Luoshui Divine Palace.
Luo Lingfeng leaned against the window, looking out. The thick scent of medicine filled the small room, and she frowned, displeased by the bitter taste. The wound on her face had already healed; she didn’t know why she still had to take medicine. She wanted to see her mother, but her father said her mother was in seclusion and would come to see her once she opened thirty-six acupoints. And A’shu, where was she? Father had sent people to bring her back, so why was there still no sign of her? A faint unease grew in Luo Lingfeng’s heart. She thought it over and over but couldn’t find an answer. After a moment’s hesitation, she slid down from the chair and sat on a meditation cushion, beginning to cultivate earnestly.
Perhaps after she opened her acupoints, she would be able to see the person she longed for day and night. Opening the acupoints wasn’t that difficult; it was a natural process. A series of crisp sounds echoed from within her body as she easily broke through the thirty-six acupoints. Unable to suppress her excitement, she was about to run out of the small courtyard when a restrictive formation blocked her again. She had no choice but to sit back down on the cushion, her mind wandering. When Father came, she could tell him the good news, Luo Lingfeng thought to herself.
As night fell, the candlelight flickered, stretching the shadow of the lone figure sitting upright. Luo Lingfeng’s face fell, and she felt drowsy. But a sudden loud bang startled her from her stupor. She quickly lifted her head, a hint of alarm in her eyes. A familiar figure suddenly appeared before her. After staring for a long moment, Luo Lingfeng tilted her head and called out softly, “Auntie Wen?” She blinked, her eyes filled with confusion, not understanding why Wen Qing was dressed this way.
Her long hair was tied in a ponytail, and she held a blood-stained sword, a murderous aura radiating from her. The familiar smile from her memory was replaced by a grave and cold expression. “Come with me.” Wen Qing said nothing more, directly scooping Luo Lingfeng into her arms.
“What’s happening?” Luo Lingfeng asked, looking at Wen Qing with confusion, but she obediently sat in her arms without struggling.
“I’ll tell you later,” Wen Qing said in a low voice, quickly dashing out of the courtyard. Luo Lingfeng buried her face in Wen Qing’s shoulder, glancing back at the dim courtyard one last time before they left. In the darkness, it looked like a terrifying beast with its bloody maw wide open, ready to devour flesh and blood. Cries of alarm echoed from near and far, the air thick with the clash of weapons. Brilliant bursts of light bloomed between the palace halls, like clusters of burning fireworks. Wen Qing fought her way out, sword in hand. Fresh blood splattered, flowing in winding streams, and bodies piled up. Luo Lingfeng’s eyelids trembled. After watching for a moment, she closed her eyes in fear.
Luo Lingfeng was taken to an unfamiliar cave dwelling. After Wen Qing settled her down, she left with a hurried “don’t run around.” Luo Lingfeng felt extremely uneasy, realizing that something major must have happened in Luoshui Divine Palace, but she knew she couldn’t go and cause more trouble. On the third day, the cave was opened. Her mother showed her face for a moment, but before Luo Lingfeng could cling to her and act spoiled, her mother simply patted her head and left in a hurry, not telling her anything.
These anxious days continued for over half a month. When Luo Lingfeng saw her mother again, she was walking over with Wen Qing, laughing and talking. There was no scent of blood on her, as if everything that had happened was just a dream. Luo Lingfeng blinked in confusion and called out softly, “Mother,” then asked, “What happened? Where’s my father?”
At this question, Wen Dantong’s body suddenly stiffened, and a hint of ruthlessness and gloom clouded her features. She pulled Luo Lingfeng into her arms and didn’t hide anything, saying directly, “That bastard Luo Hengjun, along with Wu Huan, wanted to carve out your Sacred Heart of a Saint! But you don’t have to worry now. He’s as dead as can be.” Wen Dantong said it lightly, but to Luo Lingfeng’s ears, it was a clap of thunder that left her dizzy.
“Your little aunt has lost her mind, to treat you like that. Your time wandering the mortal world was no accident; Wen Danhua intentionally abandoned you,” Wen Dantong added. Compared to Luo Hengjun, the betrayal of her own younger sister angered her even more. Looking at Luo Lingfeng’s wide, distraught eyes, Wen Dantong poured out all the recent events.
“Senior Sister—” Wen Qing couldn’t bear to watch.
