The gathered dozen disciples moved quickly in pursuance of the Emerald Blade Pavilion Elder, traversing uneven ground towards an uncertain destination, at a pace impossible for any normal person to keep up with.

  Moments turned to minutes, and Jun Li realized that the group was, bit by bit, descending. They travelled down slopes and ridges in the dozens, and eventually the forest canopy above began to feel like a distant green sky. 'From above, I never would have imagined this forest had this sort of depth…'

  As the thirteen travelled deeper into the forest, the surroundings slowly became cramped and lifeless, gentle slopes of forest detritus fading to reveal craggy outcroppings of orange stone.

  Eventually, the Elder who led the group stopped and spoke up. "We're here." Pointing out an unassuming wall of orange stone, the Elder slowly led the group closer.

  Slamming the side of her fist into the wall, the force of the impact somehow caused a large 'sheet' of the stone, thin as paper at its edge, to 'pop' out from the wall like a door, revealing a cavernous space behind. "Come inside."

  As the group filed into the thin gap that had been opened, Jun Li carefully observed the strange, false door that had been opened.

  'It doesn't have any talismans or arrays on it, and that strike the Elder used wasn't some sort of sorcery… It's real stone, crafted into a false wall with incredible skill… I never would have known something was behind it….'

  Slipping past the thin gap the Elder had opened, the disciples entered into a surprisingly spacious cavern, adorned with simple lights and a large table, at which the other two Sect Elders remained waiting.

  ”Now then, listen carefully!” The Emerald Blade Pavilion Elder spoke, distancing herself a few meters from the disciples and turning to face them all. “As you know, during the last decade’s entrance, a… tragedy occurred, and the disciples who were competing for the drop of Earth Dragon Blood at the centre of the Grave… mutually destroyed one another.”

  “Because of this, we will be implementing a rule to prevent such a scenario from occurring again.” Pausing her explanation for a moment, the Elder produced a stack of one dozen metal plates from her Spatial Ring. Each plate was a golden yellow, scored and swept with patterns of verdigris patina.

  “These are specially made defensive treasures. Each is inscribed with an Array that activates when the wearer takes sufficient bodily harm, emitting the aura of a Regalia Manifestation realm Cultivator. As you know, the Earth Dragon’s Grave only allows Cultivators of the Crimson Palace Stage inside. When it senses a higher level of Cultivation from you, it will eject you here.”

  The Elder smiled light-heartedly. “So, you won’t die at least! Even if an accident occurs. I’ll make sure of that.”

  ”Any questions?” Although the Elder didn’t expect the disciples in front of her to be anything less than well-informed regarding the Earth Dragon’s Grave, she asked anyway.

  ”…The Grave closes in seven days, right? What happens if you’re left inside after that?” Surprisingly, the question had not come from Jun Li, but from Guan Heng.

  ”Well… I don’t think it has ever happened before. Try not to be the first it happens to.” When the Emerald Blade Pavilion Elder finished speaking, her peer, the Elder of the Frost River Sect, spoke up. “As an expert on the subject, quite familiar with the Earth Dragon’s Grave, I can say the most likely outcome is the simplest. The space would likely remain sealed until the next period of opening.”

  Glancing at her peer with a bit of genuine interest, the Emerald Blade Pavilion Elder eventually turned back to Guan Heng. “My Esteemed Cousin is wise when it comes to such things. I encourage you to take her warning to heart.”

  Although he went quiet, Jun Li could see that Guan Heng had only grown more thoughtful and pensive after hearing that answer, apparently contemplating the theoretical mechanics of the Earth Dragon’s Grave, for some unknowable reason.

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  “If nobody has any further questions, it would be best to enter the Earth Dragon’s Grave immediately, time is counting down to its closing, even now.” Clearing her throat, the Emerald Blade Pavilion Elder waved her arm towards the leftmost disciple of the group. “Now, one by one, come over here and hand me your Identity Slip, and Entrance Slip, then I’ll give you the Escape Talisman.”

  Within seconds, the Elder was verifying Jade Slips, and Jun Li felt a great, sinking weight on her. ‘Now’s the time… don’t fail me now, ‘Kang Shi.’

