The road back to Shattered Star Pass from the Dead Silence Sand Sea was shorter than the way in.
Not because the distance had changed. It was because, after Erosion died, the sand sea had begun to spit people back out.
Sheets of death-energy crystals congealed within the black sand shattered one after another, turning to ash at a gust of wind. The grains faded from pure black to dark gray, then from dark gray to an ordinary yellowish brown.
For the first time, the wind of the Western Wasteland carried a dry, clean scent.
Cold Water walked at the very back of the group. His white lashes hung low; he neither raised his head nor spoke.
Jin Feng walked thirty paces ahead of him. That distance of thirty paces had not changed since they left Shadow Tower. It was not Jin Feng deliberately keeping it—it was Cold Water constantly adjusting his stride.
When Jin Feng walked faster, he slowed down. When Jin Feng slowed, he stopped. He always kept thirty paces between them.
Yun Qingyue glanced back from horseback, wound the reins around her wrist, and said nothing.
Tuoba Shan took the five blades off his back and wiped them one by one. Once he had cleaned away the death-energy crystal residue picked up inside the tower, the blades regained their clear gleam. As he wiped the fifth, he muttered to himself, "My blade formation nearly broke against that sword intent on the seventh floor."
Jin Feng heard him. He turned his head slightly, silver hair flashing beneath the sunlight. "Barbarian King Sect blade formation. Five blades striking together, their momentum unbroken and unending. When your fourth blade entered the gap, my sword intent cut a nick into it."
"Right."
"That nick was not a warning. It was a