But Wen Dantong said, “She needs to face it. I was wrong in the past, thinking I could protect her well enough. But there are too many accidents. She needs to know how different she is.” After saying this, Wen Dantong instructed with a cold and stern face, “Don’t trust anyone easily, whether from the Luo family or the Wen family.” She had used her own people to eliminate the menace of Luo Hengjun first, but she had used the Wen family of Xiaohan Mountain to clean up the Luo family remnants. However, her brother was merely uninformed; if he knew Lingfeng had a Sacred Heart of a Saint, he would likely be no kinder than Luo Hengjun. She had to find a way to take control of the entire Luoshui Divine Palace.
The truth struck Luo Lingfeng with a deafening roar. After just half a year of experience in the mortal world, she could understand the human heart, but it was still hard to accept when it happened to her. Tears welled in her eyes, and she bit her lower lip until it bled. She nodded and said, “I understand.”
Wen Dantong couldn’t openly announce that Luo Hengjun had tried to harm his own daughter for the Sacred Heart of a Saint; she had to use other excuses to cover up the truth. These excuses were nothing more than calling Luo Hengjun lecherous and incompetent. But these reasons were not enough to convince everyone and brought Wen Dantong much slander. However, Wen Dantong didn’t care what others said. She swept away anyone who stood in her path with ruthless efficiency. For a time, the air in Luoshui Divine Palace was thick with the smell of blood.
After learning the truth, Lingfeng was dejected for half a month. When she finally came to her senses, she eagerly sought out Wen Dantong to ask about A’shu. Wen Dantong had learned of this little friend of Lingfeng’s and had tried to find her, but in the vast mortal city, there was no trace of her. The Luoshui Divine Palace disciple who had sent A’shu away had already been silenced. Given Luo Hengjun’s ruthlessness, A’shu had likely not escaped a terrible fate. But when she met her daughter’s eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth. She said softly, “Your A’shu was probably taken away by some immortal master. If you are fated, you will meet again.”
Lingfeng was very disappointed, but she quickly regained her spirits, her heart filled with hope. Time passed quietly. Thanks to her Sacred Heart of a Saint, her cultivation progressed rapidly. She had also tried to find traces of A’shu on her own, but to no avail. As a child, Lingfeng firmly believed A’shu was still alive. But as she grew older and came to understand the pain of life and death, she finally realized that to cross paths once and then never meet again was the normal state of affairs in the world.
A’shu, in a few days I’m going to the Sunset Burial Mounds for training, Lingfeng said softly in her heart, as she did before every journey.
On the summit of Buzhou in the Western Continent.
Two graceful young women walked side by side on a mountain path. One, dressed in a dark green Daoist robe with her hair in a ponytail, wore round earrings that swayed slightly with her steps. She turned to her fellow disciple, who was dressed in white purer than snow, and said with a smile, “Junior Sister Wei, your cultivation has progressed so quickly. The True Monarch said you’ll soon surpass the chief disciple. When you become our Buzhou’s new chief disciple, will we all have to call you that instead?”
“No, no,” Wei Yunshu quickly waved her hands. She met Ran Xiuyun’s gaze, her eyes shining like stars. “The chief disciple will always be the chief disciple.”
Ran Xiuyun clicked her tongue, then asked with a frown, “Why do you want to go to the Sunset Burial Mounds for training? That’s Luoshui Divine Palace’s territory, with people from those families stationed there. Wouldn’t it be better to just go to the Great Wall in the Northern Continent?”
“I… I—” Wei Yunshu’s face instantly turned red, and she stammered, “I want to find her.” There was a personal motive behind her trip to the mortal world, and she was too embarrassed to say it. After parting with Lingfeng back then, she was sent into the city by a Luoshui Divine Palace disciple and waited for a long time, but Lingfeng never came for her. Her heart slowly grew cold. Lingfeng wouldn’t abandon her, which meant the Luoshui Divine Palace cultivators must have looked down on her for being a powerless beggar. To see Lingfeng and be with her, she had to be like the sword masters in storybooks, able to fly through the heavens and tunnel through the earth. But she had nothing. Where could she find a master? Just when her future seemed pitch black, her master appeared and brought her back to Buzhou.
