Thousands of peaks hung with jade, the dome pure white, distant mountains floating within the clouds, where sky and earth meet, ten or so streaks of tunneling light shot over from afar, slipping through the forest, stirring snowflakes that fell gently from the branches.
The tunneling lights descended into the valley, where an elderly man with white hair and beard stood before a large tree, bowing and respectfully saying, "Xuan Ling of the Cloud Traveling White Crane, here to request an audience with the Demon Venerable!"
The tree stood laden with snow, its blue-black branches supporting a half-foot thick mantle of snowflakes, with occasional leaf tips hung with ice, like a curtain of shattered jade beads.
Beneath the tree canopy, a stunning woman appeared out of thin air, with the small, broken arcs of rainbow light among the ice curtains shadowing her brilliantly beautiful face.
Xuan Ling, seeing the woman, bowed once more and said, "Greetings, Fairy Jiang Xue!"
