An Encounter with the Tsundere Immortal Lady Chapter 42

The Nine Heavens Immortal Palace was the most supreme place in the entire Immortal Realm. It was the ultimate sanctuary that all young men and women in the Immortal Realm dreamed of reaching. Almost all hot-blooded young men hoped to display their ambitions there, and all young women of marriageable age pinned their youthful dreams on that mysterious immortal palace that pierced the clouds.
Ten thousand eight hundred steps, ten thousand eight hundred trials. Ascend the Immortal Palace, and one could exchange a rare treasure for a promise from the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace.
This was a rumor that circulated among everyone in the Immortal Realm. Legend had it that a young man once ascended the Nine Heavens Palace alone, using a rare treasure to ask the Palace Lord to avenge him.
That year, the Vast Heavenly Palace was disbanded, and all members who participated in the massacre of the young man’s family died under his sword.
Legend said the Vast Heavenly Palace coveted the young man’s rare treasure and massacred his entire clan overnight. Legend also said that to repay the Palace Lord’s kindness, the young man entrusted his life and dedicated his entire being to the Immortal Palace.
Legends were ultimately just legends, and no one knew if they were true. But the status of the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace in the hearts of everyone in the Immortal Realm was undeniably real, without a trace of falsehood.
Spiritual energy billowed, misty clouds churned, auspicious cries echoed, and sword energy crisscrossed. Even an ignorant three-year-old child would know this was an extraordinary place. Lin Wuxi stood in the vast plaza of the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace, which stretched for thousands of miles, looking up at the colossal structure that disappeared into the clouds in the distance. Straight, steep steps extended upwards, level by level. The massive, wide staircase resembled a jade belt hanging from the sky, connecting heaven and earth. The gigantic artificial structure seemed to merge into the firmament. At the very top of this structure, at that supreme point almost one with the sky, an immortal palace shrouded in clouds and mist was faintly visible. The Nine Heavens Immortal Palace was there.
This was a path to ascend to heaven.
Lin Wuxi looked at this miraculous structure with a complicated expression. Such a vast and exquisitely beautiful building must have cost its creators immense effort. Looking down upon the entire Immortal Realm from such a supreme immortal hall, would one truly be happy?
Lin Wuxi calmly stepped onto the first step. No matter what kind of path this was, Lin Wuxi only knew she had to take it.
Ten thousand eight hundred steps. For every step ascended, one had to endure a severe trial from the Immortal Palace: perhaps a trial of the heart in an illusion, perhaps a soul-devouring choice, perhaps layers of riddles to be solved, or perhaps the temptation of beauty – myriad tribulations, endless and varied.
Around the Immortal Palace, immortals often passed by. Each immortal shone with brilliant multicolored light, and the magic artifacts they rode were also rich with spiritual energy, each unique. These were cultivators and immortals who had rushed from various places to admire the Immortal Palace. Some were also Golden Immortals holding positions within the Immortal Palace. But no matter who they were, seeing that small figure on the steps of the Immortal Palace, they were all incredibly astonished. How many years had it been? Since the last one, who knew how many years had passed without anyone attempting the ascent.
That youthful figure was very unfamiliar. She was neither a renowned young genius, nor a budding new talent of the Immortal Realm, nor even a famous venerable elder. How could an ordinary, unknown, and obscure person dare to challenge the famous Nine Heavens Immortal Steps of the Immortal Realm?
Various rumors arose. All factions in the Immortal Realm were discussing this unknown young girl who had appeared after many years to challenge the Nine Heavens Immortal Steps. No one knew her history, no one understood her purpose. The only piece of information known throughout the Immortal Realm was: the young girl’s name was Lin Wuxi, and half a year ago, she had pestered the Immortal Lord at the grand event in the Immortal Realm’s main city!
More importantly, her cultivation at that time was only at the Qi Condensation stage! Let alone being far from reaching the Immortal Realm; even in the Mortal Realm, such cultivation could be considered somewhat outstanding.
Once this news spread, the Immortal Realm was almost in an uproar, making this young girl named Lin Wuxi’s background even more mysterious and unfathomable. The young girl’s bold words and actions, contrasting with her actual cultivation level, all shrouded her origins in a thin mist.
Even though the outside world was in an uproar, Lin Wuxi was completely unaware. Immersed in the trials and tribulations of the levels, she had neither the mind nor the energy to pay attention to anything happening outside. The successive trials left her mentally and physically exhausted.
The ten thousand eight hundred trials were not something that could be completed in a few days or even a few months. So far, the fastest record for passing was five years in outside world time. But fortunately, the flow of time on the Immortal Steps was different from the outside world: one year on the steps was equivalent to one day in the outside world. Therefore, this young girl’s success or failure would be revealed in, at most, several tens of days in outside world time.
In just a few days, everyone in the Immortal Realm who knew the news was waiting eagerly, but the development of events far exceeded their expectations.
Three days! It only took three days! The young girl had practically reached the top of the Immortal Steps.
In other words, the young woman had only used three years to break through the ten thousand-plus levels of the Immortal Steps. These were the Immortal Steps, not some low-level array that could be passed as easily as chopping melons and vegetables in a marketplace. No one could believe this result. Some even began to suspect that the flow of time within the Immortal Steps had changed without anyone knowing.
But with the young woman still inside, they couldn’t confirm their suspicions. Everyone waited near the Immortal Steps, eager to see if the young woman could pass this final and most difficult level.
