With urgency pressing and no time to waste, Yun Xiao urged Nine Kites forward. She led him through the lingering mists of the Celestial Court, over rivers and mystical mountains, until they beheld the elegant spires of many a palace ahead, clustered around the peaks.1

They had arrived at the Taisui Sigil Palace.1

Nine Kites steered their colorful thunderclouds, guiding Yun Xiao to alight before this grand edifice. Looking up, Yun Xiao saw the palace’s simple facade which belied its complexity. The walls, lined with glazed bricks, were interwoven with magical arrays and symbols that shimmered in the flowing light—ingenious and sublime, a testament to wisdom at every turn.0

At the entrance of the Taisui Sigil Palace stood a boy. Yun Xiao half expected Nine Kites to try and sneak him in covertly. Instead, Nine Kites approached openly and boldly.0

“That boy is...0