The catastrophic pressure that had pinned the scarlet coast to the bedrock collapsed like severed twine.
High above the crimson runic barrier, the celestial thunderheads thrashed in blind confusion before dispersing into ragged ribbons of bruised vapor.
The oppressive heat cooled with unnatural haste, leaving only the sharp tang of superheated stone .
Down inside the sunken crater, Shen Yu stood motionless.
His bare feet rested on smooth, black glass that still glowed dull orange along its deepest cracks.
The dull bronze sheen over his reconstructed torso settled into his pores, masking the obsidian density of his skeleton beneath fair, deceptively fragile mortal flesh.
Within his dantian, the change was total.
Resting atop the nine-tiered foundation sat a jagged, pitch-black tenth platform, carved from pure heavenly lightning and sealed with unblemished Yang-essence dew.
