The crimson sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in a bruised purple and fiery orange gradient. High atop Mount Meru, in his palace carved from living jade, the Western Emperor, Bai Ze, surveyed the celestial spectacle. His ageless face, etched with the wisdom of eons, remained impassive. But a flicker of surprise danced in his amber eyes.
From the corner of his vision, a spectral advisor materialized—a wizened crane with feathers like spun moonlight. Its voice, rustling like dry leaves, said, "Your Majesty, a tremor seems to have shaken the Nine Heavens."
Bai Ze turned his gaze, his eyes piercing the veil of reality. He saw the once-dormant Heavenly Court ablaze with celestial light. A figure, radiating power so potent it almost seemed to warp the fabric of existence, stood at the heart of it all – Ren Yuan.
