They reached the place where the lights fell. The desert glass had melted into concentric rings, the remnant of some ancient array.
Ahead rose a jade mountain, nearly translucent. Palaces clung to its slopes, seeming to float in the air. This was where ascending immortals had rested, drawing Primal Dao Essence from spiritual roots before continuing their journey.
Su Yan studied the corpses along the path. One youth lay face-down, not a nuo master at all. He stood two or three feet taller than a normal man, with four arms.
"Natural?" Su Yan wondered. "Or are we not alone?"
Further on, wooden stakes pierced the sand. Impaled on them were living heads—nuo masters fused with the wood by some art of creation. The eyes followed Su Yan as he passed.
Yuan Qi shivered. "If they found the stone city, they found the road to our world."
"Creation art," Su Yan said quietly. "Not from the Six Secrets. Whoever did this wanted to send a message."
A shout rang out. Xue Ying'an flew backward and crashed against a cliff face.
A woman dropped from above. Four arms, feathers braided into her hair, her face fierce and beautiful. Behind her loomed a four-armed heavenly demon apparition.
She seized Xue Ying'an's skull with one hand, his arms with two more, and drew a curved blade with the fourth.
Su Yan strode forward. His fingers spread.
The woman's hands withered. Smooth skin wrinkled, vitality draining away.
She hurled her blade. Su Yan's snapped blade met it with a clang, shattering the curved steel.
She leaped into the air, golden core blazing to suppress his Mud Pill technique, and fled up the mountain.
Su Yan watched her go. "Not from around here."