In the Western Border's endless desert, a streak of white light suddenly swooped down from the sky.
That white light was in fact a white crane, its crest vermilion, its body snowy white without so much as a single strand of mottled feather. Beneath the cold moonlight and amid the boundless yellow sands, the crane swept down from the heights, then suddenly vanished into the air like a ghost.
The ten thousand miles of yellow sand remained unchanged, but after a transparent ripple spread from where the white crane had vanished, layer upon layer of pavilions and towers appeared there. An enormous formation formed a transparent curtain of light, concealing this palace standing amid the endless desert from the eyes of the world.
Even travelers or merchant caravans who mistakenly ventured deep into these ten thousand miles of yellow sand would never have known that such a palace lay hidden in this land of nothing but death and windblown dust.
The white crane descending from the sky suddenly folded its wings and landed atop a pavilion.
A fair hand extended from the pavilion window and took the piece of green jade from the crane's talons.
The owner of the hand brushed a finger over the green jade token, and a faint radiance spread across its surface, revealing a line of flowing words.
The instant its owner saw the writing on the jade token, their body shook violently. They immediately rose to their feet and swiftly said to the two youths in green standing respectfully by the doorway, "Go notify the Palace Master and all the elders at once. Something major has happened. Have them all gather in the Council Hall to discuss it!"
The two youths in green said nothing. Each nodded, then swept away at top speed. The owner