VHSTS CH5

Emerald bamboo swayed with the wind, their slender leaves rustling softly.

Yuxiao Peak stood at the very center of Taihua Mountain, surrounded by the other six peaks and occupying the prime location atop an Earth-grade spirit vein. On Yuxiao Peak alone, there were eighty-one first-grade restrictive wards, thirty-six second-grade wards corresponding directly to the Thirty-Six Prefectures of the Xuantian Continent, and nine third-grade wards symbolizing “nine-nine returning to one.”

Even more remarkably, at the summit lay a Heaven-Sealing Grand Array jointly set up by past generations of Taihua Mountain’s Supreme Elders, capable of trapping any cultivator below the Mahayana stage.

If Taihua Mountain was the sacred land of cultivators across the world, then Yuxiao Peak was the very foundation of Taihua Mountain.

For thirteen consecutive generations, Yuxiao Peak had taken in only a single disciple each generation, for two reasons. First, Yuxiao Peak’s standards for accepting disciples were exceedingly high—one had to possess transcendent spiritual roots. Second, raising and teaching a disciple required immense effort and heart’s blood; if it were merely taking on a student, there would be no issue, yet Yuxiao Peak trained its disciples with the goal of grooming them into future Supreme Elders of the sect.

Xuanlingzi had cultivated for a mere three hundred and sixteen years and was currently the sole Deity Transformation cultivator under heaven. Luo Jianqing had reached Foundation Establishment at seventeen and formed his Golden Core at thirty-two; he was already a dragon and phoenix among men of his generation, destined to step into the Deity Transformation realm one day as well.

At this moment, Xuanlingzi lowered his eyes to look at his disciple’s blood-streaked palm, remaining silent.

A mid-stage Golden Core cultivator already possessed a body as tough as iron, not easily injured.

These crescent-shaped wounds had clearly just been inflicted, and by their owner’s own fingernails at that. What sort of resolve did it take to pierce through such tough skin with bare fingernails until it stung and bled?

Xuanlingzi did not ask. He merely swept his sleeve to retrieve a small white jade bottle from his storage ring, took out a drop of Congealed Jade Dew, and gently applied it to the wounds one by one. As his full, smooth fingertips lightly rubbed over the delicate skin of Luo Jianqing’s palm, Luo Jianqing’s body trembled faintly, a tingling, numbing sensation spreading up from his hand.

Even while applying spiritual medicine, Xuanlingzi remained aloof and tranquil, without a ripple of emotion.

His narrow eyes were slightly lowered; clad in white Daoist robes, he looked cold, noble, and unapproachable, the golden sword mark between his brows lending him an otherworldly elegance and solemn majesty that kept others from daring to draw near. After carefully finishing applying the ointment to the wounds on Luo Jianqing’s left palm, he smoothly reached out to take the other hand.

Unexpectedly, Luo Jianqing suddenly pulled his hand back, speaking in a hoarse voice, “Shifu, I’ll do it myself.”

Xuanlingzi’s movements froze abruptly. After a moment, he nodded lightly and handed over the Congealed Jade Dew.

Luo Jianqing dabbed a bit of the pale green salve and began applying it to his right palm himself.

—He held his sword in his right hand; as a sword cultivator, this was his most important hand. His left hand had already felt so sensitive—if he truly let this person apply medicine to his right palm, he didn’t know what he might end up doing.

After a brief moment, Luo Jianqing finished applying the ointment.

The pale green salve dissolved immediately, and Luo Jianqing felt a faint tingling itch at the wounds. When he raised his hand to look, those small cuts had already healed, leaving behind only faint pink scars.

Xuanlingzi said in a low voice, “Keep this bottle of Congealed Jade Dew with you. Do not injure yourself again.”

Luo Jianqing nodded in acknowledgment.

Before long, the two arrived at the clearing outside the bamboo cottages to test the sword.

Luo Jianqing gripped the sword in his right hand, his gaze focusing into a sharp line as he stared coldly ahead, as though facing an enemy. The Shuangfu Sword in his hand responded to his call, letting out bursts of blue-green light as if eager and impatient to try its edge.

In the next instant, sword forms erupted, and sword light flared brilliantly.

