The Peaceful Heaven Dao Palace.
Its style was as resplendent as ever.
Yellow was its only color.
Xuanming offered a practiced salute and sat cross-legged on a cushion.
On the Cloud Bed, the Peaceful Heaven Dao Master opened his eyes, glanced at Xuanming, and said slowly, "This time, instead of a lecture on the Dao, we will have a discussion."
Overjoyed, Xuanming agreed at once.
A discussion of the Dao yielded greater gains than a lecture.
This had been common knowledge among cultivators since time immemorial.
He stilled his Divine mind and calmed his breath. A Daoist Vision manifested above his head: a tree holding up the heavens, its towering form thirty thousand feet tall and magnificent.
The Peaceful Heaven Dao Master was slightly taken aback. A falling leaf foretold autumn; though Xuanming had attained three flowers gathered at the crown only recently, his understanding of the Dao was extraordinary.
"Excellent! Excellent!"
Smiling and nodding, the Peaceful Heaven Dao Master released his own Daoist Vision. A stream of Mysterious Yellow qi stretched from east to west and south to north.
It filled Heaven and Earth and permeated the wilderness in every direction.
Before this Mysterious Yellow qi, the towering Dao Tree seemed as insignificant as a weed. The two Daoist Visions drew close, and the Dao Tree easily merged into it.
Mysterious Yellow qi evolved into Heaven and Earth.
The conventional understanding was that Heaven preceded Earth, or that both were born together. The Peaceful Heaven Dao Master's understanding, however, was rare.
Earth came before Heaven, and Heaven came after Earth!
Mysterious Yellow gave rise to Earth, and Earth gave birth to Yellow Heaven.
Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, Clear and Turbid—all were contained within Mysterious Yellow.
Xuanming also manifested the Primordial Unity Dao.
Heaven and Earth, Yin and