The dark crimson afterglow pressed into the great hall. Madam Jin drove the Burning Heaven Sacred Chariot, its wheels scraping across the floor tiles and leaving behind a scorched black trail.
She turned her head to glance at the shadow on the throne, kept her breathing light, and silently retreated into the shadows of the side hall.
At the summit of Stone Ridge Mountain.
Dead silence.
Chu Qing sat alone upon a bluestone throne.
His fingertips tapped the icy armrest again and again.
"Tap, tap, tap."
The aftershock of tearing through the void still rampaged through his veins.
Purple True Blood boiled, battering against his temples with a ceaseless buzz.
Three days ago, he had slain the main branch of Nirvana. His blood qi had yet to settle completely.
At this moment:
A Profession Column only Chu Qing could see emerged in the void: [Chu Qing] [Realm—Reflection Realm Great Perfection (Unique)] [Special Status: Liuli Visualization Period—Revival Countdown: 00:03]
He took out a bundle of agarwood incense from his robes. A cluster of purple flame rose from his fingertip and lit it.
The blue smoke rose straight upward, neither swaying nor trembling.
Chu Qing closed his eyes.
His throat moved with difficulty.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, that thick spatial barrier was sliced apart as though by a red-hot blade.
"Buzz—"
His consciousness sank.
It passed through the prosperous illusion of the first layer of the Imperial Capital and plunged directly into those desolate, ancient, oppressive ruins.
The second layer of the Imperial Capital.
There was no wind here, no sound.
Only a woman in a black dress lay quietly upon a stone couch.
Liuli.
Chu Qing stood a hundred paces away.
His knees gave a faint crack, and it was as though ten thousand mountains had come