Lin Wuxi felt as if she were weighed down by ten thousand pounds of ordinary iron. She couldn’t muster a sliver of strength; she was truly exhausted. She had reached her limit, but her mind constantly reminded her: I absolutely cannot fall, I absolutely must hold on. She bit her lip, a metallic, rust-like taste spreading on her tongue. She needed this to stay alert. Prying open eyes that felt heavy as lead, Lin Wuxi strained to look ahead and saw a blurry figure.
“Senior Sister, is that you?” Lin Wuxi whispered hoarsely. Her snail-like pace abruptly quickened. She took shaky steps, moving towards that figure in the distance.
As she got closer, she could clearly see the figure’s exceptionally beautiful face. It really was Senior Sister! Lin Wuxi reached out, wanting to grasp that ethereal, blurry figure, but a sentence from her pinned Lin Wuxi to the spot, unable to move.
“Leave. I don’t want to see you again.” After saying this, the figure turned away, her icy face filled with undisguised contempt.
“Senior Sister?” Lin Wuxi couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“I am the supreme Immortal Lord of the Immortal Realm. You are a mere mortal. Even if we had some connection in the mortal realm, that was just an act. Now that I have recovered my status, it’s best we return to our own separate paths, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, and not interfere with each other.” Her indifferent, thin lips uttered these words, each one like a sharp knife stabbing Lin Wuxi’s heart.
“Senior Sister, how could you say such things? I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it!” Lin Wuxi shook her head vehemently. Senior Sister was the closest person to her in this world; she couldn’t believe she would say such things.
The figure sneered, turned back, and looked at Lin Wuxi with cold, emotionless eyes. “I believe I clearly rejected you half a year ago. That was my greatest kindness, yet I didn’t expect you to be so insatiably greedy. Did you really think you could use that meager past connection to cling to me, this high branch? Stop dreaming. A lowly, foolish mortal like you shouldn’t even think of having any relationship with this Immortal Lord!” The figure’s words grew harsher with each sentence, yet each one also struck more accurately at the deepest, hidden worries in Lin Wuxi’s heart.
“No, you’re not Senior Sister! My Senior Sister wouldn’t say such things.” Lin Wuxi lowered her head, trying to avoid the figure’s contemptuous gaze.
“Yes, I am not your Senior Sister. I have always been the supreme Immortal Lord. How could I be your Senior Sister? You, in my long life, are nothing but an insignificant ant. How could I be your Senior Sister?”
The figure’s words, sentence by sentence, sliced at Lin Wuxi’s heart like knives. These words had long been hidden in Lin Wuxi’s heart. Now, they were bloodily presented before her in this way, leaving her no way to escape.
“If you still have any consideration for the last bit of friendship between us, leave. Don’t cause me any more trouble.” After saying this, the figure turned again and walked towards the magnificent palace in the distance.
The only source of light in this space vanished. In the deepening darkness as the figure walked away, Lin Wuxi could no longer support her exhausted body and collapsed onto the cold, giant stone steps. Her thin, youthful figure stared blankly into the darkness before her. Senior Sister’s words echoed repeatedly in her mind. With every sentence replayed, her heart sank a little deeper, and then a little deeper still, until it plunged into the darkest abyss of hell.
Even in the mortal realm, their statuses were worlds apart—like clouds and mud. She was the sect leader’s direct disciple, the next successor of the Wan Hen Sect, while Lin Wuxi was an abandoned infant born in the mortal realm who had luckily managed to join an immortal sect. She was a danger, someone who could be turned into a demon by her inner demons at any moment. It was only by a stroke of luck, by gaining Senior Sister’s favor, that she was able to get close to her. Now, Senior Sister was no longer just the favored daughter of heaven of the Wan Hen Sect; she was the supreme Immortal Lord of the Immortal Realm. She and Lin Wuxi were already in different worlds.
Leaving… perhaps that’s really what she wants. Thinking this, Lin Wuxi closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears that welled up uncontrollably.
Crying… why am I crying again? Such a weak version of myself, isn’t it truly detestable? She gave a self-deprecating smile, the corners of her lips lifting slightly. Lin Wuxi tried hard to get up. Lying here on someone else’s steps like this will surely make them dislike me, right?
As she stood up, a small porcelain bottle suddenly fell from her lapel. Lin Wuxi stared blankly. This was the ‘Purifying Spirit Pill’ she had specially obtained from the Qilin. Back then, Senior Sister had suddenly lost her cultivation, and she and others had spent considerable effort to gather all the materials to refine the ‘Purifying Spirit Pill’.
Squatting down, Lin Wuxi’s fair, slender hand reached out from her wide, green sleeve and picked up the porcelain bottle from the ground. Her five fingers tightened slightly, her thumb and forefinger unconsciously rubbing the smooth bottle. Her mind, uncontrolled, drifted back to the time she spent with Senior Sister at the Wan Hen Sect.
The smiling Senior Sister, the pouting Senior Sister, the serious Senior Sister, the gentle Senior Sister, the Senior Sister who was slightly angry… Her figure, whether sitting or standing, angry or laughing—these vivid and bright images appeared so clearly before her eyes. Was that Senior Sister all fake? Were those past moments just an act, devoid of any sincerity?
“How could that be possible!” Lin Wuxi stood up angrily. The countless small moments she had shared with Senior Sister surfaced even more clearly in her mind, and she became even more convinced: the real Senior Sister could never say such words.
Clutching the porcelain bottle in her hand, Lin Wuxi took a determined step forward, her expression grave. As she took this step, the surrounding darkness gradually crumbled, revealing a completely different scene.