The quiet, incense-choked air of the Sect Master's inner sanctum at the Golden Cloud Immortal Sect was shattered not by a bell, but by the frantic, echoing footsteps of a panicked disciple.
The Sect Master, an 8th Stage Heavenly Saint whose white hair and beard flowed like a silk waterfall over his embroidered robes, didn't even open his eyes at first.
He remained like a statue of meditative calm, his consciousness drifting through the ethereal layers of the High Heavens.
"Sect Master! Sect Master! Emergency! There's an absolute emergency!" the disciple shrieked, skidding across the polished white jade floor and collapsing into a heap of robes and terror.
