The aftermath of the battle left Ling Xiao standing at the heart of the glowing Seal, his body trembling from exhaustion. The Hollow One had been bound, for now, locked away in a prison of light and energy. But Ling Xiao could still feel its dark presence pressing against the edges of his mind, clawing at the barrier, as though it would never stop trying to escape.
The True Stone hummed in his palm, its energy faint but constant, like a heartbeat. For a moment, everything seemed still. The world had not ended. The Hollow One had not consumed them all. And yet, Ling Xiao knew this victory was only temporary. The Hollow One was not dead. It was simply contained, waiting, patient.
"You did it," Xiao He said, his voice low but filled with respect. He stood beside Ling Xiao, his sword still drawn, but the tension in his posture had eased. "We've bought time. But we need more than that. The Hollow One will not stay sealed forever."
Ling Xiao nodded, but the weight of the True Stone in his hand was like a reminder that time was running out. The more he used its power, the greater the toll it took on him. He could feel its pull, urging him to **take more**, to **wield more** of its vast energy. But each time he did, the darkness inside him grew.
"We can't keep it sealed forever," Jian Zhen added, his voice harsh. "The Seal will hold for a while, but the Hollow One's power is ancient. It knows how to break free. We need to find a way to destroy it permanently."
Ling Xiao's gaze darkened as he looked toward the distant horizon, where the land seemed to ripple and twist with strange energy. The battle had taken everything from them. They had fought hard, but it was far from over.
"I know," Ling Xiao murmured, his voice barely above a whisper. "But how do we destroy something like that? How do you kill a force that has existed since the beginning of time?"
For a long moment, there was silence. Then Xiao He spoke, his voice uncertain for the first time since they had met.
"There are **old stories**," he said. "Legends about beings like the Hollow One, entities born from the chaos of the world. They say that the only way to destroy one is to find its **source**—the place where it was born, the heart of the darkness. If you can reach it, you can sever the creature from its power."
Ling Xiao's brow furrowed. "And where would we find this 'source'?"
Jian Zhen shook his head. "No one knows. The Hollow Ones are ancient, older than the records of any kingdom or dynasty. Some say they were born in the **Abyss**—a place beyond the boundaries of the world itself. A place where the laws of reality do not apply."
"Abyss," Ling Xiao repeated, the word heavy with meaning. "I've heard of it… but I always thought it was just a myth."
"It's no myth," Jian Zhen said grimly. "It's real. And if we're going to have any hope of defeating the Hollow One, we'll have to find it—and **enter** it."
The group moved quickly, their bodies still sore from the battle, but their resolve unshaken. Ling Xiao could feel the weight of their conversation pressing on him, the knowledge that the Hollow One was not defeated for good. He could feel the **darkness** lingering, waiting for the moment when it would break free.
The journey toward the Abyss was not one Ling Xiao had ever anticipated taking. None of them had. There were no maps, no guideposts, no way of knowing exactly where it lay. It was a place that existed in **legends**, a place so far beyond mortal comprehension that few even dared to think of it.
They traveled north, through jagged mountains and wild forests, their path marked only by rumors and fragmented old tales. Ling Xiao could feel the weight of the True Stone with him at all times. It was both a blessing and a curse. Every time he touched it, it whispered to him, urging him to **embrace its power**, to **use it**. But Ling Xiao fought the urge. He knew that to give in now would be to lose everything.
Days turned into weeks, and the air around them grew colder, more oppressive. The world itself seemed to be pulling away from them, as if they were entering a place where the natural laws of life no longer applied. The sky above them began to **darken**, the stars flickering like distant fires, as though they too were retreating from some unseen force.
Xiao He, ever the pragmatist, was the first to notice the change.
"This place…" he said, his voice distant as he gazed up at the sky. "It feels wrong. Like we're no longer in the world we know. The atmosphere is… suffocating."
Ling Xiao nodded, his eyes narrowed. The world was shifting around them, warping in strange, unsettling ways. It was as though they were approaching a **threshold**—the boundary between the living world and something much darker.
Jian Zhen, usually stoic and unshaken, also seemed perturbed. "We must be close," he said, though his tone lacked its usual certainty. "The Abyss is a place that no one should enter. The fact that we're this close to it means we are already walking on the edge of destruction."
Ling Xiao clenched his fist around the True Stone. The whispers in his mind were becoming louder, more insistent. The power of the Stone could offer them protection—could grant them unimaginable strength to face the dangers ahead—but **at what cost**? He could feel it now, the danger of being consumed. The power the Stone offered was **too much** for any one person, and Ling Xiao could sense that if he wasn't careful, it would swallow him whole.
"Stay focused," Ling Xiao murmured to himself, though his voice barely rose above a whisper. "We can't lose ourselves to this."
The further they traveled, the stranger the world around them became. The land beneath their feet turned to jagged rock, and the air grew thick, laden with an oppressive energy that made it hard to breathe. The trees they passed, once full of life, were now gnarled and twisted, their branches like the fingers of long-dead giants.
It was as though they were walking through a world that had been **forgotten**, where time itself had begun to lose its meaning. Ling Xiao could feel the pressure building in the air, an ancient, malevolent force that seemed to whisper on the wind.
Finally, they arrived at the entrance to the Abyss. It was a **chasm** in the earth, dark and yawning, stretching endlessly into the black void. There were no lights here—no stars, no moon, only the profound, suffocating darkness that seemed to consume everything it touched.
The Abyss was not a place of physical distance. It was a place where the boundaries between worlds collapsed, where **reality itself bent and twisted**. To enter the Abyss was to enter a place beyond understanding, where the laws of nature were meaningless, and madness awaited those who were not strong enough to withstand it.
Ling Xiao felt the True Stone tremble in his hand. The Stone pulsed, resonating with the darkness before them. The very air hummed with energy, and the ground trembled as though it were alive, a living, breathing thing that wanted to **devour them whole**.
"This is it," Jian Zhen said quietly, his voice tinged with unease. "Once we enter, there's no turning back. The Abyss will change us. We'll be tested in ways we can't predict."
Ling Xiao looked at his companions, their faces weary but determined. They had come this far, and there was no turning back now. The Hollow One had to be stopped, and the only way to do that was to face the Abyss itself.
"We move forward," Ling Xiao said, his voice firm despite the uncertainty churning in his stomach. "We face the Abyss, and we end this."
With that, they stepped into the darkness.
End of Chapter 22
In Chapter 22, Ling Xiao and his companions journey deeper into a strange and unnatural land, moving toward the fabled Abyss the source of the Hollow One's power. As they draw closer, the world around them becomes increasingly warped and oppressive, filled with a dark, suffocating energy. The True Stone's power continues to call to Ling Xiao, and the toll it takes on him becomes more evident. Finally, they reach the entrance to the Abyss, a chasm that leads into a place where reality itself breaks down. With no other choice, they step into the darkness, ready to confront whatever lies within.
If you'd like more chapters, I can continue to build the story step by step, expanding on Ling Xiao's journey, his growing power, and the world he seeks to reshape.