Celestial Realm, Palace of King Qi.
Nine coiling-dragon pillars, carved from Kunlun jade marrow, opened and closed their scales in response to the light tapping of the Divine King's fingertips. They exhaled a fragrant mist formed from the tears of South Sea merfolk, within which floated Daoist scriptures and profound, unfathomable laws.
Spiritual springs from the Jade Pool Immortal Palace flowed slowly around the Palace of King Qi, their surfaces dotted with blooming *udumbara* flowers that never withered through the millennium. Koi fish in the waters carried the Hetu and Luoshu diagrams on their backs; with every gentle flick of their tails, droplets of water condensed into miniature thunderclouds in the air that crackled before dissipating into celestial energy.
Chapter 183