Yearwood Sea.
This place lay some distance from Heaven Pool, farther south than Heavenly Bow, and far removed from Pudu Holy Land at the Sea Eye. It was a tranquil corner of the world.
The sea was jade green, its islands linked in chains and covered in green trees. Astral winds howled, stirring the forests into emerald waves. Among them, many cultivators came and went in robes patterned with white deer and dark markings.
In the distance, the Great Void opened, and silver thunder flickered. A man in a black robe patterned with fire clouds stepped out, the Ashen Gray Dharma Sword gleaming on his back and stirring the aspects of wind and thunder.
"The Qinghong Way runs parallel to the Upper Firmament lineage. It descends from the Azure Radiance Immortal Dao and was left behind by True Lord Qingxu."
Xu Xuan silently recalled Pingxiu's words. The Alchemist had recommended two places where he might obtain Origin Wood Spirit Treasures: the Clear Vast Way in the Southern Sea and the Upper Firmament Sect in Great Li.
At the Upper Firmament Sect, Origin Wood seemed to involve certain taboos, and ordinary people could not obtain it. Pingxiu seemed to have inquired before advising Xu Xuan to try the Southern Sea first. If that failed, he could seek an audience with True Person Zhou You.
This suited his intentions perfectly. He could begin connecting himself to the Dragon Body's affairs now, though he would have to take care on every front and let no one detect a clue.
Riding the wind forward, he soon spotted the spirit pine at the center of the island. Beneath it stood a white deer, Daoist aura spreading around it. A clear breeze swept past, revealing a Daoist priestess seated on the deer and looking toward him