A warm breeze carrying the scent of blooming sea-lotuses drifted through the high arched windows of the upper spire pavilion on the second outer island. Outside, the morning sun sparkled across the calm, turquoise waters of the lagoon, concealed beneath the shimmering spatial dome of the Grade-4 *Void-Shrouding Sanctuary Formation*.
Wang Jian stood beside the carved spirit-wood bed at the center of the sun-drenched chamber. He had washed away every trace of the hot mineral spring and the musky perfume of the subterranean pleasure grotto, dressing himself in clean, scholarly robes of dark azure silk fastened with a simple jade belt. With his *Stellar Demonic Nascent Infant* resting calmly inside his lower energy reservoir, he restrained his vast spiritual pressure so that he felt no more threatening than a gentle spring breeze.
With a wave of his right hand, Wang Jian deactivated the final glowing rune of the Upper Lotus Recovery Array surrounding the bed.
