Floating Cloud Mountain towered into the clouds.
Xuanming enjoyed the breeze and watched the clouds, in such high spirits that he had Emptiness for idle thoughts.
When that poet of the Thatched Cottage wrote, "One day I shall stand upon the summit and see all other mountains dwarfed below," he must have climbed Mount Tai on a clear day.
Otherwise, a sea of clouds would have obscured his view.
Forget mountains—he would not have seen even a single bird.
Descending from the summit, Xuanming roamed Floating Cloud Mountain, enjoying its mountains and waters and drifting with the current. Along the way, he visited Xuanxu and the other six Earth Immortals, spent three days gloriously drunk, reminisced and chatted, discussed the Dao and its mysteries, and had a wonderful time.
Afterward, he spent a few years wandering freely through the mortal world, a few boating through the starry sky, a few swimming in the deep sea, a few trekking across deserts, several gathering herbs in ancient mountains, several herding on the grasslands, several farming in the fields, and several roaming the martial world with a sword...
He debated the Dao with Buddhists and raced against horses.
Before sleeping, he gazed at the moon; after waking, he plucked the stars.
Above the sea, he fished; beneath it, he played with fish.
He saw a lone plume of smoke rise straight over the vast desert, watched the round sun set over the long river, and spent his days picking chrysanthemums beneath the eastern fence.
Xuanming lived freely and at ease.
He completely forgot about returning to the mountain, gave himself utterly free rein, and relaxed in body and mind as never before.
It felt wonderful to set down the burden of the Truth-Seeking Abbey.
Only when Li Zizai found him, his face full