The longsword danced through the air, robes fluttering gracefully. Streaks of blue-green sword gleam wove through the lush bamboo forest like a swimming dragon, kicking up gusts of dust. Fierce sword qi swept across the entire grove, yet it was controlled with pinpoint precision—harming not a single stalk of bamboo, merely making them sway violently.

The sword was an Earth-grade natal magic treasure, and the swordsman was a top figure of the younger generation.

His black hair danced without wind, his peerlessly refined face appearing and vanishing amidst dazzling sword techniques—his bearing ethereal, his sword aura formidable. Had little shimei witnessed this sight, her heart would surely have fluttered in infatuation. Yet the one standing aside watching at this moment was Xuanlingzi, who merely lowered his eyes indifferently without offering a single word of praise.

Once the sword test concluded, Luo Jianqing returned before the bamboo cottage holding Shuangfu.

“Shifu, this sword is of one mind with me.”

Xuanlingzi nodded calmly. “Mn. Practice well.”

“Yes.”

Sweat had long since dampened his stray hairs, and shimmering light rippled within his bright eyes. With crimson lips and flushed cheeks, Luo Jianqing’s already celestial face took on a breathtaking beauty—like the most vibrant, swaying rosy clouds amidst mountains and lakes, exhausting all beauty under heaven and transcending the boundaries of gender.

Yet Xuanlingzi showed no reaction whatsoever. After instructing him on a few minor matters, he turned to leave.

Luo Jianqing froze slightly and subconsciously called out, “Shifu!”

Xuanlingzi turned his head to look at him. “What is it?”

Luo Jianqing pressed his lips together for a long while before asking, “Shifu, how long do you plan to stay in closed-door seclusion this time?”

As if caught off guard by the question, Xuanlingzi paused for half a beat before answering, “Half a year at the shortest, three years at the longest.”

Luo Jianqing’s expression darkened.

This was completely different from his past life.

In his past life, after taking in Li Xiuchen, this person had never once gone into closed-door seclusion again. For eighteen full years, he had spent vast amounts of time meticulously guiding Li Xiuchen, enabling that boy with zero spiritual roots to reach Foundation Establishment at twenty and even possess the ability to fight opponents above his realm.

In his past life, Luo Jianqing had already reached the Great Perfection of the late Golden Core stage, only a single step away from stepping into Nascent Soul. Yet at that time, Li Xiuchen—barely thirty-four years old and only at the late Foundation Establishment stage—had led a host of righteous sect cultivators to cross an entire major realm and drive that sword straight into Luo Jianqing’s heart.

When Li Xiuchen was around, this person never entered seclusion, willingly letting his cultivation stagnate at the early Deity Transformation stage for eighteen years. Now that Li Xiuchen wasn’t here, this person immediately resumed closed-door seclusion, leaving behind only a few trivial instructions with nothing more to say.

The sour ache in his chest gradually turned bitter, finally igniting into a roaring flame that scorched Luo Jianqing’s heart.

The earlier joy vanished completely from his handsome, otherworldly face. Luo Jianqing cupped his hands in a formal bow and said expressionlessly, “Shifu, this disciple wishes to request your Supreme Elder Token to expel a newly inducted disciple who never should have entered Taihua Mountain.”

Luo Jianqing kept his head bowed, waiting for Xuanlingzi’s reply. After a long silence, he finally heard the other man ask in a flat tone, “Why?”

Luo Jianqing spoke again, “You don’t even need to ask who it is?”

Xuanlingzi said, “It is that boy from earlier who wished to join Yuxiao Peak, is it not?”

Luo Jianqing’s body tensed.

His Shifu never remembered people—not even all seven top disciples of Taihua Mountain’s seven peaks—yet now he actually remembered Li Xiuchen.

Luo Jianqing lowered his eyes and knitted his brows, his voice turning even colder. “It is him. Shifu, on the Path of Thunder, Jianqing saw with his own eyes how he deliberately took a step back to hide behind an eight- or nine-year-old girl accompanying him, even tugging on the corner of her clothes so she would fully shield him from the lightning. Such a treacherous and unrighteous person must never enter our Taihua Mountain. Please discern the truth, Shifu.”

