The Beast Egg Cracked
Although Qi Xianqing was reading the list of arrangements, she still kept part of her attention on Yan Jue.
“What is it?” Noticing that something was off about her expression, Qi Xianqing closed the book and reached out to take her hand. “You’ve seemed out of sorts since just now.”
The night air was a little cool, but the girl’s hand was warm.
Qi Xianqing was almost used to it by now; this was the unique warmth of Yan Jue.
Yan Jue hesitated. “It’s just... earlier today, didn’t I tell you about the Five-Dragon Summit team event? I forgot at the time, but two months ago I already promised my neighbor roommate that I’d team up with her...”
The more Yan Jue said, the softer her voice became.
Qi Xianqing’s gaze gradually cooled.
Yan Jue braced herself and finished, then forced a smile and looked up at her.
Her heart was pounding like a drum.
Yan Jue was a little annoyed with herself. Clearly, when Qi Xianqing had brought up teaming up with her that morning, she should have carefully tried to remember.
But at the time, hearing Qi Xianqing take the initiative to ask her, she had been so happy.
They had clearly already agreed, and now she was saying they couldn’t team up after all; this was really...
Qi Xianqing lifted her eyes and looked at her for a long while, then said in a low voice, “Are there still spots? Add me as one?”
Yan Jue was sitting so close to Qi Xianqing that all she could smell was the aura of the Immortal Spirit Physique.
Qi Xianqing smelled very good; it was a clean plum blossom scent.
Yan Jue pressed her lips together, dazed by the other woman’s sudden show of weakness.
Who was Qi Xianqing?
She was the Senior Sister of Thunderflame Sect; so many people admired her in the sect.
There were countless people who wanted to team up with Qi Xianqing.
But now Qi Xianqing was looking at her so pitifully and asking if she could add one more.
Yan Jue looked at her awkwardly; she was almost regretful enough to bite her own tongue off. “There’s no spot left. It’s full...”
Qi Xianqing: “...”
Qi Xianqing glanced at her, then sat up straight again and no longer paid her any attention.
Yan Jue slid right off the chair and onto the floor, then lay across Qi Xianqing’s knees, tilting her head up with tears in her voice. “I really didn’t know.”
In the dim room, the pale side of Yan Jue’s face was tinged with a faint blush, like a lotus blooming in snow.
Even those clear amber eyes were veiled with a thin mist of tears.
Qi Xianqing turned her head slightly and couldn’t help stroking Yan Jue’s cheek. “Fine. I’m not mad at you.”
After a pause, Qi Xianqing helped her up. “Get up. The floor is cold.”
Yan Jue laughed to herself.
As expected, pretending to cry in front of Qi Xianqing was the most useful.
With one arm around her, Qi Xianqing pulled Yan Jue onto her lap.
Yan Jue hid the curve of a smile at the corner of her lips and lazily rested her hands around Qi Xianqing’s neck.
Qi Xianqing held Yan Jue around the waist and lowered her head to continue reading the books on the table. “The latter half of this Five-Dragon Summit is divided into the leisure competition and the team competition.”
“The leisure competition includes things like the food competition, spirit pet fighting competition, drinking competition, flying sword competition, weightlifting competition, and so on,” Qi Xianqing said. “As for the team competition, all the Five Dragons disciples enter the mystic realm according to the clues provided by the sect to hunt for treasures. The team that finds the most required materials wins.”
Yan Jue’s eyes lit up. “That sounds really interesting!”
Qi Xianqing gave her a flat look. “Interesting?”
Yan Jue: “Senior Sister, you promised me we’d definitely take first place, right?”
As she said this, Yan Jue suddenly felt a pain in her lower abdomen.
But Yan Jue never paid such things any mind, so she ignored it.
Qi Xianqing found it funny. “Why?”
Yan Jue: “Because Senior Sister is strong.”
“If the two of us aren’t on the same team, we can still compete a little,” Yan Jue said after thinking it over. “If we’re together, it’d be no fun at all.”
She had always been good with words. Listening to her nonsense, Qi Xianqing’s eyes and brows curved slightly.
The bamboo-woven cuju they had brought back from Skyferry City was lying quietly in the corner.
Yan Jue caught sight of it out of the corner of her eye and immediately started itching again.
