An Endless Stream

"Senior Brother Lu Yang, are you all right?" Lan Ting came to visit Lu Yang in the Hall of Sinners, carrying a basket of spirit fruit. "Doing great! Thanks for checking in on me, Junior Sister Lan," the Immortal Fairy said with a beaming smile. There were several varieties of spirit fruit in the basket, all delicious; Lan Ting had clearly gone to great lengths to gather them. "Care for some?" The Immortal Fairy passed one over to her neighboring cellmate, Master Zhuiyue. Master Zhuiyue did not refuse. She voiced her thanks and began eating. The Immortal Fairy picked out a lovely fruit she had never seen before and offered it to Lan Ting. "You have one too, Junior Sister Lan." She divided the basket of spirit fruits into three portions. Eating was all about atmosphere. The Immortal Fairy was not used to eating alone; good food was meant to be shared. It reminded her of feasting together with Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi back in ancient times. The three of them sat together in harmony. Lan Ting studied Master Zhuiyue with curiosity. "Are you the Bai Ye my senior brother mentioned?" It was indeed an unfamiliar face. But since this person knew how to unravel the formation and could enter the medicinal storehouse, did that mean she was an ancestor of the immortal palace? Lan Ting had asked her master about Bai Ye's identity, but from the look of it, her master had been reluctant to elaborate. Master Zhuiyue was embarrassed to reveal her true identity, so she could only borrow Bai Ye's name for the time being. "Yes, I am Bai Ye." Inwardly, Master Zhuiyue apologized to Bai Ye. This was the first lie she had told in her entire life. "By the way, Fairy, could you give Junior Sister Lan some pointers on cultivating her immortal physique?" Lu Yang asked. Having received so much care from Lan Ting ever since arriving at the immortal palace, he felt somewhat indebted. "You mean her Primordial Chaos Immortal Physique?" "Yes." "Mmh, fine." The Immortal Fairy was a bit reluctant, but since it was Lu Yang's request, she would help if she could. "Junior Sister Lan, how is your Primordial Chaos Immortal Physique coming along?" Lan Ting gave a wry smile. "To tell the truth, Senior Brother Lu Yang, I'm at a loss. I intended to cultivate my Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Primordial Soul toward pure yin. Yet my Golden Core and Primordial Soul refuse to obey, constantly absorbing pure yang power instead. As a result, the pure yang power inside me has grown increasingly concentrated. "I tried cleansing my Primordial Soul with pure yin power, but to no avail." The techniques of the immortal palace were predominantly yin-aligned, yet her Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Primordial Soul insisted on developing toward yang. This had forced her to learn many of her cultivation and combat methods from other sects, leaving her plagued by self-doubt. She had consulted numerous elders and pored through ancient records, all in vain. The Primordial Chaos Immortal Physique appeared so rarely that no cultivation method had ever been recorded. In truth, Master Zhuiyue held Lan Ting in high regard and had secretly searched for methods to cultivate the Primordial Chaos Immortal Physique as well, only to turn up empty-handed. "There's no need to fret, Junior Sister Lan. This is simply the natural progression of cultivating the Primordial Chaos Immortal Physique," the Immortal Fairy instructed earnestly. "What is Primordial Chaos? Primordial Chaos is chaos itself—the union of yin and yang. Even though your Golden Core and Primordial Soul are yang-aligned, your physical form is a pure yin body. "As long as you progress steadily to the Body Integration stage, where your Primordial Soul fuses with your body, everything will fall into place naturally, and your Primordial Chaos Immortal Physique will reach completion. "It is best to have your Primordial Soul absorb even more of the power of the sun. Doing so will grant you great benefits once you reach Body Integration." "Really?" Lan Ting's eyes lit up, the gloom that had weighed on her heart for so long instantly swept away. "I read it in an immortal's personal notes," the