Does Your Immortal Palace Need the Twin River?

Lu Yang was remarkably popular at the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace. While Lan Ting showed him around, the palace disciples were essentially touring Lu Yang. Disciples clustered around him wherever they went, bombarding him with questions as though he were an endangered species. Then again, male cultivators truly were a rare breed in the Moon Laurel Immortal Palace. "Enough, that's quite enough. Do not forget that it is time for cultivation. Do not let yourselves be distracted," a steady voice called out. The chattering crowd of palace disciples fell silent at once, scurrying back to their posts to cultivate diligently. A cold-faced female cultivator strode over, wearing a pitch-black ring on her middle finger. "Senior Sister Jinghong," Lan Ting greeted her with a bow. Lu Yang followed suit, matching her etiquette. "Greetings, Senior Sister Jinghong." Jinghong returned the courtesy before speaking. "You must be the renowned Junior Brother Lu Yang." Turning to Lan Ting, she added, "Junior Sister Lan Ting, if you are giving Junior Brother Lu Yang a tour of our palace, you should keep a lower profile. Our junior sisters' Dao hearts are not yet steadfast. Seeing Junior Brother Lu Yang's striking appearance, they cannot help but become excited, which ruins their studies for the day." "Understood." Evidently, there were disciples like Senior Sister Jinghong who held no interest in Lu Yang whatsoever. Only after they had walked far beyond Senior Sister Jinghong's sight did Lu Yang whisper, "Senior Sister Jinghong doesn't seem very welcoming toward me." Lan Ting giggled. "Senior Brother, don't take it as coldness. She is like that with everyone. She is the disciple of the Third Elder and possesses skilled artifact craftsmanship. She entered the sect before me and is currently at the mid Soul Formation stage. Though her cultivation talent isn't considered top-tier, she is thorough, steady, and deeply favored by the elders." Lu Yang nodded. He had worried he might have offended her in some way, so it was a relief to hear otherwise. Meanwhile, once Senior Sister Jinghong made sure no one was nearby, she quietly rubbed her ring and directed a strand of consciousness into the ring's inner space. "Master, will this suffice?" An ancient, commanding voice resonated within the ring. "That will do. "I sense that this Lu Yang is far from ordinary; he must harbor a monumental secret. You should keep your distance from him, and under no circumstances become overly entangled to form karma. I fear that excessive entanglement might allow him to detect my presence, which could force my premature emergence into the world and plunge all eternity into turmoil." "Yes, Master." *** "This is the Scripture Pavilion. Would Senior Brother like to have a look inside?" Lan Ting led Lu Yang to a wooden pavilion that was almost buried in heavy snow, appearing as though it might collapse under the weight at any moment. Yet this Scripture Pavilion had stood firm for a hundred thousand years; a mere snowfall naturally could not bring it down. "Let's take a look." So long as he was not expected to compose cultivation methods, Lu Yang thoroughly enjoyed browsing Scripture Pavilions. The layout of the Immortal Palace's Scripture Pavilion was broadly similar to that of the Dao Seeking Sect, with the difference lying in the books they collected. The shelves here held mostly cultivation methods intended for female cultivators, with very few for men, and even those rare few were essentially focused on gathering the power of the moon. "What is this, *Fairy's Calamity*?" Lu Yang pulled out an ancient volume at random. After flipping through two pages, his expression turned rather bizarre. The contents of this book seemed far from wholesome. How could it be placed so openly in the Scripture Pavilion? Even in their Dao Seeking Sect, *Dragon Phoenix Transformation* was kept carefully hidden away. Judging by the worn pages, this book had clearly been read quite a number of times. The Immortal Fairy swept her immortal sense across the pages. Her face instantly flushed scarlet, and she stuttered, unable to form coherent words before finally spitting out two furious syllables. "Indecent!" Lan Ting's cheeks grew slightly red as she gave two dry coughs to ease the awkwardness. "This is an ancient tome brought back by Ancestor Zhuiyue a hundred thousand years ago. The stories inside serve as valuable references. Placing them in the Scripture Pavilion was intended to alert later generations and ensure that such tales never happen to themselves." Aside from *Fairy's Calamity*, Lu Yang noticed many other strangely titled books. Their contents appeared broadly similar to *Fairy's Calamity*, and he presumed they had all been brought back by Ancestor Zhuiyue as well. Many of the shelves were empty, presumably because the palace disciples had borrowed the books. In any case, Ancestor Zhuiyue's various measures had indeed heightened the disciples' vigilance and helped them preserve their chastity; Lu Yang had never heard of any disciple from the Immortal Palace heading down the mountain only to fall for some rogue scoundrel. "You have so many ancient texts here as well," Lu Yang remarked with a smile. Ancient texts were the material he was most familiar with, even more so than sword arts. "The Immortal Palace didn't have this many ancient texts in the past. It was only due to recent demand that the palace purchased a large batch from the Imperial Academy." "Demand?" "Yes. Senior Brother, you must know that the ancient immortal, Immortal Ying Tian, created the Child-and-Mother River, right?" Lu Yang wore a peculiar expression, unsure whether he should say yes or no. "Some disciples in our palace have no desire for romance, yet they wish to have children. Previously, there was no way to achieve this, but now that the existence of the Child-and-Mother River has come to light, they have begun trying every possible means to search for it. Scouring ancient texts for clues is one of those methods." "Have they found anything?" Lu Yang asked on behalf of the Immortal Fairy. Lan Ting shook her head regretfully. "Nothing at all. Senior Brother, with your profound knowledge of ancient times, do you know where the Child-and-Mother River might be?" "No idea." Suddenly, it occurred to Lu Yang that while he did not know where the Child-and-Mother River was, he did know the location of the Twin River—it was right atop Tianmen Peak. *Oh? So they need the Twin River? Then why not just haul it over for them?* the Immortal Fairy offered generously. No one drank from it on Tianmen Peak anyway, so it might as well be given to a place that actually needed it, like the Immortal Palace. Lu Yang considered the idea carefully. Giving the Twin River to the Immortal Palace truly seemed feasible, and doing so would not expose any secrets. "Actually, while I don't know where the Child-and-Mother River is, I do know the location of the Twin River." "The Twin River?" Lan Ting had never heard of it. Lu Yang gave it some thought; the origin of the Twin River was somewhat awkward to explain. "The Twin River is just like the Child-and-Mother River—both were created by Immortal Ying Tian. The difference is that a woman drinking from the Child-and-Mother River will only give birth to one child, whereas drinking from the Twin River results in twins. The exceedingly rare Twin Conjoined Lotus is a product of the Twin River." Lan Ting had never expected such an immortal treasure as the Twin River to exist. The miraculous abilities of immortals were truly unfathomable. Though she could not help but wonder: why had Immortal Ying Tian created a Twin River in the first place? "Then where is this Twin River?" "It was discovered not long ago in an ancient mystic realm, and it is currently at our Dao Seeking Sect. If your Immortal Palace needs it, I can petition the sect for some river water." Lan Ting beamed with delight at the unexpected boon. If the Immortal Palace obtained water from the Twin River, countless senior sisters and elders would be able to have children. "Then I must thank Senior Brother in advance! Might I report this matter to my master first?" The Twin River was of tremendous consequence; Lan Ting could not shoulder such a major affair alone. "Of course." When Luo Hongxia learned of this miraculous immortal wonder, she was equally overjoyed. It was precisely what their Immortal Palace needed most. Looking at Lu Yang now, she found him more and more agreeable the more she looked. "Lu Yang, if our palace disciples can become pregnant, you will be the greatest contributor!" Lu Yang: "..." Why did that sound so horribly wrong?