She licked her lips and was just about to speak when Qi Xianqing suddenly noticed that Yan Jue’s face had gone deathly pale, a faint sheen of cold sweat appearing on her forehead.
Qi Xianqing’s expression sharpened slightly. “What is it?”
Yan Jue blinked, then coughed awkwardly and looked at her with a pained face. “My period came.”
Yan Jue had originally been sitting on Qi Xianqing’s lap, but with a slight exertion Qi Xianqing lifted her up.
Yan Jue’s legs were suddenly suspended in midair, and she instinctively looped her arms around Qi Xianqing’s neck.
Although she had long since seen how strong sword cultivators were, being suddenly lifted in a princess carry still felt a little strange to Yan Jue. “I don’t want to sleep yet, I want...”
When Qi Xianqing put Yan Jue on the bed, she supported the back of her neck with her palm so she wouldn’t hit it. “Want what?”
Yan Jue: “Want to play with the ball.”
Qi Xianqing looked at her, then got up and went to fetch something from over there.
When Qi Xianqing came back, she was holding a white, jade-like object in her hand.
In the dim light, the white jade gave off a faint glow.
Yan Jue froze slightly.
Qi Xianqing lifted Yan Jue’s hem a little and pressed the white jade against her lower abdomen.
The white jade was warm. Resting against her belly felt wonderful; Yan Jue had been cold all over, and the heat from the jade spread along her skin to every limb and bone, warming her entire body with it.
Yan Jue quieted down, sitting properly on the bed and looking up at her.
Qi Xianqing: “Don’t play tonight. Wait until you’re better.”
Seeing Yan Jue’s eyes, and after the two of them held each other’s gaze for a while, Yan Jue could only obediently nod. “I’m thirsty.”
Qi Xianqing walked out of the room and came back holding a white porcelain ewer with floral decoration.
She poured water from it into a teacup.
The water was still steaming.
Holding the body of the cup, she handed it over.
Yan Jue knew Qi Xianqing had gone to fetch water from the well outside, but she hadn’t expected it to be hot. “How did you heat it up?”
Qi Xianqing: “A little spell.”
Yan Jue laughed. “If a fire-breathing dragon wants meat in the wild, it never needs to worry about where to find a fire source; it only has to spit out one breath of fire.”
Qi Xianqing: “...You mean I’m like a fire-breathing dragon?”
When Qi Xianqing wasn’t smiling, her peach blossom eyes were slightly narrowed, and she looked rather cool and aloof.
Yan Jue suddenly realized that what she had just done was a little like jumping repeatedly on a tiger’s head.
Yan Jue withdrew her somewhat arrogant smile and still chuckled as she apologized to her. “Sorry.”
Qi Xianqing looked at her coldly for a while, but in the end still reached out to rub her head and asked softly, “What do you want to eat?”
Yan Jue: “I want something sweet.”
When Qi Xianqing came back, she was holding a piece of cloth.
Inside the cloth were a few pieces of snow-white milk cake.
Qi Xianqing sat down by the bed, but she didn’t hand the cakes to Yan Jue. She just slowly ate them herself.
The air gradually filled with a faint milk scent, but after Qi Xianqing ate several pieces, she still showed no intention of giving Yan Jue any.
Yan Jue thought this woman was probably taking revenge on her.
Yan Jue couldn’t help lightly kicking Qi Xianqing’s calf. “I want some too.”
Qi Xianqing ignored her.
Yan Jue admitted that she really had gone too far tonight.
But there was nothing she could do.
She liked Qi Xianqing too much...
When she liked someone very much, she always couldn’t help but show that person her worst side.
Yan Jue knew very well that she wasn’t as good as she looked; the real her was actually quite annoying.
Yan Jue hesitated. Had she made Qi Xianqing hate her?
Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue, noticed the hesitation in the girl’s eyes, and a trace of tenderness and pity flashed through her own gaze.
A smile entered Qi Xianqing’s eyes, and her voice was gentle. “If you want it, come take it yourself.”
Yan Jue caught the softness in her tone and was finally reassured. She reached out to touch the milk cake in Qi Xianqing’s hand, when soft contact suddenly brushed against her lips.
Yan Jue’s whole body stiffened.
Qi Xianqing gently kissed her; the milk cake that hadn’t yet been chewed was pushed over by the tip of her tongue, and then a rich milk fragrance truly spread between their lips and teeth.
