So that's how it is.
This was Yun Qian's first time stepping into the forbidden area of the back mountain. She had always strictly adhered to the sect rules, and since Bai Yan had explicitly forbidden disciples from coming here without permission, she had never crossed the line even once.
The forbidden area was quite different from what I had imagined. It was a platform that jutted out abruptly from the mountainside. It wasn't very wide, and the ground was covered with solid ice and snow that never melted, making it bitterly cold. At the innermost part of the platform, close to the steep mountain wall, stood a huge and ancient stone gate. The door was tightly closed, and its surface was covered with a thick layer of frost, as if it had become one with the mountain.
Yun Qian gazed at the silent stone door, thinking that this was probably where the sect leaders of each generation had secluded themselves for cultivation.
Aside from the extreme cold and eternal silence, this place seemed unremarkable. There were no dangerous killing formations as expected, nor any ferocious spirit beasts guarding this place. So why did Master always say it was dangerous here? What exactly was hidden behind this seemingly ordinary platform?
She sat cross-legged facing the stone gate, trying to clear her chaotic thoughts. Was the sudden surge of bloodlust in her heart in the Golden Palace related to that strange incense burner? What exactly was burning inside? Would her decisive killing of Daoist Qingfeng be like a butterfly flapping its wings, causing a huge deviation in the future plot? And did Qin Wu's formal entry into the sect truly mean that the thorny and bloody trajectory depicted in the book "The Legend of Cangmin" would irreversibly begin to turn?
A thousand thoughts swirled in my mind like a tangled mess. Yet, no matter how complex my thoughts were, they couldn't overcome the weariness that welled up deep within my body.
She had just withstood two bolts of heavenly lightning. Yun Qian sighed silently. Once her strong will relaxed, a heavy sense of exhaustion overwhelmed her like a tide.
She lay back on the cold, hard ground and closed her eyes.
She had too many things to think about, but her body had reached its limit.
Her body, which was not yet fully recovered, coupled with the excessive consumption of spiritual energy and the power of the two real heavenly lightning bolts that struck her, meant that Yun Qian was not asleep due to exhaustion, but rather completely drained and fainted.
A soft white light flashed, and Bai Yan's figure quietly appeared beside Yun Qian. He slowly squatted down, extended two fingers, and gently placed them on Yun Qian's icy wrist. Pure and gentle spiritual energy, like a trickle, flowed slowly along her meridians, carefully nourishing and repairing the meridians damaged by the heavenly lightning, and soothing those hidden wounds.
Upon discovering that her cultivation foundation had not been damaged, Bai Yan breathed a barely audible sigh of relief.
A month of confinement is not considered long for cultivators who often go into seclusion for years or even decades. But for Yun Qian, whose mind was in turmoil at the moment, every moment was torture.
Her gaze kept drifting involuntarily to the heavy stone door. What lay beyond? Was the legendary sect leader truly inside? Was he alive or dead? Why, in the original story, did he never appear, even when Cangmin Mountain suffered a great upheaval and his disciples perished one after another?
She wanted to save her master, save Baichuan and Baiji, and also save Qin Wu, who had just entered the sect and was still ignorant.
She absolutely could not allow Cangmin Mountain to head towards the predetermined end of destruction as depicted in the book.
The cold wind of the forbidden area was relentless, swirling with ice shards and scraping across like knives. A snowflake fell silently, landing on Yun Qian's shoulder, which trembled slightly from suppressing her emotions, only to be instantly melted by the warmth of her body.
The emotions that had been forcibly suppressed for so long, stemming from fear of the unknown fate and deep sorrow for the people around him, finally broke through the critical point and surged forth.
For the first time since transmigrating to this world, Yun Qian couldn't control herself and shed tears.
When she first arrived, she was in a good mood, always thinking "since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it." She tried to position herself as an "outsider" who knew the script, thinking that she could calmly observe everything that was happening until she found a way back to her own world, or just live out her life peacefully.
But the little things they've shared over the past decade, the genuine care, the warm companionship, and the growth they've experienced together, have long since bound her tightly to this mountain and these people like fine threads.
She could no longer remain uninvolved.
She has long been an inseparable part of Cangmin Mountain.
"The punishment wasn't that severe, so why are you crying?"
Bai Yan's cool voice rang out from behind him, breaking the deathly silence of the forbidden area.
Yun Qian panicked and hurriedly raised her hand to wipe the tears from her face with her sleeve. But when she turned around and looked at that familiar silver figure, a mix of emotions—grievance, fear, determination—overwhelmed her, and her tears fell even more fiercely.
“Baichuan and Baiji acted too rashly. If they are not restrained and punished, they may cause even greater trouble in the future, and even endanger themselves.” Bai Yan’s gaze fell on her wet face, and he stated calmly, “And you, disregarding your own safety, forcibly went down the mountain, which is a major taboo. Yun Qian, you must remember that at any time, preserving your own life is the most important thing.”
"Master..." Yun Qian's sobs hadn't stopped, her voice thick with tears, as she almost desperately wanted to reveal her deepest secret, "I...I foresaw your future..."
"Yun Qian," Bai Yan interrupted, preventing her from uttering that heavy word. He turned to look at the stone door, his voice sounding somewhat ethereal in the cold wind, "This place gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and is the most abundant place of spiritual power in the entire Cangmin Mountain."
His gaze seemed to penetrate the heavy stone gate and see the scene behind it. He continued, "Beyond this stone gate lies the most dangerous place in Cangmin Mountain. Only by having the sect leader guard this place year-round and remain in seclusion can this seemingly peaceful and tranquil land outside the mountain be preserved."
“Qin Wu is exceptionally talented and resilient, making him the best candidate to succeed as sect leader.” Bai Yan’s gaze returned to Yun Qian’s face, and through the mask, his eyes seemed to possess a profound insight that seemed to see through everything. “And you, the only thing you need to do is to live well.”
"You don't need to bear any responsibility for anyone's fate that isn't yours, and you don't need to do anything about it."
Yun Qian remained seated on the ground, the biting wind causing her frail body to tremble slightly. But her tears had stopped sometime earlier.
Silence spread between master and apprentice, with only the howling of wind and snow.
After a long while, Yun Qian used her hands to support herself on the ground and slowly, yet with extraordinary determination, stood up. She looked directly at Bai Yan's cold silver mask and said clearly, word by word, "Master, I can't do it."
She couldn't bring herself to stand by and watch, knowing that they were facing an abyss ahead, and remain aloof.
From the day Yun Qian, this anomaly, appeared on Cangmin Mountain, a glimmer of hope was forcibly squeezed out of the hexagram that originally pointed to destruction. Bai Yan closed his eyes, concealing the complex emotions in them, and said in a low voice, "Even if... you end up losing your own life because of this, is it alright?"
"It's alright," Yun Qian replied without the slightest hesitation.
The divination of Cangmin Mountain changed because of her, allowing it to escape from a desperate situation.
However, the divination he performed for Yun Qian himself, which he had been divining for seven days, was a death sentence with no chance of survival.
"So that's how it is."
Bai Yan smiled softly, a very light laugh that blended into the wind, carrying an indescribable, knowing sigh, and a deep-seated sense of relief that perhaps even he himself hadn't noticed.
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