A month later, two figures flew side by side on swords at the edge of a vast plain. They were Lin Yuejing and He Sheng, still making their way north.
"Master Xiang, Upper Talisman Immortal City lies ahead. Why don't we stop there for the night and set off again tomorrow?"
Dusty from the road, Lin Yuejing looked a little weary.
She had originally wanted to travel north with He Sheng aboard an airborne treasure vessel. Instead, He Sheng had pointed out that the Golden Core ceremony was still some time away and suggested they fly north on their swords, treating the journey as a chance to travel and see something of Qi Province's local customs.
After some thought, Lin Yuejing had agreed. She had not expected He Sheng to poke around everywhere the moment they entered Qi Province while still traveling at a blistering pace. They had covered twenty or thirty thousand li in half a month, and it had exhausted her.
Fortunately, Heavenly Moon Lake, where the Moon Mist Sect was based, lay only a few thousand li northeast of Upper Talisman Immortal City. If she held on a little longer, she could complete her task.
He Sheng looked where Lin Yuejing pointed and saw a patch of golden light rise abruptly from the center of the plain.
As they drew closer, he saw that it was a pale-gold curtain of light.
The curtain stood over a hundred zhang high and pierced the clouds. Like an enormous overturned bowl, it enclosed everything for dozens of li around.
Dense, intricate formation patterns flowed across its surface. Every line moved slowly, giving off a pulse of spiritual pressure that made the heart quail.
That was Upper Talisman Immortal City's defensive formation, the upper third-rank Upper Talisman Heavenly Net Formation. Its