Luo Jianqing clenched his fingers tightly, waiting anxiously for this person’s answer.

After a long pause, Xuanlingzi’s unruffled voice rang out: “Since he has already entered Haoming Peak, Guangling-shixiong will naturally look into it. Speak to Guangling-shixiong about this matter and ask him to investigate thoroughly. If it truly happened, show no mercy.”

Luo Jianqing clenched his teeth hard, the flames in his chest blazing into an inferno.

“Jianqing, you must absolutely not meddle in this affair. Remember, you should focus wholeheartedly on your cultivation and have no further entanglement with that disciple.”

As his words fell, the door to the bamboo cottage shut.

Luo Jianqing stood all alone before the bamboo cottage, still maintaining his bowing posture. Only after a very long time did he slowly straighten up, gazing at the bamboo cottage with a bitter, complicated look, as if able to see the person inside.

Right, how could I have forgotten? Back then, it had been this very person’s natal treasured sword that ruthlessly pierced his chest. That sword was far too cold—just as cold as its owner. Decades of bond between master and disciple couldn’t even compare to eighteen years with Li Xiuchen. Without that Heaven-grade magic treasure, the Xuanling Sword, no matter how favored Li Xiuchen was by the Heavenly Dao, he never could have slain Luo Jianqing across a major realm.

Yet of all weapons, it had been the Xuanling Sword!

Turbulent, murky qi surged violently in his chest. Luo Jianqing’s eyes contracted, and he hurriedly flew into his own bamboo cottage beside it. The moment he stepped inside, he coughed up a mouthful of heart’s blood. With that, the pent-up resentment and stifling frustration that had echoed in his chest ever since his rebirth finally dissipated, replaced by towering fury.

“You are my Shifu, and I am your disciple?”

“In my past life, I abided strictly by every rule and never stepped a half-pace out of line—and what did I get in the end?!”

“Wuyin… Wuyin.”

“Wuyin!”

__

For the next three days, Luo Jianqing meditated inside his bamboo cottage to soothe the churning heart’s blood stirred up by his anger. By the afternoon of the third day, Luo Jianqing heard a noisy clamor rising from the foot of Yuxiao Peak in the distance. He immediately took his sword and went down the mountain to look, spotting that unreliable Xie Zizhuo at first glance.

The corner of Luo Jianqing’s mouth twitched, and he turned right around to leave.

Xie Zizhuo hurriedly chased after him. Without saying a word, he suddenly dropped down and hugged Luo Jianqing’s thigh: “Shixiong!!!”

Luo Jianqing: “…”

After a moment, Luo Jianqing shook his leg to dislodge the guy, only to find that this fellow clung on ridiculously tight, like a dog-skin plaster that couldn’t be shaken off no matter what.

Luo Jianqing said speechlessly, “Shidi, you’re a Golden Core cultivator at the very least—can’t you have a little dignity?”

Xie Zizhuo shook his head without caring in the slightest. “No! Shixiong, if you don’t agree to help me, I’m not getting up!”

Luo Jianqing: “…”

After Luo Jianqing dragged Xie Zizhuo all the way up Yuxiao Peak, Xie Zizhuo hugged a pot of Yuxiao Peak’s Bamboo Green Tea, gulping down a cup in huge swallows before boldly tipping the teapot straight into his mouth—completely wasting fine tea like an ox chewing peonies. Luo Jianqing shot him an exasperated sidelong glance. Seemingly oblivious, Xie Zizhuo finished drinking and promptly dropped back down to hug Luo Jianqing’s thigh again.

“Shixiong, save me!!!”

Speechless, Luo Jianqing rapped Xie Zizhuo sharply on the head before finally listening to his explanation.

It turned out that the reason Xie Zizhuo had wanted little shimei to refine a pill earlier wasn’t for himself, but for Fifth Shidi’s… spirit beast. That day, Xie Zizhuo had gone to Beast Taming Peak looking for Fifth Shidi; he didn’t find Fifth Shidi, but he did find a newly tamed sixth-grade spirit beast belonging to him.

Xie Zizhuo took a big gulp of tea and said, “Shixiong, a sixth-grade spirit beast! That’s equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator, and it was already tamed!”

