Next day.
Tian Shen stood beneath the tall shadow of the old registry building, his fingers stained with dust and residual Qi from ancient scrolls.
Rows upon rows of jade slips and ledger-bound books lined the shelves, some of them so old their protective wards had long since faded. Dust hung in the air, catching the light like suspended time.
He found it—tucked behind a wall plate sealed by a half-active formation. A fragment of a leyline registry… with alterations.
Three energy nodes had been forcibly redirected, all centered toward one location.
A name written in faded ink glowed faintly— Mirror Pavilion.
He felt a jolt in his gut.
It was a secluded structure often used by guest elders for deep meditation—one that had fallen into disuse years ago. The records said it was destroyed.
But the Qi signals said otherwise.
...
Meanwhile, Feng Yin and Lian Hua stood within the inner archives of the Elder Wing, accessing scrolls marked only for high council members.
