After lingering at the Incense Accumulation Sect's mountain gates for two days, Tong Li and Tong Lan finally received word that Li Ling had emerged from seclusion and could meet with them.
They hurried after the sect steward who had come to guide them, climbing the long stone stairway. Halfway up the mountain, they crossed a walkway to the center of the nine palaces and eight trigrams, arriving at a pavilion built of fragrant wood and shaped like a birdcage.
The pavilion stood on a platform several zhang across. Its base had no support beneath it, simply floating in midair at a berth between two walkways.
"Please." The steward stood beside the pavilion and gestured for Tong Li and Tong Lan to enter.
The two stepped inside cautiously, but it felt no different from walking on solid ground. They could detect no distinction between this place and anywhere else.
The steward followed them inside and pressed a mechanism on one of the pavilion's pillars. The base immediately rose, traveling straight upward along a faint trail of golden light.
Before long, they reached the Floating Cloud Platform where Li Ling resided.
This floating platform consisted of five floating islands. The central island measured roughly a hundred zhang across, with a large three-story building standing upon it. Nearby were somewhat lower side buildings and lofts, while pavilions, terraces, and viewing platforms stood to the east, west, south, and north. Walkways linked them together into what seemed a single whole.
They had arrived on the eastern side of the main island. Beyond the pavilion lay a courtyard more than ten zhang across, planted with all manner of exotic flowers and rare herbs that bloomed exuberantly under the nourishment of rich spiritual energy.
Following the paved path forward, they saw Li Ling sitting cross-legged