Inside the Main Hall of the Joyous Union Sect.
Tea fragrance curled through the air amid wisps of steam.
Si Chen held a teacup, chatting idly with Su Miaoyin, who sat at the head of the hall.
They called it catching up, but most of it consisted of Su Miaoyin asking questions and Si Chen answering, about little more than the sights of the Immortal Realm and the situation at the Forgotten River.
Su Miaoyin rested her chin on a slender hand, her lovely eyes shifting as she listened with one exclamation after another.
She was intelligent and knew her boundaries. Though Si Chen's heaven-defying ability to travel freely between the two realms shocked her beyond measure, she did not rashly ask about it.
But they had not even finished half their tea.
A dense chorus of air-splitting sounds suddenly rang out above the Joyous Union Sect once more.
Everyone inside the hall froze.
Su Miaoyin set down her teacup. Rather than panic, she shook her head and sighed.
"It seems... our Joyous Union Sect is destined to have no peace today."
She looked at Si Chen with a helpless smile. "The Mysterious One Dao Gate, Hidden Edge Mountain, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion, the Jade Pivot Palace... those old fellows at the very top of the Eastern Region sent me messages earlier."
"There was no stopping them. And now, here they are."
Si Chen understood at once and nodded lightly. "Let's go out and welcome them."
The sight before the Joyous Union Sect's gates was truly grand.
Dozens of enormous Flying Boats broke through the clouds and hovered in midair, their decks packed with people.
Besides Xie Changsheng, Song Chi, Zhou Yan, Luo Hongyi, and the others, those standing at the very front of each faction's Flying Boat... were