Chapter 125

The secret realm was close enough to the Taichu Sect that flying by wind took only half a day.

When they reached Yimeng Cliff, a small disagreement arose.

Yu Ying wasn't yet skilled at sword flight, so letting her fly slowly by herself wasn't necessary.

Yun Shuchen signaled for the little one to come over and ride with her, but Qing Zhouxue took the initiative: "Master, I'll bring Junior Sister along."

Yu Ying turned to look at her senior sister, her eyes curving slightly.

"Why?" Yun Shuchen raised her sleeve and pressed a hand onto Yu Ying's shoulder, asking softly, "Is your master not good to you? You're always following your senior sister."

Yu Ying's body stiffened at once. She looked at Yun Shuchen, then at Qing Zhouxue, as if torn.

Qing Zhouxue, however, didn't say another word. She drew Yu Ying toward herself, pressed two fingers together, and silently murmured something. The Qingshuang Sword answered the call and hovered at her feet.

Yun Shuchen hadn't expected her Qing'er to be so resolute in snatching the junior sister away from her, even going so far as to act first and lift the girl onto the Qingshuang Sword without permission. She was stunned at first, then let her sleeves drop and gave a cold snort. "Fine."

This secret realm wasn't in the north but to the south. Along the way, the mountain ridges transitioned from the steep peaks of the Taichu Sect to gentler, rolling hills, and the flora grew ever taller and denser.

After traveling a while longer, they could feel the innate spiritual energy nearby growing thicker, suggesting there might be spirit mines beneath the mountains.

Nourished by spiritual energy, the trees grew differently than elsewhere—lush and untamed, looking somewhat fierce.

Yun Shuchen chose a clearing to land, but she didn't go looking for the entrance to the secret realm first.

"This appears to be the territory of an old friend," she said, walking forward in one direction. "Let's pay a visit first."

Qing Zhouxue felt the trees here grew too tall, blocking out the sky, while the ground below was thick with the stubborn, stifling smell of damp soil. She brought her junior sister along and followed her master through the trees until they finally broke out of a small thicket and saw some of the local people. Their clothing was rather revealing, adorned with silver ornaments that jingled as they moved. Further up the mountain, they caught sight of the main altar.

Several girls carrying short flutes blocked their way. "Who goes there? This mountain houses the altar of the Sacrifice Immortal Sect. Idlers are not permitted to enter."

Yun Shuchen was about to speak when a woman's voice behind them rang out, both surprised and delighted: "Oh, what wind blows you here?"

The girls all froze, then dropped to one knee in unison. "Sect Leader."

The woman they addressed as Sect Leader wore robes of interlaced deep green and blue, like a resplendent peacock, with a crowd of followers behind her. Her bright eyes moved, and she looked at the two standing behind Yun Shuchen, raising an eyebrow. "Your disciples?"

"Mm." Yun Shuchen gave her a once-over and smiled. "You're still like before—always fond of coming down the mountain."

"Staying cooped up at the main altar all day is so dull. Besides, there are little ones that need catching by my own hand." As she spoke, a green snake flickered briefly around her wrist before she pinched it with her fingers and it withdrew.

Yun Shuchen wasn't afraid of snakes, but she still gave a start. She knew that Hua Qingzhu—the current Sect Leader of the Sacrifice Immortal Sect—was passionately fond of gu and venom, always keeping strange little creatures. That alone was tolerable, but Hua Qingzhu loved carrying them on her person too, and they'd pop out from time to time. Yun Shuchen still couldn't forget how, the last time they were chatting, a black-and-red spider crawled out from the woman's pale neck—it gave her the creeps.

If they hadn't happened to pass by this place, she wouldn't normally wander anywhere near the Sacrifice Immortal Sect.

Hua Qingzhu was extremely hospitable. With a wave of her hand, she brought the three honored guests from the Taichu Sect all back to the main altar. That very evening, she prepared a banquet for them. As the followers bustled about, the entire Sacrifice Immortal Sect stirred like a centipede that had been poked, all its thousand legs and hundred hands moving at once.

