The days following the gathering of sect masters descended into an uneasy stillness.
Every sect quietly prepared for the inevitable arrival of the mysterious woman.
The Flowing Vermilion Sect, in particular, dispatched numerous Inner Sect masters to patrol the surrounding regions.
Even Zhou Shuxuan and Master Qing personally took part.
Meanwhile, the remaining Inner Sect disciples stayed within the sect grounds, prepared to respond the moment the woman appeared.
—
Beneath the mountain peaks, Zhou walked quietly alongside a narrow stream.
Dense fog drifted through the forest around him while his hands rested behind his back, his thoughts heavy.
That woman…
If she truly possesses neither Dao nor Qi… then detecting her presence within weather like this would be nearly impossible.
A sudden rustle echoed nearby.
Zhou instantly stilled.
His gaze swept sharply across his surroundings.
Is that her?
Silence answered him.
Then—
Tak. Tak.
The sound of wooden sandals stepping against hardened soil quietly echoed through the fog.
Zhou slowly lifted his head.
A woman's silhouette gradually emerged ahead of him through the mist.
Only to vanish a moment later.
?!
…Was that an illusion?
"It was not."
A cool feminine voice whispered directly behind him.
Zhou immediately turned.
Dao instantly surged around his body, forming layers of protection without the slightest hesitation.
Standing only a few steps away, was a tall woman with silver-white hair dressed in white Yamato ceremonial robes adorned with intricate patterns, paired with a crimson skirt flowing down to her ankles.
A sheathed sword rested at her hip.
The surrounding fog concealed much of her appearance. Only her crimson eyes remained clearly visible.
Zhou swallowed once before slowly raising one hand into a defensive stance.
"And you are…?"
The woman did not answer immediately.
The fog gradually parted around her while the clouds overhead slowly dispersed as well, revealing a vast clear blue sky above them.
"You are Chi Rong Guang's mentor," she finally said calmly.
"Or rather…"
"…the one who took her in."
Zhou's expression hardened slightly.
"How do you know her name?"
"I was tasked," the woman replied quietly.
Her gaze drifted elsewhere for a brief moment.
"By The Source herself."
Zhou's eyes narrowed.
"The Source…?"
"That being…?"
"I have no intention of killing any more of your kind." she continued calmly.
Her voice remained unnervingly composed.
Almost emotionless.
As expected.
Zhou's eyes carefully swept across her figure.
She is not human.
Not in any conceivable sense.
Then—
He paused, trying to understand what she meant by your kind.
Does she mean the—
But before he could finish the thought. The woman slowly stepped aside and revealed the horizon behind her.
Zhou's pupils instantly constricted.
Countless distant mountain peaks.
Entire sect territories.
Had been completely buried beneath impossible layers of frost.
The frozen structures stretched endlessly across the landscape like a catastrophic wave of winter swallowing the world whole.
Zhou immediately recognized the placements of several sects.
Places that should have remained hidden behind the barrier separating the Immortal Realm from the Mortal Realm.
And yet—
The frost had pierced through both regardless.
That is…
Zhou unconsciously staggered backward.
The strength nearly left his legs altogether.
How…?
How did she accomplish this without me noticing a single thing…?
His gaze slowly returned toward the detached woman standing before him.
One hand rested calmly against her scabbard while the other remained at her side.
"They attempted to hunt me across the Frost Peaks," she explained quietly.
"So I retaliated."
A brief pause followed.
"I neglected to restrain myself."
She slowly turned toward Zhou again.
His widened eyes remained locked onto the frozen catastrophe behind her.
"I may have gone somewhat overboard."
…Overboard?
That was restraint?
Zhou stared toward the colossal frozen formations wrapping around entire mountain ranges before continuing deep into the Immortal Realm itself.
Even the dimensional barrier separating realms had been forcibly breached.
And suddenly, the realization settled into him completely.
She's an entirely different kind of monster.
As Zhou stared at the frozen wasteland before him, old memories resurfaced within his mind.
The day the Conflagration Emperor descended.
The same day the Heavenly Jade Palace had been dragged down from the higher realms.
Countless cultivators had attacked her simultaneously.
Yet every technique, every weapon, every Dao manifestation had simply rebounded away harmlessly.
Like rain striking against glass.
Almost instantly, a sudden wave of cold snapped Zhou out of his thoughts.
The woman already stood with her back facing him, one hand resting against the hilt of her sword as numerous cultivators from nearby sects rapidly gathered ahead of them.
"How dare you slaughter our people!"
"You monster!"
"Die!"
Voices erupted one after another.
Some belonged to cultivators Zhou recognized.
Others did not.
Yet every single one of them carried the same fury in their eyes as Qi rapidly gathered around their bodies.
All of them preparing to challenge something they fundamentally could not comprehend.
