Deep within Mount Fuji.
Lin Jin descended the stone steps. The cold within the mountain grew heavier and heavier. By the time he reached its deepest point, the chill no longer lingered on his skin but acted directly on his soul.
Ahead stood a vast Stone Hall embedded in the heart of the mountain. Hundreds of ancient stone pillars lined either side, the dense Black Runes covering them all converging toward the rear of the hall.
Abe Gensai was already waiting there.
As Lin Jin entered the Stone Hall, the man who had guarded Mount Fuji's Yellow Springs Rift for a century rose from the stone platform.
"You just opened the final Abyssal Rift in the Rocky Mountains yourself, and now you've come to Mount Fuji." Abe Gensai looked at Lin Jin. His voice was low, but the chill in his tone was unmistakable. "Lin Jin, don't tell me you're planning to tamper with this place too."
Lin Jin looked past him at the layers upon layers of seals behind him.
"I want to enter Yellow Springs."
Lin Jin's utterly undisguised purpose showed no regard for him at all. Abe Gensai's gaze darkened instantly.
"The Asura Domain guards the Rocky Mountains. No one there can stop you from doing whatever you want, but Mount Fuji is different."
He raised a hand toward the seals behind him. "I've guarded this rift for over a hundred years. As long as I live, I won't let anyone open it."
Lin Jin drew his gaze back to him.
"I'm giving you a chance. I don't want to repeat myself."
"Move aside."
Silence hung in the Stone Hall for a moment.
Abe Gensai stared at him, the last trace of softness vanishing from his face.
"And if I don't?"
Lin Jin looked at him, his