Luo Jianqing raised an eyebrow. “So what did you do to it?”

Xie Zizhuo chuckled sheepishly. “I picked a fight with it.”

Luo Jianqing certainly didn’t believe that with Xie Zizhuo’s early Golden Core cultivation, he could pose any threat to a sixth-grade spirit beast. However, fate was unpredictable—Xie Zizhuo hadn’t known that the spirit beast was suffering from hidden internal injuries, and Fifth Shidi had left specifically to fetch medicinal pills for it. Faced with Xie Zizhuo’s shameless provocation, the spirit beast—already possessing spiritual intelligence—naturally couldn’t hold back, fighting Xie Zizhuo regardless of its hidden injuries until it ended up severely wounded by him.

Xie Zizhuo had initially been thinking, Have I really gotten this strong?, right before Fifth Shidi rushed back upon hearing the news and beat his face into a swollen pig’s head.

Fifth Shidi had already ordered all the disciples of Beast Taming Peak to beat Xie Zizhuo senseless on sight—and if they couldn’t beat him, to call Fifth Shidi over to do it! Thus, during the days Luo Jianqing was away, Xie Zizhuo was hunted by everyone, reduced to such a miserable state that he practically had to live in closed-door seclusion.

Knowing he was in the wrong, Xie Zizhuo had wanted to ask little shimei to refine a pill to save that spirit beast, but little shimei flatly ignored him, so he came begging Luo Jianqing again today.

Xie Zizhuo sobbed with tears and snot streaming down his face, “Shixiong, the Sect Grand Competition is in just one year! If I don’t resolve this matter with that spirit beast, Fifth Shidi is definitely going to beat me to death! His cultivation isn’t as high as mine, but those spirit beasts of his are way too terrifying—you have to save me!”

As he spoke, Xie Zizhuo clutched Luo Jianqing’s thigh even tighter and began recounting events from decades ago. First, he brought up how he had kept Luo Jianqing company while kneeling in punishment at the Gate of Admonition when they were kids, then claimed they shared the camaraderie of sneaking a peek at Third Shijie bathing…

Hearing this, blue veins throbbed on Luo Jianqing’s forehead. “Stop spouting nonsense! Back then you dragged me there by force—I didn’t even know that was Third Shimei’s… ahem, and you didn’t keep me company kneeling in punishment; I kept you company! Shifu, he…” His voice cut off abruptly.

Xie Zizhuo didn’t notice Luo Jianqing’s sudden shift, chiming in on his behalf, “Yes, yes, yes, I know Xuanlingzi-shishu has always been strict with you—making you kneel with me even when it wasn’t your fault. Shixiong, just help me out this once. I won’t ask for your jade ox-horn comb anymore; all you have to do is… huh?”

A brownish-yellow short jade comb suddenly appeared right in front of Xie Zizhuo.

Xie Zizhuo hurriedly snatched the jade ox-horn comb. Looking up with a sheepish grin, he was about to thank Luo Jianqing when he saw his eldest shixiong—known as “The Fairest Flower of Taihua”—smile faintly, tiny specks of starlight gleaming in his clear, refined eyes as if ready to draw one’s soul in.

“Take it… to little shimei. Tell her that my heart already belongs to someone, so she shouldn’t wait for me in vain any longer.”

His voice was soft, deep, and pleasant, leaving Xie Zizhuo gradually entranced. It wasn’t until Luo Jianqing stood up to see him off that Xie Zizhuo snapped back to his senses. He gazed at his shixiong with a deep, complicated look, finally unable to stop himself from saying, “Shixiong, thirty-three years of affection—little shimei won’t forget her feelings for you. Even if you use an excuse like this, she’ll never believe it.”

Luo Jianqing couldn’t help letting out a low chuckle, leaving Xie Zizhuo dazed for another moment.

Just like in his past life, everyone assumed his claim that “his heart belonged to someone” was merely an excuse, yet no one knew he wasn’t lying.

However, Xie Zizhuo’s words did remind Luo Jianqing of something. He knitted his brows and asked, “If I recall correctly, the new disciples’ first practical expedition takes place in two months. Is little shimei assigned to lead the team this time?”

