A gentle sigh sounded in Evan Lin's ear.
It carried a hint of emotion that couldn't quite be described.
In front of him, the mountain seemed to sway with the wind, and that flower—budding to full bloom—opened in an instant.
But the woman standing there, atop the door, was always just a silhouette—her figure never fully clear.
The woman raised her head, her gaze fixed on the blossoming flower, freezing into a new scene.
With every subtle movement of the woman, Evan Lin's mood unknowingly followed along.
It was a strange and mysterious feeling.
He could sense an aura that was both familiar and unfamiliar.
But what exactly it was, Evan Lin couldn't say for sure.
"What's wrong with you?"
Yvette Locke called out from the side.
Only then did Evan Lin snap back to reality. When he looked at the door again, its carved patterns seemed unchanged.
It was still a mountain, a flower, and a person.
But now, the mountain had no wind, the flower hadn't bloomed, and the person hadn't lifted her eyes to the flower.
Everything just now felt like a fleeting dream.
"Did you see something special?"
Grandmaster Phoenix Bai, standing nearby, couldn't help but ask, "I've studied this little door countless times, and tried more than once to uncover its secrets, but always failed."
Her gaze burned into Evan Lin, trying to catch any clue from his expression.
But Evan Lin didn't even glance at her. Instead, he turned to Lucy Bai: "Come forward and look at the door. What do you see?"
Lucy Bai glanced at Phoenix Bai, waited for her nod, then stepped forward and looked at the little door.
When she was farther away, Lucy Bai could only see the outline of the door. Now, up close, all she saw was a blank white expanse.
"Anything?"
She looked at Evan Lin, puzzled.
"Reach out your hand."
Evan Lin spoke.
Without much hesitation, Lucy Bai placed her hand on the door.
Around them, Grandmaster Damien Graves and the others all held their breath, watching Lucy Bai intently.
"What do you see?"
Phoenix Bai asked, unable to hold back her urgency.
She had guarded this door for decades, spending most of that time studying it.
She wanted to open it.
There must be some special secret hidden behind this door.
In Phoenix Bai’s view, it’s very likely the orthodox path of cultivation! It might even be the legacy left by that woman who helped the Bai clan over a century ago!
The story she and Evan Lin told was mostly passed down by Lucy Bai’s mother on her deathbed, though Phoenix Bai made some small changes.
In the original story, that woman descended from the heavens, wiped out mountain bandits and tyrants with a single finger, and thunder chased behind her without end.
That’s the real story.
That woman was most likely undergoing tribulation!
Legend says it’s the final step before becoming immortal—transcending tribulation and ascending!
As for whether she succeeded in ascending or died here, Phoenix Bai has no way of knowing.
But she’s absolutely certain: after that woman handed the Bai clan this door, she left behind an incredibly important secret.
Otherwise, why would she let this thing be passed down for centuries, and why would she, in such a critical moment of tribulation, spare precious time and power to set up that agreement that runs through generations of the Bai clan?
"I..."
Lucy Bai’s voice suddenly turned hoarse.
As her hand covered the door, Evan Lin clearly sensed strange ripples spreading from it.
Those ripples flowed into her body, and a faint glow appeared on Lucy Bai.
The Woman Statue mark on her forehead slowly surfaced, growing more and more distinct.
That radiance circled Lucy Bai, making her look almost linked to the door itself.
Everything around them became quiet and sacred.
The door showed signs of loosening.
"Open the door, open the door!"
Phoenix Bai saw this scene, darted to the door, and reached out, wanting to force it open.
But her hand hovered there for a long time—she had no idea where to start.
She looked at Evan Lin, who once again placed his hand on the little door.
The white radiance grew even stronger.
Soon, the ink-white brilliance from the door swallowed Evan Lin entirely.
Streams of light flowed from the door.
"Such bright light."
Damien Graves instinctively stepped back a bit.
He disliked brightness, and this particular light made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Although the light itself wasn’t especially aggressive, the aura hidden beneath it made Damien Graves uneasy.
"Push the door, push the door!"
Phoenix Bai couldn’t help urging them along.
Her gaze was fixed tightly on that tiny door.
The elder stood beside Lucy Bai, staring ahead, deeply shaken inside.
Yvette Locke stood on tiptoe, trying to look past Evan Lin. She wanted to see his face, but even at such close range, she couldn’t make out his features.
The radiance was endless.
White brilliance completely drove out the thick, pitch-black darkness around them.
"I’ve been waiting for you for a very, very long time."
A gentle sigh echoed inside the Great Bronze Sarcophagus.
The sound was soft and crystal-clear, like a spring of water—just hearing it brought an indescribable sweetness.
"Who are you?"
Evan Lin frowned the moment that radiance appeared.
He immediately sensed something off with the Left-Hand Dragon. At some point, the dragon in his left hand had opened its eyes.
It just lay quietly coiled in Evan’s left hand, its dragon eyes open and icy cold.
It didn’t speak or move, but five elemental spirit markings—gold, wood, water, fire, earth—flowed slowly over its body in five-colored light, cloaking the entire dragon.
No one could tell if those dragon eyes were staring at the door or at Evan Lin himself.
"I am the one who has been waiting for you."
"You and I were meant to meet a thousand years ago."
"A thousand years later, how should I address you now?"
The woman’s voice seemed to come from an unimaginably distant past, crossing time to reach this very moment.
Evan’s heart trembled slightly.
The voice sounded familiar, with a trace of Lily Zhao in it.
But if it really were Lily Zhao, she would never speak to him like this.
Lily Zhao was Evan Lin’s master. Ever since he became her disciple, she always spoke with a bit of coolness, but never this overwhelming sense of distance.
This feeling was clearly familiar, yet deeply strange.