Le Mu Qing Di
Night fell, shrouded in mist. Using the cover of the dense vegetation, the five slipped quietly into the Green Woods of Le Mu. The moment they stepped into the secret realm, the surrounding scenery abruptly changed—the once pitch-black forest glowed with fluorescent light, vines crawled across the ground like living things, and a sweet, cloying fragrance filled the air. Su Qing gripped her staff, looking around warily. Just as she was about to warn the others to be careful, she suddenly felt a tugging sensation under her feet. Looking down, she saw several thick vines wrapped around her ankles and climbing up her calves.
"No!" She hurriedly channeled her spiritual power, trying to use a rain-summoning spell to break the vines, but as soon as rainwater gathered at her fingertips, the vines suddenly tightened, causing her calves to ache. Then, more vines surged in from all directions, wrapping around her wrists and waist, dragging her into the air. She struggled and cried out, but saw that Tongque, Jin Jing, and the others beside her were in no better shape—Tongque stared at the illusory Jiangnan copper shop in front of her, her eyes glazed over, letting the vines wrap around her body; Jin Jing was grinning foolishly at the "royal reward" that appeared in the air, and even Shui Mo and Lin Xu were trapped in the illusions of "controlling rivers" and "forests" respectively, their eyes unfocused and powerless to resist.
"Wake up! It's an illusion!" Su Qing shouted anxiously, but the vines tightened more and more, suffocating her. The sweet fragrance filled her nostrils, blurring her consciousness. She remembered her father's despair when he was captured, her elder brother's blood-stained jade pendant, and the warmth of the mountain god before he disappeared. Only one thought remained in her mind: Immortal Master, if you are still here, can you save me? As soon as this thought crossed her mind, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. The vines tightened suddenly, as if trying to break her bones. Her vision went black, her head burned, and she completely lost consciousness. When she awoke again, Su Qing found herself lying on the soft couch in the Muqing Palace. The marks from the vines on her body had disappeared, only the aches and pains throughout her body reminded her of the danger of the previous night.
She propped herself up and sat up, a blurry image flashing through her mind—before she lost consciousness, a tall figure seemed to rush towards her. Moonlight shone on the person's face, revealing sharp brows and a smiling gaze—a breathtakingly handsome face. "Who…who saved me?" she murmured, her fingertips unconsciously touching her heart, where a lingering warmth remained. Remembering that blurry, handsome face, her heart inexplicably quickened—could it be that "Young Master of the Flowing Cloud Sect"?
But how could he appear in the forbidden area of the immortals? Before she could think about it, she heard the footsteps of disciples outside the hall. Su Qing hurriedly straightened her robes and walked into the hall. She saw Elder Mu Han sitting in the main seat, wearing a plain white Taoist robe. Although he still looked like an old man, his eyes were particularly serious.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she immediately knelt down: "Disciple knows her mistake! I shouldn't have ignored Master's advice and trespassed into Le Mu Qing Di without permission, which also implicated Senior Sister Tong Que and the others..." The elder was silent for a moment, then his tone became a bit heavy: "Le Mu Qing Di is a forbidden area of Qinglang Mountain. Because the spiritual energy in the secret realm is mixed, it is most likely to arouse the desires in people's hearts. Even high-level disciples need to be cautious when going there. You few have only recently entered the Dao and your minds are not stable. If someone hadn't rescued you in time, you would have already lost your lives."
Su Qing was taken aback—someone had indeed saved them, but her master hadn't said who the savior was. Could it be that her master had gone in person? Just as she was wondering, the elder said again, "Tong Que and the others have been taken back to their respective masters for discipline. Now that you've woken up, go and copy the 'Qingxin Daojue' a hundred times to reflect on your character. If you dare to violate the sect rules again, don't blame me for being impolite."
"Yes! Your disciple obeys!" Su Qing hurriedly replied. As she stood up, her eyes inadvertently caught a glimpse of a barely noticeable green leaf on the elder's sleeve—a spiritual leaf unique to Le Mu Qing Land. A thought flashed through her mind, and she recalled the blurry face before she fainted. An absurd idea crossed her mind, but she quickly suppressed it: How could it be? Her master was an elder with an air of otherworldly grace, how could it be that young and handsome face…
After leaving the Muqing Hall, Su Qing couldn't help but drift off while practicing her magic. During her morning rain-summoning technique, the raindrops from her fingertips repeatedly missed their mark, soaking the bamboo mats in the training ground; in the evening, while practicing her lightness technique, she nearly fell down the stone steps—her mind was filled with the blurry yet handsome face she had seen before she fainted. One moment she guessed it was the young master of the Liuyun Sect, the next she thought of the spirit leaf on her master's sleeve; she simply couldn't concentrate on her cultivation. Elder Mu Han noticed her unusual behavior.
That day, she slipped into the Muqing Palace under the pretext of delivering tea. As soon as she held the teacup and walked to the table, her gaze involuntarily fell on the elder's face. Although he still looked old, she couldn't help but wonder if the wrinkles would fade and reveal the face that made her heart race. She was so engrossed in looking at him that she didn't even notice the teacup tilting and spilling tea.
"Su Qing." The elder's voice suddenly rang out, tinged with seriousness. She snapped back to her senses, hurriedly putting down her teacup, only to see the elder rise and walk up to her, his eyes sharp enough to see right through her thoughts. "You've been distracted in your cultivation lately, using the pretext of delivering tea to come to the hall every day, but your mind is entirely on other matters. Where is even a trace of the composure a cultivator should have?"
Su Qing's cheeks flushed, and she was about to argue when the elder continued, "From today onwards, you will go to the Tranquil Cliff in the back mountain for half a month of seclusion, copying the 'Tranquil Heart Daoist Manual' ten times a day, and mastering the Lightness Technique and Qi Detection Technique. You may return to Qingyun Academy when you can calm your mind." "Master!" She looked up anxiously, wanting to say that she didn't want to go into seclusion, but she met the elder's unyielding gaze.
"This is a punishment, and also to help you settle your mind." The elder's tone softened. "You have only recently entered the path, and are easily disturbed by external factors. If you always dwell on irrelevant matters, not only will your skills be difficult to improve, but you will also be unable to protect yourself when you encounter danger in the future."
Su Qing clenched her sleeves, but finally bowed her head and replied, "Yes, disciple obeys." She knew her master meant well, but the thought of spending half a month alone at Jingxin Cliff, without seeing the face of the person who might be her "savior," still left her feeling somewhat disappointed. Early the next morning, Su Qing packed her bags and went to Jingxin Cliff.
There was only a simple bamboo hut on the cliff, and apart from the sound of the wind in the pines, there was no other noise. She sat in the bamboo hut, spread out the "Purifying Heart Dao Manual," and just as she picked up her pen, that handsome face flashed through her mind again. She shook her head vigorously, forcing herself to focus on the handwriting—her master was right. If she didn't concentrate on her cultivation, let alone investigate the Yin family's injustice, she couldn't even protect herself, let alone find someone to save her life and find out the truth.
Lying in bed at night, gazing at the moonlight outside the window, she couldn't help but wonder: The wind at Tranquil Cliff is so cold, what is the person who saved her doing right now? Who is he? Could it be... really related to her master? These thoughts entwined in her mind like vines, making her both expectant and fearful. She could only hope that the half-month of seclusion would pass quickly so that she could go to Muqing Palace again and find an opportunity to clarify all her questions.
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