The black-robed cultivators had already fetched the items. As soon as Kong Guxi gave the word, the guest cultivators carried in a stand lined with two neat rows of soul lamps. The base was crafted from a dark-colored wood, and the faint blue flames danced gently.0

The bottom row held only life jades; they clearly belonged to disciple-level guest cultivators and were therefore not very important. A tier higher were the lamps of Kong Qiuyan and the others; most had already gone out. Above that were those of Kong Guxi’s generation; the lamps were larger, with more intricate patterns, and only three of the ten remained lit.0

The next tier was almost completely extinguished, with only a single lamp still burning, which Li Ximing could tell belonged to Kong Tingyun. One level higher stood another single lamp on a gilded base, which should correspond to Kong Haiying.1

At the very top rested an extinguished soul lamp with gold-and-silver...0