Northern Yunqi Mountain Range.
A dozen or so massive, ancient Flying Boats hung quietly among the peaks, like crouching behemoths.
A display of force on this scale was enough to annihilate any small to medium-sized power.
The Flying Boat in the very center was the most luxurious; its hull was crafted from a certain dark-gold spiritual wood and adorned with intricate cloud patterns and Formations.
Its entire body glowed with an internal spiritual light.
It was indescribably magnificent.
At the highest point of the pavilion on the vessel's prow, a white figure sat quietly.
It was a woman.
She wore a plain white robe as white as snow, its style extremely simple without any superfluous ornamentation, yet it possessed an indescribable ethereal quality.
Her ink-black hair was loosely tied with a single white jade hairpin, with a few strands falling beside her cheeks.
Her face was exquisitely beautiful, not with an aggressive brilliance, but with a coldness so extreme it seemed like a purity isolated from the mundane world.
Her features were like distant mountains and autumn waters, her nose straight, and her lip color very faint.
She just sat there, yet her entire being seemed enveloped in an invisible layer of coldness and majesty that made one dare not look directly at her.
The shuang hua sword floated quietly by her side.
A warm white-blue halo flowed along the blade, which occasionally trembled slightly, emitting several clear rings.
Yan Qingning's gaze fell upon the edge of the churning sea of clouds in the distance.
Deep within those eyes that seemed to mirror eternal ice, there was a tiny trace of...
restlessness, one that even she herself could hardly catch.
Ever since that night when Frost Radiance briefly left and returned on its own, this inexplicable, groundless fluctuation of emotion would occasionally surface.
It was neither a premonition of danger nor a bottleneck in cultivation.
It was more like a pebble thrown into a deep, still pool, rippling out in a way she had never anticipated.
This should have been absolutely impossible for a Cultivator of her Realm.
Her long, jade-like fingers unconsciously tapped the blade lightly.
"Frost Radiance."
Her voice was cold, like ice striking jade, exceptionally clear in the silent pavilion.
"Buzz—"
The shuang hua sword trembled slightly, light flowing over its blade.
A phantom of a young girl wearing a small ice-blue dress popped out from the sword with a 'pop.' Her features were sixty percent similar to Yan Qingning's, but she appeared more childish and lively.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she lay on the sword and tilted her head to look at her master.
Her voice was soft and sweet: "Master, why did you call Frost Radiance?"
"What do you think!"
Yan Qingning's gaze fell upon her, a hint of inquiry in her cold tone:
"What exactly happened when you left that night? Why did you return so late?"
At first, she hadn't cared, thinking Frost Radiance was just being playful again and had wandered outside for a bit longer.
Ever since this little Sword Spirit developed sentience, she hadn't been as absolutely obedient as other Magic Treasures, occasionally performing some out-of-line, mischievous acts.
Though helpless, she had never truly rebuked her.
But after that night, while she sat in meditation, the lake of her heart deep within her Dao Heart seemed to have been struck by an invisible pebble.
Ripples spread out, subtle waves that even she found difficult to calm.
She knew not where they came from or where they led.
These ripples were very faint but real, and their source was vague, seemingly related to Frost Radiance's journey that night.
She and Frost Radiance had long been of one mind.
To some extent, Frost Radiance was not only her Natal Flying Sword but also her closest companion on her thousand-year lonely path of the Dao.
Frost Radiance blinked her large ice-blue eyes, her gaze starting to drift uncontrollably.
Her small hands unconsciously twisted the hem of her dress as she stammered:
"No, it's nothing! I just... just went out to play, flew a bit too far, and forgot the time..."
Yan Qingning watched her quietly.
This little thing couldn't lie at all.
All her guilt was written on her face.
Knowing she wouldn't get the truth from her mouth, Yan Qingning said no more.
She slightly closed her eyes, raised her left hand to her chest, and her thumb and other four fingers quickly calculated and twisted in a mysterious pattern.
"Cast the divination."
Cultivators of the Void Penetration Realm have far-reaching Divine Thoughts and can already peek into the threads of Karma related to themselves.
In any matter involving oneself, unless the other party's cultivation Realm is far higher or they used Heaven-Defying means to conceal it, a deduction will reveal some clues.
Frost Radiance watched nervously from the side, her small mouth pursed tightly, her heart thumping:
"I didn't say anything! Master is calculating it herself!
Daddy... Daddy shouldn't blame me, right?
Master is so powerful, will she calculate Daddy's presence?"
Yan Qingning's long eyelashes trembled imperceptibly.
What she saw was not the clear or blurry karmic lines she had expected.
But a thick fog.
A grey, chaotic fog.
The fog was heavy; even with her Divine Thought, she could not penetrate it, let alone see what was hidden within.
She actually couldn't calculate it.
Yan Qingning slowly opened her eyes.
In those crystal-clear eyes, a trace of very faint surprise and solemnity rarely seen flickered past.
This was the first time she had encountered such a situation.
In this world, was there actually Karma she could not see through?
Even if the other party possessed a heavy treasure or cultivated some extremely rare secret technique specifically designed to obscure heavenly secrets...
It was impossible for not even a single clue to be revealed.
Or perhaps, the 'cause' involved in that Karma...
Its level... exceeded her current scope of perception?
Her brow furrowed slightly.
After a moment of contemplation, she stood up.
The hem of her white robe silently brushed across the polished floor.
