Dawn had not yet broken.
The sky remained ink-blue, streaked with a sliver of cold iron gray.
A Communication Talisman edged with flickering dark-red Earthfire patterns slipped silently through the restrictions Ji Yuan had laid down and hovered before him.
The Talisman Paper burned without a breeze, and Du Yu's deep, commanding voice sounded directly in his Sea of Consciousness: "Assemble at the Suppression Soldier Platform west of the city at a quarter to eight. Do not be late."
Ji Yuan slowly opened his eyes and rose. His bones gave a string of faint yet crisp pops, while his aura remained rounded and withdrawn, like an ancient well undisturbed by waves.
With a casual sweep of his sleeve, the layers of restrictions inside the tent receded like the tide, revealing its plain furnishings.
Almost the instant he removed them, the door to the neighboring quiet room opened.
Tian Wenjing stepped out in an unremarkable gray robe.
Their gazes met and parted. Without exchanging a word, they gave barely perceptible nods, then pushed off together. Their figures became two wisps of faint smoke, escape lights that nearly blended into the sky, as they quietly left the Guest Enclave and raced west like wind and lightning.
The Suppression Soldier Platform was no ordinary parade ground. It stood beneath the western inner wall of the City of the Celestial God, a place for sacrifice and oaths before battle.
Its foundation was built from nine enormous blocks of Mountain-Suppressing Azure Goldstone, a naturally heavy stone that could suppress earth energy and shut out stray thoughts.
The platform formed a regular octagon, embodying the barbarians' ancient practice of guarding the eight directions. It measured roughly fifty zhang across and rose three zhang and three chi above the ground.
When Ji Yuan and Tian Wenjing's escape