Entering the sapphire fluid capsule was like stepping through a veil of liquid silk into a secluded mountain safe hall.
Tie Shan had to duck his massive seven-foot frame, his thick bear fur parting as he squeezed through the self-sealing elastic membrane that formed the hatchway. Land-mapper Lu-Lu followed closely behind, his webbed otter paws clinging nervously to his brass scrying monocle. Meanwhile, Sword Saint Gu Qingfeng stepped through with the easy grace of a man walking into his favorite tavern. Xiao Long darted in as a streak of azure light, coiling playfully around the central ceiling arch.
The fluid membrane snapped shut behind them. Then, the howling, rotten-egg shrieks of the canyon wind were cut off fully.
Inside the twenty-foot ball-shaped chamber, the air was astoundingly calm.
The air was a crisp, calm springlike heat, circulating in gentle, perfumed currents that carried the delicate aroma of chilled water-lilies, mountain dew, and iced barley tea. The floor beneath their feet was a shallow, six-inch pool of crystal-clear springwater, drawn directly from Lin Xiao’s void dantian reserve. It soothed the heat from their leather soles within seconds.
At the center of the see-through fluid chamber sat Lin Xiao’s human avatar. An eighteen-year-old scholar in azure linen robes, resting comfortably on a floating dais of stiffened blue gel. In his hand, he held a fine china cup of iced plum tea, swirling it gently so the ice crystals clinked against the fine china.
