Chapter 90

The water needles annihilated several wisps of flame as they collided, but ultimately broke through the barrier around her body and nearly touched her skin.

Because the water current was controlled by Li Guancang, Lin Xunzhen could only try to interfere, focusing her spirit and calming her mind to manipulate her technique, forcibly shifting the water needles an inch to the left so they wouldn't damage Qing Zhouxue's heart meridians.

But with Li Guancang's four external avatars simultaneously casting spells, this maneuver became even more difficult.

At this critical moment, Qing Zhouxue moved without anyone noticing when she had started.

Yun Shuchen was not skilled in close combat, preferring to keep her distance, so her step-shifting footwork was quite ethereal—now real, now illusory, appearing and disappearing mysteriously. Qing Zhouxue had deliberately imitated this during their sparring sessions, and over the years, she gradually acquired a shadow of her master's style.

She was a sword cultivator, so she used this footwork not to evade but to seek out her enemy.

When a white figure flashed before Ruan Mingzhu's eyes, she distinctly felt a chill wafting through the flames.

It was not the damp coolness of water, but the extreme cold of ice, enough to make one shiver.

In the span of an instant, several water needles froze into ice needles under Qing Zhouxue's control. As she vibrated her sword, countless strands of frigid light shot back. Li Guancang sensed danger the moment Qing Zhouxue flashed toward her and had already retreated several steps, nearly turning into a pincushion.

She frowned slightly and let out a cold snort, but gradually discerned a clue from the situation: once Qing Zhouxue came close, the red flames blazing on Ruan Mingzhu's blade began to dim.

Qing Zhouxue was extremely sensitive to fire Spirit Roots, and her technique's range was forced to shrink by a foot.

When Li Guancang noticed this, she repeatedly cornered them together, silently erecting water barriers on all sides, drawing the fighters into an increasingly narrow space.

As ice melted into water in the presence of fire, the greatest beneficiary was Li Guancang's water Spirit Root.

Lin Xunzhen had been pondering this very matter, so she naturally understood Li Guancang's intention.

Indispensable… The Sect Leader's words were not mere praise.

He was offering a hint.

Lin Xunzhen turned her gaze inward, examining herself.

In that moment, she even forgot to control her spell to interfere with Li Guancang, instead slipping into a state of blankness, as if the world had fallen silent and she stood alone in it, utterly lonely.

She had a dual Spirit Root, which naturally made her cultivation slower than those with a single root.

For this reason, beyond cultivating her primary water Spirit Root, she had squeezed the existence of her other Spirit Root—the earth root in her dantian—to a precarious state.

The earth element was not as flexible and changeable as water, easier to control; nor as sharp as metal, which created wind with every strike; nor as formless and scorching as fire; nor as endlessly regenerative as wood.

It was the most cumbersome among the five elements, yet also the most unpretentious.

A cultivator gives a wisp of spiritual energy to it, and it responds with an equal call.

It does not mix with the other four elements, neither enhancing nor diminishing; the earth's steadfastness is always rooted in its own duty.

And it was precisely because of this—she opened her eyes, and a flash of insight struck.

A wall of earth suddenly rose, and although it did not disperse the water barrier, it stretched between Qing Zhouxue and Ruan Mingzhu like a small mountain.

On either side of the earth wall, one faced blazing fire and the other ice and frost, resembling a yin-yang taiji, tinged with different colors.

The frost spread, covering the water barrier on Qing Zhouxue's side, freezing it stiff and shattering it into pieces.

Amid the ice shards, Qing Zhouxue broke through an opening. Beyond the water barrier stood Li Guancang. The Qingshuang Sword, like a bolt of silver lightning, flashed before Li Guancang's eyes, then gleamed mere inches from her throat.

Li Guancang instinctively stepped back half a pace, took off the small fish carving from her chest, and her four avatars merged back into a single body.

She asked in surprise, "How could you be sure this wasn't one of my avatars?"

"Instinct."

Qing Zhouxue's instincts had always been sharp, so much so that even Yun Shuchen had marveled at them.

It was as if, under the pressure of childhood tribulations, she had developed a survival instinct that allowed her to distinguish truth from falsehood and find the right path.

After this sparring session, it seemed as though some long-held doubts shrouded in mist had been brushed aside, revealing a faint glimmer of light.

Lin Xunzhen's eyes brightened. So the earth element really could isolate, though raising such a small mountain was still too cumbersome. She wondered if there was a way to improve it in the future.

Although Li Guancang lost the match, she didn't seem to care much about winning or losing.

She stretched her limbs, and her mood inexplicably became lighter.

As a result, Qing Zhouxue's fellow disciples each found themselves holding several strings of dazzling Penglai specialties, exchanging bewildered glances.

Ruan Mingzhu held up a string of pearls, drawing in a sharp breath. "Heavens, what kind of young lady are you? This looks expensive. You could save this spare money and eat well, drink well, play well—why not?"

Bai Su also said, "This is indeed a bit too valuable, miss. You really needn't spend so freely."

Li Guancang was a little moved—these were the second and third people telling her how to save money.

Her heart softened, and the jewelry in Ruan Mingzhu's hands multiplied by another pile.

Qing Zhouxue brought this mistress of money-spending like a celestial scattering flowers back to Heyi Peak, and coincidentally, Pavilion Master Li mentioned she had imposed on them long enough and should leave.

