Travel one hundred miles north from Heaven's Pier, and you will reach Jadebrook Mountain. These deeps are desolate, their paths long untrodden by travelers.
Ascend a few miles, and the forest grows dense and foreboding—a haven for bandits. This lawlessness is a lingering scar from the previous dynasty's persecution of Buddhism, which forced monks into lay life and left their followers scattered.
Another three miles up a flight of stone steps leads to the summit, where the Buddha's Light Pagoda stands, often bathed in sunlight.
It is named for a legend from the Xiande era. When Master Miaoshan preached here at sunrise, the light crested the peak in a perfect halo, seen by all as a sign of the Buddha's grace. Ever since, this place has been called Halo Peak.
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