Chapter Fifty-One: Attending to Serious Matters

The Formless High God asked his master if his mask was still around. The master smiled faintly and replied, “Yes.”
“So, even Master has a mask of the Formless High God, yet I’ve never seen him wear it,” I mused inwardly, glancing at my master.
“Your master’s mask was a gift from me. Little disciple, let me give you one as well, for fun,” said the Formless High God.
I waved my hand, having already accepted his greeting gift just moments ago.
He burst into hearty laughter, producing a mottled bamboo folding fan from his sleeve, which he gently waved. “Things have really livened up in this palace with two new arrivals. This fan has been with me for two thousand years, and it’s served me well.”
That fan of his—it looked just like the one I’d once given to the fortune-telling immortal in Qilin Town! I stared at the Formless High God in astonishment. Could it be that the greasy-faced, beggar-like fortune-teller was actually him?
“We are fated, you and I. Go ahead, choose one, little disciple,” he said.
I thought, “Wearing your mask would only get me lost. Why would I choose it?”
The High God laughed. “Do you know why I wear a mask?”
I shook my head; indeed, I was curious.
“Because my real face is hard for others to recognize. With the mask on, it’s actually easier for people to identify me,” he explained.
I nodded. The back of his mask was pitch black—there was no face at all—truly unsettling. In truth, people probably found it more comfortable to see him with the mask on.
I instinctively touched my own face, wondering, “Am I really so frightening that I need a mask for others to look at me?”
“Choose one, and hide it away. Let your master fail to recognize you! It’ll be our little secret,” the Formless High God whispered to me.
My master chuckled, “Formless, don’t trick her with a mask again. If she ends up lost in Kunlun like your other fairy maidens, I’ll be the one searching for her, and you’ll blame me for being late.”
“So he thinks I blame him…”
“Don’t listen to your master—he’s muddle-headed. Such a fine little disciple, yet someone was cruel enough to harm her, costing her life. Yunxiao, this is your responsibility,” the High God said, glancing at my master.
My master looked at me silently.
I grinned mischievously, then took off running. In my heart, I thought, “Of course I blame you! You mistook your wife and only came for me slowly, after I’d already died. I was frantic with worry… I just might pick a mask, change into someone you don’t recognize one day, and make you anxious for a change.”
My master watched my retreating back, sighed helplessly, and said with a smile, “Now that you’ve given her this toy, she’ll find it even easier to sneak off the mountain.”
“Alas, whether ascending or descending the mountain, it’s all heartache. How are you handling the backlash from the Soul Capturing Technique?” the Formless High God asked him.
“It’s nothing,” my master replied.
“The closer the relationship between caster and recipient, the sharper the Soul Capturing backlash. It’s even worse for kin or spouses. Your backlash must be severe,” said the High God, pouring him a cup of tea.
“I am but her master, not kin or spouse. It’s not so grave,” my master said, sipping his tea.
“Sigh. All this trouble from a bout of jealousy. Go on, keep cultivating the Formless Divine Art,” the High God sighed.
“Very well,” said my master.
“Whenever I see this little disciple, I’m reminded of that old Biyou… What do you think, Yunxiao?” asked the Formless High God.
“She is pitiable,” my master said quietly.
“There is quite some fate between you and this little Biyou,” the High God remarked.
“Oh? Is that so…” my master replied.
In the rain of masks, I searched—there were masks of every color and shape, dazzling to the eye: some whole, some half, some large, some small; ones of gold and silver, ones made of grass and wood, of silk brocade, of bird feathers and animal pelts; some fierce and terrifying, others beautiful and enchanting…