-
When Yan Jue was on her period, she became especially lonely and especially prone to depression.
That night, Qi Xianqing comforted her very well.
The world of cultivation wasn’t truly as backward as ancient times; here there was a special kind of cotton pad developed specifically for women during their periods, the same kind Qi Xianqing had put on her when Yan Jue was still a little fox.
Yan Jue didn’t sleep very comfortably that night, and whenever she woke up by chance, Qi Xianqing would remind her to change it.
Yan Jue blushed from ear to ear, buried her face in the quilt, and cursed under her breath. “So annoying.”
When Yan Jue woke up from bed in the morning and saw the warm sunlight streaming through the window and scattering across the pale wooden floor, she realized with alarm that it was already very late.
Yesterday she had agreed with Du Ying to go together to Five Dragons Square at noon today to collect the mystic realm clues and map.
Yan Jue tried to get up, only to find that her body was somehow firmly pinned down and she couldn’t move at all.
Qi Xianqing was still sleeping with her eyes closed. In the dim light, her breathing was very light, and a strand of black hair hung down by her ear.
Perhaps she had dreamed of something; her crow-feather lashes trembled slightly.
After struggling for a while, Yan Jue suddenly realized that Qi Xianqing was deliberately not letting her leave.
Yan Jue reached out one hand and gently pushed Qi Xianqing. “Senior Sister, I still need to go discuss the team competition with my roommate.”
It took a few breaths after she finished speaking before Qi Xianqing slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were peach blossom eyes, with deep folds at the corners; when she looked at someone, there was always a hint of stunning beauty.
A flicker of displeasure crossed Qi Xianqing’s eyes; then she slowly released her hold, and Yan Jue was finally able to sit up from the bed and stretch lazily.
Qi Xianqing sat up as well and smoothed her messy hair.
Sunlight fell on her face, making her skin look especially fair.
Yan Jue glanced at her for a while, then belatedly realized that Qi Xianqing had taken care of her all night and she was just leaving like this, which seemed rather heartless...
Thinking that, Yan Jue lunged forward and threw herself straight into Qi Xianqing’s arms, acting all soft and clingy as she hugged her.
Seeing her like this, Qi Xianqing’s previously composed face finally showed a trace of a smile. She lowered her head and rubbed the girl’s cheek, then asked softly, “Come again tonight, okay?”
Yan Jue said primly, “I’ll think about it. If I’m too busy, then I won’t come.”
She had only said that to tease Qi Xianqing; the little fox during her period was naturally clingy, and even if Qi Xianqing hadn’t invited her, she would still come.
Qi Xianqing took it seriously, though. “Then I’ll go find you.”
Yan Jue: “...”
Yan Jue: “No, I don’t want the news to say something like Senior Sister climbing through windows if you get caught by Kongqing Prefecture people while you’re going through the window in broad daylight, and then print it in the papers.”
After a pause, Yan Jue looked up at her. “If you end up in the papers because of something like that, I’d be so embarrassed.”
She was smiling when she said this, her long phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, and there was an extremely faint dimple on her left cheek.
Qi Xianqing thought about it, looking rather serious. “Anyway, I’ve already been in the papers so many times. One more time wouldn’t be impossible.”
She pinched the back of Yan Jue’s neck. “It would be just right to use this to let the whole sect know that I, too, belong to someone.”
Yan Jue: “...”
Yan Jue was shocked by Qi Xianqing’s attitude and immediately said, “No. You don’t care about your face, but I still care about mine.”
Qi Xianqing knew Yan Jue was a little more prone to embarrassment, and didn’t make things difficult for her any longer. “If you don’t come tonight, then I’ll come.”
Yan Jue: “I know, I know.”
She hugged Qi Xianqing for a while, rubbing herself against her again and again.
Though she said that, she still didn’t really want to leave Qi Xianqing.
Qi Xianqing watched her rub against her for a long while, then lowered her head and gently pushed her tongue into the gap between the girl’s lush lips, kissing her carefully.
Perhaps because of her period, Yan Jue’s body quickly turned soft as water. Teased by Qi Xianqing, her face flushed scarlet, as if a ball of flame were burning in her lower abdomen.
So comfortable...
