Jagged rocks rose steeply, the waters cold and the mountains bleak. Not only was there no trace of human habitation, even the chirping of insects and birds was faint and fitful, barely audible.
Desolate and cold, bleak and silent-
Only the waters of the marsh rose and fell in gentle waves, washing over its many islets, swelling and receding amid heavy mist and dense fog.
Schools of brocade carp followed the waves, breathing in and out the moon's clear radiance, their forms flickering in and out of sight within the Mist Haze...
After nearly an hour, Chen Heng descended from the clouds and arrived on this large, desolate island.
He stood upon a reef, gazing into the distant sky, a faintly thoughtful look on his face.
This place was called He Guang Reef. Though it lay within Xiaoming Great Marsh, the tangled geomagnetic forces of its earth veins made it far from prime spiritual land, so few disciples built huts here to live.
Only occasionally, on spring or autumn outings, did they choose this place for a feast, enjoying the scenery and amusing themselves with zithers and wine.
It was now midnight, so naturally the place was deserted.
The very first line of the letter had come straight to the point, instructing Chen Heng to come to He Guang Reef three days after emerging from seclusion, so he could be taken to meet an elder.
As for the final passage, the sender had specifically identified himself.
He said he was the old Daoist who had broken the formation back in the Eastern Sea and brought him to Changying...
And after reading the letter,
Chen Heng had vaguely formed a guess.
At their first meeting, the old Daoist Zhou Ji had disguised himself as had explicitly said that he had intervened