At the summit of Stone Ridge Mountain.
The wind was bitterly cold.
Clouds churned beneath their feet like a pot of boiling water.
Chu Qing stood at the cliff's edge with his hands behind his back, his black robe snapping loudly in the gale.
A red figure appeared silently behind him.
It was Cui Moyang.
The Red Light cloak around her swayed faintly, like a fire stubbornly burning in the cold wind.
This red was not dye, but bloodlust solidified after countless killings.
Chu Qing did not turn around, yet his nostrils caught a faint scent of rust.
"Stuck?" Chu Qing asked, his voice so flat it carried no rise or fall.
Cui Moyang stood three steps away, her back straight as a ramrod.
She said nothing. She merely tightened her grip around her sword hilt, her knuckles turning an unhealthy white.
Chu Qing turned, his gaze falling upon her.
At that moment, a Profession Column visible only to him popped up in his vision:
[Cui Moyang] [Pathway: Sword Immortal (Top Grade)] [Status: Bottleneck. Killing Aura brimming; Spirit Grade has reached the limit of its capacity.]
In Chu Qing's perception, Cui Moyang was like a barrel packed full of gunpowder. Add even a little more, and she would either explode or ascend.
"Your sword is too 'brittle.'"
Chu Qing walked up before her and abruptly spread his right hand.
A damaged divine soul radiating an aura of decay was forcibly dragged out from the void.
It was the Remnant Soul of the Nirvana Dao Sovereign.
The divine soul struggled wildly in Chu Qing's palm, releasing piercing shrieks. Fine cracks even appeared in the surrounding space under the force of its resentment.
"Borrow your sword to refine its soul."
Chu Qing barked low, and the authority of [Enfeoffment] activated