Chapter 15

Early the next morning, Qing Zhouxue made a trip to Lingsu Peak. She usually went there horizontally—rarely did she go strictly vertical, in one piece, as she did today.

Senior Sister Bai Su tensed up the moment she saw her, afraid she was missing an arm or a leg.

Qing Zhouxue explained herself: this time, no injuries, no fights, just a simple request for medicine.

Liu Xunqin, upon hearing the terms, agreed without hesitation. It seemed she feared her junior would change her mind, for she handed over the herbs quite readily, even instructing Bai Su to pull a few extra stalks.

"Does Yun Shuchen know about this?" Liu Xunqin asked abruptly.

"No."

The immortal physician's expression was calm. "Best she not learn of it, lest it interfere."

She twirled the black-and-gold patterned pipe in her hand, then drew a silver knife from her waist and offered it to Qing Zhouxue.

"Today, I only need your blood. Not much—half a small bowl will do."

"After all, this research targets the living, so I must take some precautions. Rest assured, it won't harm your vital essence."

That was what she said, but Qing Zhouxue detected a hint of regret in Elder Liu's cold eyes—regret that she wasn't a corpse.

...

Returning to Heyi Peak, the surroundings were quiet. The cat napped on the wall, its ears pressed against the bricks.

At this hour, her master likely wasn't awake yet. Qing Zhouxue dutifully practiced her sword for a while, then, following yesterday's memory, sat cross-legged in the pavilion to run the newly learned technique through a minor cycle.

Memory, emotion, and scent were intertwined. As she cultivated, Qing Zhouxue kept catching a faint, elusive fragrance at the tip of her nose, though she knew it wasn't real.

Aside from meditation and study, there seemed to be little else to while away the hours.

Qing Zhouxue was fond of quiet. She watched the ripples forming on the pond outside the pavilion, koi swimming beneath, and could sit like that for half an hour without boredom.

"Senior Sister—" Someone climbed onto the wall, nimbler than a cat, mouthing words at her.

A mass of red robes poked its head in. "Why are you alone?"

Good thing it was just her. Emboldened, Ruan Mingzhu slipped in without a care, tapping the water's surface lightly before landing in the pavilion in a few steps.

"Perfect timing." Qing Zhouxue pulled the luminous herbs from her robe and explained their use in detail.

"Really?" Ruan Mingzhu accepted the plants, pursing her lips. "I'll give it a try back home. Swords and blades have no eyes, so I won't hold a grudge."

"Mm..." Qing Zhouxue noticed she wasn't leaving. "Is there anything else?"

"Nothing much." She propped her head up, crossing her legs. "I'm bored stiff on the peak—positively bored to death. The senior sisters are pretty enough, but they're always buried in homework and don't have time to chat with a loafer like me."

"So I came to find you—otherwise, I'd be growing moss. Oh, and since I lost last time and I'm not convinced, how about a rematch?"

She glanced toward the inner courtyard, then her eyes lit up. "Ah, Senior Yun is here."

Yun Shuchen had just risen and noticed an extra person on Heyi Peak. The girl in red smiled at her bright and sunny, while her own disciple wore a cold expression—a stark contrast.

They were the same age, yet their temperaments couldn't be more different.

Yun Shuchen glanced from afar but didn't approach, as if merely passing by. She stayed put, but Ruan Mingzhu stood, seemingly about to go over. She took a step out, only to be stopped by Qing Zhouxue. "She's dressed formally; she's likely heading out now."

She was right. Ruan Mingzhu sat back down, watching Yun Shuchen's figure disappear with a wistful look.

"So it's really just the two of you on this peak?" Ruan Mingzhu marveled. "Do you talk to her much? Don't you get bored?"

"...Bored?" Qing Zhouxue shook her head. "Master enjoys peace and quiet; crowds give her a headache. One must be still to cultivate and study."

Ruan Mingzhu decided they had nothing in common, sighing heavily.

"Why does every cultivator I meet end up like this? Last time I visited Lingsu Peak, I saw a girl in blue robes—young and pretty. I went up to chat her up, but she was cold-faced and fierce, telling me to get lost."

Qing Zhouxue frowned. "You didn't say anything offensive, did you?"

"Offensive?" Ruan Mingzhu rubbed her nose guiltily. "...No."

"Good." Qing Zhouxue said flatly. "Lingsu Peak has few female disciples, and Senior Sister Bai Su wouldn't talk like that. The person you met wasn't some young maiden—that was Elder Liu."

"What?!" Ruan Mingzhu was stunned. "You must be joking. How come I didn't see that elder at the disciple selection?"

"The initiation ceremony we attended was held separately; she didn't come that day."

Moreover, when Ruan Mingzhu was carried into Lingsu Peak that day, she had already fainted. When she woke up, only Senior Sister Bai attended to her, so she had no impression of Liu Xunqin at all.

Watching her junior sister's face twist with complex emotions, Ruan Mingzhu scratched her head and ears, felt embarrassed for a while, then hugged the herbs tightly and slunk away.

Qing Zhouxue gave her a puzzled look.

Left alone, she continued reading in the pavilion, living her "boring" life.