When Qi Xianqing finally let her go, Yan Jue tried hard to steady her ragged breathing. She turned her head to look at herself in the bronze mirror over there, only to quickly avert her eyes again.
-
Yan Jue’s dormitory at Watercloud Sect was not far from Qiwu Peak, so she soon returned to her room.
As soon as she entered and closed the door to sit down, she suddenly felt a movement in her Qiankun bag.
Something was struggling and trembling violently inside the bag, as if it were about to burst out of its shell.
Yan Jue’s Qiankun bag could hold living things, so all of her things were kept inside it.
For example, that beast egg.
Yan Jue sent a thread of divine sense into the Qiankun bag, and then suddenly felt something; her pupils shrank slightly.
It was indeed that beast egg.
During the previous period, whenever Yan Jue had time, she would inject her true energy into the beast egg.
Sometimes when the sun was nice, she would even carry the egg out into the courtyard to bask in the sun.
At a glance, the beast egg didn’t seem to show anything unusual, but every time Yan Jue touched it, she could see the cracks on it growing deeper and deeper.
Now it was actually vibrating; could it be about to hatch?
Yan Jue immediately took it out. She saw the black beast egg shining brilliantly; there really were signs of breaking.
But Yan Jue couldn’t help much in this situation, so she could only sit beside it and watch nervously.
Each time the black beast egg flashed, Yan Jue’s heart tightened once. After about the time it took to burn an incense stick, she heard a crisp cracking sound; “crack—”
A clearly visible seam suddenly split open in the beast egg.
Boom...
A blackish thing crawled out from inside.
...
Although that thing was very black and covered all over with slime, Yan Jue could still tell that it was at least not an insect or anything like that.
It had a big nose and short limbs, and it wobbled along the ground.
For a moment Yan Jue didn’t know what to do. Then she suddenly saw the black lump slowly crawl to a spot under the bed, stick out a pink tongue, and begin slowly licking itself.
The mucus on its body was quickly licked away.
It was still very black, but under the sunlight, sparse downy fur could be seen on its body.
Its eyes were still closed. After licking itself clean, it spread all four limbs and collapsed into a pancake to sleep.
Yan Jue: “...”
After a moment of hesitation, Yan Jue finally walked over and picked it up.
The black thing was very small, with its ears drooping beside its face; it lay in her hands with its two hind legs raised.
Yan Jue put it back into the Qiankun bag.
She still didn’t know what exactly this thing was, so she could only let it develop on its own for now and see what happened.
After Yan Jue finished clearing her room with a spell, she went to the window and looked at the sun.
It should already be close to noon.
Thinking that, Yan Jue went straight out the door, arrived at Du Ying’s room, and knocked until the door opened.
Du Ying was still wearing a light green inner robe, her face full of drowsiness. “Yan Jue, what do you want with me?”
Yan Jue’s clothes were no longer the same as when she had been an outer disciple of Watercloud Sect years ago.
She had grown taller, and was dressed in a well-fitted dark cyan dao robe, standing tall and straight; the breeze lifted the hem of her robe, making her face look even cleaner and prettier.
“Hm? Oh, oh, oh.” Du Ying stared at Yan Jue for a while, then suddenly remembered. “The day after tomorrow is the Five Dragons Summit team competition, and we’re going to Five Dragons Square today to get the clues.”
Yan Jue: “...”
She suddenly felt that she should have stayed a little longer with Qi Xianqing just now.
-
Yan Jue sat in the courtyard waiting for Du Ying, and in the meantime explained things to Zhu He.
After these days, Zhu He’s body had changed again.
She had already gone from a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old girl into an eighteen- or nineteen-year-old young woman. She wore a washed-blue dao robe, a heavy cloak slung over one shoulder, and still had the rather heroic look of a young girl, though there remained a hint of foolishness between her brows.
Yan Jue: “Xiao Zhu, tomorrow is the Five Dragons Sect food competition. My idea is to have you participate. Would you be willing?”
Zhu He looked up at her blankly. “What kind of competition is the food competition?”
Yan Jue: “It’s a competition where you go eat. Whoever eats the most on the field wins.”
A little light lit up in Zhu He’s eyes, and she nodded. “I want to take part!”
Yan Jue smiled a little and ruffled her hair. “Good. I’ll help you sign up later.”
