The scenery atop the mountain lay fully in view. Only a single pavilion stood there all alone, where travelers passing to and fro could rest.
At that moment, there was a young woman in the pavilion. At a glance, she looked no more than eighteen or nineteen, dressed in a snow-white palace robe unstained by the slightest speck of dust. She could not be called extraordinarily beautiful, but the feeling she gave off was pure to the extreme. Yet she was utterly different from ordinary young girls; in her pitch-black eyes, like dotted stars, there showed a hint of life's vicissitudes.
Youth was merely an appearance. No one knew how many years this woman had lived, but she had arts to preserve her looks, and so, whether in face or figure, she seemed like a maiden in the bloom of youth.
The escape light slowed, and the middle-aged Daoist brought Lin Xuan down.
Seeing that only the young girl was in the pavilion, he was slightly startled, but it was soon replaced by respect. He hurried forward a few steps and performed a grand salute. "Greetings, Ancestor Ye. This disciple has obeyed the order and brought that mortal here."
"Oh?"
The woman turned her head, her gaze sweeping over Lin Xuan. Her eyes were black as lacquer dots, clear and bright, like the waters of an ancient well, without a ripple.
In that instant, Lin Xuan unexpectedly had the illusion that all his secrets had been seen through by the other party, clear as day.
Mind-reading?
No, it was far more profound. Although the effect seemed roughly the same, in terms of mystery and subtlety, they simply were not on the same level.
Lin Xuan was horrified to the extreme.
Yet on the surface, he still did not reveal the