Ancient Heaven and Present Heaven, the Sun and Moon's Beginning and End

Dao-Treasuring Peak, Path-Seeking Courtyard.

True Person Yuanji traced lines in midair.

Radiance blossomed into strokes at his fingertips, like an embryo gradually growing a body, until it finally condensed into a talisman.

Its construction followed exacting rules, its inscription meticulous, permitting not the slightest error, yet once completed, it possessed a free and graceful air.

The opening stroke was strict; the final stroke became generous.

Between strictness and generosity lay subtle truths that words could neither explain nor clarify. Some things could only be grasped intuitively.

In this talisman, Xuan Tong saw knowing and upholding: knowing strictness while upholding generosity, knowing the square while upholding the round.

In this talisman, Xuan Yu saw rules and order: generosity and strictness tempering each other, law and principle blending together.

In this talisman, Xuanming saw more:

It began with oneself and ended with all living beings: strict in disciplining oneself, generous in treating others. The Immortal Dao cherished life and delivered countless souls.

It began in radiance and ended in dust. The rising and falling strokes brought transcendence beneath the brush; strictness and generosity embodied blending with the light and dust.

It began in rigidity and ended in open-mindedness. Between following every rule and moving as the heart desired lay an entire lifetime.

Looking more closely, from outside to inside, from complexity to simplicity, it was nothing more than stroke upon stroke, Dao upon principle, one person and one heart.

Seeing True Person Yuanji look toward him, Xuanming smiled in understanding and likewise extended a finger, fluorescence blooming at its tip.

True Person Yuanji was taken aback. He had not expected this True Person from the Truth-Seeking Abbey to act so unexpectedly and discuss the Dao through talismans as well.

After all, the Heavenly Seal Sect had established itself through talisman arts and