Compared with the individual competition in the first half of the Five-Dragon Summit, the team competition and the leisure competition in the second half were obviously much easier.
The leisure competition and team competition were held in alternation, mainly to promote feelings between fellow disciples and provide some recreation.
Yan Jue didn’t feel much pressure about this kind of competition; she would just play around.
Du Ying quickly finished getting ready and came out of the dormitory, patting Yan Jue on the shoulder. “Let’s go. Time to collect the clues.”
Yan Jue hadn’t spoken with Du Ying for a long time. Du Ying was a chatterbox by nature and never ran out of things to say; on the way to Five Dragons Square, she kept tugging Yan Jue into conversation nonstop.
Du Ying: “For this competition, I pulled in two fellow disciples from Watercloud Sect, and one more is Senior Sister Duan Luxi from Muyin Sect. That makes five of us just right.”
“The two fellow disciples I brought usually have pretty good results, and Senior Duan is well-read too. Our team should be fairly competitive, right?”
Muyin Sect and Watercloud Sect had similar temperaments, so the relationship between the two sects was especially good; it wasn’t strange that Du Ying and Duan Luxi knew each other.
Yan Jue: “I was still feeling anxious, but as soon as I heard Senior Duan was there, I immediately stopped being nervous.”
After talking about the serious matter of the competition, Du Ying started yammering nonsense again. “I really want a dao companion.”
“A few days ago I caught a cold and was stuck in my dorm alone feeling awful. At that time I kept thinking, how great it would be if I had a dao companion.”
Yan Jue laughed. “Have you been pent up for too long? Why do you want a dao companion so badly?”
Du Ying: “Aren’t you single too? And you’re still talking about me.”
Yan Jue: “...”
When the two of them arrived at Five Dragons Square, the square was already packed with a sea of people.
Most of them were people who had been stifled too long by the earlier individual competition.
After all, the individual competition was cruel, full of experts, and not friendly at all; everyone was thinking about venting as soon as possible in the team competition.
At the very front of Five Dragons Square, on the high platform, stood an elder with white whiskers and a rosy complexion, looking benevolently down at the disciples below.
Beside the elder was a large box; the clues for this team competition were clearly inside.
Yan Jue and Du Ying followed the crowd forward a few steps when someone suddenly tapped her shoulder lightly.
Yan Jue turned back and saw that Duan Luxi had somehow appeared behind her, smiling at her. “Junior Sister Yan.”
Yan Jue’s eyes lit up. “Senior Duan, long time no see.”
Duan Luxi took Yan Jue’s hand. “Junior Sister Yan, do you know? During the time you were away, I passed the Refining Hall test and have already entered the Refining Hall as a duty disciple.”
Yan Jue: “Congratulations.”
Duan Luxi: “I truly owe my identity as a Refining Hall disciple to the fact that, from the very beginning, Junior Sister was never afraid of failure and kept bringing me your precious magic treasures to refine. It’s precisely because of that that my craftsmanship has become more and more skillful! I... I’ll repay you properly!”
Yan Jue’s eyes lit up in excitement. “I wonder how Senior Duan plans to repay me?”
Duan Luxi: “Naturally, by working like an ox and a horse for you.”
Yan Jue: “No, no! I only ask that Senior Duan be willing to take my jobs unconditionally in the future; price and all that are easy to discuss.”
Duan Luxi: “Am I the kind of person who cares about money? If you come to me, Junior Sister, I’ll definitely be willing!”
As the two of them chatted, Yan Jue suddenly heard waves of screaming from over there.
Du Ying: “Yan Jue!!! Look!!! It’s Senior Sister!”
The surrounding crowd began whispering to each other.
“I heard Senior Sister went down the mountain to carry out a mission recently; we haven’t seen her for a long time.”
“Ahhhh, who is Senior Sister teaming up with this time? Is she still with the Thunderflame Sect senior brothers and sisters?”
Following Du Ying’s gaze, Yan Jue looked over and saw the crowd part like a tide, opening up a path.
A group was slowly walking this way.
Qi Xianqing was wearing a moon-white pleated dress. Her ink-black hair was tied back with a snow-white ribbon; she walked slowly forward, her skirt lifting in the wind, the pale purple pendant at her waist shining brilliantly in the sunlight.
