A Long Separation

Yan Jue lay on the bed and began to think through the matter of the original host’s identity.

She remembered that the original host had once come from a distinguished family; she was the legitimate daughter of the Ghost Mansion Fox Clan, and her home should have been somewhere in Ghost Mansion territory.

But just now at Myriad Demons Pavilion, the old man San Niang had called over to deliver a message had told her not to return to Ghost Mansion for the time being, and to go to Luwu instead.

What was the relationship between San Niang and the original host?

And where exactly was Luwu? Yan Jue was completely baffled.

The reason the original host had left Ghost Mansion Mountain was that she had fallen in love with the male lead, Chu Fu, and had forced her way down the mountain against her family’s wishes.

Her father, the one who guarded Ghost Mansion Mountain, the hot-tempered Red Fox King, should have been furious about that.

That was why San Niang had told her not to return to Ghost Mansion yet.

As for Luwu, it was probably where one of the original host’s relatives lived.

That relative was the old matriarch San Niang had mentioned.

The old matriarch could protect her.

That was all Yan Jue could infer for now.

There was nothing else to it; there simply wasn’t enough information.

At any rate, this message had at least given Yan Jue a rough direction.

If she wanted to run, she at least knew where she should go.

-

After a journey full of twists and turns, Yan Jue finally made it back to the Five Dragons Mountain area.

Though she had only stayed at the foot of the mountain for two days, Yan Jue somehow felt as if a very long time had passed.

At the foot of Five Dragons Mountain.

Lin Xi: "Yan Jue."

Hearing her call, Yan Jue turned to look.

Lin Xi said a little shyly, "This time, it was all thanks to you..."

Among Five Dragons Sect disciples, bad people were still the minority. For example, the two senior sisters’ attitudes toward Yan Jue had changed a lot now.

Yan Jue smiled. "It’s nothing. I was just doing what I should; after all, we were on the same mission."

Lin Xi: "It’s just that I don’t understand. Since junior sister’s cultivation... is much higher than the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, then why..."

She didn’t finish, because it was a little hard to ask.

After all, in this world, asking a cultivator about their cultivation and supernatural abilities was very taboo.

Sure enough, the fact that her cultivation far exceeded what her aura showed would draw people’s curiosity as soon as they found out.

Afterward, she would have to spend endless energy explaining it.

Yan Jue smiled politely. "When you’re out and about, it’s naturally better to keep a low profile."

Lin Xi felt that Yan Jue was right.

In this cruel world, who knew how many people had been envied for their exceptional talent, only to bring disaster down on themselves?

After going up the mountain, the group split up.

Lin Xi and Ji Guiyan returned to Jingang Sect; Du Ying and Yan Jue returned to Watercloud Sect.

"Ah, I’m exhausted, completely exhausted!"

Du Ying: "Yan Jue, we really owed you for this trip down the mountain. What cultivation level are you really at? Don’t tell me you’ve practiced a concealment art?"

Yan Jue had already explained this for the nth time. "Yes, I’ve practiced a concealment art. Right now, I should be at the early stage of the Opening Light Realm."

Du Ying: "My God, you’re my goddess!"

The shock was especially strong for Du Ying.

After all, Yan Jue had stayed on the mountain for three years before and had still remained at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.

Back when Du Ying and Yan Jue weren’t very familiar, Du Ying had even personally written a piece about her.

Everyone had thought Yan Jue was a good-for-nothing whose beauty matched her character.

But now, after just a few short months, Yan Jue’s cultivation had actually caught up to hers...

No, once she got back, she was going into seclusion immediately.

Yan Jue just wanted to move past the topic as quickly as possible. "Maybe it had been building up for too long before? Now it all broke at once, and I shot straight up to Opening Light?"

Du Ying stared blankly. "I see..."

Out of the corner of her eye, Yan Jue saw the girl’s dazed expression and grew slightly serious. "Du Ying, there’s something I’d like to ask you."

Du Ying: "What is it?"

Yan Jue: "Don’t publish this in The Five Dragons Encyclopedia."

A good-for-nothing who had stayed at the early stage of Foundation Establishment for three years in the mountains had actually broken through to Opening Light in just a few short months.

If this were printed in The Five Dragons Encyclopedia, it would absolutely be explosive news.

And the original host had already been burdened with so many scandalous rumors before.

Now was precisely the time when she was about to run away; becoming the center of public attention again would be very dangerous for Yan Jue.

Du Ying: "Don’t worry. I’ve got you, haven’t I? I review all the copy from Kongqing Prefecture myself; I’ll absolutely not let them write nonsense."

-

When Yan Jue returned to the dormitory, she found a note lying on her desk at some unknown point in time.

Yan Jue froze. She unfolded it, and when she saw the delicate handwriting below, she couldn’t help but smile faintly.

Qi Xianqing: Be careful on the road.

Before Yan Jue went down the mountain, she had used Immortal Crane to send Qi Xianqing a message about her schedule, telling her that she wouldn’t be going to Cold Pool to practice for a while.

But after sending the message, Yan Jue had left, assuming Qi Xianqing would probably be as cold as ever and not bother replying. She hadn’t expected Qi Xianqing to answer this time.

