BOOM—
A peal of thunder echoed between Heaven and Earth.
As if sensing something, Su Zhou turned his head, his gaze passing through the great doors to the sky beyond, and then higher still, to the scar carved into the very foundation of the world.
—The rift had grown larger again.
The passage between Heaven and Earth was now open.
At this very moment, in every place, every corner of the world, every being and every power that knew of this moment and had waited for it, raised their heads to look at the sky.
—On Zhengyi Dao Mountain, five-colored lightning coalesced in the sky, forming tiered pavilions and an endless succession of gates. The rain and clouds transformed into beaded curtains that hung down to the earth, layered veils that seemed to form a path straight to the celestial palace.
Beneath the torrential downpour, a massive suit of exoskeletal armor rode the lightning, floating in midair.