Her expression was cool and indifferent, her face as cold as frost and snow; she treated the surrounding chatter as if it were nothing.
Beside her stood several women in dao robes.
Du Ying stared so hard her eyes nearly went straight out of their sockets. She asked Yan Jue blankly, “Do you think Senior Sister has a dao companion?”
Yan Jue: “I don’t know, probably...”
Yan Jue’s gaze paused for a moment on the half pendant at Qi Xianqing’s waist, and the curve at the corner of her lips rose uncontrollably. “Probably does.”
Du Ying only felt as if a bolt of thunder had exploded right above her head; she turned back in disbelief to look at Yan Jue. “No way. How do you know?”
Yan Jue said very seriously, “Senior Sister’s cultivation is already very high, and she’s also excellent. There’s no way she wouldn’t have a dao companion.”
Du Ying wore the look of someone whose heart had died.
Yan Jue’s gaze fell on Qi Xianqing amid the crowd.
The woman beside Qi Xianqing kept talking to her, but Qi Xianqing didn’t show any extra expression; she only nodded slightly.
Last night, Qi Xianqing had still been looking at her pitifully and asking whether their team could add one more.
Today she had already found her team.
Yan Jue couldn’t help curling her lips, secretly complaining to herself that she was really fast.
Duan Luxi rested a hand on Yan Jue’s shoulder and clicked her tongue in wonder. “Senior Sister’s team this time should be the one most likely to win.”
Yan Jue blinked. “Why do you say that?”
Duan Luxi: “The most outstanding disciples of this generation in Thunderflame Sect... Senior Zhou Leng... Senior Yi Nan... Senior Zhao Wen... they’re all over there.”
Du Ying let out a sigh of relief and looked at Yan Jue. “Too bad you and Senior Sister are like fire and water, or else you would’ve been called away by Senior Sister too.”
Yan Jue: “...”
Du Ying suddenly remembered something and asked seriously, “Was your mission with Senior Sister this time going smoothly?”
Yan Jue: “Pretty much.”
Duan Luxi rested a hand on Yan Jue and Du Ying’s shoulders and pressed them down slightly. “It’s fine. Our combination is strong too; don’t belittle yourselves.”
Another round of screaming came from over there.
Yan Jue curled her lips and looked over.
It turned out that Yun Jie of Mystic Escape Sect had brought her team over. Compared with Qi Xianqing’s team just now, Yun Jie’s team also had quite a bit of attention; behind her was the Bai family’s Miss Bai Chuli, and behind her was...
Jiang Mengchu was wearing a jasmine-yellow dao robe and following behind them.
Yan Jue’s eyes widened slightly.
She hadn’t expected Jiang Mengchu, who had taken second place in the previous Five-Dragon Summit individual competition, to also participate in the team competition this time, and to be in Yun Jie’s team at that.
When they had been about to set out on a mission before, Yan Jue had specifically asked Xingye Daoist, who said that Jiang Mengchu was recovering from injuries.
Du Ying mused, “Senior Yun Jie’s Mystic Escape Sect team is also one of the most likely to win this time. Looks like the Jade Terrace is opening the books again today.”
Qi Xianqing lowered her eyes and went up onto the stage, bowing to the elder.
A burst of screaming rose below.
Under the elder’s benevolent gaze, Qi Xianqing took the clues and stepped down.
The teams at the very front went up one by one to receive the mystic realm maps and clues.
Yan Jue’s team was quite ordinary. Although she was the Second Senior Sister, that was only how a small portion of people addressed her.
Third place was after all not as dazzling as first place; she followed the crowd forward to collect the mystic realm map and team competition clues, then stepped down from the stage.
-
For this Five-Dragon Summit team competition, besides Duan Luxi and Du Ying, Yan Jue’s team also had two other Watercloud Sect disciples.
The older girl was a little plump and always spoke with a smile; her name was Li Jia.
The younger girl was very thin, and as taciturn as Qi Xianqing; her name was Huang Yi.
Because they had come to collect the clues before noon, they still hadn’t eaten yet.
After returning from Five Dragons Square, Yan Jue dragged everyone to Buzhou Peak for food.
After all, the team competition was next, and building some rapport was still very necessary.
Buzhou Peak included Five Dragons Market, Five Dragons Square, and more; it was probably the peak with the most functions in Five Dragons Sect.
