Mount Jiuhua.
Buddhist chants drifted through the air, and sandalwood incense curled upward.
A figure in a dark crimson cloak, a straight blade hanging at his waist, climbed the straight stone steps one by one toward the Buddhist temple at the mountain's summit, shrouded in Sanskrit chants.
He stepped onto the final stone slab and slowly came to a stop.
Before the ancient and majestic temple gates, Ye Fan stood in silence for a long time before finally stepping inside.
"Ye Fan."
Zuo Qing, who had been waiting in the temple for a long time, rose from the steps before the main hall when he saw Ye Fan, his brows tightly furrowed.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Ye Fan raised a hand to stop him and calmly asked,
"Did you bring everything?"
Zuo Qing's lips trembled. After a moment, he finally nodded. "I brought it..."
"My master hasn't emerged from seclusion yet, has he?"
"Grandmaster Golden Cicada is still repairing the Heavenly Court Origin. He isn't here."
"Good."
Ye Fan nodded. His gaze fixed on the Buddha statues within the main hall as he took a deep breath and slowly said,
"Seal the mountain. No one... is to enter."
"Ye Fan, I think... even if you're going to do this, you can wait a little longer!" Zuo Qing could not help saying.
Ye Fan shook his head. "There's no time. After one dissolves into the Dao, the soul is absorbed into the laws and merges with the laws of the world itself... According to estimates, from the moment the soul begins merging with the laws until it is completely consumed, there are at most twenty-four hours.
"By now, nearly three-quarters of Zhou Ping's soul should have been devoured. If we delay any longer, he'll never come back."