Relative to the Dao-Seeking Tree, he now stood due north.

In the Later Heaven Eight Trigrams[1], that was the Kan position[2].

The weather today was fine, with a boundless, clear sky. The peaks stretched into the distance, misty and indistinct. If he looked far enough, he could even see the mountains farther away.

There was the snow-covered Tianshu Peak, and beside it, an unnamed lesser peak.

That was where the Guihua Pagoda stood.

From He Lingchuan’s current angle, Guihua Pagoda lay slightly east of due south.

He murmured, “Li?”

South is the Li position in the Later Heaven Eight Trigrams, isn’t it?

The Guihua Pagoda, the Dao-Seeking Tree, and the enormous rock on which he now stood formed an almost perfect line from south to north.

It seemed he had chosen the right direction.

He Lingchuan turned and continued northward, following the extension of that line.

There was no path ahead. The mountain was steep, descending all the way into the valley floor.

Then he saw a pool.

Strictly speaking, it was a hollow in the mountain’s base, formed where the rock had split inward, then been scoured year after year by running water. Mount Xu had endured countless seasons of wind, frost, rain, and snow. Hollows and depressions like this numbered in the hundreds, if not thousands.

However, this pool was unusually...