The sky, clear moments before, began to cloud over.

Qing Zhouxue suspected rain and had already moved inside. She cracked the window a fraction—there was no dampness in the air, but the gloom made one uneasy.

For no reason, the spiritual power within her began to stir.

This unfamiliar sensation nonetheless found a theoretical memory in her mind—was she about to break through to the Golden Core?

Qing Zhouxue forced herself to stay calm and stepped out into the cold wind.

From the generation of the heavenly thunder to its strike, only a few brief moments passed, leaving her nearly no time to leave Heyi Peak for the tribulation. She hurried her steps, running as far as possible from the dwellings, into the woods, to avoid affecting the buildings.

Disordered spiritual power made every step arduous. Eventually, she sat cross-legged, trying to settle the surging energy. Above, the clouds churned and swirled, gradually forming a massive, eye-shaped vortex over her head.

Meanwhile.

The Sect Leader was drinking tea when a sudden boom erupted. His hand shook, knocking over the cup, spilling tea everywhere.

Startled, he looked northwest, just in time to see a violet heavenly thunderbolt strike down. The barrier on Heyi Peak shattered completely with a crack.

A thunder tribulation of this might nearly rival the ninefold thunder of ascension.

Was Yun Shuchen going through tribulation? The Sect Leader's first thought seemed wrong—hadn't she mentioned visiting the Penglai Pavilion master today? She should be at the Eastern Sea by now.

"It's that child..."

A tribulation could only be faced alone. Even as Sect Leader, he was powerless.

Standing atop the Main Peak, he watched anxiously as the first thunderbolt broke Heyi Peak's barrier; after the second, the mountain's great protective formation was utterly annihilated; the third seemed to be gathering strength, refusing to fall.

Dark clouds churned, as if some unseen beast lurked behind them, growling with bated breath before unleashing a final, all-out strike.

Finally, rain poured down, and that thunderbolt split the world, dimming it then brightening it to day. The Sect Leader felt the very peak beneath his feet tremble three times.

With one glance, he saw half of Heyi Peak collapse, flames bursting for an instant before being doused by the downpour.

He said in a deep voice, "Lian Qing, quickly use a message talisman to contact your Yun-shishu. I'll head to Heyi Peak to check on the situation."

In truth, there was no need for a message. Yun Shuchen had sensed the trouble the moment the first thunderbolt struck. She had tied a red string imbued with a wisp of her cultivation spirit around her disciple, which not only concealed her aura but also allowed her to sense her condition at critical moments.

Unfortunately, the Eastern Sea was quite far from Taichu Sect. By the time she returned, all she saw was a crumbling half of Heyi Peak and a disciple lying unconscious on the ground.

The Sect Leader and various elders stood around, congratulating her amidst the desolation. "Don't worry, don't worry, your disciple is fine—she successfully broke through to the Golden Core."

Her expression cold, she lifted her skirts slightly in haste, nearly stepping over her disciple, and strode into the courtyard that had housed her for centuries—though now only ruins remained. She followed her memory to the storeroom and bedroom.

Her cherished court and makeup, trinkets and antiques, fine jade bangles and hairpins, along with many exquisitely crafted, priceless garments—all were charred black in the thunder tribulation, mixed together beyond recognition.

A fortune spent in an instant always comes so suddenly.

Elder Yun's hand trembled as she coughed in the ashes, picked up a piece of broken porcelain from the ground, and fell silent.

"Let her be." The Sect Leader blocked Junior Sister Yue from approaching to console her.

If the herbs on Lingsu Peak were burned to ash, Liu Xunqin would likely grind the culprit into dust and scatter it as fertilizer. Thinking of this, she took a slow puff from her pipe and expressed her sympathy in one precise word: "Brutal."

Out of humanitarian concern, the Sect Leader quietly instructed his disciples as he left to carry Qing Zhouxue away, lest Yun Shuchen recover her wits and seek out the root of the disaster.

It was, after all, saving a life, a greater virtue than building a seven-tier pagoda.

When Qing Zhouxue woke up, she found she wasn't in a familiar place. The Sect Leader looked at her kindly. "Junior disciple, finally awake. Since you've formed your core, you need to stabilize your realm..."

"Uncle Master, what happened to Heyi Peak?" Qing Zhouxue disregarded propriety, struggled up, opened the window, and leaned out. What met her eyes was a Heyi Peak half-collapsed.

She stood frozen for a moment, then asked softly, "...My master?"

The Sect Leader was silent for a moment before answering tactfully, "For now, you'll stay on the Main Peak, just to avoid the storm. Your master might need some time to compose herself before she comes to see you."

Seeing his junior disciple with her head lowered, looking upset.

"The thunder tribulation was an accident," the Sect Leader consoled her. "Or perhaps you could go to a neighboring immortal sect to study and observe? I do have a few openings here..."

At that moment, the door of the Sect Leader's hall burst open.

Light slanted in from outside.

Qing Zhouxue looked against the light—a graceful figure walked in through the doorway, step by step, her expression unreadable and formidable.

She gave a faint smile.

"My dear disciple, where are you rushing off to hide from me?"