Qing Chen had been rather quiet along the way, lost in thought.
Several days later, the sky had fully brightened. Looking up, Lu Yin saw something like a mirror, its surface reflecting Swimming Fish, Water Grass, and all kinds of fantastical, beautiful scenes. Below lay a lake—the lakes surrounding Dragon Mountain. Light radiated from within the mountain, reflected off the lake, and appeared in the sky.
The lake was vast. Just as each mountain in White Mountain, within the White Dragon Clan's Zhongping Realm, represented a civilization, the lake also held one planet after another, slowly turning. Civilizations existed on those planets as well.
The White Dragon Clan did not have many members—not enough to sustain one of the Four Sides Heavenly Balance. Most of its cultivators were ordinary people, drawn from civilizations across the clan's planets. Those civilizations were like enclosures: as soon as a cultivator with exceptional talent emerged, they were brought into the White Dragon Clan and allowed to step beyond their world.
Dragon Mountain loomed ahead, suffused with holiness.
As soon as Qing Chen arrived with Lu Yin, someone came out to greet them. It was an elder with the strength of a Star Envoy, not a member of the White Dragon Clan, but an ordinary cultivator.
After they crossed the lake and entered Dragon Mountain, they found white rocks and trees and flowers radiating a gentle glow. The place was holy and beautiful. Qing Chen had clearly been here before. The elder, who had the strength of a Star Envoy, said respectfully, "The clan leader asked me to escort Senior to the Heart-Clearing Retreat. He said Senior prefers quiet."
Qing Chen reminisced, "I came here once, ten years ago. I spoke with Old Monster Long about cultivation at the Heart-Clearing Retreat. I didn't expect Clan