The other sat steadily upon the Nine-Grade Golden Lotus, his face withered, his hair at both temples meticulously arranged. In his palm, the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree shimmered with flowing radiance, its seven-colored halos flowing unceasingly.
"The two fellow cultivators from the West have arrived."
When Laozi finished speaking, he and Primordial Lord of Heaven rose from their seats, lifted the curtain, and went outside the canopy to welcome them in person.
The four met and exchanged bows, traded a few pleasantries, then entered the canopy side by side. The four sect leaders sat in a circle, a lustrous white glow hovering three feet above their heads, warm and smooth as jade. Within it, the patterns of the Great Dao appeared and disappeared, mysteries arising of their own accord.
The four sect leaders sat upright within the tiny canopy. As their lips Opened and Closed, Dao resonance surged; Zen chants poured forth like a rushing tide, while Dao energy burst out like rainbows penetrating their bodies, unceasing and uninterrupted. The clear chants of virtue rose and fell, light mist billowing upward. Boundless merit cascaded like a golden river, illuminating the Eight Extremes, vast and magnificent, filling heaven and earth.
Sandalwood incense curled through the air, Buddhist chants drifted melodiously, and the Heavenly Vault suddenly blazed bright. Immortal music roared like thunder in the ears, grandeur laced with unfathomable mysteries. Amid the swirling blue smoke lay both the ultimate principles of the Elucidation Sect and the side paths of the West, each with its own methods, each forming its own splendor.
Within that small canopy sat four exalted sect leaders, Great Enlightenment Undying, quietly discoursing on the mysteries, dividing yin and yang, deducing creation, and plumbing the Origin of Heaven and Earth.
The disciples held their breath and focused, as though