Shenhua Mountain.
Moon-Spraying Spring poured down the cliffside; cranes roosted among pines by the towers. From the foot of the mountain, the immortal peak rose steep and majestic in the distance—jade halls and jeweled pavilions, white snow, divine pines, waterfalls plunging a thousand fathoms, thunder and rain sweeping across its waist, and the sun crowning its summit.
"What a divine mountain and immortal realm. This trip was not in vain."
The brocade-clad youth looked proud and overbearing. At his age, his voice was in that awkward cracking stage. More than a dozen eunuchs flattered and fawned around him, endlessly changing their tricks to butter him up and make him happy. Not far away was an entourage several hundred strong: lavish carriages, young palace maids, and imposing Imperial Guards. The procession was heading toward Mount Hua.
Twenty years had passed since the founding of the dynasty and the unification of the realm. Jiang Mian, founding ancestor of the Yan Empire, had passed away four years earlier.
During Jiang Mian's reign, he had climbed Shenhua Mountain several times to perform the Fengshan rites, demonstrating that he had received Heaven's mandate to govern the mortal world, proclaiming peace to Heaven, repaying the merits of the myriad gods, and displaying the Jiang clan's rightful orthodoxy.
An emperor who won the realm on horseback had a strong physique. With nothing better to do, he traveled far and climbed high mountains for pleasure.
The second emperor, however, preferred remaining in the imperial palace to enjoy worldly delights. Yet the late emperor had gone to Shenhua Mountain several times to perform the Fengshan rites. If he did not go, it would seem as though Heaven and Earth did not acknowledge him as legitimate. But going himself was too exhausting. After idly turning the matter over in his