Immortal Fairy replied, thinking to herself that if Lan Ting asked where those notes were, she would just have to write one up on the spot. Lan Ting naturally had no reason to doubt Lu Yang's words; her question had merely been an instinctive reaction. After chatting a bit longer with the Immortal Fairy and Master Zhuiyue, Lan Ting left, thoroughly satisfied. "Seems you two get along quite well," Master Zhuiyue said with a smile. Although she felt Lu Yang was a bit strange and harbored plenty of secrets, his character was fundamentally decent. If an opportunity arose, she might even play matchmaker. Moments later, another disciple of the immortal palace arrived carrying a basket of fruit to visit Lu Yang. "Senior Brother Lu Yang, are you all right?" Lu Yang would normally have recognized her, but now that she had shrunk, recognizing her took some effort. He recalled that her name was He Miao, from the Artifact Forging Chamber. "Junior Sister He, I'm fine. Thank you for thinking of me," the Immortal Fairy responded smoothly with Lu Yang's guidance. "I'm glad you're all right, Senior Brother." He Miao's cheeks flushed slightly as she looked shyly at the Immortal Fairy. Being timid, He Miao did not dare say much to Lu Yang and quickly took her leave. "Seems you get along quite well with He Miao too," Master Zhuiyue said, her smile turning a touch unnatural. "Senior Brother Lu Yang, are you all right?" Yet another disciple arrived carrying a fruit basket to visit Lu Yang. "Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister An. Prison life is peaceful; it offers a fine chance to cultivate character and nurture the mind. In its own way, it's quite an opportunity." The Immortal Fairy's replies grew ever more polished. "You're quite close with An Qiuxia as well, I see." Master Zhuiyue's smile seemed plastered onto her face, stiff and strained. Junior Sister Xia Tang, Junior Sister Huang Shan, Senior Sister Bu Lianxin… Soon, the Immortal Fairy's cell was overflowing with fruit baskets. Previously, with Lan Ting always around, the disciples of the immortal palace had been too bashful to approach Lu Yang. Now, Lu Yang's stay in the Hall of Sinners provided the perfect excuse to visit him and find opportunities to interact. Master Zhuiyue: "..." *Did you girls read all those storybooks I left in the Scripture Pavilion for nothing? Is this Lu Yang kid really that amazing?* *Aside from having a better background, greater talent, higher cultivation, more miraculous encounters, a nicer temperament, and broader knowledge, he isn't any different from other cultivators!* "Care for another bite?" Seeing Master Zhuiyue staring at her with resentment, the Immortal Fairy assumed she had her eye on the fruit baskets. "I can't eat another bite." "Suit yourself." The Immortal Fairy went on eating alone. Her tastes were notoriously picky, and these spirit fruits did not truly impress her. But having nothing better to do, and with so many spirit fruits piled up before her, she could not help reaching for a bite now and then. The other prisoners looked toward the Immortal Fairy's cell with eyes burning with envy. *Did this kid come to the Hall of Sinners for a vacation?* "Fellow Daoist Lu Yang, I have a few uncertainties regarding the cultivation of the Sword Dao. Could you give me some guidance?" asked Xue Shilou from the cell on the other side. The Immortal Fairy pondered for a moment. She had plenty of experience dealing with female cultivators, but the Sword Dao was out of her depth. "Little Yangzi, take this one." Lu Yang truly lived up to his reputation as the foremost Sword Dao practitioner among his peers. The dilemma that had troubled Xue Shilou for years was swept away with just a couple of pointers from Lu Yang. Glimpsing the path ahead, Xue Shilou beamed with joy. "Senior Brother Lu Yang, are you going to tell a story tonight?" Bai Ye's voice chimed in from behind. While Lu Yang was instructing Xue Shilou, day had transitioned into night, and Bai Ye had taken charge of the body. Since Lu Yang was right here, she saw no need to go out and play. "I will." *Strange,* Lu Yang muttered to himself. *Why did I feel less busy outside than I do in the Hall of Sinners?*