Shangguan Mu'er opened her eyes, finding herself standing amidst a vast, emerald-green plain that stretched toward an infinite horizon.
The air here was sweet, saturated with a concentration of spiritual Qi so dense it felt like breathing liquid silk.
However, it was not the beauty of the plains that stole her breath. It was the sky.
Hanging directly above the center of the world was a majestic, floating gothic fortress of such architectural arrogance that it seemed to mock the laws of heaven itself.
Its spires were made of obsidian and white bone, and its walls were etched with silver runes that pulsed with a rhythmic, heartbeat-like cadence.
The sheer aura radiating from the structure was suffocating; it was a power that sat far beyond her comprehension, a density of Law that made her feel like a child staring at a sun.
"Is there... another trial?" Mu'er wondered aloud, her voice barely a whisper in the immense quiet of the plains.
