The Many Treasures Grotto-Heaven.
Atop the Mysterious Terrace, the Golden Man sat alone.
A trace of worry lurked in Kuying's mismatched eyes. Looking down at the old Daoist bowing and begging forgiveness below, he sighed and said:
"I told you not to meddle in the affairs of Si Bai and Great Peace. You invited Lü Zhao in, bestowed an opportunity on him, helped him with his Five Arts, and dragged the Upper Firmament into it as well. What are you after?"
"You are mistaken, martial uncle."
Baoqiu shook his head. By now, he had escorted the two visiting True Persons out of the Grotto-Heaven, and he spoke at leisure:
"It is not [Great Peace] and [Upper Firmament], but the two paths of [Pure Yang] and [Azure Origin]. This concerns Victory Gold, not Dui Metal. How have I gone against your teachings, martial uncle?"
The Golden Man above spoke in a slightly graver tone, but only replied:
"The matter of Origin Wood is, after all, connected to your senior brother Bao Zi. Since he is a disciple of our path, we cannot simply leave him be. Helping him make that leap might give him a chance to become the deity of Origin Wood. But you know perfectly well what Victory Gold entails. This path has far-reaching ties. It is the very path through which that [Eastern Radiance Purple Mansion Lesser Yang True Lord], the [Heaven-Filling Myriad Arts Complete Yang True Immortal], attained the Dao."
"This is not the Yin-Yang designation later generations attached to it. Even the Fengxuan Dao lineage recognizes it as [Qian Yang]. Once you become involved in this, it is easy to..."
Kuying paused briefly before continuing:
"Every faction has its eyes on this path. Even Origin Wood required the approval of the True Lords of Wood Virtue.