The morning sun rose in the east, spilling light across the high platform as though it had been plated in red gold, bright enough to stab the eyes. Yet in Yu Ci's heart, a heavy feeling hung like dark clouds, blotting out heaven and earth.
He sat on the Star Gathering Platform with his head in his hands, utterly lost. The old Daoist's disappearance had been so sudden, so mysterious and unfathomable, that his emotions had sunk completely into a dreamlike haze of confusion. Aside from anxiety, he no longer knew what he ought to feel.
Anxiety alone tormented him badly enough. He had summoned the Guardian Law Saint, hoping to ask what had happened, but that figure had suddenly vanished without a trace. Looking at the Flowing Water Sword in the center of the Star Gathering Platform, Yu Ci felt like a child separated from his parents, unsure whether he should go searching or remain here and wait.
In the end, he chose to wait.
Such passivity was not in his nature, but he truly could not make himself move. Nor did he know where he should go to search. He could only sit on the ground and force bits of reassuring information about Yu Zhou into his mind:
"Before he flew away, he reversed withering and flourishing. His vitality was abundant..."
"He was calm and smiling, sorrowful and indignant rather than dispirited."
"Right, there was also the Profound Truth Condensing Void Pill. It adds sixty years to one's lifespan!"
"The sect has not reacted either."
He piled up reasons like this, watching the Flowing Water Sword's shadow shorten, then stretch long again, yet Yu Zhou never returned.
A chill slowly grew in his heart. Winds blew at him from all eight directions atop the high platform, and he