Gulp!
Phoenix Emperor swallowed hard and took several deep breaths.
Beside her, an Old Ancestor had somehow procured a cup of tea. "Have some tea!"
"Please, have some tea!"
Eight Old Ancestors stared at her with gleaming eyes.
"Old Ancestors, there was a man drawn above, seated upright on a chair covered in weapons and white bones!"
An Old Ancestor shouted, "That isn't a chair!"
"That is the Emperor Seat!"
"The foremost Emperor Seat throughout the ages!"
Phoenix Emperor rolled her eyes. "Fine, the Emperor Seat!"
Only then were the Old Ancestors satisfied.
"A man sits upon the Emperor's Seat!"
"Beneath the Emperor's Seat are black clouds. Within those clouds, ten cities rise and fall, guarding an Imperial Capital."
"Below the black clouds lie a mountain range and a great river!"
The many Old Ancestors were thrilled.
The oldest Old Ancestor was even weeping. "It is exactly as Ancestor Xiu'er described!"
"I still remember it. I was very small back then, and Ancestor Xiu'er held me while letting me look at it."
"I couldn't see anything, so she told me about it!"
An Old Ancestor beside her laughed. "Old Ancestor, you held me and told me about it too!"
The even older Old Ancestor slapped the younger Old Ancestor. "You little brat! If you'd amounted to anything back then, would things have come to this?"
The younger Old Ancestor...
The oldest Old Ancestor said wistfully:
"Above that person on the Emperor's Seat, was there also a stairway to Heaven?"
"At the end of the stairway was a figure with its back to all living beings?"
Phoenix Emperor nodded. "Yes."
"But there was a hole in that figure's back, and blood flowed from within it!"
That Old Ancestor said excitedly, "Yes, that's it!"
"This is the Great Figure Ancestor Xiu'er spoke