Deep within the Imperial Palace, the gardens lay quiet.
The grounds were spacious, strewn with jagged rocks. Green artificial mountains overlapped in uneven ranks, with clouds and mist gathering in their crevices. Stirred by the wind, the haze shrouded a winding white stream at their center.
The scenery differed on either bank. On the eastern bank grew groves of diamond treasure trees, their interwoven branches and leaves blazing with light that nourished the surrounding vegetation; the western bank was a forest of verdant ancient trees, where azure crows occasionally rose and landed, and black bees built their nests.
Beside the stream stood a pavilion built of vermilion nanmu wood. Five-colored clouds twined around its eaves, while auspicious patterns of Fire Pheasants and cinnabar birds adorned its beams and pillars.
The pavilion stood on high ground, commanding a view of everything in the garden.
Outside ran a long white-jade path, lined on either side by eunuchs in iridescent robes and maids in colorful skirts. At the sight of someone approaching, they bowed and greeted him respectfully:
"Greetings, True Person."
Xu Xuan walked with unhurried steps. Only when he reached the pavilion did he bow:
"Xu Xuan pays his respects to Your Majesty."
Within the pavilion, a man in vermilion sat alone beside the stream. His face was lean, his bearing imposing. Light surged around him like a tide, carrying the grand aura of Li Fire, while waves of savage baleful energy lurked within, striking fear into the heart.
"No need for ceremony."
He did not turn, still gazing at the broad woodland beyond the pavilion. In his vermilion eyes was reflected a dead tree burning in Li Fire.
"Of the three ancient epochs, the Human Era coincided with the Thunder Palace's rule over the Heavenly Dao. It set the laws of