The white light faded completely.
An endless sea of clouds appeared before Xu Ming, seemingly without boundaries. Every wisp of cloud was weaving and reforming, and ahead, a celestial palace seemed to emerge, glimmering with white light.
Xu Ming looked toward it, unsure where he was. He could only guess that it had something to do with the mysteries of the [White Paper Blessed Land]. A knot of pent-up frustration still lingered in his heart, so he walked toward the celestial palace.
Upon reaching its entrance, he saw that the palace was built entirely of azure stone and white jade, carved with mystic patterns. Ancient yet magnificent, it bore many images of dragons and serpents, the sun and the moon.
[Fine Splendor Palace]
The palace contained numerous halls and chambers, all brightly lit with crimson light. Divine envoys and serving women waited quietly nearby. One white-robed serving woman approached and bowed respectfully. "Welcome back to the palace, my lord. The Imperial Daughter and the Commandery Princess are waiting in the [Flowing Pearl Hall]. Please follow me."
He followed the serving woman down a long corridor, winding past the halls until they reached a magnificent chamber.
This chamber was likewise built of azure stone and white jade, with faint starlight shimmering within. It resonated with the mysterious principles of Lesser Yang, causing the [Evil Severance Descent] within Xu Ming to respond of its own accord.
Flowing Pearl was Lesser Yang's honorific name for the stars-
The thought flitted through his mind. He breathed out softly and stepped inside, where he saw that the ceiling was an unbroken night sky. Beneath that sky sat two women.
One was naturally his mother. Dressed in white robes, she looked sorrowful. Seeing Xu Ming approach, she said softly, "Ming'er."
The other bore an eighty- or