In the Mystic Law Hall, atop the Cloud Bed.
The white-haired old Daoist awoke. As his eyes opened and closed, time surged within his gaze, the sun and moon revolved, and finally all dissolved into a gray haze of primordial unity.
Once the visions faded, Xuanming vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already in the Path-Seeking Courtyard.
A sweep of his sleeve raised a breeze that cleared the dust and sand from the courtyard. He lay down in the rocking chair, and its familiar creaking began anew.
With a light flick of his finger, a stream of clear spring water flowed into the teapot. He rinsed it clean, filled it, lit a fire, and brewed tea, completing every motion in one fluid sequence. Amid the curling fragrance of tea, Xuanming carefully sensed the changes within himself.
During his last sermon, he had received a gift from the Great Dao and roamed the sea of the Dao's source and the River of Time. Not only had his foundations grown immensely, but his Primordial Unity Dao Domain had expanded to ten thousand li, his Taiji Heaven had grown to six thousand li, and his Dao Tree had become so lush that a single tree formed a forest.
He had also beheld his true self and gained an initial understanding of his own past. Through the two Yellow Court Scriptures, he had recognized one self after another, reclaimed each of them, and forged an initial connection between past and present. Then, after a year in seclusion to digest and consolidate his gains, his Dao attainment had advanced by leaps and bounds.
By now, Xuanming had already stepped halfway into the primordial change stage. Both his Primordial Spirit and magic power had reached the level of a half-step mighty being; only his physical body