The floor did not collapse.It simply reset.
The golden script beneath Jin Yue's feet dimmed gradually, the concentric circles dissolving back into the grid pattern. The crack sealed as if nothing had happened.
Silence held the chamber for three full breaths.
Then the hum changed.
The lantern flames flickered violently.
The red beams above them blurred...
And the hall dissolved.
Stone tiles sank into earth.
The red pillars warped into tree trunks.
Incense smoke thickened and spread into mist.
Within seconds, the Distorted Entry Hall became something entirely different.
A forest.
But not a natural one.
Ancient trees rose in tight formation, their bark carved with faint talismanic script. The ground was uneven, layered with roots that shifted slowly like living things. A heavy fog hung low between the trunks, obscuring depth and distance.
The Sealed Pavilion had moved them into the second layer.
The Shifting Forest Zone.
