Dragon-Tiger Mountain, the Heir to the Han Celestial Master Residence, Black Altar Grotto Heaven.
What a splendid place was this? Behold:
Purple-gold Cinnabar Rosy Clouds filled the heavens, faintly assuming the forms of dragons and tigers; auspicious grasses and spirit flowers carpeted the earth, rich with fragrance. From afar, the steaming clouds glowed brilliantly, tinting half the sky like crimson gauze veiling the sun; their surging vapors conjured the true forms of divine spirits, like crouching tigers and coiling dragons. Up close, jade grasses and jeweled flowers covered the ground, purple zhi grew in rocky crevices, and vermilion fruits studded the vines. Dew hung upon the leaves, each drop bearing the colors of the seven treasures; fragrance spilled from the stamens, all scented like sandalwood.
Occasionally, immortal cranes carrying zhi in their beaks fluttered around the pines; now and then, striped tigers leaped across ravines, raising gusts of wind. Wherever the wind passed, one heard the tinkling of gold and jade. Tracing the sound to its source revealed the rustling waves of golden bamboo and jade pines, and the bubbling of numinous streams and sacred springs.
Truly, immortal grace suffused the place.
Above the dragon-and-tiger clouds sat several Daoists in splendid robes.
"Has Han Deyu's brain been eaten by dogs? They were only an envoy party, all junior cultivators. Stopping them would have been enough, but what was he doing beating every last one of them severely? Does bullying his juniors sound good when word gets out? Wouldn't any simple obscuring trick that left them running in circles have humiliated the Haoran Alliance more? Failing that, if he really had the guts, he should have gone all the way and killed them all, displaying Zhengyi's full majesty. Then I wouldn't merely have protected him-I would have rewarded him. Instead, he's