Hearing this, Li Guancang snorted coldly but began packing her things.

Yun Shuchen had just returned from the Main Peak and happened to see them off.

After exchanging parting pleasantries and farewells, the master and disciple, one tall and one short, walked through the pale purple twilight, both silent, lost in a tranquil hush.

Yun Shuchen watched the two figures walk far away and couldn't help but sigh. "The two of them can only remain in harmony by pretending to be mute. To see a master and disciple get along like this is unheard of."

"What's wrong?"

The person beside her remained silent for a long while, seemingly lost in thought. Yun Shuchen turned to look at Qing Zhouxue.

Her disciple's eyes met hers, and in the dark pupils reflected a small shadow.

Qing Zhouxue recalled what she had been thinking today and inadvertently conjured those fragments in her mind—such as the lingering sense of loss she felt when others embraced Yun Shuchen.

Logically speaking, her master wouldn't leave even if embraced, but she inexplicably felt the woman before her drifting further away, as if she were about to lose her—

She leaned in little by little, then pressed a kiss at the corner of her master's lips.

Yun Shuchen closed her eyes the moment Qing Zhouxue kissed her, her eyelashes trembling as if they might take flight. After the brief kiss ended, she used one finger to rub her lower lip, slowly coming back to her senses, then tried to suppress the upward curve of her smile.

She made the first move.

Qing'er kissed her on her own, not drunk and without any request. Why did she suddenly kiss her? Was it a whim? Had the color of her lip balm been just right today? Or was it the setting and atmosphere that made her disciple bolder?

It was like a stone cast into a lake, finally stirring a ripple.

Elder Yun's heart, still for over five hundred years, now pounded so hard she couldn't restrain it, and little flowers bloomed in it with a rustle. Her thoughts raced, reviewing her attire, makeup, the scenery, and the hour one by one—

Then she took a breath, slowly wrapped her arms around her disciple face to face, like a serpent slowly coiling. This posture allowed her to hide any trace of abnormality on her face.

"Master?"

"Mm."

She waited until the blush on her cheeks faded slightly before letting go of Qing Zhouxue's waist. Yun Shuchen slipped a white jade bracelet from her wrist—Qing Zhouxue recognized it as the one she always wore.

Then she took Qing Zhouxue's hand and slid it on. "Your birthday is approaching, do you remember?"

"Naturally," Qing Zhouxue replied. "But it hasn't come yet."

"It's fine to give it a little early."

She slipped the white jade bracelet over Qing Zhouxue's wrist but did not let go, instead idly toying with the warm, smooth jade. "I originally thought since you need to practice the sword, wearing extra accessories might be inconvenient. But this bracelet can store not only items but also a small world of its own—nothing like it can be found elsewhere."

She rearranged the layout within, shaping it from memory into the secret realm she had first brought her disciple to.

Consider it a memento.

No matter where she went in the future, or how far, she would carry this small world with her.

As Qing Zhouxue's hand touched the smooth, fine jade, the scenery before her twisted and changed, as if her soul were being drawn into the bracelet.

When she opened her eyes, she stood side by side with her master, again seeing the familiar lush grass, the dense forest, and the secluded valley. Even the mountaintop where they had spent a night together, leaning against each other, still had myriad stars falling in endless delight.

Qing Zhouxue felt the surrounding aura was familiar and intimate. Perhaps it was because Yun Shuchen had painstakingly shaped the mountains, rivers, and valley with her spiritual energy, leaving traces uniquely hers everywhere.

"Beautiful."

Qing Zhouxue looked at the waterfall of falling stars, unconsciously staring in wonder, as if it were even more breathtaking than what she had seen that night.

Yun Shuchen seemed thoughtful. With a casual wave of her sleeve, the starlight, like a rain of flowers, was sent up into the sky by the long wind, then fell onto the deep blue, mysterious lake below the mountaintop.

The sparkling waves were like a miracle of the gods. It was as if the Milky Way had flowed into the water, or the lake had risen into the firmament.

"Enjoying this?"

Her disciple nodded, keeping her gaze fixed on the scene without blinking.

Did she like the falling stars, or the one who made them fall for her?

Yun Shuchen couldn't help but smile, and then heard Qing Zhouxue sigh softly. "I still haven't figured out what to give Master."

"You already have."

Qing Zhouxue turned her head and saw her master's fingertip pressing on her lower lip, then releasing it. She looked up leisurely, a faint smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"That doesn't count," her disciple said seriously. "It's too simple."

"Doesn't count?" Yun Shuchen feigned surprise, furrowing her brows slightly as if in thought. "Indeed, it is a bit simple."

"Then how about this?"

Qing Zhouxue's vision darkened, and a soft pressure touched her lips, accompanied by a light, gentle fragrance that flooded her nose.

Qing Zhouxue discovered that though she had kissed before, this kiss was no longer simple but rather quite complex. She was kissed senseless, nearly suffocating, but her master did not release her, instead cradling half her face with her other hand, frowning slightly, tilting her head, and deepening the kiss.

Only after a long while did she let go.

Yun Shuchen raised her hand and slowly wiped her thumb across her lips, whether from shyness or some other reason, she did not lift her eyes but instead stared at her fingertip, "...Is it complicated enough? Learn it, and then you can gift it to me."