Jin Caiwei

Even as the Immortal Fairy recognized Jin Caiwei, Jin Caiwei recognized Lu Yang as well. Ever since Clan Head Jin returned to the clan and proposed to Jin Caiwei that their Qiongqi Clan ally with the Dao Seeking Sect, she had been pondering the matter. The Dao Seeking Sect possessed Daoist Master Hanhai, a half-immortal who had grasped a rudimentary Space Dao fruit; they were indeed qualified to partner with the Qiongqi Clan. However, she was accustomed to being a lone wolf and was never fond of cooperating with others. Yet as she subsequently took stock of the factions in the current era that surpassed the Qiongqi Clan, she felt that without an alliance, it would likely be difficult to secure a firm foothold in the struggle of the Golden Age. Zhu Tian ruled the Demon Domain, with over ten Tribulation Transcendence experts under his command. Jiang Lianyi had awakened, and Ao Ling had awakened. The factions led by these three ancient acquaintances were none that she could contend with. The Buddhist Kingdom was suspected of harboring a half-immortal. If they truly came to blows, she wouldn't be afraid for herself, but the Qiongqi Clan as a whole could never defeat the Buddhist Kingdom. The Great Xia Dynasty's power was unfathomable and very likely harbored an immortal. Impossible to beat. The Ancient Heavenly Court was even worse to deal with—they had two immortals. As for the Great Yu faction, the three formidable experts—the founding Emperor Yu and the two generations of Imperial Preceptors—were not people she could take on either. Then there was the Great Qian faction, which had never even shown its face. An unknown immortal had also appeared over the East Sea, backed by who knew what faction; beating them was out of the question as well. The fact that this Meng Family could provoke so many formidable enemies and still be alive and kicking indicated that they had a half-immortal behind them too. And that didn't even count the three ancient immortals like Immortal Ying Tian and the others. The more Jin Caiwei counted, the more alarmed she became. If Immortal Kirin never showed up, keeping a spot in the top eleven would be utterly impossible. These factions either had vast foundations that made them ill-suited for the Qiongqi Clan to partner with, or they possessed immortals, meaning she wouldn't hold the upper hand if she approached them. Counting it all up, only the Dao Seeking Sect fit the criteria for cooperation: both had half-immortals, and their scale was comparable. "Little Jin Que has a point. An alliance with the Dao Seeking Sect is worth considering." Based on these considerations, she decided to set out and conduct an inspection of the Dao Seeking Sect. However, she didn't head straight to the Dao Seeking Sect—being too direct wouldn't do—so she traveled to the Imperial City, the cultivation center of Great Xia, to gauge how the cultivators here viewed the Dao Seeking Sect. Along the way, hearing that the Imperial Academy had done some research into ancient history, she thought she would come have a look and see what kind of scholarly breakthroughs they had made, happening to run into Chancellor Qi Xiuya. Yet she hadn't expected to run into Lu Yang here. As the Dao Seeking Sect's next Sect Master and a prime cultivation seed deeply valued by Daoist Master Hanhai, Lu Yang was one of Jin Caiwei's key inspection subjects. From the way Lu Yang knew the inside scoop on Immortal Ying Tian just now, it seemed Lu Yang harbored secrets of his own. "Aiya, it's the little tiger!" The Immortal Fairy pointed at Jin Caiwei with a laugh. She hadn't expected this little tiger, Jin Caiwei, to still be alive—back when Jin Caiwei couldn't even assume human form, the fairy had held her in her arms. Hearing Lu Yang expose her identity in one breath, Jin Caiwei instantly grew alert. Her hackles rose, and her pupils shifted into bright yellow tiger slits, resembling a startled kitten. He was clearly only at the Nascent Soul stage—how could he possibly see through her race! The Immortal Fairy suddenly realized she was using Lu Yang's identity and shouldn't have been able to recognize Jin Caiwei, so she pointed at the jade plaque on Jin Caiwei's chest and said, "Oh, I meant the little tiger on your jade plaque is so cute." The tiger tally jade plaque on Jin Caiwei's chest was a gift from Old Qiongqi. Seeing it was just a misunderstanding, Jin Caiwei finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Fairy, who is this person?" In the spiritual space, Lu Yang saw right through the Immortal Fairy's flimsy cover-up. "Do you