Chapter 9

Through the little qilin's beastly eyes, a golden light symbolizing the Metal Spirit Root flickered, then went out. The green light that followed shone a bit brighter for a moment, only to extinguish decisively.

A cold blue light, signifying the Water Spirit Root, burned for an especially long time.

Just as they thought she had a Water Spirit Root, the beast's eyes blinked, the blue light vanished, and turned to flame.

Yun Shuchen was slightly taken aback. Not a Water Spirit Root?

Yet Qing Zhouxue had shown no affinity for the other four elements.

As the lights of the Five Elements each flared and each died out, the little qilin's eyes widened, staring at the girl before it in disbelief. It tilted its neck, shook off Qing Zhouxue's hand, shrank behind the Sect Leader, and timidly shook its head.

"How strange," the Sect Leader said, stroking his chin. "There's no Five Elements Spirit Root that a qilin can't see. What's wrong with this child?"

"She has no Spirit Root," the little qilin replied in a thin voice. "How odd."

Hearing this, Qing Zhouxue couldn't help but look up at Yun Shuchen's expression. She saw Elder Yun seemingly lost in thought with lowered eyes, betraying neither joy nor anger.

A moment later, a hand rested on her head, and a warm voice said, "Come, let's head back."

All the way back, Qing Zhouxue kept her brows furrowed, while Yun Shuchen remained as composed as ever and even asked her what she'd like to eat upon returning.

As they entered the door, Yun Shuchen's sleeve was tugged slightly, then quickly released.

The young girl's eyes and hands lowered together, keeping a proper distance from her, her lower lip pressed slightly, before she spoke softly:

"Without a Spirit Root, I can never cultivate in this lifetime."

Over the years, she had read all those books, so she understood such principles well.

"Then will you still keep me?"

The air fell silent for a moment. Qing Zhouxue's heart hung slightly, though she had already foreseen the outcome, she couldn't help but cling to a faint glimmer of hope.

"If you truly cannot cultivate, I won't keep you."

"Taichu Sect does not support idle people."

The woman's voice was gentle, but her words were chilling. "Moreover, that way, you hardly stand a chance of passing the inner sect trials."

The last spark of hope was extinguished.

In the middle of the night, Qing Zhouxue lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep—a rare bout of worry keeping her from slumber.

Uncertainty about the unknown. If she couldn't stay here, then the world was vast, and with no one to rely on, she truly had nowhere else to go.

Her cultivation remained at the Foundation Establishment stage.

These past years, she had studied many cultivation methods and tried them, but she could never absorb the world's spiritual energy as her own. It was like fine sand in her hand—no matter how tightly she gripped it, it still slipped away.

At first, Qing Zhouxue thought she simply didn't understand well enough, but it turned out... it was a problem of innate conditions.

Even the Foundation Establishment cultivation within her probably didn't come from herself, but from the tonic Yun Shuchen had fed her to solidify her foundation.

Tossing and turning, she never felt time pass so slowly. The moonlight crept but a few inches, unable to cross the window.

Just then, two or three sounds of a cat scratching at the door came from outside. Qing Zhouxue's heart gave a slight start, and she turned over to get out of bed, opening the door a crack.

"The master calls for you."

A Jin seemed a bit worried about her and followed at her heels all the way to Yun Shuchen's door, lowering its voice to say, "It's alright. If you truly can't cultivate, I'll put in a good word with the master and ask her to let you stay and help me with chores like picking vegetables, shopping, and sweeping..."

"Mind your tongue. I can hear you."

A faint voice came from inside the room, and the cat, startled, scrambled up the wall.

Qing Zhouxue took a soft breath, knocked politely a few times, then opened the door.

Elder Yun was not sitting on her bed but reclining in her carved pearwood chair, seemingly just bathed, her long black hair loose, making her features look like a painting.

On the table lay several small wooden pieces scattered about, carved with mysterious patterns.

Yun Shuchen raised her hand, gesturing for her to sit.

"You heard my cat even planning your future. What do you think?" She still wore a smile, elegant and languid, as if nothing weighed on her mind.

"It's quite good."

Qing Zhouxue said this with complete sincerity, quietly lifting her eyes, only to catch a casual, indifferent glance from Elder Yun.

She paused, then tactfully shook her head.

Yun Shuchen observed her expression. The girl seemed quite calm, sitting upright across from her, exuding an air of obedience: "I'll follow whatever the elder decides."

"You don't look all that upset."

If an ordinary young girl had suffered such a blow of gaining and losing, she would probably be dejected by now.

"Being upset is useless; it can't change the outcome. Rather than making myself feel worse, it's better to think less and dwell less." The young girl lowered her lashes, her tone even.

Yun Shuchen made no comment on this.

She pressed on the wooden pieces with her fingertip to shift them and arranged the scattered fragments neatly before her. Her white, jade-like hands contrasted sharply with the dark brown wood. Qing Zhouxue had been staring at those complicated hexagrams, but her gaze unconsciously drifted to her hands.

She asked, "Then do you know what this is?"