Since she couldn't see through it, perhaps she could start from another angle.
This matter also seemed to have some connection with that girl Linger; asking her might reveal something.
She had just walked out of the quiet room's door, preparing to leave.
A figure blocked her path.
It was a long-bearded old man wearing the robes of a Xuanxiao Sect Elder.
With a helpless smile on his face, he cupped his hands and said:
"Senior Sister, where are you going?"
Yan Qingning stopped and saw the newcomer; he was one of her Junior Brothers, one of the Elders responsible for this trial.
"It's boring staying here, just taking a walk."
Her tone was flat.
"Senior Sister, it's naturally fine if you want to go out for a walk," the old man said with a bitter smile.
"However, could you please stop contacting the Disciples participating in the trial?
Last time you used shuang hua sword, you already violated the Sect rules.
If Sect Leader Senior Brother finds out, he will surely nag both of us again."
The Xuanxiao Immortal Sect had strict rules; in principle, Elder-level figures were absolutely not allowed to intervene directly in trials.
When Yan Qingning sensed Sang Linger's jade talisman breaking last time, she released shuang hua sword in her haste.
Although no one dared to criticize her to her face, she had ultimately broken the rules.
But looking at the entire Xuanxiao Sect, only these old acquaintances who had known Yan Qingning for a thousand years and knew her temperament well dared to advise her so tactfully.
This Senior Sister of his had dared to venture alone into the Burial Prison Ridge a thousand years ago to slay a Void Tempering Great Demon with her sword.
Now her cultivation was even more unfathomable, and her status in the Sect was transcendent, second only to the Senior Brother Sect Leader.
If not for consideration of fellow Disciple bonds and Sect decorum, who could stop her?
So he was just saying a few empty words to fulfill his duty.
As for whether she listened or not, that was none of his business.
When the Senior Brother asked later, he would have an excuse.
Yan Qingning was silent for a moment.
The Sect Leader Senior Brother valued rules above all else, his conduct upright to the point of being rigid.
If he knew she was contacting trial Disciples again, even if he wouldn't truly punish her, those long-winded admonishments and lectures would be quite a headache.
In any case, there were still four days until the end of the trial; there was no rush.
"I will not interfere with the trial."
She said faintly, giving her Junior Brother a promise. Her figure, like a wisp of light cloud, drifted off the Flying Boat.
The next moment, her figure appeared by that lake.
The mountain breeze brushed over the lake's surface, blowing her snow-white sleeves and ink-black hair.
She stood there quietly, as if merging with the landscape, cold and transcendent, like a guest not of the Mortal world.
A thousand years.
Ever since... "he" disappeared, she had become accustomed to occasionally coming here to sit in meditation.
Sometimes, facing the lake, she would sit for an entire day.
A thousand years ago, the lake was a blood pool; now it was as clear as a mirror, reflecting the sky and clouds, as well as her face and loneliness, which had hardly changed in a thousand years.
To visit often...
She had even entreated the Sect Leader Senior Brother to relocate the Xuanxiao Sect's mountain gate from its original blessed land in the Eastern Region to the Southern Region, settling near the Yunqi Mountain Range.
For no other reason than to be a bit closer... to this lake.
The lake surface was calm, yet a trace of elusive ripples remained in her mind... In the mountain forest, Jiang Xun followed behind Sang Linger, maintaining a distance of five or six steps.
Relying on the game map memories in his mind and his knowledge of resource points in this area, he "accidentally" pointed out several locations where Spiritual Plants might grow.
Sang Linger investigated skeptically and actually found two or three Spirit Medicines of decent quality.
Although they weren't particularly rare, they were enough to make her quite satisfied.
"You seem quite familiar with these mountains?"
Sang Linger put away the newly gathered Spiritual Plants and turned to look at Jiang Xun, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "You even know about such hidden corners?"
Jiang Xun scratched his head, a dull smile common among herb gatherers appearing on his face:
"I've run around the mountains a lot, so I have some experience with where things grow easily and where it's dangerous. It's just a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat; I've made a fool of myself before the Fairy."
Sang Linger gave a non-committal "mm," her mood clearly good as her steps became lighter.
The harvest this trip was acceptable; it hadn't been a wasted journey.
The two began to return along the path they came.
The light and shadows in the forest were dappled, and the atmosphere was much more relaxed than when they arrived.
As they walked, Sang Linger suddenly turned her head, her clear eyes looking directly at Jiang Xun as she asked a question that made his heart suddenly tighten:
"Jiang Xun, do you want to... Cultivate immortality?"
Jiang Xun's steps faltered imperceptibly, his muscles tightening instantly as alarm bells rang out.
He quickly plastered a look of bewilderment and a well-timed trace of panic on his face, waving his hands hurriedly, his tone carrying the contentment and cowardice typical of a minor character:
"Fairy... you must be joking! I'm just a crude man who gathers herbs to make a living.
Being able to look after the family's few acres of poor land and live a stable life with my sister, with enough to eat and wear, is enough to satisfy me.
Cultivating immortality... that's a matter for the immortal masters. I wouldn't dare think of it, and... I never have."
He kept his head down, his tone sincere, playing the role of a Mortal with limited knowledge and contentment with the status quo perfectly.
Yet, his heart was churning.
What's going on? Why say this all of a sudden?
Asking him to go to the Xuanxiao Sect—isn't that like an old man eating arsenic, looking for death!