The Ancient One was at Kamar-Taj.
Naturally, there was no need to take a plane to see her now.
Apocalypse had only gone to the trouble of flying with Stephen before to put him through his paces.
By now, Wong, who had been evacuating civilians, had already made contact with S.H.I.E.L.D.
Under his guidance, the five of them-Wanda, Ava, Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Iron Man-went straight to 177A Bleecker Street.
They passed through the New York Sanctum's portal and arrived at Kamar-Taj.
Wong found Mordo and asked, "Where is the Ancient One? S.H.I.E.L.D. has brought news from Mr. Tang. They want to see her."
"She's in seclusion," Mordo said. "Before she went in, she made it clear that this was Life-and-Death Seclusion! Unless she comes out herself, no one is to disturb her."
"Well..." Wong's round face creased with concern. "Life-and-Death Seclusion is no small matter..."
Wong then gave the S.H.I.E.L.D. group a brief explanation.
As the name suggested, Life-and-Death Seclusion was generally undertaken only at a critical stage of cultivation where one's life hung in the balance.
Either one broke through or died.
Mordo and Wong had both assumed that the Ancient One had gained new insights from her discussions with Apocalypse over the past few days and wanted to improve her strength before Dormammu's invasion.
They had never imagined that Dormammu would arrive so quickly or pose such an enormous threat!
Disturbing the Ancient One now could endanger her life, costing Earth its Sorcerer Supreme and a powerful ally.
Even if she survived, interrupting her midway would surely weaken her rather than strengthen her, leaving her even less able to help Apocalypse escape the Time Loop.
Yet Earth was in dire peril, and they did not know whether they should wait.
After all, a sorcerer's Life-and-Death Seclusion