One circle.
Two circles.
Three circles.
Jiang Yu circled the ruined Mandala Array. After three rounds, she stopped before the pagoda's front—the direction watched by those Furry Dragon eyes. Then, holding the incense high in both hands, she slowly and solemnly bowed, stepped back, and performed a grand rite of worship.
The hem of her skirt spread beneath her like a great black flower suddenly blooming in silence, serene and magnificent.
One bow, then another, then a third.
After the third bow, the slowly burning incense seemed to have its very "existence" instantly drained away by some force. It burned out in a flash, leaving not even a trace of ash, transforming directly into a wisp of dense azure smoke. Like a living thing, it twisted and coiled through the air like a swimming dragon, and it truly let out a clear, melodious dragon's cry.
The sound was not loud.
Yet it intertwined with the witch's prayers, carrying an ancient resonance that seemed to connect heaven and earth.
Then the little smoke dragon swayed its head and tail before vanishing with a whoosh into the aura at the Black Green Small Pagoda's highest level.
Only then did Jiang Yu slowly straighten.
The magnificent and solemn Black Shenyi Robe she wore silently faded away like a receding tide, revealing once more her simple pale robe. Her long hair returned to being casually pinned up with a wooden hairpin. Only the lingering solemnity in her eyes, along with the magical afterglow still faintly resonating with the Dragon Nest around her, proved that the brief yet meaningful ritual had not been an illusion.
"—What was that?"
With the pressure around them gone, Xiao Xiao finally found an opportunity to speak, unable to contain himself.
At this moment, the ashen pallor had long since