There were also many restaurants and taverns opened by disciples of the peak on the mountainside. Walking along the streets, one might think they had come to the mortal world if they didn’t know better.
A few people entered a tavern called Gui Xiang Ju. Because it was midday, many people had just gone to Five Dragons Square to collect their clues and came over to eat afterward, so the place was especially crowded.
A waiter hurried over and eagerly said, “Would a few fellow daoists like this spot? I’ll go get you a screen.”
Duan Luxi: “Yes, thank you.”
The five of them sat down at a table near the corner. Yan Jue lowered her head and slowly unfolded the Five Dragons mystic realm map they had just received.
Du Ying suggested, “For this team competition, why don’t our team choose a captain?”
Li Jia smiled. “Of course we should listen to Second Senior Sister.”
Duan Luxi raised her hand. “I think Second Senior Sister is better.”
Huang Yi had no expression. “Second Senior Sister.”
Yan Jue stared at the map for a long while before realizing that the Second Senior Sister they were talking about was her.
Yan Jue: “...”
Yan Jue suddenly felt a lot of pressure.
She had originally wanted to politely decline, but when she thought about it, it seemed like whoever was captain would be the same, so she said nothing.
Li Jia stood up and took Yan Jue’s hand. “Senior Yan, do you know? I watched all your matches in the Five-Dragon Summit. That one against Senior Sister was really a pity; it was the first time I’d ever seen anyone last more than an incense stick’s time against Senior Sister.”
Duan Luxi also shook her head. “If Junior Yan had been able to defeat Senior Sister back then, I’m afraid the history of Five Dragons Sect would have been rewritten on the spot.”
Li Jia: “This team competition, we have to try our best to surpass Senior Sister’s team and bring back first place for ourselves—”
Yan Jue’s scalp prickled, and she hurriedly turned to make a shushing gesture at her.
For some reason, the noisy surroundings suddenly went quiet for a moment.
Then the door over there was pushed open, and several people walked in from outside.
Yan Jue blinked.
Qi Xianqing, dressed in a moon-white long dress, was surrounded by the group as she took a seat at the table next to them.
Several Thunderflame Sect senior sisters placed the clues and map they had just received at Five Dragons Square flat on the table.
Qi Xianqing sat upright with her back straight, but there wasn’t much expression on her face.
Zhou Leng sat beside her, turned her head, and was saying something to her.
At this moment, the errand waiter came over and smiled at Yan Jue’s group. “Sorry to keep you waiting, fellow daoists. I’ve brought the screen.”
Zhou Leng: “Senior Sister, did you encounter any danger when you went down the mountain this time?”
Her gaze fell on the pendant at Qi Xianqing’s waist. The originally complete purple pendant had somehow been split into two halves.
Qi Xianqing: “I gave the other half to my dao companion.”
She hadn’t intended to hide it; if anyone asked, she answered generously.
Pfft— Zhou Leng couldn’t help it and directly spat out a mouthful of tea.
Yan Jue coughed violently.
Duan Luxi froze and hurriedly patted Yan Jue’s back. “Are you all right?”
The moment the waiter unfolded the screen around them, Qi Xianqing suddenly lifted her eyes and looked over.
Yan Jue’s gaze collided with hers.
Yan Jue quickly lowered her head, her cheeks burning.
For some reason, meeting Qi Xianqing’s gaze in a place with so many people made her feel guilty, as if she were a thief.
The screen in Gui Xiang Ju had a formation built into it.
Once the screen was set around the five of them, it cut off all outside sound.
The surroundings quickly became quiet.
For this Five-Dragon Summit team competition, Five Dragons Sect would open the sect’s Five Dragons Mystic Realm and let the disciples enter.
The disciples then had to follow the clues provided by Five Dragons Sect and find red beans, yellow beans, and green beans—three different colored beans.
Whichever team collected all three colors first would win.
Yan Jue rested her chin on her hand and began examining the mystic realm map.
Mystic realms in this world were divided into two categories: natural mystic realms and artificial mystic realms.
The Five Dragons Mystic Realm was an artificial mystic realm, created by a great power of Five Dragons Sect itself.
The mountains and buildings were arranged according to that great power’s own ideas.