Yan Jue looked at the note and wrote: Thank you, Senior Sister. I’m already back.

She hesitated a little, then wrote: Senior Sister, when would be a good time to meet? I have some questions I’d like to ask you.

Although she had repeatedly used Drifting Snow on the way down the mountain, Yan Jue was still not sure whether her movement technique was correct; she needed Qi Xianqing to check it for her before she could feel at ease.

After writing, Yan Jue opened the drawer and took out a short whistle made of bamboo.

The whistle gave off a clear, crisp sound. Yan Jue sat by the window and waited a while, and soon saw the Five Dragons Mountain messenger crane slowly flying toward her.

Yan Jue folded the note and placed it in the little flower basket hanging from the crane’s neck, sending it to Qi Xianqing.

Because this ancient method of communication had a serious time lag, Yan Jue didn’t know whether Qi Xianqing had returned yet, so she went out first.

She still had very important matters to deal with.

-

Yan Jue first went to Muyin Sect to find Duan Luxi.

Five Dragons Mountain had five main peaks, named after the five elements: Jingang Sect, Muyin Sect, Watercloud Sect, Thunderflame Sect, and Mystic Escape Sect.

Metal and fire arts were similar; water, wood, and earth arts were similar.

Each peak’s disciples had a particular elemental preference, but the divisions were not completely sealed off.

There were also many disciples who cultivated according to yin and yang.

And within Muyin Sect, where Duan Luxi was, the disciples were especially known for favoring wood-element techniques.

When Yan Jue found Duan Luxi, she saw that Duan Luxi was wearing a thin inner robe, drenched in sweat as she swung her giant bronze sword.

Duan Luxi: "Yan Jue! Where have you been lately? Why haven’t I seen you in so long?"

The bronze greatsword whistled through the air and smashed heavily into a rock. The hard stone instantly shattered into pieces.

"I went down the mountain for a bit," Yan Jue said, instinctively stepping back a little. Smiling, she added, "Luxi, your sleeve arrows work really well."

Yan Jue briefly told Duan Luxi how she had used the sleeve arrows at the foot of the mountain.

Duan Luxi: "Really?! Sigh, what can I say? I’m just this talented and this outstanding. It was my first time forging anything, and I already made such powerful sleeve arrows."

Yan Jue couldn’t help twitching the corners of her mouth. This senior sister was still as... blunt as ever.

Yan Jue: "But I’ve already used up those sleeve arrows. Could you help me inscribe a few more array patterns?"

Duan Luxi patted her chest. "Leave it to me."

She was originally a forging enthusiast; she just wasn’t a disciple of the Refining Hall, so her friends usually didn’t dare hand their magical tools over to her.

Yan Jue was the first person to give her a magical tool to work on.

Duan Luxi was very grateful to her.

She put on her outer robe and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Last time you used the sleeve arrows, was there anything you weren’t satisfied with?"

Yan Jue had used these sleeve arrows when chasing that human-faced black ape, and also when ambushing the tiger hound at Myriad Demons Pavilion...

Although the runes did activate with each attack, at most these sleeve arrows just carried a little extra power from the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

If the other side was sturdier, then sleeve arrows with nothing but runic embellishments were clearly useless against them.

For example, that powerful tiger hound from Beast Taming Pavilion.

Yan Jue told Duan Luxi what she was thinking. "Could the sleeve arrows have an array rune that allows remote control?"

"Like, every time I throw one out, I can form a seal and control where the sleeve arrow goes; or maybe a rune that lets me make the sleeve arrow explode with a seal?"

The crafting difficulty for such sleeve arrows was obviously not low.

Duan Luxi thought for a moment. "The five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are already the first rune. If you want to add a control rune on top of that, it’s basically adding a second rune to the original one."

"A dual rune?"

Yan Jue hadn’t expected there really to be this kind of rune. "Mm-hm, is it possible?"

When you’re out and about, the more means of self-protection you have, the better. If the sleeve arrows only carried elemental properties, the other side might quickly catch on; adding a second rune and catching them off guard would be best.

Duan Luxi: "Leave it to me. I’ll try!"

Yan Jue hadn’t expected her to agree so readily, and smiled. "Thank you."

-

After Yan Jue entrusted the sleeve arrows to Duan Luxi to be reworked, she went to the Administrative Hall.

Sure enough, things were busy after returning to the mountain; in just one short hour, Yan Jue had practically circled all of Five Dragons Mountain.

Her three beginner missions were already complete.

Right now, the urgent matter was to sort out the identity token issue as quickly as possible so she could leave the mountain sooner!

The elder in the Administrative Hall looked over Yan Jue’s records and thought for a moment. "Indeed, you’ve already completed the beginner missions. Fellow Daoist, you still have one month of observation time before you can become an official outer sect disciple and go out at will."

Yan Jue confirmed, "After one month, I come here to get my identity token, and then I can leave the mountain whenever I want, right?"

The elder nodded. "Yes."

-

When Yan Jue returned to the dormitory, she saw that something had been placed on her desk at some unknown point in time.

A small white paper packet.

