Nuwa shook her head.
"Those were only words exchanged in conversation. I wouldn't call it guidance.
There are aspects of your path that I have yet to explore myself.
Merit is easy to speak of, but exceedingly difficult to put into practice.
Especially for someone like you, who has made merit part of your daily cultivation, your dealings with others, and your responsibility toward all things under Heaven... This Dao heart of yours is one I, too, should learn from."
Xuande smiled wryly.
"Fellow Daoist, please don't make fun of me.
I'm merely doing my duty in the position I occupy."
Fuxi chimed in at just the right moment, his voice gentle and tinged with amusement.
"All right, you two, there's no need to flatter each other. This is Fellow Daoist Xuande's first visit, and he hasn't had a proper look around my abode yet."
He rose and said to Xuande,
"If you're not in a hurry to be on your way, you can walk around with me.
The scenery halfway up Buzhou Mountain is quite different from elsewhere."
Xuande had meant to say that he still intended to climb higher, but the words died on his lips.
He truly wasn't in a hurry.
Jieyin and Zhunti were in seclusion on Mount Sumeru, while Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun were cultivating in peace at Wuzhuang Temple.
The Earth Veins of the West had been restored, and the Primordial Wilderness was temporarily at peace.
He had no appointment he needed to rush to, and no task he had to complete.
He had simply set out to travel, broaden his horizons, and temper his Dao heart.
And here he was, halfway up Buzhou Mountain.
Meeting Nuwa and Fuxi, hearing Nuwa expound on the Creation Dao, and strolling through the mountains with Fuxi... This alone was a rare opportunity.
He rose and followed Fuxi out of the thatched hut.
Nuwa did not join them. She stayed inside, continuing to arrange the few wildflowers.
Xuande glanced back.
She was gently placing a pale purple flower into a clay jar.
Her movements were tender and intent, as though nothing else in the world existed but the task before her.
Fuxi walked slowly along a path through the bamboo grove. Xuande followed half a step behind, strolling along at his side.
"Is this your first time at Buzhou Mountain?" Fuxi asked.
"Yes," Xuande replied. "I only underwent Form Transformation recently, and this is my first time traveling through the Primordial Wilderness.
I'd long heard that Buzhou Mountain was the divine mountain that propped up Heaven and Earth. I've always yearned to see it, so I came."
Fuxi nodded. "Buzhou Mountain is indeed a wonder of the Primordial Wilderness.
My younger sister and I have cultivated here for many years, and even after facing this mountain every day, I still find its depths unfathomable.
The legacy left by Great God Pangu is beyond the reach of any living being."
He paused, then added, "You said earlier that you still wanted to climb higher?"
Xuande made no attempt to hide the truth.
"I did.
But by the time I reached halfway up the mountain, the pressure had already grown immense. I'm afraid I may not have the strength to go farther."
Fuxi smiled, his expression gentle and accepting.
"There's no need to rush to the summit.
Buzhou Mountain isn't something to be conquered.
Go as far as you can, and see as much as you can. There's no forcing it."
He pointed toward a jutting rock ahead. "That's where I usually observe the stars. If you don't mind the walk, we can go take a look."
Xuande followed him to the rocky outcrop.
From there, the view opened up before them.
Below, a sea of clouds rolled and surged. Above, snow gleamed on the mountain's higher reaches, where the Chaos Wind howled.
In the distance, where Heaven and Earth met, the outline of the Primordial Wilderness was just visible.
Fuxi stood with his hands behind his back, silent for a long while.
Xuande said nothing either.
The mountain wind howled, stirring their robes.
Yet here, perhaps because Fuxi had used his magic to shield them from most of the pressure,
or perhaps because this place was a point where Buzhou Mountain's pressure was relatively weak, Xuande felt surprisingly little discomfort.
After a long while, Fuxi spoke, his voice low and calm.
"After my younger sister and I came into the world, we wandered from place to place, searching for somewhere we could cultivate in peace. In the end, we chose this place."
He looked at Xuande. "Do you know why?"
Xuande considered it. "Because Buzhou Mountain is at the heart of the Primordial Wilderness?"
Fuxi shook his head. "Yes, and no.
The Spiritual Energy is strongest at the center, and the Dao's manifestations are most evident. That's one reason.
But more importantly, this place is closest to Heaven and farthest from Earth. We can sense the whole of Heaven and Earth without being constrained by the Earth Veins.
I deduce the changes of Heaven and Earth, while my younger sister comprehends the mysteries of Creation. We both need a place like this: transcendent, independent, and undisturbed."
He paused, then continued,
"Your path lies in the West, in the Earth Veins, and in merit. It's a path of engagement with the world.
My younger sister's and my path lies in this mountain, in the celestial phenomena, in deduction and Creation.
That is a path of transcendence.
There is no difference in rank between engaging with the world and transcending it, no superiority or inferiority.
We have simply each chosen the path that suits us."
Xuande listened in silence, feeling a glimmer of understanding.
Engagement with the world. Transcendence.
He had never thought of his own path in those terms.