Ran Xiuyun knew about Wei Yunshu’s past. Seeing her blushing from nervousness, she burst out laughing. She patted her on the shoulder and said, “Then go find her. We Buzhou disciples do whatever we want!” After a pause, she added a warning, “Those demons are ever-changing and can invade one’s heart. You must not get tainted by their evil energy.”
Wei Yunshu nodded vigorously. “I know!”
Buzhou Peak didn’t have many true disciples, and they had always been lone swordsmen, coming and going as they pleased.
Wei Yunshu had descended the mountain a few times before, but mostly within the Western Continent. This was her first time going somewhere like the Sunset Burial Mounds.
She took a flying vessel to the territory of Luoshui Divine Palace. A vast expanse of water stretched as far as the eye could see, dotted with countless small islands. Wei Yunshu didn’t know the rules here. After passing through a vortex in a small boat, she released her sword light and transformed into a streak of light, darting between the floating islands in search of a Luoshui Divine Palace outpost, hoping to travel with them to the Sunset Burial Mounds.
The sword light was chilling and sharp, piercing through the clouds in an instant, leaving a trail behind it.
“Which sect’s disciple is this?” A Luoshui Divine Palace cultivator noticed the activity above and frowned, somewhat displeased. When the sword light finally landed, revealing a high-spirited young woman in white, the Luoshui Divine Palace disciple’s eyes widened in disbelief. The person before her was dressed in white, the hem of her robes embroidered with golden thread depicting cranes among clouds, fluttering in the wind. She wore a white jade lotus Daoist crown, and her eyes were as bright as stars. Her bearing was as steady as a mountain, truly extraordinary. How could someone like this be so rude? But when Wei Yunshu handed over her identity token, the Luoshui Divine Palace disciple’s expression changed again. Oh, she’s from Buzhou. I guess this isn’t so strange after all. After registering her name, the disciple handed Wei Yunshu a talisman and pointed to the east. “The cloud boat to Sunset Floating Island is over there, just half a li away.”
“Thank you, Fellow Daoist.” Wei Yunshu smiled, her eyebrows raised, and asked, “Are you a disciple of Luoshui Divine Palace?”
The person gave Wei Yunshu a suspicious look. For the sake of that celestial, jade-like face, she refrained from letting out a string of complaints and simply answered flatly, “Yes.”
Wei Yunshu blinked and continued to ask, “Then is there someone in your sect named Luo Lingfeng? Will she be coming to the Sunset Burial Mounds?”
The disciple’s internal alarm bells went off! Why is a Buzhou disciple asking about our chief disciple? Is she trying to challenge her to a sword fight? Rumor has it that Buzhou disciples have terrible tempers and love to duel, and they have no restraint when they strike! After a few quick thoughts, she remained outwardly calm and composed, saying, “We have no such person in Luoshui Divine Palace.”
Wei Yunshu frowned deeply. How could that be? A few years ago, I even heard stories about the Divine Maiden of Luoshui! It’s just that there hasn’t been any news of her recently. Could something have happened? No, that shouldn’t be right. She’s the daughter of the current palace master of Luoshui Divine Palace, Wen Dantong. It’s impossible for there to be no news. Is she in seclusion? Yes, that must be it! “She and I—”
The Luoshui Divine Palace disciple didn’t want to hear what Wei Yunshu had to say. With a long face, she said, “Fellow Daoist, please don’t hinder my work. There are many people waiting behind you.”
Hearing this, Wei Yunshu gave an embarrassed smile, said “my apologies,” and hurried away.
After Wei Yunshu turned away, the Luoshui Divine Palace disciple stared after her for a long while, then took out a communication talisman and said to a fellow disciple, “A Buzhou disciple is here, asking about the chief disciple. I suspect she has ulterior motives. Everyone must be on guard.”
On the cloud boat over the floating island.
Lingfeng sat by the window, sunlight spilling onto her dress, bright, lively, and bold.
“How strange, why would a Buzhou disciple come to our Sunset Burial Mounds for training? Shouldn’t they go to the Northern Continent?” a Luoshui Divine Palace disciple not far away said with surprise. She turned her gaze to the lazily lounging Lingfeng and added, “Chief Disciple, it seems she’s looking for you?”
“Looking for me for what?” Lingfeng smiled slightly and asked in a gentle voice. She cupped a beam of sunlight in her hands, watching the shifting shadows of her fingers with great interest, paying little mind to her junior sister’s words.
