The pre-dawn mist hung thick over White Lotus Peak, settling into the stone hollows of the courtyard. It was a cold, silent hour, the time when the spiritual energy of the earth was at its most dense, pooling in freezing pockets before the first light of the sun could stir it.
Outside the prepared chamber, Elder Bai Zhen stood motionless, his hands tucked inside his wide sleeves. With a flick of his fingers, three formation flags sank deep into the soil. A thin golden barrier rippled into existence, fading into transparency—a basic containment formation designed to quiet the turbulent Qi within and prevent spiritual noise from echoing down the mountain.
