Attendant Min unlocked the cultivation chamber with a key that stuck halfway. She tried once, then set down the lantern and worked the bolt with a flat tool.
“Does it always do that?” Yan asked.
“Since the cold set in. I told the manager it needs oil.”
Bai tried the key. It turned, then caught again. “This is not a room I would trust with a Golden Core.”
“It is not rated for one,” Min said. “The replacement seal is being made.”
The door opened onto iron floor plates fitted over stone. Old ward rings ran along the walls. Two fresh spirit-stone racks stood in opposite corners, still empty. Yan stepped inside and felt the room’s cool qi gather around his ankles. The institute had supplied enough stones for the complete Thousand Fractures method, but the larger seal had not yet been installed.
Gu carried the manual in its case. He set it on a side table and checked the chalk marks against the complete sequence. Qinghe checked Yan’s pulse and asked when he had last eaten.
“Breakfast.”
