Chapter 108

Qing Zhouxue hadn't wanted to leave her spot, but since her master was going out of the mountain, she accepted this ordeal as a matter of course.

She packed a few changes of clothes and brought along the Qingshuang Sword. With her luggage simple, she headed toward the Main Peak. Although she was Yun Shuchen's personal disciple, this trip clearly wasn't just for her alone—there were other sect members going as well. So she couldn't simply leave with her master alone.

Within the sect, not everyone's spellcraft was accomplished enough to ride clouds easily. But since swords had spirits, flying by sword wasn't too difficult, so even non-sword cultivators would keep a sword on hand at all times.

Yun Shuchen quite wanted to lean on her disciple and let the Qingshuang Sword carry them both—this famous sword was very handy, and because of its age, it knew the way to many places. It could even carry someone forward without spiritual power. Very comfortable.

Unfortunately, she couldn't.

As an elder, during sect missions, she had to pretend that Qing Zhouxue was just one among many ordinary disciples. Sharing a sword was clearly against the rules, and being overly intimate was out of the question.

Yun Shuchen felt a slight pang of regret.

The sky was clear, immaculate as if washed.

A southern breeze blew, and the various disciples had already stood in solemn array. Yun Shuchen silently counted them one by one, then nodded and said, "All are present. We can set out."

Yue Changge led the way in front. As those young disciples flew off one by one like spring swallows touching the water, only then did Yun Shuchen tread a drifting cloud and follow behind, riding the wind at a moderate distance.

She lowered her gaze to watch the overlapping mountain ranges beneath her feet and the rivers running through them. Because she had to consider those children's sword-flying skill, she couldn't fly very fast.

Yun Shuchen had always had an eye for beauty. She idly enjoyed the scenery along the way. Though the mountains were full of verdant wilds, every now and then a patch would be yellow here and a cluster red there—quite lovely to see.

She simply dispersed half of the small windproof barrier, letting the wind blow quite cool, and many strands of hair by her ears were swept up.

In the past, Yun Shuchen would never have dared to ride the wind like this; she would probably have had to lie in bed for several days afterward. She could hardly remember the last time she had traveled by wind.

In the azure sky, it seemed a small swallow had fallen behind, flying ever slower. Gradually, Yun Shuchen saw clearly that the silhouette in white was her own disciple.

Her disciple stopped her sword beside her, and Yun Shuchen said, "What's wrong?"

Qing Zhouxue raised her hand and cast a spell, reinforcing the barrier that her master had just half-removed, as if she had anticipated this. She let out a soft sigh and said, "Master's health has only just improved a little."

With that, Qing Zhouxue flew her sword faster, catching up with her fellow senior and junior sisters. Yun Shuchen could only see her back.

The cool wind calmed again.

She also sighed, no longer struggling, and moved forward slowly in a windless warmth.

They crossed most of the Nine Provinces. The further north they went, the sparser the vegetation on the ground became. It changed from green to yellow, and from yellow to nothing. Then it receded into dark gray earth, more and more covered with ice and snow.

They arrived at the reaches of Beiyuan Mountain.

This place was frozen and snow-covered all year round; wherever one looked, everything was a vast expanse of white. Because of the perpetual cold, few people desired to come here, and their hearts naturally stayed calm. Several sects, including the Lingxu Sect, had grown up here.

Qing Zhouxue walked into the Lingxu Sect with her fellow disciples, and saw the fellow cultivators of the Lingxu Sect greeting them with heartfelt words and tears. A few senior disciples who came out to welcome them exchanged pleasantries for a while, then led them to lodgings for rest.

This place clearly couldn't compare to the inner sect of the Taichu Sect. The conditions were even somewhat harsh, and two people had to share one room.

Qing Zhouxue and Bai Su entered a room. After simply tidying up their things, they found themselves with nothing to do.

Bai Su closed the window a bit tighter to keep the cold snow from blowing across the floor. "Just now they said... the demonic cultivators here have already attacked the vicinity of this realm. When we go out, we'd better go in pairs."

Qing Zhouxue looked out the window. "Mm."

"It's very cold here. How long do we have to stay before we can return?"

Bai Su was startled for a moment, then smiled. "Junior sister, how many years have you not traveled? Besides, this place is icy and snowy—for you, it's a good place to cultivate. It's strange... Can an Ice Spiritual Root be afraid of the cold?"

"It is a good place," said Qing Zhouxue. "But it's still a bit too cold."

On the other side.

The sect leader of the Lingxu Sect, Xuanchengzi, came personally to welcome the two elders of the Taichu Sect. That white-haired old man, though he appeared to be of a high seniority, was actually younger than Yun Shuchen.

"Elder Yun, Elder Yue have come from afar. This is truly a great fortune for our sect," Xuanchengzi said, cupping his hands in salute, deeply grateful. "Otherwise, we alone would be hard-pressed to hold on, and I'm afraid..."

"The Lingxu Sect and the Taichu Sect have always been on good terms. We should have come earlier. If we were delayed on the road, I hope the sect leader will not take offense," Yun Shuchen said with a smile. Yue Changge also agreed.

Hard-pressed to hold on?

Perhaps not entirely alone, because some small neighboring sects were also connected and did their utmost to lend aid. But if you mentioned the foremost immortal sect standing at the center of the Nine Provinces—the Liuyun Sect—it wasn't necessarily true that the Lingxu Sect could move them.

Indeed, the Liuyun Sect hadn't sent anyone.

