In a haze, Jiang Ding felt a wisp of his divine sense follow certain unseen threads of cause and effect deep into space, deep into the tides of nether wind in the starfield. It merged with them until he could no longer tell where he ended and they began.
He did not know how long he traveled or how many winding paths he followed before he suddenly arrived in an ethereal space.
A hazy figure was already sitting there.
The figure turned slightly to look at him but said nothing.
"Seven, four, nine, one, two, two..."
Jiang Ding, himself a hazy shape whose features could not be made out, slowly recited a string of 128 numbers.
They were not merely numbers. With each one, he displayed a distinct fluctuation of his soul, 128 in all.
This was the key used to verify his identity.
The powerful cultivators of their respective Immortal Orders had sealed these keys within their souls. The keys changed constantly, and if they detected any sign of soul-searching, they would destroy themselves. The Daoist Heirs themselves would forget many memories, permanently.
That was how the Immortal Sect handled it.
In an Immortal Order with harsher methods, the Daoist Heir might well die on the spot. It was merciless, but against a crisis spanning an entire domain, even a Daoist Heir's life counted for little.
"It has been a long time."
The hazy figure opposite him relaxed.
Jiang Ding remained expressionless and did not reply.
"Three, two, five..."
A moment later, the hazy figure began reciting a verification key as well.
Jiang Ding listened closely, checking it against the key in his mind without missing a thing.
This was the Shadow Demon Daoist Heir.
She had been lying low in the Horn Nether Domain for an unknown number