Li Bufan stood within that hazy gray space, the Sun-Moon Heavenly Crystal in his hand radiating a gentle, steady warmth, like a beating heart resonating with his pulse.
His gaze locked onto Bai Jianzhang's back. The Guardian Elder in moon-white robes stood before the black halo with his back to him, his spine straight as a spear, as though that silent posture spoke of an unshakable resolve.
"Little fellow, once we have all entered this halo, you must activate the Sun-Moon Heavenly Crystal. Old Kong must have already told you the method of guidance."
Li Bufan nodded. "Rest assured, Senior Bai. I have memorized the entire method of guidance. After you and the Elders enter the halo, I will remain outside and use my divine sense and True Essence to guide the power sealed within the Sun-Moon Heavenly Crystal into the halo."
Bai Jianzhang gave a soft hum, and there was a trace of satisfaction in his voice.
He said nothing more. He merely turned his head slightly, offering Li Bufan a profile. The expression on that face was calm and gentle, no different from when Li Bufan had first met him, as though what he was about to face was not a perilous battle fought with his life on the line, but merely an ordinary journey.
Immediately afterward, an Elder in a green robe stopped roughly thirty feet in front of Li Bufan and slowly formed a hand seal before his chest. Li Bufan knew that seal all too well—the opening stance of Nine Yang Body Protection, the most essential defensive martial skill of the Six Sun Techniques, and the safeguard that had saved his life time and again at the brink of death.
A layer of warm golden radiance began to spread across the green-robed Elder's body. Starting