The following hours were instructive.
The labyrinth's deeper formations were not the simple qi-bolt type. They were intelligent—responsive to qi signatures, capable of learning from the previous thirty seconds, adapting their emitter patterns to the specific cultivator who had last triggered them. The passages were narrow. The ceiling pressure was low in several sections, forcing crouch-movement.
The Trial was, as a practice, efficient at casualties.
Liang's remaining five disciples had joined their group—bringing the total to Cang, Chen Yun, the princess, Liang, six Jade Meridian disciples, and three of the survivors from the fleeing group who had decided that following the man with dragon scale skin was a better risk than the alternative.
The formation traps killed six of them in the first forty minutes.
