On the frontier of Li-Liao, in the Azure-Silt Desert.
This was territory under the Green-Waste Dao's jurisdiction, situated at the midpoint of the former Great Li frontier, quite close to Yundai, where the Tuoba had once founded their kingdom. Traveling straight south, one could glimpse Zhuyongliang in the distance.
To the north stretched boundless desert and drifting sand, barren of vegetation, a scene of withered desolation. With the many Mysterious Palaces at its center marking the boundary, the south was fertile country, rich in grain and green as far as the eye could see, comparable to the lands south of the river.
At its heart stood an emerald Mysterious Palace, guarded by four statues: a Grave Sheep, a Vermilion Boar, an Azure Locust, and a Wenyáo. They were so lifelike that cultivators passing by dared not lift their heads to look.
Within the palace, the aura of azure-Li fertile soil shifted, and layer upon layer of curtains condensed from metal qi descended, concealing the ever-changing shadow in the highest seat.
The Great Void split open, and a man in a sand-yellow Robe of Law stepped out. Through the layers of golden curtains, he looked toward the figure in the seat of honor, his gaze tinged with complicated feelings.
"Ancestor, wu earth has been divided. Li Song, the Netherworld, Earth-Subduing, and Dust-Sweeping have each obtained a share."
This was Rang'an. Bearing the Wenyáo fortune, he had already cultivated his second divine ability, yet before the Dao Deity embodied by the figure in the seat of honor, he remained deferential.
"Wu earth is about to flourish. Our Dao can ride this tide of heaven as well."
The figure on the azure wood throne spoke slowly. His voice seemed to resound from every corner of the palace at once, wondrous beyond measure. An