The glacial cavern swallowed Liu Jin whole, a maw of ancient ice and profound silence. He carried Lin Xueru’s still form with a dreadful reverence, her body chilling him even through the protective layers of his Qi. The crystalline scroll, pulsed with a frigid, spectral light in his hand, a beacon in the oppressive gloom. He moved with a purpose carved from desperation, his mind a singular, sharp blade.
He found a natural altar within the cavern’s heart, a slab of ancient, grey-white ice that gleamed faintly. Gently, with a tenderness that defied the burgeoning cold within him, he laid Xueru upon it. Her chest, where the black veins spiderwebbed, was a stark contrast to the pristine surface beneath her. The venom had deepened its hold; her life-force was barely a flicker, a dying ember in
