The group flew higher, the air growing thin and cold. The world below became a tapestry of green and brown, the mountains mere wrinkles in the earth. They soared until they reached a place where the blue of the sky deepened and the only solid things were the endless, sculpted banks of cloud. Being this high, with the sun blazing unfiltered and the wind a constant, clean roar, made even their burdened hearts feel momentarily light.
Gen looked around, a genuine grin splitting his face. "What a beautiful sight!"
Beside him, riding her gentle updraft, Lorel smiled and nodded, the wind tugging strands of hair from her silver pin.
Liang pointed ahead, his voice cutting through the wind. "Over there. The cultivators are gathering."
They turned their gaze. In the middle of the vast, empty sky hung a floating platform of weathered, pale stone, etched with ancient, spiraling formations that glowed with a faint blue light. Upon it stood a gathering of cultivators—several dozen at least. From this distance, they were a cluster of colorful dots, but the distinctive glint of jade pendants at their throats was clear.
Seeing that, Gen's hand flew to his own neck. His fingers found only the rough fabric of his robe collar. A flash of panic crossed his face. "The pendant—!"
That was when Liang tapped him firmly on the shoulder. "Calm down. I have them." With the efficient air of someone who had managed logistics while others trained or grieved, Liang produced four simple jade pendants from a fold in his robe. He distributed them, and they all slipped the cords over their heads. The jade felt cool against their skin.
Chubbs hefted his pendant, peering at the milky green stone. "A thing like this could fetch a princely sum from a cultivator who fancies worldly objects over worldly trials," he mused, his old mind gears automatically appraising.
Lorel laughed, a soft, clear sound. "Chubbs, we need to focus."
They descended towards the platform, their arrival seeming to be the last. As their feet touched the ancient stone, a ripple of attention passed through the assembled crowd. Dozens of assessing glances swept over them.
Many did not know what Gen Jiang looked like. In his old, mended robes from the Jiang Mountain—respectable but far from the opulent silks and gleaming armor worn by many present—he looked like a disciple from a minor, impoverished sect. Some whispers, not meant to be subtle, reached their ears.
"...how did a broke-looking guy like that get a jade pendant?"
"The only possible reason is strength. There is no other reason. Look at the girl there. That's Lorel Feng. Rumors have it she fought a Divine General alongside Gen Jiang."
"Back then, really? She's gorgeous..."
Gen and his group approached the gathered crowd, and as they drew near, the jade pendants at their throats began to emit a soft, synchronized glow. An invisible barrier around the platform's edge flickered with concentric rings of light and then parted, allowing them to step inside the main congregation.
The platform was a sea of powerful auras. In the very center, surrounded by the most potent presences, stood a young cultivator probably in his early twenties. He had an easy, confident smile and stood with a posture that suggested he was holding court, giving the impression of a king among champions. Gen marked him immediately.
*That's probably the lucky guy with the map to the Golden Touch's treasure,* Gen thought. *Look at how many powerful auras are around him. Even some sect elders came.*
Chubbs, his eyes sharp, pointed discreetly to a corner. "The Wild Edge Sect Leader is here."
Lorel nodded, her own gaze scanning. "Even representatives of the Kang and the Doom College are present. And the Li."
At that, Gen's eyes flashed sharply in the direction of the Li family contingent. The elder present looked older than most, his face lined, but he stood erect, a pillar of dense, quiet power. Furthermore, Gen couldn't tell why, but this elder had a faint resemblance to someone he knew. The sharp eyes, the set of the jaw… but he couldn't place it. The feeling was a faint itch at the back of his mind.
Then, the young cultivator in the center, **Camui**, raised a hand. His voice, amplified by a thread of **Shidow**, was calm and carried easily over the murmuring crowd, causing the noise to slowly die down.
"It is an honor for me to be surrounded by so many powerhouses," Camui began, his tone gracious. "Good fortune strikes only those able to seize it. Thus, I did not hesitate when fate led the map to the Golden Touch into my hands."
He paused, letting the weight of the name settle. Every eye was on him.
He continued, his smile turning slightly apologetic yet firm. "A point of clarity: the map is not on parchment. It is in my head. Meaning, if I die… I am sorry, but we might lose all hope of ever finding the treasure."
A wave of palpable chill passed through the platform. Many gazes, previously covetous or assessing, suddenly turned calculating, then wary. The most astute present knew navigating the boundless, shifting space of the Sky Ocean ruin was virtually impossible without a guide. They could wander for a century and find nothing. Camui had just transformed himself from a target into the single most vital—and delicate—asset in the expedition.
While listening to this, Gen's eyes were not on Camui, but on the future opponents scattered in the crowd. Although his primary objective was the **Zenith Sky-Root** for Lolly's cure, his mind was working. He also remembered **Shelia**, the old milky beast they had met while training with Black-Green Wood. She had spoken of the Sky Ocean with peculiar interest. Gen had no particular feeling about it, but he was curious about her focus on him and Liang.
Liang nudged Gen, his voice low. "This expedition doesn't seem as easy as it looks. Given the auras I can feel, Camui is not very strong. It could even be said he is the weakest person on this platform. Yet, he has the highest value."
Chubbs nodded in agreement, his expression uncharacteristically serious. "Camui was very smart to announce that. He ensures no one can take his bargaining chip by force. Furthermore, the 'competition' to gather the required Milky Stones… look."
They watched as a group of cultivators, following Camui's earlier instructions, began piling heavy, rough-spun bags onto a designated circle at the platform's center. One bag after another thumped onto the stone. In moments, a small hill of bags covered a significant portion of the area. Gen could feel the uneven lumps of dense spiritual stones through the soles of his boots.
*Given how many are required to open the Sky Ocean ruin,* Gen thought, *no wonder it took Madame Su over five months to find someone like Kin who wanted to help. This amount… it's simply impossible for a single cultivator to gather while also training and roaming to improve. But with a 'competition' and a jade pendant as the entry token, Camui managed to collect all this.*
After a while, the strongest elder present—a wizened man from a neutral sect—stepped forward. He raised his arms, and a complex bar of sealing energy manifested in the air. He swept it around the perimeter of the piled stones once, then slammed it down.
The mountain of Milky Stones began to *sink* into the platform as if into water. A brilliant, blinding white light erupted from the stone, accompanied by a deep, resonant **CLICK** that vibrated in their bones, a sound of ancient mechanisms engaging.
Above them, the sky itself *opened*.
It wasn't a tear or a portal of light. A vast, circular section of the blue firmiance simply shimmered and became transparent, revealing swirling, opalescent mists and faint, geometric structures of impossible size drifting in a silent, inner space. The Sky Ocean.
The cultivator who had naturally assumed the leadership position, an imposing man with a thundercloud aura, raised his voice. "Be careful! The Sky Ocean ruin is not like the others! The passage to the destination is very turbulent. Those with the weakest auras better stay in the middle of the group!"
With that warning, the crowd immediately contracted, forming a protective shell around Camui. Then, as one, the mass of powerful auras ascended, shooting like a volley of arrows into the newly opened hole in the world. One after another, streaks of light—crimson, azure, viridian, silver—disappeared into the opalescent void.
Gen exchanged a look with Liang, Lorel, and Chubbs. A silent understanding passed between them. This was it.
Together, they pushed off from the platform. Gen's golden light, Liang's shimmering stair, Lorel's pink-tinted current, and Chubbs's solid silver push merged into a single, determined beam as they joined the stream, ascending into the unknown.
The Sky Ocean was now open.