Between the Central Continent and the Far North lay a continuous mountain range spanning east to west, blanketed by snow year-round, with clear skies being a rare sight.
"So this is the legendary Great Snow Mountain." Lu Yang stood at the foot of the peaks, shading his eyes with a hand as he gazed upward. Beyond the swirling, feather-thick snow, a majestic, pure-white mountain mass lay quietly before him.
"Hardly a legend. It's just so remote that few people ever care to come here," Lan Ting said with a smile beside him.
It was a modest remark. The Moon Laurel Immortal Palace was a semi-reclusive sect that rarely engaged with the outside world. Whenever outsiders sought communication—whether seeking aid, issuing tasks, attending orthodox assemblies, or gathering for immortal sect conventions—they relied on the liaison hall at the foot of the mountain to relay messages.
Of course, there were also occasions where an outsider could proceed directly to the palace without any relay—such as when Lan Ting brought Lu Yang up the mountain. In the mortal world, this was generally known as using the back door.
Flanking the winding trail up the mountain, small trees glistening like jade could often be seen. Standing roughly as tall as an adult, they were as exquisite as works of art.
"Are these moon laurel trees?" This was Lu Yang's first time seeing a living moon laurel tree; all he had ever seen in the outside world were detached branches.
Moon laurel trees grew only on the Great Snow Mountain. Once removed from it, no divine ability or artifice could keep them alive.
"Yes, the Great Snow Mountain is covered in them. Legend has it that three hundred thousand years ago, during the great war of ancient immortals, the stars were kneaded into the continent, while the moon became the Great Snow Mountain of today."
"Fairy, is that true?" Lu Yang sought confirmation from the hit-or-miss Immortal Fairy.
"Probably. Analyzing the composition of the soil beneath our feet, it really is the moon. In our time, moon laurel trees did grow on the moon. The Jade Rabbits were always digging holes and burrowing beneath them, Immortal Jiuchong was constantly dashing up to the moon to catch Jade Rabbits for breeding, and Immortal Ying Tian would often bring the Heaven Splitting Axe to chop moon laurel wood for me to burn as firewood.
"Let me tell you, food cooked over a moon laurel fire has a special, wonderful aroma. No other tree produces anything like it."
The two made their leisurely ascent up the Great Snow Mountain. At thirty thousand meters high, it was the tallest mountain in the cultivation realm, making it an arduous climb for ordinary cultivators. Yet both Lu Yang and Lan Ting were already at the Soul Formation stage, walking up the slope as easily as on level ground.
The closer they got to the summit, the more frequent the moon laurel trees became, and the taller they grew, all towering over ten meters in height.
When Lu Yang stepped onto a massive rock platform, he saw a pristine white palace nestled amidst the peaks. Magnificent and ethereal, it looked like a fairyland—the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace, renowned far and wide by word of mouth, yet visited by so few.
Lan Ting led Lu Yang to the palace entrance. Seeing a man approaching, the two female disciples on guard duty grew instinctively vigilant, leveling their halberds to block the path.
Just as Lan Ting was about to explain, the two disciples got a clear look at Lu Yang's face. Hesitation gave way to a trace of delight as they asked, "Could you be Senior Brother Lu Yang of the Dao Seeking Sect?"
Lu Yang nodded, though he could not shake the feeling that the way the two disciples looked at him was slightly unusual.
Lan Ting secretly cursed inwardly. She had only thought of inviting Lu Yang to the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace to draw closer to him, entirely forgetting how popular he was here!
"Did Young Master Meng, the Buddhist Son of the Imperial City, not come with you?" The two disciples craned their necks to look around, eager to catch a glimpse of the legendary stoic, austere Buddhist son who shunned women and devoted himself purely to the Dao.
"He is currently at a critical juncture in his cultivation, so it wasn't convenient for him to come," Lu Yang replied.
This was the plain truth. Given Meng Jingzhou's current condition, what mattered most was staying away from women. A place like the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace, brimming with beauties, was practically a forbidden zone for him.
