Xuanxiao Gate (I)
Qinghe County.
Lin Zhuo plunged her sword into the heart of the last monster, finally restoring peace to the area. She drew her sword expressionlessly and sprinkled some corpse-dissolving water. Soon, the monster's body turned into rotten water and disappeared on the spot.
She held the sword and walked to the stream beside her to wash the blood stains off the Tingyun sword.
The sword spirit had just finished exorcising the demon, and it emitted a buzzing sound. Lin Zhuo smiled more, touched the hilt of the sword, and praised it: "Tingyun, well done."
The jade slip on his waist flashed a few times. Lin Zhuo put away his sword and checked the jade slip.
"Zhao Zhao, come back after getting rid of the monsters. The master has come out of seclusion." It was the great elder Wan Wuji.
Xuanxiao Sect is one of the most prestigious sects in the Immortal Realm, with a total of four elders in its inner sect. The sect leader, Immortal Canghe, disliked chores and had gone into seclusion over a decade ago, leaving the sect to the care of his disciples and the inner elders.
Lin Zhuo is his third disciple. Above her, there is a senior brother and a senior sister, both of whom have left the sect to gain experience.
The remaining junior brothers were playful and although they were only one year younger than Lin Zhuo and had excellent talent, they were still two realms lower than her.
When Lin Zhuo was still an infant, she was brought back to the sect by Canghe, so Canghe was both a teacher and a father to her.
Thinking of his master's usually calm and composed face, Lin Zhuo pinched his fingertips and lit a teleportation talisman.
She missed her master a little.
Back in the main hall, the elders had already left, leaving Cang He alone fiddling with the instruments on the table. Lin Zhuo greeted him, "Greetings, Master."
Cang He looked up at her, seemingly in a trance for a moment. The next moment, Lin Zhuo heard his master's cold yet gentle voice: "No need to be so polite. Are you going to Qinghe County to eliminate monsters today?"
He raised his hand and motioned Lin Zhuo to sit over.
Lin Zhuo sat below him and nodded obediently, "Yes. The Great Elder gave us a warning yesterday."
"Are you injured?"
“No.”
The main hall fell silent again, as if these were the only things the master and disciple could talk about. After waiting for a while, Lin Zhuo couldn't help but look up, only to see Cang He looking at her, with something in his eyes.
"...Master?" she called hesitantly, "You suddenly came out of seclusion. Is there something important?"
When Cang He was in seclusion, she was prepared not to see him for hundreds of years.
Cang He came back to his senses and looked at the third disciple he had taken on. He pressed his forehead and said, "It's an important matter. Come."
Lin Zhuo stood up and walked to the table.
The instruments on the table emitted a soft, gentle glow. Lin Zhuo had seen many fine things since childhood, so he could tell that these were all extraordinary. Cang He pointed at the items on the table and introduced them to her one by one.
"This is the Six Yao Ring, a divine defensive magical weapon, powerful enough to withstand a full-strength attack from a Void Realm cultivator. It can be worn as an ornament."
"That bottle contains ten second-grade Heart Protecting Pills, made by the Third Elder in his early years. They can protect the heart meridians of a dying person. Keep them. I'll ask your Uncle Chu for some later."
"That bottle contains the first-grade Purple Gold Pill, which can cure most poisons. Keep it as a backup."
"That hairpin is called the Liuyue Hairpin, a heavenly-grade artifact, comparable to your Tingyun Sword. I also have a Rainbow Feathered Robe, which has been sent to your courtyard. It is also heavenly-grade, above the Nascent Soul stage and within the Divine Transformation stage. Nothing short of a full-strength attack can harm you."
Canghe has lived for thousands of years and has countless good things on hand. Now he has dug them all out and stuffed them all into Lin Zhuo.
I remember that when I was a girl, I liked beautiful things the most, and Canghe would look at the appearance when choosing things.
Lin Zhuo was stunned. Seeing that he was about to continue, the girl tugged at his sleeve and said, "Master, that's enough!"
Cang He turned around, quite confused.
Lin Zhuo was a little surprised. Anything thrown out on the table would attract cultivators to grab it. She usually stayed within the sect and had reached the mid-stage of the Spiritualization Realm. Too many defensive magic tools were of no use to her.