When she heard they'd be having a feast, Yun Shuchen's smile turned a little forced. Qing Zhouxue noticed something was off and asked softly, "Master?"

"Nothing." Yun Shuchen withdrew her gaze resentfully. She sighed lightly. "You'll see soon enough."

Yu Ying recalled the small snake she'd seen earlier and pondered, "Could it be snake we're eating?"

That night, the largest pavilion in the Sacrifice Immortal Sect blazed with light. The junior sister had guessed a small part right: in the biggest cauldron set in the middle of the table, snake and chicken were stewed together, elegantly dubbed Dragon-Phoenix Soup.

As for the rest, Yun Shuchen already knew she wouldn't be able to touch a single bite. Fried scorpions and spiders, steamed plump white grubs—the plating was quite exquisite, but the variety was a mishmash of everything. She'd been afraid of this since childhood, let alone eating any of it.

Hua Qingzhu clearly wasn't meeting her for the first time; she'd also arranged for some ordinary dishes to be prepared, as if she'd completely given up on getting this elder to try anything new.

Then she started trying to coax Yun Shuchen's two disciples. "Don't worry. These aren't random wild bugs caught on the mountain. Most are the ones used up in refining gu venom—though they're spent, anything worthy of refining gu isn't ordinary. Your master has no taste when it comes to food, so don't listen to her."

Yu Ying pressed her lips together and shook her head.

Under the Sect Leader's enthusiastic recommendation, Qing Zhouxue picked up a piece of something fried and dried, skirted around the stinger, and took a gentle bite. She frowned slightly at first, surprised that this thing was even edible—and, what's more, quite fragrant. After chewing a couple of times, her brows gradually relaxed.

Qing Zhouxue ate the insect feast with a calm expression, while the Sect Leader looked at her like a long-lost kin, practically sparkling.

Yun Shuchen stared at her Qing'er in disbelief. She knew Qing'er had always had the good habit of not being picky since childhood, but she'd never imagined it could go this far—

She definitely wouldn't kiss her tonight.

* * *

After the banquet, Hua Qingzhu wanted to put them up for the night. Yun Shuchen thought it was getting late, and going back into the dense forest might not be convenient, so she nodded.

Seeing that the two women still seemed to have things to discuss, Qing Zhouxue and Yu Ying followed a young guide to their rooms first.

The altar was built into the mountain's contours. The wooden floorboards were almost suspended among the peaks, with a deep valley below—dangerously steep. Between the mountains, wisps of pale green mist coiled and wrapped around.

By then, the daylight had faded. Looking down, nothing could be seen, but Qing Zhouxue could clearly sense that there was the presence of living things down there.

"These are all the Sect Leader's snakes, raised on fresh meat and blood," the guide said, glancing back with a playful smile. "If someone commits a serious crime, the Sect Leader throws them down there. It saves feeding a sheep."

"Guests must be careful not to miss a step." The bell on the ring around her ankle jingled as she walked, sound in the utter silence like a resentful ghost's wail.

To ordinary folk, such a warning would naturally be terrifying. But to cultivators, it was just a small joke—never mind being eaten, the snakes would likely be the ones to die first.

The scenery here was completely different from Penglai Immortal Island.

Qing Zhouxue took in the sights.

She felt a sudden, inexplicable admiration—her master really knew so many people. Out and about, she could always find a place to rest her feet.

Looking back, the room they'd just come from was still brightly lit.

Inside, Hua Qingzhu was dragging Yun Shuchen into idle chatter. The little snake was coiled around her jade-white wrist, and with one finger, she idly, slowly stroked its head. The snake's head was pressed low, and it stuck out its scarlet forked tongue now and then.

"Did I guess wrong?" Hua Qingzhu laughed behind her hand. "From the look in your eyes... that white-clothed girl you brought isn't your disciple, is she? She's your dao companion."

That wasn't contradictory. Yun Shuchen couldn't be bothered to explain, so she just hummed in acknowledgment.