"I see. Please enter, Senior Brother." Without requiring any explanation from Lan Ting, the two disciples waved him right through.
Just as Lan Ting had mentioned earlier, the palace's rules were not actually that strict.
Of course, whether they were strict or not depended primarily on who was visiting. If it had been Daoist Buyu, he certainly would not have received such courteous treatment.
Lan Ting was already starting to regret bringing Lu Yang to the palace; it would have been better to take him home as a guest instead.
Yet having brought him all the way to the gates, it was already too late to turn back.
Inside the palace, everything was draped in silvery white. Thick blankets of snow covered the eaves and treetops alike.
The Moon Laurel Immortal Palace was naturally capable of clearing the snow, but Master Zhuiyue, the palace's founder, believed this environment aided in cultivating the power of the moon, so there was no need to deploy a barrier to keep the heavy snowfall out.
"I'll take you to see Master first."
Lu Yang's expression grew subtle.
Lan Ting's master was Luo Hongxia, the Palace Master of the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace. A figure of the same generation as Daoist Buyu and a highly respected senior, she had also once suppressed her cultivation to the same realm as Lu Yang—only to be beaten by him.
Strictly speaking, it hadn't been Lu Yang beating her, but rather Lu Yang possessed by the Immortal Fairy. She had been pummeled until her mouth was full of leaves.
Afraid that Lu Yang's presence would draw the attention of the palace disciples, Lan Ting hurriedly pulled him along to find her master.
Unfortunately, no matter how fast they moved, they could not outright sprint inside the palace. Along the way, they crossed paths with several disciples, all of whom recognized the renowned Lu Yang.
Before they could even open their mouths to ask, Lan Ting pulled Lu Yang along and darted off into the distance.
"Master, look who I've brought!" Lan Ting called out excitedly upon arriving at the Palace Master's immortal cave.
"Lu Yang?" Seeing him, Luo Hongxia recalled the humiliation of being overwhelmed and beaten by him in the past, her expression stiffening slightly.
"Junior Lu Yang greets Palace Master Luo." Lu Yang was always remarkably well-behaved before his elders—the only times he wasn't was when the Immortal Fairy had seized his body.
"Master, while I was out on a mission, I ran into an elder of the Emotionless Cult. Senior Brother Lu Yang appeared and saved me. I was thinking of inviting him to our palace as a guest—would that be all right?"
As the disciple of the Palace Master, Lan Ting had life-saving trump cards; even if Lu Yang hadn't appeared, her life wouldn't have been in danger. But that didn't stop her from framing it this way.
The corner of Luo Hongxia's eye twitched slightly. *You've already brought him right in front of me before asking if it's all right; could I possibly say no?*
Seeing the rare look of excitement on Lan Ting's face, Luo Hongxia sighed internally. She had warned her long ago to keep her distance from Dao Seeking Sect disciples to avoid having her thinking corrupted, yet her good disciple had clearly paid no heed to her words.
A grown girl simply could not be kept at home.
Suppressing a sigh, she maintained a calm demeanor on the surface and said, "Since he saved your life, hosting him at our palace does not breach our rules."
Having received her master's approval, Lan Ting joyfully led Lu Yang out of the immortal cave.
Yet the moment she pushed open the cave doors, they were greeted by a crowd of palace disciples waiting outside. A fluttering flock of young women gathered together, dazzling Lu Yang's eyes.
"We finally get to see the legendary Senior Brother Lu Yang!"
"Don't push, don't push!"
"Senior Brother Lu Yang, how long will you be staying at our palace?"
"Senior Brother Lu Yang, could you tell us what the Dragon Clan Ancient Ancestor is really like?"
The palace disciples were deeply intrigued by this Senior Brother Lu Yang, who was enveloped in so many legendary tales. News of his arrival had spread swiftly, and everyone had gathered at the door to see just how much the real Lu Yang resembled his portraits.
Having never faced such a sea of beautiful female cultivators all at once, Lu Yang was left thoroughly at a loss, showing a rare flash of bashful embarrassment.
Chapter 1011