Xie Zizhuo nodded emphatically. “Yes, Shixiong, it’s little shimei.”

Too much time had passed, yet with just a slight reminder, Luo Jianqing recalled everything.

Xie Zizhuo said little shimei would never give up on him, yet in the end, little shimei had still married Li Xiuchen and become his first wife. That was because during this very expedition, little shimei and Li Xiuchen fell together into the ruins of a Nascent Soul powerhouse, where she was afflicted by an aphrodisiac poison and forced into intimacy with Li Xiuchen.

Knowing Li Xiuchen’s character and little shimei’s personality, even Xie Zizhuo could imagine how that brat—barely at the third tier of Qi Refining—had taken advantage of his early Golden Core little shimei while her mind was clouded. Luo Jianqing remembered that in his past life, after little shimei returned, she went into closed-door seclusion for five whole years, and before entering seclusion, she had come to Yuxiao Peak looking for him.

Little shimei had waited at the foot of the peak for ten full days, yet wanting her to sever her lingering attachment to him, he had hardened his heart and ignored her.

At that time, little shimei had just lost her innocence, and the very person who had humiliated her was Li Xiuchen up on Yuxiao Peak—yet for his sake, she had still come to the place where her enemy resided to wait bitterly in vain. Thinking of this, Luo Jianqing felt an unbearable pang of heartache.

He would never again give that scoundrel the chance to defile his little shimei!

Even if little shimei was repeatedly saved by Li Xiuchen later on and ultimately resigned herself to marrying him, Luo Jianqing would never allow Li Xiuchen to force himself on his shimei under such circumstances. Seeking Immortality was written with zero morals, even detailing what happened inside that secret realm down to the last word:

“This shijie’s entire body had long since burned with fever, yet she stubbornly refused to move. Finally unable to hold back, Li Xiuchen grabbed shijie’s hand. A single tear slipped from the corner of shijie’s eye, and after a long moment, she finally gripped Li Xiuchen’s hand in return. All the haughtiness she had shown when they first met vanished completely beneath the aphrodisiac poison. Li Xiuchen rolled over, pinning this arrogant, willful shijie beneath him, and tore open her clothes.”

The descriptions that followed were even too unspeakable to read.

His eyes already bloodshot, Luo Jianqing had long prepared for this. Doing his best to calm his mind, he turned to Xie Zizhuo and said, “I will request permission from Sect Master Shibo to lead the expedition in two months myself. Tell little shimei not to rush, and to take her time refining your pill.”

Xie Zizhuo blinked in surprise. “Shixiong, a trivial task like leading newcomers on an expedition doesn’t need to be handed over to you.”

Luo Jianqing shook his head firmly. “I will go this time.”

Xie Zizhuo nodded in bewilderment. Just as Xie Zizhuo was about to depart, Luo Jianqing looked at him with an indifferent expression and asked calmly, “How is that Li Xiuchen faring since arriving at Haoming Peak?”

At the mention of that name, Xie Zizhuo’s face darkened. “How else? With spiritual roots that terrible, he apparently still hasn’t entered the Qi Refining stage.”

Luo Jianqing nodded knowingly, adding softly at the end, “Shidi, I don’t like him.”

Xie Zizhuo froze for a second, then grinned slyly. “Got it, Shixiong. Leave it to me and don’t worry.”

In a flash, Xie Zizhuo transformed into a streak of silver light and vanished into the horizon. As for the matter of “expelling him from the sect” that he had mentioned earlier, Luo Jianqing didn’t bring it up with Xie Zizhuo at all. He knew that with nothing but empty words, no one would believe him—and Liu Xiaoxiao herself didn’t even realize what had happened, so she would likely side with her Chen-gege.

Luo Jianqing wouldn’t do something so foolish as alerting the enemy prematurely.

Gazing down at the lush, thriving forest beneath Yuxiao Peak, Luo Jianqing furrowed his brows slightly before finally letting out a long sigh.

In two months, he would lead the new disciples on their trial. During this time, he needed to focus entirely on cultivating—at the very least, he had to bring the chaotic spiritual power surging wildly through his body under control. His cultivation realm… could not drop any further!