In the freezing, twilight expanse of the Throat of Heaven, the sixty-foot bronze master wheel loomed like an unmoving gate of cosmic judgment.
Its six spokes, each thick as ancient cedar pillars, were bound by twelve solid white-jade chains that pulsed with a harsh, golden royal glare. Beneath the metal casing, the roaring suction of four hundred and twenty mountain-crushing pressure of stolen mortal essence shook with a nonstop, bone-deep hum.
Gu Qingfeng hovered a dozen paces back, his gray hair drifting in the cosmic updraft. His keen, sword-sharpened senses could detect the sheer thickness of the lethal defensive enchantments etched into the jade links.
“Kid, be careful,” Gu Qingfeng warned, his hand resting instinctively near his willow twig. “Those aren’t ordinary sect wards. Those are Heavenly Sovereignty Retribution Seals. If a fighter with flesh and bone touches that wheel without the Emperor’s jade magic charm, the counter-shock doesn’t just burn the hands—it tracks through the spirit veins, exploding the soul ocean within three heartbeats.”
Su Ling’er nodded solemnly, her nine tails fanning out in a protective crescent behind Lin Xiao. “He speaks the truth, Sect Master. My old family records mention that when the ancient Fox Patriarch tried to breach the drain tube seven thousand years ago, three hundred thousand golden lightning payback needles pierced him before he could touch the hub.”
