Chapter Twenty-Three: Seeking a Master and Splitting the Tomb

At the grand ceremony of becoming a disciple, after I and my senior brothers performed the three kowtows and nine prostrations, the exalted Lord Yunxiao descended step by step from on high, his stride slow, light, and steady...

His features were cold and handsome, his expression solemn, as he approached me and gently rested his hand atop my head to bestow the Kunlun Dragon Seal...

I stared blankly at the former immortal friend in azure robes, Bai Hao, who had now become my master. He seemed both familiar and strange, real and illusory, so close yet as distant as the horizon...

Thus I became his disciple, uncertain whether it was the result of Spring Breeze’s deliberate maneuvering or merely the work of fate...

Thereafter, we formally paid respects to my master’s elder and my senior brothers.

Of the senior brothers, ten had achieved mastery and oversaw their respective domains across the Nine Provinces as the Emperors of the Realm. The tenth senior brother had fallen on the battlefield. The eldest remaining in the Jade Purity Domain was the Eleventh Senior Brother, while I, the “extra” disciple, was ranked twenty-second, making me the youngest. The eager Spring Breeze had already introduced me to the senior brothers.

Next, we went to the Hall of Returning Dust to offer sacrifices, where the ancestral tablets of Lord Yunxiao’s parents and uncle were placed, along with that of the tenth senior brother...

“Why isn’t Lady Lu Xue’s tablet here?” I had assumed the tablet of the revered mistress, whom one must never offend, would also be present.

After offering our respects, Master led the four of us disciples out of the hall, making our way to Immortal Remembrance Valley, and entered the pear grove.

While snow fluttered endlessly in Kunlun Void, here in the valley, spring reigned on one side and autumn on the other—trees brimming with blossoms and fruit, cool breezes drifting past, and petals falling in a cascade... The four walked ahead while I lagged behind, glancing about. “Isn’t this the forbidden ground of Jade Purity Domain? Why bring us here?”

A sudden gust sent something tumbling to the ground with a crash. It was a bird’s nest, and inside were two newly hatched skylarks, bare and red, eyes shut, weakly stretching their wings and opening their beaks for food...

“Sigh, your parents are truly foolish, building your nest right in the wind’s path. Luckily, we’re all birds here—this is something I’m good at.”

Cradling the nest, I gathered dry grass and twigs and, finding a fruit-laden tree in a sheltered spot, flew up to secure the nest anew.

Master and his three disciples came to a flower-strewn grave by the shores of Still Reflection Lake.

“Kneel and pay respects to Lord Lu Xue,” Master said, turning around—only to find me missing.

“Where’s Yu Fei?” Master asked.

“He was just behind us,” the three replied, turning to look but not seeing me follow.

“Wait here,” Master commanded, retracing his steps.

I quickly fixed the skylark’s nest, chirped twice to call the parents over, then leapt down from the tree. As I ran forward, I saw Master ahead and hurriedly explained, “A little bird fell, I just—ah!” My foot slipped on a fallen pear, and I landed squarely on the ground. “Ouch!” Another pear dropped, striking my head and rolling into my arms.

“Oh no! Oh no! Oh no!” A whole cascade of ripe pears showered down from the tree, filling my arms and carpeting the ground.

Cradling my head, I thought, “This is bad! Spring Breeze just warned me, and now I’ve offended Mistress by dropping all her fruit. What should I do...” I looked guiltily at my newly acknowledged master. His expression unchanged, he walked over, helped me up, and placed the scattered, crystalline pears into my robe.

“Are all these for feeding the birds?” I asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

“That’s enough for an elephant—are there really so many birds here?” I wondered, glancing around.

With my robe bulging with fruit, almost too heavy to hold, Master said, “That’s enough, leave the rest for the birds here. Let’s go.”

At the flower-covered grave, the three senior brothers saw me carrying a mountain of pears and looked puzzled. I shook my head at them.

“Kowtow to Lord Lu Xue,” Master instructed.

The three senior brothers knelt, but I, arms full of fruit, stood there cluelessly.

“This is the nineteenth, you may call him Pengpeng. This is the twentieth, Little Jun. This is the twenty-first, Mo’er.” At the grave, Master seemed to be chatting amiably with Lu Xue.

When the brothers had finished, I quickly distributed the pears among their robes, then approached the grave.

“This is the twenty-second, Fei’er,” he said.

“Mistress, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to eat or knock down your fruit. Please forgive me,” I said silently in my heart.

Prostrating myself, the wind rose—my headband and robe fluttered, and the flowers on the grave scattered into the lake...

Rising for the second bow, clouds gathered—the sea of mist churned, and the valley darkened...

At the third bow...

Master, sensing danger, cast a spell and shoved me aside. I staggered several steps and almost fell. A crimson lightning bolt struck down from above, splitting open Lu Xue’s tombstone and setting it ablaze with heavenly fire. Master hurriedly extinguished the flames. Before I could react, another bolt flashed and struck me in the chest, knocking me backwards to the foot of the grave...

