Li Xun was truly surprised. After all those failed visits up the mountain, he'd finally run into Mingji here—just like that.
His mind spun, but he kept his composure, bowing with proper respect. "What a coincidence, Fourth Martial Aunt. I didn't expect to meet you here."
Mingji still wore her usual elegant attire, robes billowing in midair—ethereal, otherworldly. Her eyes, sharp enough to pierce the soul, swept over him once before withdrawing their intensity. "Indeed—a coincidence. Practicing swordflight?"
Li Xun scratched his head and smiled. "That's right. I must thank you again for the sword, Martial Aunt."
Mingji glanced down at the sword beneath his feet. Her expression shifted—some surprise, but mostly satisfaction. "Dragon's Return Channel... clever."
Li Xun grinned and offered his thanks. Then, casually, he asked, "Martial Aunt hasn't been on the mountain these past days—so you were here all along? Were you perhaps visiting the Immortal Mistress Qingyin?"
Mingji froze briefly, her gaze narrowing as she studied him again. There was something odd in her eyes—subtle, hard to read. Her look made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Li Xun couldn't help coughing awkwardly. "Martial Aunt…"
Mingji smiled faintly at the question. "If I recall correctly, it was thanks to Immortal Qingyin's recommendation that you were admitted into the sect, wasn't it?"
Li Xun immediately straightened his expression. "Exactly, Martial Aunt. I've never dared to forget. Part of the reason I came to the peak today… was to thank her in person."
He hadn't finished speaking when he noticed Mingji's elegant brows knit slightly. It was just a small change in expression, but it sharpened the already well-defined lines of her face, giving her an unexpectedly fierce edge.
"I'll give you a piece of advice. Will you listen?"
It was the first time Li Xun had seen this kind of look on her face. A chill ran through him—how could he say no? Swallowing nervously, he nodded with exaggerated obedience.
She said quietly, "You know… your appearance and—"
"Backbiting behind someone's back—isn't like you, Mingji."
The voice came suddenly—calm, unhurried, and yet carrying an air that could still the breath in one's chest. Li Xun reacted before he even thought.
"Immortal Qingyin!"
He turned around. Suspended midair, as if standing on the void itself—who else could it be but Qingyin?
Today, she was dressed similarly to Mingji: a flowing, loose-fitting robe of pale green, swaying gently with the breeze. Her long black hair was simply tied back, resting softly against her shoulders, unmoving.
She looked like a ghost—silent, serene, and hauntingly beautiful.
Mingji didn't seem the least bit flustered by Qingyin's interruption. She inclined her head slightly and smiled. "Apologies, Martial Aunt Qingyin."
But Qingyin paid no attention to her tone, her eyes instead turning to Li Xun.
Her gaze was unlike Mingji's. Mingji's eyes were like blades—sharp, direct, capable of slicing through all pretense. Qingyin's eyes held no such edge. They were calm, detached—but when they landed on you, they could empty your mind in an instant, as if everything around you ceased to exist.
That was exactly how Li Xun felt now.
All the careful words he'd prepared vanished. He could only bow awkwardly, tongue-tied and utterly at a loss.
Off to the side, Mingji let out a soft sigh.
A faint smile played at the corner of Qingyin's lips. Li Xun knew that smile well. In quiet moments, he would recall it—it seemed to carry pity, and yet something mocking beneath the pity. What was she pitying? What was she mocking? He had no answer. Yet he was helplessly drawn to it.
It was Qingyin's voice that finally pulled him from his daze.
"In just three or five months, your cultivation has improved noticeably. More importantly, you've stayed grounded. You're indeed a fine candidate for the Lingxi Art."
"Immortal, you flatter me!" Li Xun quickly bowed again. "Your guidance has made all the difference!"
Qingyin showed no reaction to such formalities. She cast him another glance, then turned to Mingji. "You gave him Azure Jade?"
Mingji responded with a faint smile. "Among the third-generation disciples, he's the only one cultivating the Lingxi Art. Who else would I give it to?"
"How generous of you," Qingyin replied mildly. Then she turned back to Li Xun. "That is the Phoenix-Feather Needle on your head. He actually gave it to you—it means they see something in you. Compared to that, I suppose I've been a little stingy…"
Before Li Xun could even stammer out "I wouldn't dare," she had already drawn out a piece of jade and flicked it toward him.
He had no choice but to catch it midair.
"This jade—wear it at your chest. It wards off evil and repels demonic forces. It can also offer a bit of protection. Consider it a gift," Qingyin said.
Li Xun looked down at the jade in his hand. It was a translucent, deep emerald green—flawless, almost glowing. A divine beast was engraved on its surface with elegantly simple lines; its horns and features sharp, brimming with life. The patterns themselves seemed intricate and profound, clearly not the work of a mundane artisan.
Even more striking was the faint fragrance it gave off—and the lingering warmth it held in his palm.
Li Xun felt a tremor run through his entire body. A wild thought popped into his mind: Could this jade have been something Immortal Qingyin wore close to her body?
To the side, Mingji blinked in surprise. "Immortal Qingyin is uncommonly generous today."
Then she turned to Li Xun and explained, "The Jade Bixie (Demon-Repeller) is one of the most famous protective talismans in the Tongxuan Realm. Wearing it wards off all forms of evil and corruption—it repels poisons and malevolent spirits alike. It also helps steady the mind during cultivation, aiding in clarity and focus. With this on you, it'll be much harder to fall into qi deviation."
Given all that, how could Li Xun possibly return it? In fact, he could hardly stop himself from wanting to swallow the jade whole. Since he knew neither of these women were ones he could trifle with, he dropped any pretense and solemnly accepted the gift with a deep bow.