"I don't need these things. Why did Master think of giving me these?"
...Is this also the important thing he mentioned?
It was rare for Cang He to be interrupted, and he was a little suspicious for a moment. Could it be that he rarely gave things to his apprentice?
"Just take it. Your brothers have some too." He paused, suddenly thinking of the other three disciples, "Have Qingqiu and the others gone for training?"
Ling Qingqiu, Lin Zhuo's eldest senior brother, is nearly three hundred years old and is half a step away from becoming a great master. In the past few years, he left the sect to gain experience and seek opportunities, and rarely sent back news.
You Jingjia, Lin Zhuo's second senior sister, is over 200 years old and in the late stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm. She is also the only daughter of Canghe's good friend You Shaojie. She left the sect last year. Before leaving, she teased Lin Zhuo with a playful smile, saying that she would find a husband for her, which made Lin Zhuo blush.
Lin Zhuo nodded: "Senior brother left three years ago, and Senior Sister also left the mountain last year." She paused again, "Junior brother..."
Thinking of Xie Zhitiao, Lin Zhuo hesitated to speak. Cang He glanced at her and understood.
"Zhi Tiao is not a child anymore, yet he is still so lazy in his cultivation?" Cang He had no expression, more like helplessness. "Tell him to come see me later."
Lin Zhuo hesitated and said yes. Before she exorcised the demon, Xie Zhitiao also received the order to go down the mountain. Judging from the weather, he was probably out having fun again.
I hope Master won’t punish me too harshly, she thought silently.
Seeing Lin Zhuo fall silent again, Canghe was a little disappointed. He wanted to know more about how Lin Zhuo was doing.
He thought of the secrets he had glimpsed during his retreat, or perhaps, of themselves in their previous lives.
The girl in front of me stood with her head lowered and her face submissive, as gentle and well-behaved as ever, and as lively and vivid as ever.
He tried to probe Lin Zhuo's cultivation level. She was in the middle stage of the Spiritual Transformation Realm. Her spiritual power was gentle yet powerful, completely different from the almost exhausted state when he came out of seclusion in his previous life.
Canghe closed his eyes and threw out the dying and broken image of Lin Zhuo in his mind. When he opened his eyes again, he was the calm and composed Immortal Master as before.
"What about you? Zhao Zhao, how have you been these past few years?" Cang He tried to soften his voice. He wanted to know how she had been doing these past few years.
Lin Zhuo felt strange again. Cang He Immortal Venerable was one of the most powerful beings in the immortal world, with few rivals in the world of cultivation. At just over a thousand years old, he had been dubbed "the one most likely to ascend" on cultivation forums.
Cang He disliked worldly affairs. After accepting Ling Qingqiu as his disciple, he gave him a few sword manuals and occasionally offered guidance. After Ling Qingqiu achieved some success, the task of teaching his junior and senior brothers and sisters fell to him. As for sect affairs, Cang He almost entirely handed them over to the Elders' Hall, rarely interfering.
Lin Zhuo found it strange that Cang Song would ask about their current situation. After all, his master had never asked about the four of them before after his retreat.
Maybe it’s because I’ve been in seclusion for too long, she thought.
Putting aside the thoughts in her mind, Lin Zhuo pursed her lips and spoke. She always spoke softly, with a light tone. The afterglow of the setting sun shining through the palace gates gave the room a touch of gentleness.
Although Lin Zhuo had been a disciple of Cang He since she could remember, it was the elders in the Elder Hall who raised her from a cub to a child.
Ever since Lin Zhuo turned eighteen, Wan Wuji has been trying to teach her how to manage the affairs of the sect. This time when Canghe was in seclusion, Wan Wuji also became the hands-off boss.
Lin Zhuo had been in charge of the sect's affairs since she turned a hundred, and it had been thirteen years now. She had little else to say, so she could only discuss the sect's recent developments, from preparations for next year's disciple election to details about the new beast species added to the Beast Valley in the back mountains.
Looking at the girl in front of him who was capable of standing on her own, Cang He suddenly asked out of nowhere, "Aren't you tired?"
