Spread the Feast, Raise the Ancestral Tents, and Comfort Those Bound on a Distant Campaign

"What brings the envoy here?"

Northern Kuru Continent was a land of bitter cold.

Inside a dark palace built of Mystic Ice, a figure shrouded in Black Fog sat cross-legged upon a jade throne.

Before him stood a child in a white robe. Yet the child's tender face bore a trace of weariness far beyond his years.

"That sounds rather distant, Senior Brother." The child shook his head slightly and cupped his hands toward the figure on the throne. "I've come with excellent news for you." As he spoke, he glanced around the empty palace and went on with feigned familiarity. "You've kept a remarkably low profile all these years in the Northern Borderlands, Senior Brother. Though you left behind tales of a demon sage, you've never shown your true face. On my way here, I even heard people say you weren't here at all."

"All's fair in war." The man on the throne drew the conversation back. "No need for anything else. Tell me why you came."

"Very well." The child sighed, then said solemnly, "This time, you have a chance to rejoin the Master's Sect, Senior Brother. It depends on whether you can seize it..."

"Enough. Venerable Master isn't the one in charge anymore. Tell me, what does the current Cult Leader want me to do?" the man on the throne interrupted.

The white-robed child opened his mouth, then finally said, "Since you put it that way, Senior Brother, I won't beat around the bush. It concerns a junior from Great Hua Mountain..."

"Master Soaring?" The man on the throne interrupted him again. "Well, well. You want to use me as your spear?" He sprang from the throne and tore away the Mist Aura enveloping him, revealing a stooped, scrawny, aged body. Who else could it be but