Beyond the towering palace gates lay layer upon layer of pavilions and towers, resplendent in gold and jade, exquisitely carved, presenting ten thousand magnificent sights. Amid the clouds and rosy mists above the terraces, colorful phoenixes danced gracefully, followed by hundreds of other immortal birds whose cries rang out in wave after wave. Within the palace grounds, clouds and rosy vapors likewise billowed and rolled. Immortal grasses that seemed evergreen for ten thousand years and immortal trees stood everywhere, clear and radiant, wafting a faint fragrance.
Within the palace, many young women dressed in colorful court robes flew about atop auspicious clouds, holding jade bottles, ruyi scepters, and the like. Quite a few children with hair hanging down in braids played beside the immortal grass or weeded it. It was truly a scene of harmonious immortal serenity.
Everything seemed perfectly normal!
Yet at that moment, strange radiance suddenly flickered from an extremely secluded small pavilion within the palace. Then came an unceasing series of crackling sounds, like firewood roasting in a blaze. Immediately afterward, a woman of about twenty flew swiftly over from the corridor outside. She was beautiful as a flower, and a seductive smile shimmered in her watery peach-blossom eyes. Seeing the light within the pavilion and the bright rosy clouds continuously pouring forth amid the sounds, delight appeared on her face. But then her brows furrowed slightly. She raised her left hand, her fingers whiter than snowflakes bending swiftly. In but a moment, her expression changed drastically, and she nearly cried out, "How... wasn't it still several hours early? Why... why did this thing suddenly fly back?"
After saying this, Baleful Intent appeared on the woman's face, and her sweet smile vanished in an instant. She immediately flew toward the pavilion. Yet before she could draw near,