The instant the black shadow lunged at Bai Zhi, Chen Wuya was just about to raise his hand when Mo Feng flicked a jade shard from his sleeve. The shard struck the shadow with a crisp crack and shattered into several pieces, but in the next instant, the gate of light stabilized. Golden light flowed through it once more, draping the four of them like a veil of gauze.
A force shoved them through. Their legs went weak when they landed, and they staggered several steps before steadying themselves. Beneath their feet was a transparent platform, as though carved from a single slab of polished crystal. Golden liquid flowed slowly below it, with indistinct words floating within, flashing past in an instant.
"This is..." Mo Feng panted, raising his head to look around.
High above them, an enormous coral tree thrust straight into the clouds. Its twisted branches coiled around one another, bearing countless bronze locks, each engraved with a different symbol. When the wind blew past, the chains swayed gently and gave off a deep hum, like someone reciting scripture in the distance.
Bai Zhi leaned against the Dragon Maiden, her complexion no better than before. Her fingers pressed against her abdomen, and her breathing was shallow. The Dragon Maiden supported her with one hand, while the other was already resting on the short blade at her waist, her gaze fixed ahead.
A figure emerged from the light.
He wore a grayish-white robe and was tall and lean. His face seemed veiled in mist, impossible to make out clearly; only his eyes were distinct, like two stars sunken in deep water. He stood five paces from them and did not come any closer.
"Three thousand years." His voice was not loud, yet it drowned out every other sound. "At