The "Jade Bixie" already had a silk cord attached. Li Xun looped it around his neck and let it rest against his chest.
But the moment it touched his skin, something strange happened.
In his heart dantian, the tangled mass of yinfire and blood nightmare suddenly recoiled, shrinking back significantly. At the same time, the jade released a stream of cool, pure energy that began circulating through his meridians—like a smooth, icy pearl rolling gently within him. The sensation was indescribably soothing.
Li Xun couldn't help but shiver. It felt as though all the pores on his body had opened at once, letting the cool air flow in and out. It was like being massaged by a thousand tiny hands—so comfortable he nearly moaned aloud.
Fortunately, the sensation only lasted a moment. If it had gone on, he truly didn't know whether he might've made a fool of himself in front of the two immortals.
As the jade's power settled, it left only a lingering coolness in his heart-meridian, circulating in a steady rhythm. The yinfire and blood nightmare returned to normal—but… something about them had subtly changed.
There was no time to examine it now. Li Xun did a brief inner check and withdrew, his joy overflowing. Understanding now how precious this artifact was, he bowed deeply once again to Qingyin.
She accepted the salute with a single word: "Enough."
From Li Xun's perspective, her demeanor hadn't changed at all—not even after gifting him such a treasure.
How strange…
At that moment, Qingyin turned to Mingji. "Weren't you heading down the mountain?" she asked. "What changed your mind?"
The tone wasn't exactly warm, but Mingji wasn't the least bit offended. She brushed a strand of windblown hair from her eyes, her gaze suddenly sharp as a blade. It swept once over Li Xun and Qingyin before she smiled.
"Ah yes, I should be going… Li Xun, do you have any plans?"
Plans? What plans could he have left? His entire purpose for coming to the peak had already been fulfilled—and then some. The unexpected gains had left him nearly speechless with gratitude.
But before he could answer, Qingyin did so for him: "Come with me."
Li Xun stood stunned.
Mingji, however, seemed unsurprised. She lowered her head slightly—just enough to obscure her expression—then looked back up with a smile. "In that case, I'll take my leave. Do pass my regards to Uncle Zhong."
With a final nod to Li Xun, she summoned her sword aura. In a flash of light, she was gone.
It seems… my appearance causes them no small amount of trouble…
Li Xun was no fool. On the contrary, his mind was sharper than most. Ever since that day seven years ago when Qingxu muttered, "He resembles someone…" all the way to Mingji's two aborted attempts to speak her mind, the implications had only grown clearer.
Just now, Mingji had likely been about to name the person—but Qingyin had stopped her.
Which meant… that person likely had a closer relationship with Qingyin.
So who could he be?
While Li Xun was still lost in thought, Qingyin instructed him to stow away the Azure Jade. Then, she cast a Cloud Riding spell and gestured for him to step aboard.
He had no idea what she intended, but under her cool and indifferent gaze, he didn't dare to ask. So he obediently stepped onto the cloud, hands respectfully at his sides.
Qingxu had once told him that Cloud Riding was slower than sword flight—but that only held true when all other factors were equal.
Back then, Qingxu had flown from the mountaintop to the base in a single night using this method. Now, Qingyin's version of Cloud Riding was no less impressive in speed.
The cloud soared upward, and in an instant, their original location vanished without a trace. Compared to this, Li Xun's own sword flight was no better than a bird flapping beside a snail.
Qingyin sat down, appearing relaxed and at ease. In contrast, Li Xun stood stiff as a pillar. It wasn't until she motioned for him to sit that he carefully lowered himself onto one corner of the cloud, maintaining a properly respectful distance.
Because of the angle, all he could see was her profile—but even that was enough to leave him content. In the silence of the journey, stealing glances at the immortal beauty beside him was already a kind of joy.
Especially since the jade against his chest still held the faint fragrance of her scent.
Suddenly, Li Xun understood how Shan Zhi must've felt when he faced Senior Sister Qi Bi.
Could it be… I…?
Asking such a question of a boy barely sixteen or seventeen was truly difficult. Faced with this unexpected emotional storm, all his prior knowledge and studies proved useless.
He had seen a few things in the palace during his younger years, but the twisted, grotesque, and brutal scenes of that place bore no resemblance to what he was feeling now.
What a headache…
Only now did Li Xun's youthful heart show itself—buffeted between joy and confusion, his expression began shifting in rhythm with his turbulent emotions. He forgot the time, the place, and simply let the feelings wash over him.
These muddled thoughts accompanied him for quite a while—until a sudden brightness pulled him back to the present.
Something outside had changed.
Curious, he looked around. At first glance, everything seemed the same. But if he focused his senses, he realized: the ambient spiritual energy here was astonishingly dense.
Even the sunlight filtering from the sky refracted oddly—proof that the qi here had thickened to near-tangible levels.
Qingyin, noticing his confusion, explained casually, "Fifty thousand li above Zuowang Peak, the density of heaven and earth's primordial energy undergoes tidal shifts by the hour. It's thinnest around midnight, and thickest at noon."
Such places exist?
Li Xun was astonished. But then again, this altitude was clearly not something of the mortal world—strange phenomena were probably to be expected.
Yet as he processed Qingyin's words, a feeling crept over him—that he'd forgotten something. Something very important.
What was it?
At that moment, Qingyin gave him a look. "Do you know why I brought you here?"
How could Li Xun possibly guess? He could only answer honestly, "I do not, Immortal."
"Zhong Yin is on the peak these days. I'm bringing you to see him."
"Immortal Master Zhong Yin?!" Li Xun nearly fell off the cloud.
That was the last person he wanted to meet right now!