Dusk deepened. On the mountain behind the Knowledge and Practice Institute, an unremarkable earthen mound cast a long, slanting shadow in the evening light. A lone blue-gray stone tablet stood there, the marks of wind and rain etched into its surface like the wrinkles of time.
Even in late autumn, the mountain's vegetation remained lush. Yet within a hundred feet of this mound, not a blade of grass grew, lending the place an indescribable, deathly stillness.
At some unknown point, several fine cracks had opened in the firmly packed earth, like the corners of a sleeping fierce beast's mouth curling slightly apart. Wisps of faint gray-black vapor seeped through them, carrying waves of icy chill.
Tiny motes of dust trembled restlessly and floated in the disturbed air. Even the surrounding Heaven and Earth primordial energy grew turbulent and agitated, as though something terribly savage were stirring underground, trying to break its bonds.
Beneath this mound lay Zhenyue Prison, a name that made people pale at its mere mention. It held not only indestructible black iron cells and an ever-changing Five Elements grand formation, but also an unparalleled strand of sword intent laid down personally by Li Xingzhi, director of the Knowledge and Practice Institute. Like the divine needle that steadied the seas, it suppressed the monstrous villains imprisoned here.
Lin Qiu Chi stood quietly nearby. The mountain breeze swept past, lifting a few loose strands beside her temples. She still wore a simple, elegant cloth dress, her hair meticulously arranged in a married woman's bun and wrapped in a blue-and-white kerchief.
Time had left a few fine lines on her lovely face, but they could not conceal the intelligence and serenity that radiated from within.
Deep underground, the mighty sword intent she knew in her very bones pulsed faintly, like