  When the Elder stretched out her arm in a silent request, Jun Li cursed that she had chosen to stand in the middle of the group, and that she wasn’t afforded more than a moment to calm her unease.

  Silently, Jun Li pulled two Jade Slips from her Spatial Ring, one white and one red, before passing them on to the Elder.

  For a second that felt like a minute, the Elder looked over Jun Li’s information… and passed back her Identification Slip, alongside a new, metal talisman. “Wait over there.” The Elder gestured casually behind her, where she had guided the disciples who had gone before Jun Li.

  In the Elder’s eyes, Jun Li’s identity as ‘Kang Shi’ was just as unknown as some of the Tiger-Slaying Sect disciples. It wasn’t her job or interest to memorize the names and faces of another Sect’s lesser disciples, after all.

  Jun Li struggled to repress a sigh of relief, hoping not to draw any scrutiny or curiosity by revealing any sign of stress. With the senses of these Elders, surely they would notice if Jun Li allowed herself to deflate so.

  ”Now then..” A few moments later, the Elder had finished identifying and guiding each disciple to wait. “Now that everyone here has been verified…” The Emerald Blade Pavilion Elder turned to the Frost River Sect Elder and gave a polite nod of the head.

  In response, the Frost River Sect Elder stood from her seat and walked to the back of the cavern. Standing in place for a moment, she reached her foot a half-step away and pressed it into the ground.

  When she did, cracks began to shoot through the stone floor in front of her, with a sound closer to glass or ice than stone.

  Moments after the cracks spread through the stone, triangular shards of ‘stone’ began to break away like weightless eggshells, revealing a dark rift below.

  When the illusion was fully broken and the rift was revealed in its entirety, even the most steadfast of the gathered disciples felt their instincts pulse with warnings of danger. That dark passage into the depths below swirled faintly with smears of red and blue, tinting the stale air below with an unnatural distortion.

  ”Below is the Earth Dragon’s Grave, the prized Secret Realm of our three Sects.” The Elder spoke almost reverently, stepping away from the rift that had been revealed.

  "Normally, we would have you enter randomly, one at a time, to avoid conflict as you spread out towards your individual goals in the Grave." The Emerald Blade Pavilion Elder began. "However, as the Earth Dragon Blood remains unclaimed due to the last opening's tragedy, we will allow you to enter as a group, ensuring nobody set on competing for it will be disadvantaged."

  "And… yes, as I'm sure many of you have theorized or been promised… a second Drop of Blood will likely coalesce this decade as well, even with one already present." When the Elder spoke, she could see the tension and ambition welling up in some of the disciples before her.

  One drop of genuine Earth Dragon Blood was an incredible prize, even for Jun Li. The more she delved into her alchemical knowledge, the more interested she became in acquiring it.

  "Consider that as my advising you against recklessness." The Elder clarified. "Even if you cannot compete for the drop that currently rests at the center of the Grave, you can spend your time taking advantage of the natural resources within, so that you might compete for the second."

  After a moment of observing the dozen disciples, the Elder let out a silent sigh, seeing that none of those riled up by her words showed any sign of calming down. 'Well… I can predict how the first few moments of this decade's opening will play out…'

  Clearing her throat, the Elder gestured towards the disciples. "Come along, stand around the rift."

  When Jun Li followed the crowd and lined herself at the crumbling edge of that cavernous rift, her heart sank. Not from any reasonable thought or emotion, but simply from standing so close to the unnaturally twisting, spatial anomaly.

  The opening was wide and seemed to slant down into the earth, out of sight. It was definitely wide enough to accommodate the descent of all dozen disciples at once. "On my signal, you may enter." The Elder spoke, placing herself at the edge of the rift, where she felt a strong force of rejection from the rift, causing her feet to slide back slightly across the cavern stone.

  "Begin!" At that command, some disciples stepped down into the rift, others jumped, and yet others grabbed the side of the ravine and threw themselves down with great force.

  When Jun Li hopped down into the rift, she had already decided what her goal would be inside the Grave. 'If it's 'blood,' and of an Earth Dragon no less, perhaps it might be just the thing to finally wake that Immortal up…"