Chapter 152: The Six Paths
After spending some good time with Yunru.. They had remained pressed against each other.
"The investiture is over, but your true mission is only just beginning."
BaiShe did not turn around immediately. He adjusted his sage monocle with calculated slowness, his heterochromatic pupils fixed on the horizon. ... "This young scholar appreciates the calm of this pavilion, Elder Yunru. However, I sense that your presence here is not motivated solely by the desire to contemplate the landscape at my side."
Yunru let out a small stifled laugh, coming to press herself against BaiShe’s arm. The heat of her breast against his shoulder was intense. "You are as perceptive as ever, Lord Executor. The Council of Elders has deliberated. The threat of the Devourer seems to have calmed on the surface, but a shadow persists in our karmic records. It is imperative that you proceed to *Immortal Grave."
BaiShe frowned slightly. "Immortal Grave... The place where Yin Qi reaches its paroxysm and where the Ashura remains sealed under the guard of the monks."
"Precisely" acquiesced Yunru by tightening her grip on his arm. "The seals are weakening. The Dao Temple fears that a resonance between your awakening and the hatred of the Ashura may cause a dimensional rupture. You must go there to assess the situation and, if necessary, impose your authority as Judge." ...
BaiShe finally turned his head toward her, his jade face betraying no emotion. "Consequently, logic dictates that I leave the safety of this temple to venture into an open-air tomb. Very well. Prepare the departure."
***
*Upper Realms, Toward Mount Hua...*
The convoy floated silently, only the light snapping of the reins punctuating the humming of prayers that the phoenixes seemed to weave in their wake. Zhi Mei accompanied BaiShe, her Sidhe silhouette straighter and more pious than ever in her light armor that highlighted her generous curves; a lock had escaped from her bun, brushing her cheek with each oscillation of the chariot.
Her eyes blue as the ocean scrutinized the steep summits of Mount Hua that began to pierce the purple mist on the horizon, while her fingers absently brushed the small jade pendant hanging from her belt, a talisman against the evil spirits of Immortal Grave.
Mount Hua was a spiritual fortress, a domain where the monks cultivated the Dao through detachment and meditation. The air there was saturated with a Qi so pure that it seemed to wash the soul of anyone who crossed its borders.