Ten years were but a drop in the ocean, slipping quietly to an end in the flick of a finger.
Shrouded in endless deathly silence year-round, the Death Demon Cavern had never shown the slightest ripple of passing time. Unchanging desolation and annihilation formed the eternal backdrop of this purgatory.
Yet within this realm of certain death, an appointment settled ten years earlier arrived precisely on time, without the slightest delay.
The ancient seal deep within the cavern still hung overhead. Layer upon layer of deathly restraints weighed upon heaven and earth, while vast annihilating power circulated ceaselessly, suppressing all life in this world.
But the two who had made that agreement always kept their word and had never broken a promise.
At the far end of the dark deathly aura, a tall figure in black stood quietly.
The chief overseer had arrived as promised. Tall and steady, he stood motionless as an ancient mountain, concealing his entire presence without leaking a trace of divine power. He simply stood silently in the air, quietly awaiting his companion.
In a secluded corner of the cavern's outer reaches, Shiheng methodically made his final arrangements.
He summoned the siblings Ryder and Linor before him and, with a solemn expression, clearly explained their entire cultivation plan for the next ten years.
From basic physical tempering and stabilizing their divine souls to comprehending laws suited to the environment of the cavern's outer reaches, he carefully instructed them on every stage's breakthrough goals and cultivation priorities, leaving nothing out.
Besides that, he gave the siblings enough Other Shore Flowers to fulfill ten years of assignments so they would not have to worry about their tasks. He also gave each of them a Soul Gold Bead and some daily supplies, concerned that his journey into the cavern's