Mount Tai Commandery.
The Imperial Palace stood in majestic splendor, Wu Light flickering.
"What a fine expanse of primordial chaos..."
Wei Mi lowered his head, quietly studying the old Daoist before him. He seemed to weigh something before finally offering only a smile. "The True Lord turned yin into yang, with the son laboring in his mother's stead. Now he has dismantled the Earth Measure as well... his position must be unshakable by now. Li Houyuan, would you say so?"
Only ruler and subject remained in the cavernous Main Hall. Everyone else had been dismissed.
"My lord is about to attain a Venerable Position. He seeks not stability, but greater heights."
Li Houyuan bowed his head slightly, avoiding Emperor An's gaze. His hands tucked into his sleeves, he stared at the white jade floor tiles. "This is also a blessing for the Wei and the Earth-Subduing Lineage."
"I wonder whether this Wei and Earth-Subduing Lineage... includes me?"
"If Your Majesty seeks stability rather than greater heights, then naturally you are included."
Silence fell.
"I wish to follow Emperor Xuan's example and expand our territory."
A strange expression crept onto Wei Mi's face. Golden-brown Wu Earth Light flickered around him in resonance, illuminating his features until they looked now like a deity's, now like a wild beast's, before finally settling into the majestic countenance of a sovereign.
"Then... may Your Majesty behold such a lofty and far-reaching Great Dao."
Only then did Li Houyuan raise his head. Bright yellow light seemed to flicker in his eyes as he carefully studied this sovereign of Wu Earth, his regard gaining a measure of caution and distance.
"You may withdraw."
The old True Person of the Earth-Subduing Lineage obeyed and made his way out of the palace. Upon reaching a newly built corridor, he