He had chosen to remain in the West and help restore the Earth Veins.
His decision to work alongside Jieyin and Zhunti... At first, it had all been a rational calculation:
causality, merit, influence, self-preservation.
But tens of thousands of years had passed. He had walked every inch of the western lands.
He had personally infused the shattered Spiritual Veins with Merit Golden Light.
He had fought side by side with Jieyin and Zhunti, Zhenyuanzi and Hong Yun, sharing hardship and joy with them...
That calculation had long since been replaced by a simpler, truer feeling.
He had begun to care about that land.
He had begun to care about the living beings slowly returning to it.
He had begun to care about the fellow Daoists who worked alongside him to repair the Earth Veins.
Not as pieces on a board, not as allies, but as... fellow travelers on the Dao, as friends.
Perhaps this was his path.
Not transcendence, not withdrawal from the world, not standing apart from all things.
But forging his own way through this vast, tangled world of the Primordial Wilderness.
Bearing something, protecting something, accomplishing something.
He did not seek to climb to the very summit and look down upon all living beings.
He only sought to have a clear conscience and an unwavering Dao heart.
He suddenly remembered how, while they were repairing the Earth Veins, Hong Yun had joked that he was "the practical type."
At the time, he had taken it as a compliment. Now, he realized it might have been the most accurate description of his path.
He was the practical type.
Not a sage who deduced the workings of Heaven and Earth, nor a saint who comprehended the mysteries of Creation.
Just an ordinary cultivator willing to keep his feet on the ground and repair, build, and protect things one step at a time.
That was enough.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Fuxi," Xuande said suddenly, his voice earnest. "Your words today have benefited me greatly."
Fuxi glanced at him but did not ask what he was thanking him for, nor did he say there was no need.
He simply smiled and nodded.
They stood on the rocky outcrop for a little longer, then turned and went back to the hut.
Nuwa was still arranging the flowers. When she saw them return, she looked up and asked softly,
"Done looking?"
"Done," Fuxi replied.
Nuwa didn't ask anything else. She merely nudged the vase of flowers she had arranged toward the center of the low table, then said to Xuande,
"If you don't mind, you may take a flower with you.
It's called Morning Glory. It grows only halfway up Buzhou Mountain, and its flowering season is very short. It fades two hours after blooming.
But if you nourish it with magic, it can last longer."
Xuande looked at the vase of pale purple flowers. Their shapes were simple and their color faint, yet they were the gentlest shade he had seen on Buzhou Mountain that day.
He took one and tucked it into his sleeve.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist."
Nuwa nodded and said nothing more.
Xuande knew it was time to take his leave.
He rose and bowed solemnly to Nuwa and Fuxi.
"I came without warning today, and you two were kind enough to welcome me with tea and refreshments and offer me guidance on the Great Dao. I'm deeply grateful.
If either of you ever travels to the West, please be sure to visit Mount Sumeru. Let me play the host and show you some hospitality."
Fuxi returned his bow. "You're too kind.
Meeting you today was fate as well. Go in peace, and when you have time, you're welcome to visit this mountain again."
Nuwa also rose to see him off, and said softly,
"Your path lies in bearing and sustaining. My path lies in Creation.
Bearing and Creation are two sides of the same whole. To walk your path is no easy thing. May your Dao heart remain steadfast, and may you travel far without faltering."
Xuande thanked them once more.
He turned and left the hut, following the white jade path, passing through the bamboo grove, and stepping through the restriction's still-open entrance.
Behind him, the restriction's light rippled and quietly closed, once more concealed among Buzhou Mountain's vast, rugged cliffs.
Xuande stood outside the entrance in silence for a moment.
He looked down at the Morning Glory tucked into his sleeve. Nourished by his magic, its pale purple petals remained as fresh as ever.
Then he looked up toward the higher reaches of Buzhou Mountain, whose summit disappeared into Chaos.
Suddenly, he no longer wanted to keep climbing.
Not because he feared the pressure, nor because he was exhausted.
He simply felt that being here, at this moment, was enough.
He had met the people he had hoped to meet, heard the Dao he had hoped to hear, and gained unexpected bonds and insight.
This was as far as he was meant to go today.
Xuande turned and slowly made his way down the mountain.
Behind him, Buzhou Mountain still towered, silently propping up the heavens of the Primordial Wilderness.
Within an Innate Restriction, concealed by the Dao's manifestations somewhere on the mountainside,
the brother and sister continued their quiet cultivation, day after day: brewing tea, arranging flowers, deducing the workings of Heaven and Earth, and comprehending Creation.
Perhaps they would meet again after a long time.
Perhaps by then, the Primordial Wilderness would have changed beyond recognition, and neither of them would be as they were today.
But for now, in these peaceful years just after the Dragon-Han Tribulation had ended, while Heaven and Earth were still recovering,
they were simply cultivators of the Dao on Buzhou Mountain.
That was enough.
Xuande's Escape Light cut across the sky, heading west, toward Mount Sumeru, and slowly faded into the distance.
He had been traveling for quite some time.
It was time to return.