"What." Hua Qingzhu pretended to be hurt. "You had an Immortal Marriage and didn't even tell me—not a single hint."

"Not yet." Yun Shuchen smiled. "Do you think I'd dare not invite you?"

"Tsk."

Only then was Hua Qingzhu satisfied. She sipped the last of her wine and looked at Yun Shuchen, lips pursed. "You asked about that secret realm just now? I only know there's one, probably in a cave in the middle of the forest."

"As for that Mahayana-stage demon beast... there are plenty of scorpion and spider spirits around here."

Hua Qingzhu added, "The shell-less ones, and worms. Oh, soft and white."

Yun Shuchen rubbed her brow. "...Why are they all shaped like that?"

"How cute." Hua Qingzhu tilted her head. "Immortal Yun wouldn't be scared, would you?"

"Cute?"

Yun Shuchen said flatly, "A worm as thick as a tree chasing people with its bloody maw—where exactly do you find that cute?"

The secret realm here wasn't like the ones the Taichu Sect opened on its own. The demon beasts guarding innate secret realms were usually closely tied to the surrounding environment.

For example, the Sacrifice Immortal Sect was located in the far south of the Nine Provinces, where trees were lush, it was damp and sunless year-round, and toxic miasma ran rampant.

It was well suited for all kinds of venomous insects to grow.

And naturally, one or two of them would gain the fortune to become spirits.

When she'd heard the Sect Leader say it was nearby, Yun Shuchen had felt a sense of foreboding.

If not for the fact that Mahayana-stage demon beasts were exceedingly rare and their Demon Cores quite precious—she truly didn't want to see one in person.

"By the way." Hua Qingzhu lowered her head and took a small box from her sleeve. It was ornate and filigreed, with two gu worms sleeping inside.

She set it on the table and pushed it toward Yun Shuchen.

"What is this?"

Even though the little worms weren't moving, Yun Shuchen had no desire to pick it up.

"A love gu."

Hua Qingzhu's voice suddenly dropped, ethereal and gentle, like a ghost's seduction.

Yun Shuchen's fingertip had been idly tapping the table. At those words, her movement halted. She lifted her eyes to Hua Qingzhu.

"That one just now. I observed her brow and eyes—calm as a still pool, detached of passion. She looks like fine material for cultivation. Just not like someone with a lover."

"Once this gu is planted, between the one with the child gu and the one with the mother gu, there will be mutual attraction. No matter how you treat her, she'll remain constant, faithful even beyond death. Thus, you achieve the beauty of one life, one pair."

"This gu doesn't harm the body or take life. An extra layer of protection, isn't it?"

Hua Qingzhu smiled with great satisfaction. "If you accept it, consider it a congratulatory gift. When I come to the banquet, I won't bring anything else."

Yun Shuchen had heard that the Sacrifice Immortal Sect's gu arts were extremely vicious, but only today did she witness it firsthand.

Though Qing'er's emotions were bland, she was no cold-hearted person. Yun Shuchen thought of this first—she felt it unnecessary and was about to politely decline.

But her heart gave a slight skip. When she looked back at the gu worms, she found herself unsettled.

Time always washes away all feelings. Cultivators had long lifespans. If after a few hundred years they could still respect each other as guests, that counted as extremely close—but by then, even the last sparks would likely be gone, leaving only the feeling of living with a familiar relative.

But that clearly wasn't what she wanted.

Yun Shuchen was restraining herself right now, even refusing her advances a few times before accepting once, all for fear that Qing'er would one day grow weary.

If there was a love laid before her that was forever sincere, that would never fade or melt.

Unchanging through eternity.

How could she...

How could she not be the slightest bit tempted?

【... The Sect Leader laughed as well. "For instance, planting a tree on the inevitable path, with the tree full of caterpillars. I remember that time Elder Yun lost her composure, burned the tree to ashes, and just couldn't get past that hurdle."】

—Excerpt from Chapter Sixty-Four.

Master: Disciple's mouth—can't keep it.