The Pilgrimage of a Thousand Birds

The platform lowered. It descended slowly, until it came to a stop before a stone door.

"Is this the entrance to Phoenix Shelter?" Han Sen was delighted, thinking he might have found it.

He looked at the many vines that draped the doorframe. They looked undisturbed, which told him Holy-Sword Emperor had not yet arrived. Or, if he had, the spirit had not come this way.

Han Sen summoned Sword-Furnace spirit. Treachery and danger might have lurked ahead, so he thought the spirit could make a fine decoy.

At Han Sen's command, Sword-Furnace pushed the door open. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary occurred, it just opened like any average door might.

Beyond the door rested a stone staircase that descended a very long way down. Eventually, the stairs took a turn. What lurked at the bottom, Han Sen could not yet tell.

Along with Bao'er, Han Sen stepped inside. Sword-Furnace led the way, and after some time venturing down, they arrived before a palace.