The golden merit nectar rain fell in steady, warm sheets across the Grand Merit Plaza.
What followed was a spectacle never before recorded in the three-thousand-year history of the thirty-six Cave-Heavens.
A synchronized, earth-shaking hum vibrated through the white-jade flagstones.
Then, columns of radiant breakthrough light erupted into the sky like an illuminated forest of glowing pillars.
At the front of the altar, Chu Lingxiao stood motionless, her eyes closed in deep meditation.
Her ancient sword, strapped across her back, suddenly surged three feet out of its scabbard on its own accord.
CLANG-SHING!
A blinding, three-hundred-foot blade of azure sword-intent cleaved upward into the golden rain.
