"I actually survived?"

Silent Fate, who had always carried himself with an air of dignity, now stood in tattered robes and disheveled hair and beard, looking utterly bedraggled. For a moment, he could hardly believe it. That black cauldron had clearly been no ordinary treasure; at the very least, it had been a spirit treasure. The power released by its self-destruction should have been far beyond what any Sage could endure. Yet he had survived! Not just him, in fact—every Sage in the Sea of Clouds Plaza had lived through the calamity!

Just as relief began to wash over him, a soft voice drifted into his ears. "Of course you survived. We merely covered you from the cauldron's self-destruction."

Silent Fate stiffened. A graceful woman slowly descended from the sky, her faint smile as calm as it was unreadable. The moment he recognized her, the joy of survival vanished, replaced by bone-deep fear. "Moon Hermit… you…"

Moon Hermit looked at him without the slightest change in her smile. "Don't waste your breath begging. I've heard enough Penglai disciples plead for mercy to last...