A Finger Called Down Heavenly Thunder to Strike Golden Cores, Terrifying the Fire Rat King

With a smile, he stepped out the door; a thousand miles away, flowers fell upon the wind.

The white-haired Daoist rode Deer on his journey. Just as he left River Banquet County, a hot wind swept across Crimson Radiance Mountain a thousand miles away, shaking blossoms from the trees, as though in welcome—or perhaps by mere coincidence.

Once they passed beyond River Banquet County's borders, Xuanming and Spirit Deer grew a little more ordinary with each step. After nine steps, they had returned to unassuming simplicity: he looked plain, with an ordinary bearing, while her appearance changed completely as she became a donkey again.

Together with Mysterious Swallow, now reduced to palm size, the man, donkey, and bird set out once more, observing the Dao, practicing the Dao, and comprehending the Dao together.

They crossed mountains and forests, sailed along rivers, and lodged in farmhouses. Once, he lay drunk beside a cold river, with heaven and earth as his bed and snow as his quilt, sleeping soundly through the night. Once, he watched the stars beside a warm river, sitting quietly all night and emerging full of vigor. Whether wilderness, county town, or village, it was all the same to Xuanming. With a peach-blossom paradise in his heart, where could he not find a haven amid water and clouds?

He maintained his usual pace. Though his destination was clear, he did not bury his head and rush onward. He traveled and paused, unhurried and unflustered, imprinting scenery, human warmth, nature, and culture upon his heart.

He even spent over a month in the seat of Tianhe Commandery, assuming various identities, savoring the smoke and bustle of mortal life, and recording the little details of each day.

By the time he reached Crimson Radiance Mountain, it was already the balmy third