Yan Jue slowly opened it and found three pale blue Spirit-Gathering Pills inside.

That day in Emptiness Mountain, Yan Jue had used Drifting Snow to climb the cliff and pick the top-grade Thousand Peak Divine Lingzhi, and had offered the three Spirit-Gathering Pills she’d received as a mission reward as the price.

It seemed Lin Xi hadn’t forgotten what she’d said. Yan Jue couldn’t help but curl her lips slightly.

Cultivation was mainly about drawing heaven and earth’s spiritual energy into the body.

Pills like Spirit-Gathering Pills, which concentrated the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, were naturally the more the better for someone like Yan Jue, who was desperately eager to increase her strength.

Yan Jue took one Spirit-Gathering Pill. After sitting cross-legged on the bed and running a cycle of her cultivation method, she went to sleep early.

-

Qi Xianqing’s mission in Jiangnan took much longer than Yan Jue had imagined.

There were six great immortal sects in this world.

Five Dragons Sect, which guarded the southwestern border.

Beast Taming Pavilion in the northwest, which raised spiritual beasts.

Echo Hall, located in Chu-Yue Jiangnan and well-versed in music.

Luan Terrace in the east, which possessed phoenix bloodline.

Tiangang Shrine, the martial arts sect in the center.

And Gentle Breeze Valley in the southeast, which specialized in summoning arts.

By rights, each immortal sect only needed to be responsible for its own jurisdiction. For example, Five Dragons Sect disciples generally only went out to train in the southwest.

Traveling beyond the southwestern border guarded by Five Dragons Sect to an even more distant place was a privilege reserved for the cream of the inner sect, people like Qi Xianqing.

Tasks like that were far more dangerous than beginner missions; naturally, they couldn’t possibly return too quickly.

...

During this time, Yan Jue stayed in her room in seclusion. She wasn’t in a hurry to go to Cold Pool, because after consuming the three Spirit-Gathering Pills, the spiritual energy in her body showed signs of going out of control and needed time to be absorbed.

Seven days later, Yan Jue finally received Qi Xianqing’s flying crane letter.

Early that morning, Yan Jue woke up in bed and found another note on her desk at some unknown point in time.

Qi Xianqing’s note had arrived.

Qi Xianqing: Today, at the hour of Wei, Cold Pool.

Qi Xianqing’s writing was still as concise as ever.

But as Yan Jue looked at those short little words, her heartbeat somehow quickened.

Though only a few days had passed, Yan Jue somehow felt as if the days when Qi Xianqing taught her martial arts were already long gone.

Afternoon; the hour of Wei.

Yan Jue arrived at Cold Pool as usual, and was surprised to find that in just a few days of not coming, the thin ice on the pool had already begun to melt.

New buds were emerging along the bank, and the air carried the fresh scent of grass and wood.

Yan Jue took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped.

A few days ago, before going down the mountain, she had placed seven Ghostfire Fireflies around the edge of Cold Pool to prevent Chu Fu from coming there to practice.

Yet for some reason, those tiny Ghostfire Fireflies were still drifting slowly along the shore.

Yan Jue felt that something about them looked a little strange.

Why had the firefly color changed?

"..."

When Ghostfire Fireflies were in attack mode, they would turn green.

In a more relaxed state, they would often appear a more pleasing sapphire blue.

But now, the Ghostfire Fireflies fluttering by Cold Pool were actually showing... a soft indigo.

Confused, Yan Jue moved closer. The indigo "Ghostfire Fireflies" seemed to sense her presence and suddenly beat their wings furiously, taking off.

They flew left and right, and actually surrounded Yan Jue.

A few tiny insects arranged themselves in the sky; faint flashes of blue-green lightning could be seen.

They were actually going to attack her.

Yan Jue inwardly cried something bad, and her right hand abruptly formed a seal. In an instant, a faint light flashed before her, and a sheet of floating ice blocked her in front.

At the same time, purple-blue lightning came crashing down from above, slamming into her barrier with a deafening boom.

The ground shook and the mountains trembled.

The first attack failed, but the tiny "Ghostfire Fireflies" showed no discouragement. They nimbly darted left and right in the air, seemingly arranging some kind of formation again, and Yan Jue’s pupils shrank suddenly.

It was... a mid-grade Three-True Lightning Formation!

But the Ghostfire Fireflies she had raised only knew a low-grade Three-True Lightning Formation at most.

Then, from over there came two very light claps. "Come back."

Yan Jue was slightly stunned.

The few insects that had been itching to attack suddenly reined in their edge and flapped upward at once, flying off in another direction.

Yan Jue turned around and saw that Qi Xianqing had somehow already appeared beside Cold Pool.

Under the sunlight, Qi Xianqing wore a narrow-sleeved black cross-collared shirt in a hundred-herb frost pattern; behind her was her immortal sword, Zhuying. Below it, she wore a green patterned skirt, and at her waist hung a pale purple pendant. She was so fair she seemed whiter than snow, so beautiful she was beyond compare.

The air carried a faint trace of violent electrical energy; the Ghostfire Fireflies quickly flew to Qi Xianqing’s side and obediently circled the girl in messy loops.