According to the map, the Five Dragons Mystic Realm had four main parts.
To the south was a pine forest located in a valley.
To the north was the sea, with a solitary island on it.
To the east was an endless grassland.
To the west was a snowy mountain.
Beyond these vast regions, there were also countless streams, ridges, grotto-heavens, and even some spirit beasts and rare treasures deliberately placed within the realm.
These materials were all meant by the sect as rewards for the disciples, which was why this team competition at the Five-Dragon Summit, though it asked the disciples to search for specified materials in the mystic realm, was actually more like a treasure hunt.
Yan Jue and the others unfolded the first treasure-hunt clue.
There were only two lines on the note: Red beans grow in the southern land; in spring, how many branches do they send out?
Yan Jue knew this was probably hinting at the location of the red beans.
Since it was a team competition, it was mainly for leisure and entertainment, and Yan Jue suddenly thought it was pretty fun.
Du Ying looked at her eagerly. “Yan Jue, do you have any ideas?”
Yan Jue: “Does Senior Duan have a clue?”
Duan Luxi was probably the oldest and most well-read among them.
After carefully studying the clue on the paper, she said in confusion, “Red beans should of course refer to the materials for this competition, the red beans.
“The southern land should mean the south, right.
“Since it just happens to be spring now, the line about spring sending out branches probably means that, and the south is just a pine forest, so maybe we should look for it on the branches of the pine trees?”
That was also the literal meaning. Yan Jue nodded. “Then we can only wait until the day after tomorrow when the mystic realm opens and go in to try.”
After the few of them finished eating, they each went their separate ways.
At the fork between Muyin Sect and Watercloud Sect, Yan Jue caught up with Duan Luxi. “Senior Duan, I have a favor to ask.”
Duan Luxi blinked. “What is it?”
Yan Jue took out two broken jade seals from her robes.
These jade seals had shattered previously at Luan Terrace because they had been used too much. Yan Jue had felt heartbroken, but there was nothing she could do.
She could only ask Duan Luxi about it.
Duan Luxi took the jade seal from Yan Jue’s hand and her eyes lit up. “Although yours is broken, it’s not completely ruined. It should be repairable.”
Yan Jue let out an ah. “Really?”
Duan Luxi: “Leave it to me.”
Yan Jue: “Thank you, Senior Duan.”
Duan Luxi: “No need. Didn’t I say before that if you had any difficulties, you could come find me? Forgot?”
Yan Jue’s smile was practically blossoming like flowers.
-
After Yan Jue returned to her dormitory, she even went to Du Ying’s room to sit and chat for a while.
It had been a long time since they’d seen each other, and Du Ying had a lot to say, tugging Yan Jue into conversation about this and that.
“The sect assessment is almost here. I even went to Heavenly Dao Temple specifically to ask for a Buddha statue, hoping he’ll bless me and help me pass the exam.”
Yan Jue smiled as she looked over and indeed saw a Bodhisattva placed by the window.
There was even a line of small characters beneath the Bodhisattva.
Homage to the Greatly Wise Manjushri Bodhisattva.
Yan Jue paused. A flash of inspiration suddenly lit up in her head, and the smile on her lips faded a little.
...
After returning to her room and tidying up a little, Yan Jue hurried off to Frozen Peach Haven.
Yan Jue: “Senior Sister.”
Qi Xianqing was sitting at the desk, with the Five Dragons Mystic Realm map and note spread out before her.
Hearing footsteps, Qi Xianqing looked up at Yan Jue, the corner of her lips curving slightly. “You’re here?”
Seeing her like this, Yan Jue couldn’t help but freeze slightly.
The person who had still been as cold as frost and snow in the square during the day now lifted her eyes to look at her, smiling as gently as a spring breeze.
Yan Jue had a lot she wanted to say to Qi Xianqing, but standing in front of her, she thought about it for a long time and finally chose the most important thing. “My beast egg hatched.”
Qi Xianqing was also very familiar with this beast egg; she had once sent true energy into it together with Yan Jue.
Qi Xianqing was stunned, only to see Yan Jue carefully take a blackish lump out of her Qiankun bag.
This black ball was like a lump of coal, and it really seemed to treat Yan Jue as its mother. Opening its tiny mouth, it nudged and nuzzled around Yan Jue’s body, seeming hungry!