"Aunt, since your fall, heaven and earth have overturned, the four seas have churned, and upheavals have swept through the Heavens one after another."
First Elder Yun Che's voice pierced layer upon layer of barriers between yin and yang, every word earnest.
The soul lamps flickered without answering.
"My father and mother both fell in the war against the Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demons. More than half our clan's kin and venerable elders either perished in the war or sealed themselves into seclusion unto death, never to emerge again. His Majesty... has also suffered a terrible upheaval, and his fate hangs in peril."
"I beg you, Aunt, for the sake of our Lineage's survival, for the sake of the bonds of old, return to us once more."
The elders around him exchanged glances, then bowed their heads together.
"We beseech the Lady Sovereign-"
"Return."
Their voices echoed through the sacrificial hall, lingering for a long time. Yet the soul lamps still only flickered softly.
Yun Che smiled bitterly. Was it still impossible?
Just as everyone's hearts continued to sink, a hum rang out-
All twelve soul lamps suddenly blazed at once!
Yun Che snapped his head up. "There's a response!"
"There's a soul presence in the formation!"
"Quick, stabilize it!"
The elders were instantly overjoyed. The entire Soul-Tracing Ancient Formation began operating again, countless wisps of gray-white soul mist converging madly toward its center.
Joy lit Yun Che's face, and hope flared among the elders as they gazed expectantly into the formation.
Then that joy froze. Everyone stood rooted to the spot, dumbstruck.
Something had indeed been sent into the formation.
But... b-b-but this thing didn't look anything like Yun Si!! Ancestor, help! What was this?!
At the center of the formation platform, a pitch-black mass wreathed in billowing chaos energy fell