He wanted to ask her, isn't it tiring running around for the sect like this? She could have just been at her own mountaintop, but she still took on all the sect's affairs.
Lin Zhuo was stunned for a moment and saw a hint of pity in his eyes.
In a flash, a gentle smile still appeared between her eyebrows: "I am a little tired. But Master, this is also my responsibility, isn't it?"
Cang He was silent for a moment, suddenly feeling a sense of "my daughter has grown up". In the end, he said nothing more and waved his hand to let Lin Zhuo go back to rest.
Just before she stepped out of the palace, Canghe suddenly called her again: "Zhao Zhao." Lin Zhuo turned around, only to see Canghe looking at her with complicated eyes again, showing regret, heartache, and longing.
"Don't leave the sect during this period of time. If you really have something important to tell me, please let me know. Remember not to leave the sect without permission."
Lin Zhuo subconsciously wanted to ask why, but met her master's serious gaze, and she swallowed it back. She didn't like going out anyway, and was happy to have some free time, so she nodded in agreement.
After Lin Zhuo left, Cang He didn't move. He remained seated, watching the afterglow of the setting sun gradually fade away from the temple gate, leaving only a shadow.
He relaxed, leaned back in his chair, and after a while, sighed.
Lin Zhuo returned to her residence, only to find the lights in the neighboring house still off. She couldn't help but frown. She and Xie Zhitiao had left the clan at the same time, so it made no sense for him not to return. Could he have met with an accident?
Just as he took out the jade slip, before he had time to look for Xie Zhitiao, he suddenly seemed to sense something and looked up at Lin Zhuo.
The young man was dressed in a disciple's uniform the color of distant mountains. He was tall and slender without appearing rough, and his black hair was tied up in a high ponytail. His smooth forehead was exposed, his peach blossom eyes were slightly curved, and his pale lips were covered with a smile as he stared at Lin Zhuo without blinking.
"Senior Sister," the young man jumped off his sword, put his hands behind his back, and winked at her, "Guess what I brought you?"
"After a crazy day of fun, you still remember to bring me something when you come back?" Lin Zhuo pretended to be angry.
Xie Zhitiao said with a smile: "Senior sister loves me the most, don't tell the elders." As he said that, he handed over a candied haws like offering a treasure.
Lin Zhuo's almond-shaped eyes curved slightly. It had indeed been a long time since she had eaten a candied haws. She reached out to take it, brought it to her lips and took a bite. The sweet and sour taste exploded in her mouth.
"It's no use loving you any more. Master is out of retreat today. If you come back, go see him."
Seeing the boy's stunned expression, Lin Zhuo thought for a moment and added, "I see that Master is in a good mood today. If you go over now, perhaps the punishment will be lighter."
Of course, this was a lie. No matter how good Cang He's mood, he would probably punish him by making him swing his sword ten thousand times.
Xie Zhitiao's face was furrowed, and he hurried towards the main hall with a bitter and resentful look on his face. Lin Zhuo looked at his sad back, shook his head and laughed.
————
Xie Zhitiao had just entered the main hall when he saw his master sitting in the main seat, eyes closed, resting. He respectfully called out, "Master."
Canghe opened his eyes and looked at him. Knowing that he had used the pass to go down the mountain to play again today, he did not scold him. Instead, he gestured for him to sit down.
"Have you met your senior sister?" Xie Zhitiao nodded.
Cang He did not mention what he did today and continued to look at him gently.
"A'tiao, let me ask you, why do you practice Taoism?" Xie Zhitiao was stunned, looking dazed, which was unusual for him.
————
It was late at night, and Lin Zhuo was about to go to bed. Just as he sat on the couch, the jade slip chimed twice. Xie Zhitiao's voice came out, "Senior Sister, I'm about to break through to the Spiritual Transformation Realm. Don't look for me for the next few days."
Lin Zhuo was surprised. Xie Zhitiao hadn't slacked off. Did his master say anything to him? Before he could reply, another message popped up on the jade slip.
"Zhao Zhao, I will return to the sect tomorrow."
It’s the eldest brother.
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