Upon the High Platform (6)

The subtle ripples stirred by the Spirit-Evoking Stones on the floating platform had yet to settle completely. Everyone's thoughts still lingered on the Spirit Domain, the Cloudwave Dynasty, and that mysterious craftsman.

Just then, True Person Yuanji, who had been watching with a smile, gently set his teacup on the table. The crisp little clink drew everyone's attention back at precisely the right moment.

"My fellow Daoists have been most generous. Every treasure you have presented is a rarity beyond compare. You have truly broadened this old man's horizons, and reminded me how formidable the younger generations are, and how promising the future."

True Person Yuanji's voice was warm and rich, his face bearing that familiar, spring-breeze smile. His gaze swept slowly over every face present before settling on True Person Yu Qing in the seat of honor. "Brother Yu Qing, we of the Primordial Unity Sect have come from afar as your guests. If you would indulge us, might this guest make a humble offering first, and invite finer treasures to follow?"

At this, True Person Yu Qing merely turned his head slightly and returned a faint smile. His silent assent needed no words.

Having received that unspoken permission, True Person Yuanji calmly raised his right index finger and tapped the empty air before him.

The gesture produced no grand display, yet it seemed to touch an invisible film of water. Transparent ripples, visible to the naked eye, spread through the void in rings centered on his fingertip.

At the center of those ripples, a mote of dust slowly emerged.

The mote was exceedingly small. Had everyone present not possessed extraordinary cultivation, they could scarcely have seen it. It was not still, but flickered constantly, appearing and vanishing. Each flicker seemed to pierce some dimension for an instant, skirting