“Probably for a sword fight,” the junior sister said with a frown. Thinking of the rumors about the sword cultivators of Buzhou in the immortal realms, she muttered to herself, “It’s better not to meet her, to avoid trouble.”
Lingfeng nodded absentmindedly.
But the more the junior sister thought about it, the more something felt wrong. After a moment, she exclaimed softly, quickly got up, and gave an order to the person in charge, urging the cloud boat to depart. The boat wasn’t full yet and should have waited longer, but their own young miss was on board. Thus, after receiving the order, the person in charge immediately set the cloud boat in motion.
When Wei Yunshu arrived, she only saw a dark speck in the clouds.
She frowned deeply, a look of confusion on her face.
The deacon Daoist next to her didn’t explain anything. After checking her talisman, he said with a smile, “Honored guest, please wait a moment.”
This wait lasted until the next day before the cloud boat departed.
Upon arriving at Sunset Floating Island, Wei Yunshu heard that the disciples from the various families of Luoshui Divine Palace had already set out for the Sunset Burial Mounds. She had no choice but to head to one of the outposts by herself. Wei Yunshu didn’t mind too much; she decided to fully embrace the “lone wolf” style. After buying enough spiritual pills on the floating island, she transformed into a streak of sword light and soared across the sky.
In the Sunset Burial Mounds, a tall, sky-piercing Chaos Tree was extremely conspicuous. The spiritual energy in all directions was vicious and chaotic, and the demonic energy soared to the heavens.
The moment Wei Yunshu landed, the first thing she faced were creatures tainted by demonic energy. Once the demonic energy entered their bodies, these creatures lost their self-awareness and became ferocious demons, rampaging everywhere. Wei Yunshu unleashed her sword light and, without batting an eye, charged toward the demons. Her sword intent was sharp and fierce, like a force that could smash dry weeds and rotten wood, instantly clearing a large open space. Perhaps the commotion was too great, for she finally disturbed a demonic cultivator hiding in the shadows, who revealed a strange and sinister figure.
Wei Yunshu despised such demons the most. With a cold snort, she spread her sword light forward, and brilliant rays of light immediately shot toward the demonic cultivator. The demonic cultivator’s movements were bizarre. A red light flashed above his head, and streams of foul blood essence shot out, making a sizzling, corrosive sound as they collided with the sword light. Wei Yunshu’s gaze sharpened; she knew from the first exchange that the precious light of her magic sword had been tainted by the blood essence. Even so, she refused to show weakness. She activated a hand seal, and with a series of crackling sounds, purple-red lightning patterns flowed over her sword light, wiping away the corruption!
Battle was a process of waxing and waning. Wei Yunshu wasn’t afraid of the filth, but the demonic cultivator was wary of her sword light and lightning. After steadying himself, he turned his head and was about to transform into smoke to escape. But how could Wei Yunshu let him go? Her sword light instantly split into sixteen streams, enveloping him with lightning from all directions. With a squelch, blood shot out like an arrow, and a round, gray head fell to the ground. A primordial spirit flew out of the shriveled corpse, looking like it was about to flee. Wei Yunshu raised an eyebrow, and with a horizontal slash of her sword light, she instantly shredded the demon’s primordial spirit. After the demonic aura was completely swept away, she cautiously walked toward a nearby cave.
She had previously sensed the aura of a living person and wondered if a fellow cultivator had been imprisoned.
In less than fifteen minutes, Wei Yunshu reached the innermost part of the cave. White bones were scattered about, and urn-shaped holes were carved into the cave walls. Three of them still had people stuffed inside. When Wei Yunshu broke the seals and pulled them out, two had already stopped breathing. The remaining female cultivator was on her last breath, having fainted. Wei Yunshu fed her a few pills and, after a moment of thought, headed for the nearest Luoshui Divine Palace outpost. There would be healers there who might be able to save this woman.
The unknown female cultivator woke up the next day and immediately tried to thank Wei Yunshu.
Wei Yunshu quickly helped her up and asked what had happened. This question uncovered a great secret. A demonic cultivator had snuck over from the direction of the Chaos Tree and was trying to open a passage directly to the Southern Continent’s spiritual vein! A spiritual vein was vital to the spiritual energy of an entire continent; this was no small matter. Wei Yunshu’s expression changed abruptly. She no longer had time to worry about the female cultivator; after a few words of advice, she hurried out to find the Luoshui Divine Palace disciples.
