He would not be broken now.
A surge of pure, raw Void Qi, cold and dark as the deepest abyss, erupted from Pedang Neraka. It was not his own, but a desperate, primal surge from Ye Cangtian. It clashed violently with the invading Qi Surgawi within Xiaochen's core, creating a chaotic maelstrom of conflicting energies that threatened to rip his consciousness apart.
He screamed, a soundless scream that echoed only in the depths of his mind. His body slumped further, completely unresponsive, his mind plunged into a swirling vortex of black and gold.
He was adrift. He was nowhere and everywhere. Colours bled into one another, sounds distorted, pulling him, tearing him. Then, with a sudden, sickening jolt, he found himself standing in a familiar place.
It was the interior of his own mind, a v
