The colossal green face in the sky was formed of what looked like drifting smoke—light and faint at first, but as it descended from above, it gradually sharpened into clarity.
Beads of cold sweat broke out on the Witch-Venerable's forehead. He bowed his head even lower, not daring to look up.
"High Heaven..."
A distant, ethereal voice drifted down from the air: "Understood."
The Witch-Venerable stood bowed and motionless. The Golden Summit of this sacred mountain was icy cold, yet sweat began to drip from his brow—one bead after another.
After a long while, he risked a furtive glance upward, only to find the sky clear and blue—the face had vanished without a trace.
The Witch-Venerable breathed a sigh of relief and hurried down the mountain, eager to leave this place behind.
A long time passed.
On the Golden Summit, waves of shimmering light rippled like water. When the radiance stilled, two golden-eyed suanni pulled a jeweled treasure chariot out from the glow.
At the center of the chariot stood a tall canopy, from which hung beaded curtains of pearls and jade. The canopy itself was crowned with three layered golden domes, each smaller than the one below.
The canopy was supported by four golden pillars, each as thick as an arm and seven feet tall. By every pillar stood a beautiful maiden, a halo of vital energy circling behind her head, her robe fluttering in the wind. Each wore a different color—green, red, yellow, or white. The girl in green held a jade bottle; the girl in red cradled a seven-stringed qin; the girl in yellow presented a sword in both hands; the girl in white embraced a pipa.
Beneath the canopy, glimpsed through the beaded curtains of pearls and jade, sat a dignified man in purple robes, upright and imposing.
The two suanni glowed with radiant light, their paws treading on auspicious clouds as they pulled the treasure chariot forward at breakneck speed toward the Central Lands.
Unlike the Witch-Venerable, who had been cautious, this treasure chariot did not avoid the vast Great Ruins. It drove straight in, streaking across the sky toward the Everpeace Empire, its occupant seemingly unfazed by the dangers of the Ruins.
Night fell, darkness shrouding the Great Ruins. The two suanni radiated overwhelming might, blazing through the gloom as they pulled the chariot onward.
Within the darkness, waves of demonic qi surged. Suddenly, they coalesced into a pitch-black hand that lunged toward the chariot and the suanni's light, swallowing all illumination and leaving only shadow in its wake.
When the pitch-black hand reached the chariot, no light could escape. Just then, the beaded curtain swayed and the girl in red plucked her qin, letting two clear notes ring out.
At the sound of the qin, the black hand paused, then retreated.
"High Heaven?" came a hoarse voice from the darkness.
The girl in red nodded. "Star Lord Jonas of High Heaven."