The Immortal Gate let out a deep, lingering rumble, like a heart that had slumbered for endless epochs finally beginning to beat again.
The surface of the gate beneath Chen Xuan's palm first sank inward a fraction. Then that depression spread outward from the point beneath his palm. The entire surface resembled an ancient mirror into which a stone had been cast, ripples spreading layer upon layer as golden points of light danced, reformed, and rearranged themselves within them.
Several breaths later, every golden point of light on the gate converged at the center of its seam, forming a straight golden line. That line ran from the top of the gate to the bottom, then slowly parted toward either side.
The gate opened.
Chen Xuan stood before it, watching as it slowly opened to either side.
Beyond the gate lay not a void, but a world unlike any he had ever seen.
The sunlight was a mellow amber, and the sky had a lustrous sheen somewhere between blue-green and moon-white, as though the entire firmament had been polished from an enormous piece of warm jade.
The energy in the air was so dense that it almost condensed into mist. Every breath brought a warm, soothing sensation, like soaking in a hot spring. Bathed in that energy, the Ninefold True Seal within his dantian slowed its rotation on its own, as though furling its sails in a sheltered harbor.
Within the world beyond the gate, the outlines of mountains rose in the distance.
Those mountains were unlike any he had ever seen. Rather than towering into the clouds, they undulated in exceptionally gentle curves. Their slopes were covered in fine, silvery-white vegetation, like countless slender crystal threads swaying in the wind, reflecting a light that was soft rather than dazzling.
A