Stone Ridge Mountain's main hall was thick with air, as though it had been filled with lead.
Chu Qing sat alone upon the Emperor Seat. His fingertips tapped unconsciously against the armrest, his Dark Gold nails scraping against stone and producing a steady, piercing metallic rasp.
Within his sea of consciousness, purple fluorescence pulsed wildly.
[Karma Points: 980 million]
The weight behind that number was the wailing of countless beings from the Nirvana Dao, as well as the utter collapse of an Epoch's line of cultivation. His gaze drifted vaguely through the void before settling on the entry marked "Mountain Water Path · Emperor Seat Limit Break."
"Not enough. Just a little more."
He murmured, a low rasp spilling from his throat. As his will sank deeper, the Vague Phantom beneath the Emperor Seat began expanding madly, like countless black dragons slithering outward through the cracks in the hall floor.
Nangong Xue was the first to enter.
She walked softly, yet the moment she stepped within thirty feet of Chu Qing, her shoulders still sank several inches beyond her control. The gravitational field within the hall had long since twisted under the Emperor Seat's pull.
"Still not resting?" Chu Qing raised his head, his gaze passing over her cheek.
Nangong Xue stopped, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. "It's strangely cold on the mountain. They... are all waiting for your word."
Chu Qing did not answer. He merely beckoned.
Nangong Xue stepped closer. Chu Qing extended a hand, pressing his fingertip directly against her brow.
"Don't move."
Nangong Xue's body instantly went rigid. A cluster of scorching dark-purple motes suddenly erupted where Chu Qing's fingertip touched her.
It was the primordial Aura of the Heavenly Demon path—violent, ancient, and carrying a tyrannical force that sought