A streak of escaping light raced like the wind and lightning.
His heart already homeward bound, Xuanming hurried onward with all his strength, traveling day and night and crossing millions of miles in just a few days.
When he returned to Fengyang Commandery, every trace of impatience vanished from his bearing, and he landed outside the city.
Covering a hundred feet with each step, he headed straight for Floating Cloud Mountain.
The conversations of passersby drifted into his ears from time to time, touching on all manner of subjects. Whenever they mentioned Floating Cloud Mountain or Truth-Seeking Abbey, he paid a little more attention.
By now, Floating Cloud Mountain had become the foremost mountain in the Four Commanderies, renowned throughout Great Xuan's Northern Frontier. Though not formally a top-tier Daoist lineage, Truth-Seeking Abbey surpassed such lineages. All it lacked now was the title.
The Taiyi Savior God, Gouchen the War God, and the Central Yellow-Horned God, who had attained the Dao fruits of Great Gods, received joint worship throughout the Four Commanderies.
Every lineage of the Daoist Tradition had built temples dedicated to them. Faith in them among the common people had also soared, and the abundance of their incense offerings ranked below only the Immeasurable Dao Patriarch and Xuanming.
That was right—below Xuanming.
He, too, received joint worship from the Daoist lineages of the Four Commanderies. Regarded as the leader of the northern Daoist Tradition, his title of Great True Lord had taken deep root in people's hearts.
As he strode onward, the closer he drew to Floating Cloud Mountain, the more otherworldly his presence became. His mortal world aura dispersed like smoke and clouds, leaving only a Dao Heart, an original resolve, and a heart bound for home.
Xuanming took note of his surroundings as he passed through