Strange Paths to Immortality

The Corrupter's dark energy wave surged toward the group, crackling with the power to consume all light. Su Nian whipped her chains into a defensive spiral, the metal links glowing red-hot as they intercepted the shadowy tendrils. "Jiuzhang, hurry!" she yelled, her arms shaking under the strain.

Zhang Chengying leaped onto a raised platform of runes, using his body to block a volley of shadow bolts. "These symbols are starting to glow brighter when I stand on them!" he shouted, stamping his foot on a glyph shaped like a coiling dragon. The rune flared golden, sending a pulse of energy through the chamber.

Luna and Lyra joined hands, their combined magic forming a silver-starlight bridge to the crystal key. Chen Jiuzhang felt their power surge through him, mingling with the key's ancient energy. As he pressed the key against a central rune carved into the floor, the entire chamber trembled. Walls of light erupted from the glyphs, forming a massive sigil that trapped the Corrupter in its center.

"Fools!" the Corrupter shrieked, its shadowy form stretching to break the light barrier. "Do you think ancient magic can stop the inevitable? The Gui Xu Secret Realm was born from chaos, and to chaos it shall return!"

Lyra paled as she translated the shifting runes. "It's telling the truth—these inscriptions say the realm was created to contain a primal darkness. The balance we seek is just a temporary seal!"

Chen Jiuzhang hesitated, the key wavering in his hand. The Corrupter took advantage, launching a tendril that pierced the light wall and struck Luna. Her starlight gown flickered, and she collapsed.

"No!" Su Nian charged, chains lashing the Corrupter's tendril. "We didn't come this far to let it end like this!"

Zhang Chengying slammed his palms on a pair of runes shaped like intertwined sun and moon. A dual beam of light and dark energy shot from the floor, wrapping around the Corrupter. "The balance isn't about destroying darkness," he realized. "It's about holding both forces in check!"

In that moment, Chen Jiuzhang understood. He raised the key not to attack, but to channel the chamber's energy. The key absorbed the light and dark beams, merging them into a swirling orb of pure balance. As he threw the orb at the Corrupter, the being let out a final, ear-splitting scream before dissolving into motes of light and shadow.

The chamber fell silent, save for the gentle hum of the crystal key. But as the group gathered around Luna's unconscious form, the floor beneath them began to glow with a new pattern—one that revealed a spiral staircase leading deeper into the earth.

"Looks like the final door is open," Su Nian said, retying her tattered chains.

Chen Jiuzhang picked up the key, now pulsing with a balanced light and dark energy. "But I wonder... what if the true heart of the realm isn't a power to be controlled, but a truth to be accepted?"

As they began their descent, none noticed the tiny shadow that detached from the 消散的 Corrupter, slithering into a crack in the wall. The Gui Xu Secret Realm's deepest secret awaited, but the battle for balance had only just shifted into a new, more dangerous phase.