Tao didn’t hesitate. With a swift motion, he placed the golden furnace into his storage ring. “We’ll split everything later,” he murmured, glancing at Jian. There was no time for arguments.

  Jian gave a curt nod. They both knew this was the best way. Tao had the storage ring, and they needed to move fast.

  The staircase before them yawned open like the gaping maw of a beast, leading them deeper into the earth. Cold air coiled around them, thick with the residue of Qi from a forgotten era. The walls flanking the passage gleamed with silver inscriptions, ancient carvings winding through the stone like veins of spirit energy. Tao’s sharp eyes traced the etchings, and his steps slowed as he realized what they depicted.

  Two figures.

  Jian ran a hand over the carved images. One was a woman, kneeling in a field of flourishing spirit plants, strands of Qi flowing between her fingers as the earth itself seemed to answer her call. The second was a man, standing before a pill furnace, flames licking up his arms as he refined herbs into pills. Their expressions were calm, their presence undiminished by time. Not one legacy but two. One cultivated spirit plants and the other refined them.

  Jian exhaled. “This wasn’t just an alchemist’s domain. This was a partnership.”

  Tao nodded, his gaze lingering on the woman’s carving. He had always known there was more to cultivation than just brute force, that the true power of plants and herbs came from their harmony with Qi itself. This confirmed it. His fingers curled slightly, but he forced himself to move on. The passage wasn’t waiting for them.

  Ghostly blue flames lined the walls ahead, flickering with an unsettling rhythm. Jian’s hand drifted toward his sword. “These flames,” he muttered, voice low, “they feel wrong.”

  Tao agreed but didn’t respond. Something was watching. Or perhaps, something was waiting.

  The passage opened into an underground chamber, a vast space supported by towering pillars carved in the shape of twisting vines, their leaves so finely detailed it seemed as though they might tremble under a passing breeze. The scent of old medicinal herbs still lingered, but there was no sign of decay. At the heart of the chamber, two stone altars stood side by side, each cradling a single jade slip. The moment Tao laid eyes on them, he understood.

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  One for spirit plant cultivation. One for alchemy.

  Jian was already moving, his fingers brushing against one of the slips, but a sudden force repelled him, sharp as an invisible hand shoving him back. He grumbled in frustration before turning to the other. This time, the energy relented, allowing him to take the jade slip inscribed with the alchemy legacy. Tao, watching closely, reached for the remaining slip. That same force resisted him at first but then softened, as if recognizing something within him. The alters only provided the legacy for the trial they had taken and passed. As his fingers closed around the jade slip meant for spirit plant cultivation, the chamber trembled.

  Light erupted from the altars, flooding the room with a blinding radiance. The carvings on the walls flared to life, the vines twisting and curling as if they had awoken from slumber. Then, from the very stone itself, two people appeared.

  Two figures, formed of light and memory. One was the man from the carvings, his robes marked with flame like embroidery, his expression serious. The other was the woman, her hands still streaked with soil, spirit plants blooming at her feet. They looked upon Tao and Jian, their gazes heavy with something close to approval. And then…

  They smiled.

  In the next instant, their forms shattered into motes of glowing dust, dissolving into the very air.

  The ground lurched beneath them. A deep, shuddering crack split through the chamber as the pillars trembled, dust cascading from above. The air groaned, the weight of centuries bearing down upon them. The inheritance had been claimed, but the space that housed it was no longer stable.

  Before them, a portal flared into existence, swirling with shifting energy. An exit. Perhaps.

  Jian didn’t move immediately. “That portal… is it safe?”

  Tao’s instincts screamed at him. They didn’t have time. He turned sharply toward the staircase, and his blood ran cold. Footsteps descending, distant yet unmistakable, echoed down the staircase to the chamber.

  Shenli’s voice slithered into his mind, a whisper laced with something between amusement and warning. Little cultivator, you are out of time.

  Tao’s grip on the jade slip tightened. Jian’s sword left its sheath in a smooth motion. They had to go…now.

  They lunged for the portal just as figures emerged at the chamber’s entrance. The robes of the Medicine Hall eldersbillowed as they stepped into view, their gazes narrowing as they took in the scene before them. Their eyes flickered toward the departing cultivators, and an angry voice, laced with indignation, rang out. But the portal swallowed Tao and Jian before their identities could be revealed.

  The inheritance had been taken. And the chase had begun.