Ancestor Sui Bian’s eyes bulged: “How is that possible? Did they anticipate we would have a fallback and prepare ahead of time?” He had only just finished laughing at them. Now his face stung.

The Old Black Daoist’s expression turned grim: “Those people cling like ghosts.” Senior Ling Long asked without wasting a breath: “Xiu Yu, can you break this space lock?” Senior Xiu Yu stood with eyes closed for a time, then shook her head: “The seal is exceedingly complex. It will be difficult to break in a short time. Moreover, they seem to be herding us toward a specific place. If we force a breach, we could be dragged into spatial turbulence.”

Everyone’s hearts tightened. Their enemies had indeed planned far ahead. They had taken the situation too lightly. Ancestor Sui Bian asked, tight-voiced: “So what now? Let them lead us by the nose?” Ling Long’s gaze was knife-bright as she said, “If they want to lead us somewhere, we will go with the current and see what they are after.” The words lifted the group’s spirits; their earlier confusion drained away as they set their guard.

The starship pressed on through the pitch black. No one knew how long had passed when a dim light appeared ahead. It grew as they flew, until there was nothing but white. Ancestor Sui Bian squinted and muttered, uncertain: “Is that an exit?” Senior Xiu Yu shook her head: “No, not an exit. A spatial node, the place they intend for us.” Ling Long gave a cold little laugh: “Then we go and see what surprises they have prepared.”

The starship slid into the light. Everyone felt their divine sense shear away, blind to the surroundings, until a sudden lightness lifted their bodies and the white washed out. In its place lay a peach blossom grove, petals drifting in a breathtaking haze. No one had any mind to admire it; wariness and doubt filled their chests.

“Wasn’t this supposed to be an ambush? How did it turn into a flower-viewing party,” someone muttered. “When things are abnormal, danger follows. This grove looks fair, but I would wager there is a trap behind it,” another said. “Eyes open. Do not be fooled by appearances,” a third added.

They waited. Nothing stirred. Senior Ling Long decided to scout in person. With a thought, her figure vanished from the starship and returned a few breaths later. Ancestor Sui Bian blurted, “How is it?” Ling Long’s tone was low: “There is a problem. This place is a lone island. Beyond the peach trees there are no weeds, no insects or beasts, not even a breath of wind.” “So aside from us, there is nothing here?” “Yes.” Their unease climbed. The hidden hand that drew them here could not have done so for nothing; there had to be a scheme.

Senior Xiu Yu thought a moment and said, “Big sister, let us first see whether we can leave, then decide our next step.” Ling Long agreed at once and tried to lift the starship off Peach Blossom Island. At a certain height, the ship thudded into an invisible barrier and could rise no farther. They set back down on the island.

Ancestor Sui Bian swore under his breath: “What are they trying to do? Dump us here to rot?” Yu Zhao stood on the ship’s edge, eyes on the blossom-laden branches, and a thought sparked. As someone skilled in incense crafting, she was keenly sensitive to grasses and flowers. Perhaps the peach blossoms were the issue. She looked to Senior Ling Long and asked, “When you went out, did you find anything odd about the blossoms?” Ling Long shook her head: “I checked. There is no poison on them.”

Yu Zhao frowned. [Did I guess wrong?] As she lowered her eyes in thought, memory flickered. When she had studied formation arts under Tu Xiao, she had once seen a rare kind of array, a formation born naturally out of gathered heaven-and-earth spiritual power. Ordinary to the eye, it was fiendishly hard to break. This Peach Blossom Island seemed a perfect fit for such a natural formation.

She shared her suspicion and asked to go take a look. The others hesitated. In her current state, a random cultivator could swat Yu Zhao flat. Senior Xiu Yu prepared to go with her, but Senior Ling Long was not at ease with only the two of them. In the end, they decided that Senior Ling Long, Ancestor Sui Bian, and Yu Zhao would descend together. The Old Black Daoist bridled at first, but when Ling Long said he, aside from herself, was the strongest present, his hackles smoothed at once. He thumped his chest and promised in front of Ling Long that he would protect Xiu Yu and Red Tail, watching with satisfaction as Yu Zhao’s trio left the ship. Curled in a corner, Red Tail shook her head in secret. [All these years, and the Old Black Daoist is still this easy to trick. He has not improved at all.]

The instant Yu Zhao stepped from the starship, a cool breath of fragrance washed over her. Whatever breed these peaches were, their scent was pure and gentle, soothing rather than cloying. She had no mind to savor it. She walked the grove, studying the position of each tree and trying to tease out the pattern of the formation.

After a while she stopped, gaze fixed on a particularly tall peach tree. The grain of its trunk looked different from the others. Yet when she narrowed her eyes to focus, it turned plain again, as if the strangeness had been her illusion. Yu Zhao did not believe she had seen wrong. [That tree has a problem.] She stepped closer and examined it, her stare inching over every line of bark.

In the eyes of Senior Ling Long and Ancestor Sui Bian, the scene was simply a small girl craning her neck, standing stock-still before a peach tree. They came up beside her and, seeing how intently she was thinking, held their tongues. Ancestor Sui Bian glanced about, found nothing unusual, and set his hand on the trunk by habit as he muttered, “It is just an ordinary tree, nothing strange about—”

His words had not finished when change exploded. The peach tree flared with a blinding light; the lines in the bark writhed like living things. All around them, the trees began to turn; petals whirled; every tight bud burst open at once. A domineering, heady perfume flooded the air. Ancestor Sui Bian had time only for two words: “Not good,” before he pitched forward and hit the ground headfirst.