A third bolt followed in an instant. Master again pushed me away, and the lightning smashed into the burning mound behind me, shattering Lu Xue’s grave.

I fell to the ground, bits of earth and a garment landing on me...

The senior brothers rushed over, flipping me up and crying, “Little junior!”

I was motionless, my eyes wide...

Dongfang Mo quickly checked my pulse.

I hadn’t been killed by the lightning—not even hurt—just too stunned to react. When the brothers helped me up, I looked at him from afar and saw his expression—the pain of having tried so hard to protect Lu Xue’s memorial, only to watch it destroyed before his eyes...

It was the tribulation of heavenly thunder—my ascension trial, which had now implicated Lu Xue’s grave! I truly had offended Mistress!

“Master! Look, little junior—” Dongfang Mo called.

He flew over...

I came to my senses and blurted, “I’m fine!” Then, kneeling, I lifted the garment that had fallen onto me and raised it above my head, saying, “Please punish me, Master!”

My chest was soaked... bits of pear pulp tumbled from my torn outer robe. The pears that had fallen into my arms earlier, some had rolled inside my clothes, and in my haste I hadn’t removed them before kneeling. Little did I know those immortal fruits had actually absorbed one of the lightning bolts...

“Are you hurt?” His tone was cold, his voice low.

“No,” I replied.

He took the garment. “You all go back now. Take the pears to the kitchen and make porridge.”

“I...” I didn’t know how to explain or apologize.

“Go back,” he said more gently.

So I rose with the three senior brothers and returned to Jade Void Palace.

“Little junior! You actually became an Immortal in one leap!” Senior Brother Shijun exclaimed, noticing the change in my spiritual aura.

“Keep your voice down,” Kunpeng Senior Brother tugged at his sleeve, reminding him that Master was still grieving.

“Little junior, you couldn’t control the lightning. Don’t blame yourself,” Dongfang Mo comforted me.

I said nothing, walking in a daze, my mind blank and my body light, as if I no longer belonged to myself...

The three brothers went to the kitchen with the pears. I went to Cloudwatch Terrace and slumped onto a stone bench.

“Little Crow! Was that you crossing your tribulation just now?” Spring Breeze came bounding over, followed by the other brothers.

“Not bad, you’ve gone from a minor immortal to a celestial one in a flash! What happened to your clothes? What’s all this?” Spring Breeze stared at the pear bits still clinging to my chest.

Clutching my chest, I felt as if I’d lost my soul. “Just now in Immortal Remembrance Valley, I knocked down a whole tree of Mistress Lu Xue’s pears. A lot.”

“What?” Spring Breeze was shocked.

“And my thunder tribulation destroyed Mistress Lu Xue’s grave...” I stared blankly in the direction of the valley.

All who hadn’t been present were stunned.

“Where’s Master?” Spring Breeze asked.

“In the valley...” I replied.

Spring Breeze gazed toward Immortal Remembrance Valley, but thick clouds hid everything from view.

“It’s fine, it’s fine, your master won’t blame you. Don’t worry, Little Crow! It’s alright! Don’t take it to heart! Your master is true to his word—he won’t do anything to you. Rest easy here. I have urgent matters back at Hundred Flowers Island, I’ll visit you in a few days.” With a gust, Spring Breeze was gone.

“What a mess, Senior Uncle ran off fast...” Eleventh Senior Brother muttered.

“Little junior is really unlucky! Master won’t drive him away again, will he?” Twelfth Senior Brother wondered.

“Probably not—after all, it wasn’t on purpose. But he’ll likely never look on him kindly again,” Eleventh analyzed.

The other brothers all sighed.

“I think so too. He’ll certainly dislike me even more now...” I said, eyes fixed on the valley, seeing only endless clouds. I wondered if Lord Yunxiao—my master, who so reluctantly accepted me—was now gnashing his teeth in hatred, sword in hand, seething with rage.

“Little junior, we’ll speak on your behalf. You’ve suffered most at the hands of Senior Uncle. We’ve all been there. We understand,” Fifteenth Senior Brother said.

“Thank you, Fifteenth Brother, but today wasn’t Senior Uncle’s doing—I’m just really unlucky...” I could hardly believe my own misfortune; just when I was most unwelcome, I had made things worse.

All my pain and grievances, bottled up inside, suddenly surged forth, and I could no longer hold back. With a wail, I collapsed onto the stone table and wept.

“It’s alright, little junior, Master is magnanimous.”

“You’re still young and don’t understand—he won’t punish you.”

“It was a heavenly tribulation, not your doing,” the brothers consoled me.

In Immortal Remembrance Valley, Lord Yunxiao stood empty-handed as a breeze turned Lu Xue’s garment to dust, carrying it away over Still Reflection Lake. Petals scattered by the wind fell like snow, landing in his hands...

“Xue’er, you gave her the pears and protected her... So it was you who chose this disciple...” Lord Yunxiao murmured.

And so, on the joyous day of becoming a disciple, one wept bitterly atop Cloudwatch Terrace, while another shed silent tears alone in Immortal Remembrance Valley...