Luoshui Divine Palace and Buzhou Peak didn’t have much contact, but they could at least maintain a level of politeness on the surface. The cultivators at the outpost listened patiently to Wei Yunshu’s words and immediately reported the matter to the outpost’s elder. The elder didn’t dare to take it lightly. He sent people to investigate while also informing Lingfeng, who was training at the outpost.
“A demon is trying to open a passage to the spiritual vein. This is no small matter. Who brought this news?” Lingfeng’s expression was grim. The smile that usually hung on her lips vanished, replaced by an icy coldness in her eyes.
“A Buzhou disciple,” the Luoshui Divine Palace disciple reported.
“I want to see her,” Lingfeng said.
The Southern Continent’s spiritual vein concerned the survival of Luoshui Divine Palace and all the cultivators of the Southern Continent. As a cultivator from the Western Continent, Wei Yunshu couldn’t interfere too much. Seeing that they were taking the matter seriously, she went back to check on the female cultivator. The woman had been buried in an urn by the demonic cultivator as food, and her body was covered in wounds. If she didn’t recuperate properly, her cultivation foundation might be damaged.
“I am a disciple of Cloud City. My master is Yun Qingzi, and my name is Yun Wu,” the female cultivator said, looking gratefully at Wei Yunshu, who was sitting by the bed. “I owe my life to Fellow Daoist’s help this time. Otherwise, my soul would have returned to the netherworld.”
“Fellow Daoist Yun, you’re too kind,” Wei Yunshu said with a righteous smile. “Slaying demons is the shared responsibility of our generation.” After a pause, she asked, “How did you end up here alone, Fellow Daoist?” Cloud City was different from her Buzhou; their disciples always traveled in groups, with disciples from the various noble families often together.
A shadow of sadness crossed Yun Wu’s face at the question. She didn’t say much, only whispering, “Senior Brother Yun said I should go out and train, to slay demons, instead of just cultivating in a blessed grotto.”
Wei Yunshu was puzzled. “Then why didn’t he come?” Cloud City valued its noble families, and many cultivators reached the Nascent Soul realm without ever facing a true enemy. Her master had said that even if such people’s realms advanced, they only had a shell of spiritual power and were easy to defeat in a fight.
Yun Wu didn’t answer. Instead, as if remembering something, she looked at Wei Yunshu with burning intensity and said, “Right, I almost forgot. How should I address you, Fellow Daoist? Which sect are you from?”
Wei Yunshu smiled freely and said, “Wei Yunshu, a true disciple of Buzhou.” Just as she finished speaking, the door was suddenly pushed open. The two people in the room were startled. Yun Wu’s body swayed, and she fell against Wei Yunshu. Wei Yunshu quickly steadied her and turned to look at the person at the door.
Dressed in a water-blue dress, with a light blue ribbon tying back her inky black hair that cascaded down like a waterfall. At first glance, she seemed as distant and untouchable as a snowy mountain, but within her beautiful, lively eyes, a turn of autumn waves seemed to carry a gentle tenderness like flowing water.
Wei Yunshu’s heart trembled, her pulse suddenly racing. She stared intently at the person at the door, forgetting even to question the intrusion. She had never seen the grown-up Lingfeng, nor had she ever found a portrait of her. But in her mind, the shadow of the past superimposed on the present image. The person walking toward her, step by step, her figure slowly growing taller, should have eventually grown into this very appearance that made one’s heart flutter.
Lingfeng took a deep breath and walked quickly into the room, her hands hidden in her sleeves trembling slightly. She looked down at the seated Wei Yunshu and asked in an urgent, tight voice, “What did you just say your name was?” She was afraid she had misheard, afraid it was just a coincidence. Although she had accepted the news of A’shu’s death long ago, her heart leaped with excitement upon suddenly hearing those three words.
“Fellow Daoist Wei?” Yun Wu felt a strange sense of unease.
Wei Yunshu’s gaze shifted, but then a heavy, hard-to-ignore pressure settled on her shoulder. Wei Yunshu’s eyes focused on Lingfeng’s face again. She smiled at the person before her and said, “Wei Yunshu. The ‘Yunshu’ from ‘The clouds disperse as the rain subsides, and across the vast wilds, the nine rivers flow’.”
