Xiao Yun walked several steps along the rows of stone platforms, his gaze sweeping over the quality and age of the ores. He paused briefly before the platforms holding the spirit herbs, confirming that the preservation state of several plants matched their recorded ages.
He finally stopped in the center of the stone chamber. The silver-black pillar lay horizontally there, close to the edge of an indoor stone platform.
The pillar was roughly an armspan in diameter and nearly as long as the chamber itself. Its surface color was even, without obvious rust or oxidation. Only one end bore a faint, shallow mark, seemingly an identifier left during casting.
He approached the pillar and tapped its surface a few times with bent fingers, confirming that its density was consistent inside and out, with no cracks or layered flaws. Then he placed his palm against it and slowly slid it along the curve of the pillar to its base, as though determining whether the depth and direction of a fine mark would affect its overall structural strength. After stepping back half a pace, he wrapped the pillar in Spiritual Power. With a flicker of thought, the entire silver-black pillar vanished from the stone platform and was stored in an open area of the Pagoda Space.
Only a pale imprint remained on the stone platform, gradually fading in the lamp's faint light.
Bo Saixi offered no comment. She merely looked at the stone platform where the pillar had been, then shifted her gaze after a moment. "Since you have taken the sacred pillar, we should leave this place."
She did not look back at the stone chamber again. Turning around, she followed the way they had come toward the stairs.
By the time she left the rear hall, the light within the