Purple mist curled and drifted. A simple, ancient longboat hovered in midair, casting a reflection of violet upon the lake's surface. A young girl in a pink dress gazed far into the distance. She had a plump, round face and dainty, cute ears—none other than Li Queyi, the second young mistress of the Jiang-Que generation.
Standing upon the boat, Li Queyi was surrounded by the younger girls gathered near their older sister. Plainly, they had failed to qualify for entry into the sect, looking crestfallen with heads bowed, not daring to speak.
Feeling the longboat glide beneath her feet, Li Queyi felt even more uneasy in her heart.
They were returning from Ziyan Blessed Land. Though it was an honor to be personally escorted back aboard a spirit boat of Ziyan Gate, the significance carried by this vessel was delicate. Whether it landed upon the lake or came down directly on the islet made a great deal of difference. With the Li clan's Violet Palace cultivator currently missing, they could ill afford any loss of prestige.
As Li Queyi fretted, another rather aloof-looking girl stood beside her. She appeared only eleven or twelve years old; though her features had yet to fully mature, her exquisite looks were already apparent. Head held high with an expression of smug triumph, she murmured to a companion beside her:
"So this is Ziyan Blessed Land... What a supposedly marvelous place! Yet the cultivation abode of those so-called fairy maidens and goddesses amounts to nothing more than this!"
Li Queyi shot her a glance and, still uneasy, turned her eyes forward again. Only when the spirit boat touched down upon the islet, settling firmly against the ground, and she saw the Ziyan Gate cultivators disembark on their own without demanding any welcoming reception, did she finally breathe a sigh of relief. Keeping her head lowered demurely, she followed behind them.
"Greetings, fellow Daoists!"
Just then, an elderly man in blue-black robes came forward to receive them. The young cultivator leading the Ziyan Gate contingent did not recognize him, and while somewhat puzzled as to why the Li clan had not dispatched a Foundation Establishment cultivator to welcome them, he still met him with a warm smile and said eagerly:
"Congratulations, Senior! My deepest congratulations! Our sect has accepted two disciples from your noble clan—truly a joyous occasion."
The old man was momentarily taken aback, then broke into a smile. The children were quickly ushered forward, dispersing like flowing water to leave only two girls standing before the palace hall. One was older, already seventeen or eighteen, while the other was younger, barely past ten.
The girl in pink was naturally Li Queyi. Li Xuanxuan was hardly surprised by this; after all, Li Queyi was the most talented among the Que-generation girls second only to her eldest sister, Li Quewan. When the family sent her, their hopes had rested on her to begin with, so he nodded with a smile.
The other girl, however, was quite a surprise. She was actually the young daughter of a distant branch of the Eldest Branch, dressed entirely in white, bearing a somewhat distant and cool demeanor. Li Xuanxuan had met all of these children before; this girl was named Li Quexi. Because she had been elevated from outside the islet, the generational character had been added to her name later on, and her naming had not strictly followed the four branches' conventions.
"Good, good, good!"
Li Xuanxuan was pleasantly surprised. But the Ziyan Gate cultivators across from him paused awkwardly. Clearly, some among them had recognized him and had not expected Li Xuanxuan to come out in person to greet them. Unsure of what title was appropriate to address him by, they hesitated for a few breaths before having no choice but to urge Lingyanzi forward.
This old man was also well advanced in years. Back then, after suffering persecution at the hands of Changxiao Gate and fleeing for his life, he had been rescued by Li Tongya and subsequently visited the Li clan. Now, he was also the master taking in an apprentice. Li Xuanxuan bowed in salute and said:
"Senior... I trust you have been well since we last met!"
Lingyanzi's hair and beard were snow-white. Clasping a wooden staff in his hand, a tangle of complex emotions flashed in his eyes as he nodded in silence.
Lingyanzi had met the Li family members of the Xuan generation. In their youth, Li Xuanfeng and Li Xuanling had even joked and chatted with him. Back then, having narrowly escaped death, he had rested on Mount Lijing. The middle-aged man had been steady and dignified, while the several youths had been brimming with spirit and vigor—memories still vivid in his mind. Yet raising his eyes today, all that stood before him was a withered, frail old man.
