No smoke rose from the woodland huts; within the city walls, the year drew toward its end.
Sunlight through clouds lit the snow on pines; through stream and mountain came the evening wind.
In the bitter depths of winter, the north wind cut fiercely. After a snowfall of goose-feather flakes, heaven and earth wore a single color, wrapped in silver and white.
The sight of vegetation returning to spring when Xuanming preached had long since vanished. It had not entirely dissipated, however. The vitality nourished by that Dao resonance had seeped into the plants, becoming part of their reserves. Once they had lain dormant through this season when all things hid and slumbered, they would surge back to life at the coming spring, awakening with the first thunder and displaying an even more unrestrained exuberance.
Dao-Treasuring Peak, beside a mountain stream.
The white-haired old Daoist sat quietly in the snow, fishing at his leisure. His eyes remained closed throughout, as though he cared nothing for the fish in the river.
Indeed, that was exactly the case.
Though the fishing rod was ordinary, Xuanming had used it for several years. Frequently nourished by his Dao resonance, it was no longer a mundane object.
He was now using the rod to fish for... a tiger!
The Four Images Mirror needed only a White Tiger Token to become complete. Xuanming sent his spiritual perception into the water, following its currents upstream and downstream. Centered on Floating Cloud Mountain, it covered Fengyang Commandery and part of Azure Dragon Mountain, searching for a tiger demon burdened with deep karmic debt. Wherever there was water, he could perceive it. Yet his spiritual perception was like water, formless and insubstantial, changing at any moment. It embodied the principle that the highest goodness was like water, benefiting all