remember back when we were in the ancient Qiongqi tomb? There was a coffin in the tomb belonging to Old Qiongqi. Old Qiongqi had a daughter named Jin Caiwei. She got along quite well with Immortal Kirin, but she didn't get along with Little Ling, Lianyi, and the others. "At the time, this immortal wondered: Old Qiongqi died of old age, and Jin Caiwei was only at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, so she should have died before Old Qiongqi. Yet there was no grave for Jin Caiwei in the ancient tomb. "Now I get it. This little tiger didn't die—she broke through to half-immortal, fell into a deep slumber, and has now awakened." "A half-immortal?!" Lu Yang was startled. Why had another half-immortal popped up out of nowhere? Weren't half-immortals supposed to be rare? Why were they sprouting up like white radishes? This time was different from Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi: Jin Caiwei had no memory of the Immortal Fairy, nor was there any message left by Immortal Kirin, so there was no way to play familiar with her. Chancellor Qi had no inkling of the relationships among this human, demon, and immortal. Seeing Jin Caiwei agree with Lu Yang's viewpoint, he wore an intrigued smile. He knew Jin Caiwei's caliber; her mastery of ancient history far exceeded his own. This indicated that what Lu Yang said was genuine history: the Mountain Cleaving Axe truly was the magical treasure Immortal Ying Tian used when blocking roads to demand tolls. "It seems Little Friend Lu Yang is remarkably well-versed in ancient history. As it happens, I have another question I'd like to ask the two of you to answer." Emperor Xia listened from the side in astonishment. *So the Mountain Cleaving Axe really came about like that?* "Go ahead and ask," the Immortal Fairy said, dragging over a chair herself and sitting down right next to Jin Caiwei. Jin Caiwei was a cautious person who disliked contact with strangers, yet for some reason, when Lu Yang sat beside her, she surprisingly felt no discomfort. Chancellor Qi asked earnestly, "Legend has it that in the ancient era, after Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Suiyue attained immortality, they fought a battle on the moon. Unfortunately, very few had the qualifications to witness it. Do the two of you know the course of that battle, or perhaps who ultimately won?" Jin Caiwei pondered for a moment before replying solemnly, "I have heard of this matter. Supposedly, there was a fundamental clash between the cultivation arts of Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Suiyue, compelling them to wage a great battle to validate their Dao hearts. "In that battle, Immortal Ying Tian wielded the Heaven Splitting Axe with power that shocked the world, as though it truly could split open heaven and earth. As a being born of the Jianmu tree, Immortal Suiyue possessed a natural affinity for timber. Immortal Suiyue controlled the trees, causing ancient trunks to tower into the skies—endless and boundless, stretching farther than the eye could see. "The immortal arts of the two were astonishing—a collision between ultimate destruction and ultimate vitality that shone brightly across the ages. Swaths of ancient trees were felled by Immortal Ying Tian, only for countless broken branches to regenerate endlessly. The entire moon was turned into a vast sea of ancient wood. Those spectating trembled in fear, not daring to draw near for fear of being caught in the crossfire. "In the end, the two finished in a draw, with neither claiming victory." Although she had not witnessed that battle herself, she had heard her father recount it afterward, so the course of events could not be mistaken. Even now, recalling the scene as others had described it gave her chills. The combat prowess of immortals was simply terrifying. "Huh? Is that how it went? Wasn't it just that Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Suiyue drank too much that day? Ying Tian bragged that he could swing his axe fast, while Suiyue bragged that his Tree Planting Technique was so well cultivated that his saplings grew super quick. Unconvinced by each other, they held a contest on the moon, didn't they?" The Immortal Fairy scratched the back of her head. The scene in her memory didn't look much like what the little tiger described. "Then Immortal Ying Tian kept swinging his axe like crazy, and Immortal Suiyue kept casting the Tree Planting Technique like mad, until both were huffing and puffing from exhaustion. "Back then, they even scared off the Jade Rabbit Clan living on the moon."