Two continued walking down the passage until it finally gave way to a massive chamber that took his breath away.
The space was enormous, with a vaulted ceiling that disappeared into darkness above. But what dominated his attention wasn't the scale. It was the sword Qi.
The ambient energy he'd felt throughout the grotto had been like a gentle current compared to this. Here, it was an ocean. The sword Qi was so dense it was almost visible, creating distortions in the air like heat shimmer on summer pavement.
Each breath Two took filled his lungs with spiritual energy so concentrated it felt like inhaling razors.
For anyone else, this environment would have been agonizing. The sword Qi would have cut into their meridians, shredded their spiritual pathways, torn at their cultivation foundation with every moment of exposure.
