Within the Clear Vault Cloud Sea, Lin Tingzhi stood upon a ritual platform, waiting for something.
After a long while, he looked ahead and saw a streak of light tear through the sea of clouds and shine down upon the platform. When the radiance faded, Chen Tingzhi emerged from within.
Lin Tingzhi composed himself and made a fist-and-palm salute. "Court Executor Chen, you have returned. You must have had a tiring journey."
Chen Tingzhi returned the salute. "I merely made a round trip with the Origin Capital Mysterious Diagram. It was nothing."
Lin Tingzhi said, "Did Court Executor Chen obtain that item?"
Chen Tingzhi flicked his sleeve, and a wisp of Clear Vault qi descended. As it bloomed with light, threads of azure qi could be seen spreading downward within it.
He said solemnly, "By the time I arrived, that heavenly domain had already collapsed. I used Clear Vault qi to gather it back together, but I was only able to retrieve this tiny wisp."
Lin Tingzhi saw the azure qi transform into a drop of clear dew the moment it reached the outside, falling into the pool. Nourished by it, the branch submerged in the water—its trunk originally gray-white—became like withered wood meeting spring. A section in the middle slowly turned azure, and the color gradually spread toward both ends.
At that moment, a second drop of clear dew fell into the pool, continuing to sustain the spread of the qi. Yet it still fell just a little short of reaching the terminal sections at either end.
However, all the azure qi had now descended, and no third drop of azure dew formed. Deprived of further support, the azure color did not advance but instead retreated, drawing back upon itself. Before long, it had returned to its original state.