"It's a hexagram."

"Mm." Yun Shuchen withdrew her hand. "This is a divination I cast for myself."

"And yet, all the fortune in these hexagrams points to you."

"Me?" Qing Zhouxue was stunned.

Elder Yun pushed the hexagrams aside, scattering them into disarray. She flicked her sleeve and rose, slowly walking over to stand beside Qing Zhouxue.

Qing Zhouxue turned her head, watching that hand land on her shoulder, pressing down with a three-tenths force, bearing slightly downward. A strand of hair also fell at the same time, brushing against her cheek.

"There's no way you cannot cultivate."

She spoke beside her ear, her tone as soft as a wisp of smoke, yet her words were resolute.

"It's not that I trust you, but that I trust the hexagrams I cast myself. I also believe the Heavenly Dao wouldn't be so wary of an ordinary girl."

Qing Zhouxue lowered her gaze to the teacup on the table. The water was clear as jade, faintly reflecting the stunning face of the woman behind her, and her own.

"Then I—" She frowned slightly. "My Spirit Root..."

"There is a method, though it's never been tried before."

She slowly stepped back. "For you, it may carry mortal danger. It's a gamble—if it succeeds, you'll be set on the right path; if not, you'll die. But for now, it's the only way I can think of. Are you willing to give it a try?"

Perhaps making a fourteen-year-old decide such a thing was indeed too cruel.

But the path of immortality is long, and every tribulation a cultivator faces is a struggle at the edge of life and death, a rebirth from blood and mire.

No one can guarantee every time is fully prepared.

A coward who dares not gamble, no matter how gifted, will not go far.

"Think it over carefully. I'll give you a day. If you're unwilling, I won't force you. You can go down the mountain and live as a mortal—that's not too bad either."

"If you're willing to try, wait for me at Yimeng Cliff tomorrow at the hour of Chen."

...

Qing Zhouxue returned to her room, kicked off her shoes, tidied them, and lay back on the bed. She touched the finely crafted quilt, which had silver threads embroidered on the outer side.

Any scrap of cloth here was more luxurious than anything she had ever worn before. She had enjoyed six years of carefree living under Yun Shuchen's care, better than any of the first eight years of her life.

Her original intention in coming here had been to follow her father's words, find a place to seek food and warmth, and that had already far exceeded expectations. Later, she read about the Dao, the Five Elements, heaven and earth and nature, and was also captivated by their balance and subtlety—though part of it was for the written exams, if she hadn't been genuinely interested, she wouldn't have hurried to the outer sect to squeeze into lectures every day.

To stop here would be a great pity.

Then there was the promise she had made to Elder Yun to become her disciple. She had nothing else to repay her with, so she would never forget this matter.

Even if she really died, so what?

She had no family left; perhaps she owed Elder Yun a few years of kindness, and it wouldn't affect anyone else. She could be said to have nothing to hold her back.

Qing Zhouxue resolved this question in just a few moments. The next morning, at the hour of Chen, she appeared punctually at the summit of Yimeng Cliff.

By then, the mist had dispersed and the sky had cleared. Golden light shone, making the distant mountains gleam.

Elder Yun was already waiting there. She stood with her hands behind her back, her hair tied with a single ribbon, swaying precariously in the wind.

Hearing the sound behind her, she turned and nodded to her. "Since you've come, let's begin."

Qing Zhouxue stepped forward and stood with her at the cliff's edge.

Below was a bottomless abyss; a fall would surely shatter bones and grind flesh.

Yun Shuchen remained unperturbed, but Qing Zhouxue, who couldn't ride clouds, stood at the edge and couldn't help her legs trembling. Instinctively, she grabbed a corner of the woman's robe beside her.

"Let go of me," the woman said softly. "Close your eyes. It's alright."

She slowly released her grip and did as told. Just as she hadn't yet reacted, she was shoved hard in the shoulder, and her body plummeted like a struck bird, the wind howling past her ears until she could hear nothing else.

As Qing Zhouxue fell at breakneck speed, her heart pounded wildly, blood rushed to her head, and for a moment, she was dazed.

These were the last seconds of her life.

In her blank mind, that single thought drifted through.

Some books said that before death, one could review their life like a lantern reel. But her life was pitifully short; a few vivid thoughts flashed through her mind—her father's face and Elder Yun's figure—before everything sank back into chaos.

The ground grew nearer and nearer, and the whole world seemed to reduce to only the sound of her heartbeat. Thump, thump.

It beat in her chest, and drummed in her eardrums. It surged and pounded through every tendon and vein, violent as a flood, like the mighty tide of the Qiantang River.

By then, all human reason had crumbled, leaving only the survival instinct common to all living beings to seize control of her body.

The meager power of Foundation Establishment was almost fully unleashed as she tried to make the wind support her body, desperately attempting to slow her fall.

Unfortunately, it was like casting a stone into the sea—a faint force only stirred the breeze, then fell silent.

The ground was even closer now.

Her vision blurred, and only a numb despair remained in her heart.