At the foot of the mountain, everyone stared in astonishment at Huang Tian riding toward them on a deer. With such an air about him, he looked far more like a master beyond the mortal world than a seeker of immortality like them.
Deep woods, mountain flowers, a stream, a white deer, a child—
They were so dazzled that it took them a moment to realize the truth. Huang Tian rode his deer to one side and quietly waited for the grand formation to open, just as they did. This child was a seeker of immortality too, not the master of cultivation they had imagined.
"How strange. I thought seeing a man in his seventies here was remarkable enough. I never expected to see a child seeking the Way." Beside a mountain stream, amid the grasses, three people stood or sat and spoke in low voices.
"An old man fears death and seeks immortals to prolong his life. That's hardly strange. But this child really is peculiar. How did he find this place, and how did he dare travel here alone?"
"Shh. Say no more. This child has the clear radiance of an autumn moon. Anyone can tell he's extraordinary. Don't make careless judgments."
"Quite right, quite right. Speaking of which, the two months are almost up. The grand formation should open today, shouldn't it?"
"In two or three quarter-hours at most. Come to think of it, the grand formation used to stand open before the mountain, and anyone wishing to join Mysterious Cave Mountain could enter it on their own. Then one day, an old man rashly stepped inside. The formation bewildered him and trapped him in illusions for two days. After wild swings between grief and joy, hungry and thirsty, he actually fainted.
"Tsk. Ever since, Mysterious Cave