Though it was the New Year holiday, the weather was bitterly cold. Ever since the floods began, the climate across the prefectures of Lingdong Circuit had been highly abnormal that year. Winter had arrived late, only to turn fiercely cold once it came.
The Datong River, once a mighty waterway, now ran low. More unusually still, most of its course had frozen over.
Despite this, Lingdong had seen only a few snowfalls, and even those had been light. Without a blanket of white snow, the land wore the withered yellow hues of winter.
None of this was much of a shock to the people of Lingdong, however. All that remained was to wait for the spring plowing.
By now, Yi Shuyuan increasingly suspected that this was one of the tribulations of the solar terms. Yet his continued presence in Lingdong seemed, instead, to have become an unfavorable factor.
Since that was the case, Yi Shuyuan simply decided to leave. Stoneborn had weathered the Rainwater Tribulation with him back then. If this one was counted from its beginning, Qi Zhongbin could be said to have stepped into End of Heat.
On the first day of the first lunar month, an immortal riding a cloud appeared above the Heavenly Steps.
The Heavenly Steps were more like a magical treasure for guiding travelers, making it easier to find the road to heaven from anywhere under this Celestial Court's jurisdiction. Of course, the prerequisite was that the Heavenly Steps would reveal themselves to you, whether through your ability or your status. Without either, ascending to the Heavenly Realm was no simple matter.
Naturally, none of this presented much difficulty to Yi Shuyuan now.
Before the Heavenly Gate at the end of the Heavenly Steps, the god guarding the entrance periodically swept his gaze