While Yue Changge was chatting happily with Xuanchengzi, Yun Shuchen looked around, then withdrew her gaze and sighed inwardly.

Afterward, they met the other elders of the Lingxu Sect, as well as others from other sects who had come to help. On a magical artifact in the center of the main hall was projected the topography of the nearby mountains. Wherever red spiritual light extended, signs of demonic cultivator activity had already appeared, almost forming a closed loop.

The Lingxu Sect was in the middle.

It was rather like a wolf pack encircling yellow sheep in a hunting siege.

Yun Shuchen nodded from time to time, listening to the other fellow cultivators discuss at length. Here, she and Yue Changge had the highest cultivation. Their arrival seemed to calm the army. Xuanchengzi looked so pleased that he seemed to think they could capture the whole demon clan the next moment.

The enemy was in the dark, and their intentions were still unclear.

It wasn't that easy.

However, this trip was not mostly for vanquishing demons anyway.

*

At dusk, Bai Su was meditating on the opposite bed, and Qing Zhouxue likewise. Just as her mind reached a state of clarity, she suddenly heard a faint rustling by her ear.

Qing Zhouxue stopped meditating and looked toward the source of the sound, then glanced at Bai Su.

Bai Su seemed unaware, still focused on her practice. Qing Zhouxue sat quietly for a while, then heard the sound once more. She groped for the sword at her side and gripped it tightly.

Someone was approaching, with light footsteps.

Closer and closer.

At this point, the moon hung high in the sky; no one should have been disturbing them. If it were a fellow cultivator, they wouldn't have used such a cautious and covert method to approach her—they would have simply knocked on the door.

Most likely not a good person.

Qing Zhouxue made her breathing very light and walked to the door. The blade light of the Qingshuang Sword reflected the moonlight outside the window. She silently raised it, pointing at the door.

The barrier restriction on the door was broken with ease. Suddenly a line opened, and a dark figure slipped in. Qing Zhouxue's brow furrowed, her wrist flicked, and the Qingshuang Sword stabbed out silently behind the figure.

She hadn't seen the shadow clearly, only felt that the person was extremely fast, immediately retreating a foot. She mobilized her spiritual power, lightly touched her toes, and chased after him just as fast.

The first sword missed its mark, leaving a few footprints in the snow in the night. Amid the rustling wind, something broke through the air. Qing Zhouxue's body swung backward, almost bending into a backbend. In the sparse moonlight, she saw several extremely fine wooden splinters graze past her neck.

Decisively, she tapped the ground with her sword tip. When her whole body rose again, ice cones spread forward from where her sword had struck, soon about to trap that shadow.

Just as she was about to succeed, the ice cones suddenly broke. From beneath the several zhang of snow and ice, several vines pushed up.

She was slightly startled. To grow vines from amidst ice and snow, the opponent's cultivation was likely far above hers. That figure before her suddenly teleported right in front of her eyes. A light touch came to her shoulder—

At such close range, Qing Zhouxue's martial memories from rolling around and climbing in the Sword Pavilion were suddenly awakened. She actually discarded her sword and instinctively tripped the opponent's foot, wrapping her body around to the back. Unexpectedly, it worked, and the two fell into the snow, rolling a few times.

For some reason, the other person was also startled. His struggle was very weak, as if he was worrying about something. But on Qing Zhouxue's side, thinking her life was in danger, she had tensed her spiritual power to the limit. In close combat, she delivered an elbow strike without mercy.

Only to hear the person let out a muffled groan, his tone slightly annoyed. "It's me."

Qing Zhouxue was stunned for a moment, then immediately let go. "...Master?"

For a while, only the wind could be heard. The two faced each other in silence.

Yun Shuchen had been looking for her. On a whim, she had concealed her aura and exchanged several moves with Qing Zhouxue.

She had just wanted to end this little game, moving before her, thinking her disciple would have recognized her—but she hadn't expected that a sword cultivator's reaction to someone suddenly closing in was like a startled bird. That blow had left Yun Shuchen dazed for a moment.

Falling in the cold snow, while rolling around dizzy with her, she'd also had to be careful casting spells at such close range, where it was hard to control strength and might hurt Qing Zhouxue.

Yun Shuchen rubbed her waist, which hurt at the slightest touch now. She regretted it deeply.

"I told you to guard against everything. Seems you really took it to heart," she said in a faint, resentful tone.

Qing Zhouxue was momentarily lost. She looked around, helped her master up, and gently poked her fingers around her master's waist and belly. "Master, does it hurt here... Or here?"

"Mm."

Her expression turned serious. She was about to undo her master's belt to check for injury, but then she recalled that though it was night, they were still outside, with occasional patrolling disciples passing by. So Qing Zhouxue's hand stopped before it even touched.

But Yun Shuchen reached up to take Qing Zhouxue's hand, and along the way, held the white jade bangle on her wrist.

A flash of white light appeared before their eyes, and the two found themselves in the small world of heaven and earth that Yun Shuchen had carved out in the past.

"No one else is here," Yun Shuchen said with a raised eyebrow.

The small world's time flowed differently from the outside; at this moment, it was still daylight.

Qing Zhouxue loosened her clothes a bit and saw that on her master's delicate white waist was a clear bruise. She let out an almost inaudible sigh. "Master, why did you play such a trick on me?"

"Blame me?" Yun Shuchen smiled faintly.

Her disciple shook her head and, without another word, applied the medicine she had brought on the bruise, then began to rub the spot.