The terrain inside the valley was more complex than expected. The ground wasn't flat, but was instead covered in a crisscrossing network of fissures of varying depths. Some of these fissures were several meters wide and seemed bottomless, emitting a faint, dark red glow and an even thicker stench of sulfur.
Some gnarled, low-lying plants resembling scorched black coral grew sparsely along the edges of the fissures. Their leaves were curled, yet they exuded a tenacious Life Force.
Murphy stopped behind a weathered boulder at the valley's entrance.
He calmed his Qi, which was still fluctuating slightly after the fierce battle.
His Spiritual Power extended outward from his body like invisible tentacles, cautiously probing his surroundings.
The surroundings were dead silent, save for the faint, distant whine of hot wind blowing through crevices in the rock.
