A certain Great World.
Magnificent buildings gleamed with golden light, arranged in tier upon tier. Lotuses stood sacred and pure, birds chirped joyfully, and waves of Buddhist chants echoed through the complex. The living beings kneeling at the foot of the mountain wore peaceful, serene expressions. Drifting clouds, mountains, and waters carried an air of tranquility, like a pure land of paradise.
The view drew closer to a courtyard, where several yellow-robed cultivators hurried into a room. They cast a spell to seal the courtyard, as though they were awaiting someone.
A moment later, a fair-skinned, round, plump cultivator appeared indoors. Bending at the waist with his head lowered, he carefully inspected the body that had lost its Primordial Spirit and whose spiritual energy had dispersed. After a long while, he rose with a frown and swept his gaze around, but found no trace of intrusion.
A young attendant beside him bent over and hurried soundlessly across the room, bringing over a fragrant wooden tray.
The fair, plump cultivator picked up the palm-sized booklet from the tray and read it carefully, learning what the deceased had done over recent days.
With a wave of his hand, he drew over the exquisitely crafted silver disk beside the body and poured dharma power into it. A thin layer of cloud mist rose within the disk, along with two points of light. It was a star map of the void surrounding the remote Small Worlds. The fair, plump cultivator had no idea who had killed the man so silently, or by what means. The deceased had been involved in certain secrets, and the matter was too important to allow any mistake. After much deliberation, he decided to personally investigate the two Small Worlds. Even if he could not secretly cross into the lower