Should I pick a fierce monster to scare Master? No, what if he gets startled and slashes me with the Dragon Abyss Sword? A golden mask, perhaps? Too heavy—I wouldn’t even be able to lift my head. Whole or half?
As I searched, a shimmering, intricately carved white jade mask floated down. Not too big, not too small; it looked just like an ice crystal mended with the Cloud Conjuring Technique. It filled me with delight. I caught it, stowed it away, and ran back.
“Chosen already?” the Formless High God asked.
I nodded.
“Will you still let her use the Spring Breeze Transformation Balm?” he asked my master.
“She may do as she pleases. You’ve already given her a mask. My Jade Purity Realm will never know peace again,” my master replied with a smile.
I was puzzled. “What is the Spring Breeze Transformation Balm? When was it used on me?”
The Formless High God laughed, “She still doesn’t know! That balm, once applied, swaps male and female. Even the Yin-Yang Mirror can be fooled. Only I, as the god overseeing appearances, can see through it.”
“My elder brother here has always been fond of studying appearances and plants, and loves to play tricks. When I refused to accept her as a disciple, he smeared her with the balm and forced me to take her on. It was quite the spectacle back then,” my master said, laughing.
He seemed quite happy as he recalled those events.
No wonder the copper mirror didn’t reveal me during the disciple selection! No wonder I could shift between male and female forms so easily—not even Lord of the Underworld’s Ghost Eyes could see through me. Was it that “poison balm” Spring Breeze gave me in the Immortal Execution Array for my sprained ankle?
“Such depths of water and fire… so many tribulations!” the Formless High God sighed.
My master only smiled.
After accepting two gifts and bidding farewell to the High God, I followed behind my master, head lowered in contemplation. So they knew I was a girl all along. No wonder Master was so unwilling to take me on at first. Was my room bigger and more private because he arranged it so, not because there was no space for another disciple? Was I forbidden to clean the latrines or the bathhouse because he planned it that way? I’d been so disheveled in the Underworld… Even after the Soul Capturing Technique, when I kissed him, he must have known I was female…
Lost in thought, I bumped into my master when he stopped walking.
I quickly took two steps back. Looking around, I saw we’d already left the Palace of Myriad Aspects and arrived at the entrance to a garden. Above the courtyard gate, three large characters proclaimed “Peach Blossom Garden.”
“Fei’er, I have important matters to attend to. You can’t speak, and you can’t handle much wine, so it’s best you avoid social gatherings for now. Stay here in the Peach Blossom Garden for a few days and use the white jade bottle to collect floral dew to heal your throat,” my master said.
I nodded.
So my master “deposited” me at the Peach Blossom Garden, instructing the celestial stewards there to take care of me until he finished his business. Before leaving, he reminded me that the Celestial Palace was unlike the Jade Purity Realm—my Flowing Light Flying Crane technique wouldn’t work here, so I shouldn’t wander or play tricks with the Formless High God’s mask, lest I get lost and become unable to speak. I nodded to everything, though I felt a bit lost. I’d come all this way to the Celestial Palace only to be left behind here.
Master went off to his duties. The steward accompanied me with a flattering smile, respectfully guiding me around the Peach Blossom Garden.
“Has the Divine Lord visited the Peach Blossom Garden before? The moment I saw you, I felt a deep affinity with you. Your face is truly pleasant,” he said.
I paid him little mind; such lines were just typical small talk.
“The peaches here ripen once every hundred years—they can keep illness at bay.”
I nodded.
“These ones ripen every thousand years—they prolong life.”
I nodded again.
“These here ripen once every ten thousand years—they grant immortality.”
I nodded once more.
“Though there’s a record of who gets which fruit, with your status, you can pick as you please.”
I nodded yet again.
Ten-thousand-year peaches, apricots, plums—I’d tasted them all, thanks to Spring Breeze, and had long since lost interest.
“Shall I fetch floral dew for you every day, Divine Lord?”

Finally, I could wave him away! My head was spinning from all the nodding.
“Divine Lord, you honor me too much—I’m unworthy of such attentions.”
The steward stuck close, full of flattery. I nodded so much I was dizzy and uncomfortable. I had him show me the guest quarters and then shooed him off, sighing in relief. I didn’t want to stay in a guest room with such a sycophant trailing after me every day. Instead, I spent my days gathering floral dew, enjoying flowers and peaches, eating my fill, then transforming into my true form to nap in the trees, fertilizing the peach trees and meditating when I awoke—a leisurely, pleasant existence. But after two days, I grew bored.
Perched on a branch, I wondered, “What is Master so busy with? Is it military matters? When will we return to the Jade Purity Realm?”
While I pondered this, a group of young immortals in light pink dresses appeared below, pruning branches and chatting merrily.
“So, did you see anything interesting while arranging flowers in the conference hall?” one asked another.
“Of course! Guess who I saw?” the other replied excitedly.
“It couldn’t be the God of the Red Bird, could it?” one asked, full of anticipation.
“It was him!” the girl exclaimed, unable to hold back her secret.
“Really? You saw Lord Yunxiao! How lucky! He rarely comes to these gatherings. What does he look like?”
“Yes—is he handsome?”
“Need you even ask? Oh, how can I describe… He’s absolutely soul-stealing!” she sighed, lovesick.
I laughed silently to myself. “Indeed, Master is skilled at soul-capturing.”
“But what does he actually look like?” the others pressed, impatient.
“You’ll know if you see him. No other male immortal in the Celestial Palace matches his looks or bearing—not the martial gods, not the scholarly ones… He’s calm but not stiff, serene but not apathetic… And his voice—it’s magnetic…” The immortal maiden was utterly smitten.
“Wow! I want to go see him too. Next time, I’ll volunteer to arrange flowers!”
“Then I’ll arrange the fruit!”
They all grew excited.
I listened from my perch, silently amused. I’d seen Master every day and never found him as dazzling as they described—one look and you’re lost? If we’re talking about beauty, Spring Breeze is even more stunning.
“What was he doing? Didn’t you talk to him?” someone asked.
“Who are we to speak to him? He was with a beauty,” the girl pouted, disappointed.
“A beauty? Who?”
“Where did this beauty come from?” everyone asked, myself included.
“I’m talking about Princess Yu Heng, the third princess of the Celestial Palace,” the girl replied.
“They’re getting engaged this time, aren’t they?” one asked.
“Mhm!” came the confirmation.
I nearly fell out of the tree.