Pei Jing leaped across the fifty paces of magma and landed on the western shelf. His robe was still folded on the platform. A faint green light ran over his bare chest. He held the three-hundred-and-sixty-pound Nine-Fold Astral Bone Blade in one hand. With the Heavy Earth Pillar to steady him, it felt much lighter than it had on his way into the cave.
The drill shrieked beyond the wall. Small chips of black glass fell away from the fault and dropped toward the fire. Pei Jing moved out of the way and went still. His breathing slowed until he felt as quiet as the stone at his back.
The wall broke open. Gray dust spread across the ledge, and a black diamond drill pushed through. The head stopped turning and opened with a clank. Cooler air spilled out of the tunnel. It smelled of grease and old tea.
A man wearing brass armor and thick goggles stepped through with a survey compass. The needle swung so hard it struck the glass. He lifted his head and saw the sea of magma.
“Ancestors above,” he said. “An earth-vein chamber. The Sect Master must hear of this at once.”
His hand went toward the red signal talisman on his coat. A Ghost-Shadow Needle stopped him before he could set it off. Pei Jing caught him as he fell and lowered him out of sight. He kept the heavy blade close. A full cut from it would have rung all the way…
