once again performed the ritual and transformed into a maiden, using her chaotic air to harness the crystal energy toward the barrier!

The echoes once again assaulted the eardrums as a crack appeared on the barrier, but was rapidly closing! With a grunt, Cangsong withdrew a jade pendant, an item that had the signature aura of a Fragment of Annihilation. He steeled himself. These were materials so rare, worth empires, and he was about to break it.

Zhao reeled back in shock, estimating the wealth Cangsong had to achieve to break the barrier. Seeing the pendant, she realized there would be no stopping him.

“Shatter!” roared Cangsong. The pendant shot to the crack on the barrier and shattered, unleashing more power than the previous two items. The shockwave blasted the barrier and mist for miles.

The echoes seemed to never end, but the barrier was finally split, but was closing! Cangsong rushed the crack, with Zhao and the beauty following close behind. An instant later, Wang Lin arrived, casting wards and spells to defend the cracked barrier from outside before pursuing the others through the breach.