"You are... Xuanxuan... the eldest brother, aren't you..."
Lingyanzi mumbled. Li Xuanxuan nodded gently and replied:
"Senior still remembers. Of the people on the mountain back then, only I remain."
"I remember. Escaping from the jaws of death... how could I ever forget?"
Lingyanzi's voice was weathered and ancient. Each found the other both strange and familiar. Their exchange sounded neither like polite pleasantries nor entirely devoid of them; it seemed neither warm nor completely indifferent, carrying even a faint tinge of fear.
Two souls who had scraped by under the passage of time, terrified that needles of painful memory might drop from the other's lips, fell into silence just like that. Li Zhouluo, who followed behind, hurriedly stepped forward and said respectfully:
"Please take your time conversing, venerable elders. Junior will see to the matters here."
Li Xuanxuan indeed had things to discuss with Lingyanzi, so the two old men walked toward the hall. Li Quewan and Li Jiangxia also arrived on the wind. After making brief arrangements for the several Ziyan Gate disciples, the Foundation Establishment Ziyan cultivator smiled affably and said:
"I am Wen Wu, cultivating on Muzuo Peak. Taking up this assignment to come see the Clan Head in person this time was not without reason..."
With one hand behind his back, he strolled along leisurely, conversing with Li Zhouluo and the others. This rare male Ziyan cultivator smiled and continued:
"This matter is rather intriguing. Originally, your noble clan's disciples came to apprentice under Ziqi Peak. Though Li Queyi is somewhat older and has already drawn in qi, she absorbed the Qi of Jade Truth. Our sect possesses many such cultivation methods, so she has not strayed onto an incompatible path, which is why she earned Lingyanzi's favor.
"Who would have guessed that once Li Queyi was settled upon, my master—Peak Master Qianlizi of Muzuo Peak—happened to return to the sect. At a single glance, he took a liking to Quexi, whereupon he sought permission from the Sect Master and took her as his disciple."
The man appeared spirited and radiant. His eyes seemed to have cultivated some ocular technique, brimming with flowing brilliance and exuding a touch of joy as he said softly:
"This is truly a wonderful affinity... As her Eldest Senior Brother, I naturally had to make a trip to the islet. First, to inform the Clan Head in person so that proper etiquette is observed; second, to meet her family and explain everything thoroughly."
Li Zhouluo suddenly understood and nodded inwardly, smiling:
"This is wonderful news. Since Senior has such thoughtful intentions, I shall personally guide Senior to the islet to meet them."
Muzuo Peak was clearly far beyond what Lingyanzi's Ziqi Peak—whose lineage had nearly died out multiple times—could compare to. Qianlizi was also a rather renowned Foundation Establishment cultivator known by the moniker 'Glazed Treasure Vase', and even this Eldest Senior Brother possessed a late Foundation Establishment cultivation, which spoke volumes!
Furthermore, though things had been slightly chaotic just now, Li Zhouluo had seen clearly: Lingyanzi, despite being a peak master and an elder of the sect, walked half a step behind Wen Wu, and the group of Ziyan cultivators took their cues entirely from Wen Wu. Evidently, this Eldest Senior Brother held a considerable status.
'I wonder if this was specifically instructed by the Real Person... In any case, having an additional child enter the sect is a good thing after all...'
Receiving such rare good news in recent days, Li Zhouluo felt relieved and refreshed. Beside him, the eldest sister, Li Quewan, held Li Queyi by one hand and Li Quexi by the other, yet her thoughts leaned toward darker concerns:
"From what I have seen of Lingyanzi's disciples... every one of them is either shallow in cultivation or stuck without making progress. I fear the reason the old man chose Queyi is that her talent is high and she has already reached Qi Refinement... If he had taken an Embryonic Breathing child instead, before she could even reach Foundation Establishment, this old man would have reached the end of his lifespan and died.
"Looking at how dominant Muzuo Peak is right now, and how feeble Ziqi Peak is, Lingyanzi does not have much time left to shield anyone. In the future, the lives and treatment of these two younger sisters... will likely differ like heaven and earth..."
Chapter 781