Chapter 26 - The Oracle’s Veil

The trail to Mount Xianji snaked through emerald valleys where ancient forests whispered secrets older than the empires they had outlived. Abraham led the way, his boots sinking into mossy earth that released bursts of wild mint and damp loam with every step. The air grew heavier as they climbed, thick with the scent of impending rain and something sharper—ozone laced with forgotten incense. Plum Blossom Peak's scars faded behind, but the ache in his meridians lingered, a constant reminder of Vorath's shattering blows and his own humbling frailty. Weakness exposed, he thought, fingers flexing around his hilt. Hua's subtlety saved face; true power demands rebirth. �Michael strode beside him, a crimson-veined monolith scanning ridgelines with coal-black eyes. The bodyguard's presence parted villagers like a scythe through wheat—whispers trailed: "Demon walks with the relic-bearer." Surviving Mount Hua disciples—five hardened souls led by young prodigy Li Wei—followed warily, their white robes muddied but spirits unbroken. Li Wei, barely twenty with Chung Myung's echo in his precise stance, clutched a jade slip etched with new forms. "Sect Leader's gift," he murmured. "For the oracle's trials."Dusk painted the horizon violet as Xianji loomed—peaks veiled in perpetual mist that swirled like spectral guardians, legends speaking of an oracle who pierced time's veil, revealing lost arts to the worthy. System pulsed urgently: "Mission: Consult Oracle of Xianji. Unlock veiled knowledge. Reward: Origin Core Fragment." Abraham's relic thrummed in sync, warm against scars. Answers to the maze? Guardian's weakness? Or traps for fools?Villagers at the base huddled in thatched hovels, eyes wide. An elder, wrinkled as ancient bark, barred the mist-shrouded path. "Xianji devours the unprepared. Oracle sees souls, not swords." Abraham bowed, Plum Blossom grace masking resolve. "We seek truth for restoration." Elder eyed Michael, paling: "Shadow-man... even demons fear his kind." Michael grunted, qi rippling—ground cracking faintly. Villagers scattered.The ascent twisted labyrinthine, fog muffling sounds to ghostly echoes. Roots snaked like veins underfoot, air chilling to bone-prickle. Li Wei stumbled on loose shale; Abraham steadied him with Violet Cloud renewal, qi blooming soft warmth. "Your master's forms saved us," Li Wei said. "Chung Myung's legacy lives." Abraham nodded, flashbacks surging: Chung Myung's Eclipse Descent cleaving cult ranks, Throne Ascendant dragons repelling doom. Poetry in steel—my Sovereign rages unchecked.Mid-climb, illusions assailed: phantom Blood Cult swarmed, Vorath's laugh booming. Abraham's Barricade bloomed instinctively, petals shattering mirages—qi feedback searing palms. Tests begin. Michael pulverized a spectral golem with bare fist, crimson qi exploding visceral. Deeper, cavern mouth yawned—rune-carved maw pulsing ethereal light.Inside, bioluminescent fungi cast sapphire glows on walls etched with primordial scripts. Echoes of chants hummed meridians. Central chamber: crystalline pool reflecting starless voids, oracle's form materializing—ethereal woman, eyes galaxies swirling. "Bearer of First Key," she intoned, voice silk-thunder. "Prove worth."Trials cascaded: qi riddles taxing dantian, shadow beasts probing forms. Abraham wove Twenty-Four Blossoms, Cascade Bloom evading claws, Pinnacle piercing hearts. Michael crushed hordes wordless. Li Wei rallied disciples in unison Storm, petals overwhelming.Oracle unveiled visions: eight worlds' keys veiled in trials—fire realms, abyss depths; 100 cores pulsing empire-heart; guardian's form—a colossal shadow devouring light. "Betrayals echo," she warned. "Even allies harbor thorns." Fragment materialized—glowing orb syncing relic, qi surging tenfold.Abraham emerged renewed, core fragment humming potential. Weakness conquered? No—evolved. Group descended invigorated, Xianji's veil lifted. Murim's web tightened; restoration's path clarified, fraught with shadows yet illuminated by hard-won light. Blood Cult lurked, but oracle's gift armed the sovereign rising.