Amid the blazing whiteness in the Sea of Consciousness and the shattering of its inner space, Zhang Tie's consciousness went blank for an instant, pausing...
That instant seemed both brief and interminable. The entire Sea of Consciousness seemed to vanish. As its space shattered, the two full moons, the stars filling the sky, Zhang Tie's Tower of Myriad Spirits, that Mysterious Archway, and all the Divine Runes within the Sea of Consciousness all contracted inward without limit, collapsing without limit. Everything within the Sea of Consciousness, including Zhang Tie's consciousness, seemed to shrink into an infinitely tiny point. Time stood still.
Then, after an unknown length of time, that infinitesimal point exploded in an instant. At the moment of the explosion, Zhang Tie's consciousness returned.
Countless spinning stars and galaxies emerged from the explosion. Amid their rapid revolutions, Zhang Tie's entire Sea of Consciousness expanded to more than ten times its former size.
Star after star reappeared—three hundred and sixty in all. Each of those glittering stars was as large as a hanging measure basket, radiant with light.
The two largest spinning galaxies contracted as they revolved, becoming two bright moons. Then the two moons collided, merging into one amid a dazzling brilliance and becoming an even larger, more resplendent moon.
The archway of the Castle of Black Iron appeared again, standing upon the moon, now completely golden.
The Tower of Myriad Spirits appeared again, within the moon like the Moon Palace of Guanghan.
The countless Divine Runes that had just vanished also reappeared. Within the moonlight, liquid as water, they were like notes and sprites upon a musical staff, born with the light and dancing gracefully. As the moonlight passed through each Divine Rune, strange celestial music seemed to ring out within the Moon Palace, while a wind born