The surrounding temperature instantly plummeted.
Frost rapidly spread beneath the woman's feet before crawling outward across the earth itself.
Zhou instinctively raised his hand.
"Don't!"
His warning fell on deaf ears.
"Run!"
The words barely left his mouth before a freezing gale suddenly exploded outward from the woman.
The cultivators had only just begun forming their seals—
CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.
Everything before her vanished beneath enormous layers of crystal-clear ice.
The frozen structures were transparent enough for Zhou to see them trapped within.
Some still had their mouths open mid-shout. Others remained moments away from releasing condensed Qi attacks. A few who sensed the incoming danger too late were frozen mid-turn while attempting to flee.
Then—
The ice cracked once more.
Web-like fractures spread violently throughout the frozen mass before—
SHATTER.
A deafening crystalline rupture echoed throughout the surrounding mountains.
"This was not part of the equation," the woman spoke calmly while slowly sheathing her sword once more.
She turned toward Zhou before dipping her head slightly.
"The Source instructed me only to oversee the future members of the Quartet."
"She permitted casualties should this world become hostile toward me in the process of self-defense."
Self-defense.
The word echoed hollowly within Zhou's mind.
His gaze slowly drifted toward the remains of the shattered ice.
Only water remained.
Nothing else.
No blood.
No flesh.
No trace of the cultivators who had stood there mere moments ago.
As though they had never existed at all.
And in that moment, Zhou finally understood the true horror standing before him.
Not because of the deaths. Not because of the overwhelming power. But because humanity itself suddenly felt unbearably fragile once forced beyond the laws of its own world.
Slowly, Zhou lifted his gaze toward the woman.
She quietly stared at the place where she had frozen over more than a dozen cultivators, individuals renowned throughout their sects, all driven by grief and rage.
Then her earlier words resurfaced within his mind once more.
'I have no intention of killing any more of your kind.'
'I was tasked by The Source to oversee part of the Quartet.'
The words repeated endlessly inside his thoughts until Zhou finally spoke.
"The Quartet…"
The woman turned toward him.
Her expression remained as impassive as ever while her crimson eyes calmly met his own.
"What exactly is this Quartet you keep referring to?"
She remained silent briefly.
Then slowly lifted her gaze toward the heavens above.
But Zhou quickly realized—
She was not looking at the sky itself.
She was looking far beyond it.
Beyond the heavens Zhou Shuxuan had known for thousands of years.
Perhaps toward the same unreachable place where the Conflagration Emperor herself had vanished long ago.
"The Quartet," the woman began quietly,
"…are the pillars of existence that maintain all things."
"Universes."
"Realities."
"Timelines."
"Stories."
"Fate."
Her gaze slowly drifted back toward him.
"…And every fundamental principle required for existence itself to be."
The woman calmly walked toward the puddles left behind by the shattered ice earlier.
Then lightly waved her hand once. The water instantly turned into drifting steam.
Zhou silently watched. A cold sense of dread slowly crawled down his spine while waiting for her to continue.
"They are the beings responsible for shaping concepts such as your *Dao* into existence."
Her voice remained calm.
Detached.
Absolute.
"And Chi Rong Guang…"
A brief pause followed.
"…is destined to become one of those principles in the near future."
The moment those words registered within Zhou's mind, everything finally connected. The indescribable entity he had once seen lingering behind Guang.
The unnatural pressure surrounding her existence.
And the impossible potential hidden within that girl from the rice fields.
"The Source herself entrusted me with overseeing Chi Rong Guang's growth," the woman continued calmly.
Zhou's gaze immediately snapped back toward her.
"And sooner or later…"
Her voice trailed off.
Her crimson eyes slowly shifted toward the horizon.
Toward a distant streak of salmon-pink rapidly approaching at an impossible speed.
"…given the circumstances…"
"…she may descend earlier than intended."
CLANG.
A deafening metallic impact erupted through the mountains. In a single instant, the woman's sword was already unsheathed.
Far too fast for even Zhou to properly follow.
Sparks exploded outward as her blade collided directly against Guang's sword.
"Chi Rong Guang!" Zhou shouted instinctively.
But Guang never looked toward him.
Her fiery golden eyes remained locked entirely onto the detached woman before her.
The ground beneath Guang's feet had already collapsed into a crater from the sheer force of her arrival.
"Master Zhou!" Guang shouted.
"Please run!"
She suddenly twisted her body before kicking directly against the woman's blade. The impact launched the silver-haired woman backward across the landscape.
Yet strangely—
The ground beneath her remained almost untouched. Only a faint burst of dust scattered outward.
Guang immediately shifted into a battle stance before glancing back toward Zhou.
Only to realize—
He still had not moved.
"Master!"
Her voice tightened urgently.
"Please… go!"