Prologue
"This is a wonderful spot."
Ten thousand years ago, the Cangqiong Continent was shrouded in pitch-black darkness, a realm of chaotic void and utter lifelessness. Spirit Ancestor Chen Liushang, dressed in flowing white, her delicate and pretty face flushed slightly pink on both cheeks, carried a small flask of wine in her left hand, floating half-drunk and swaying gracefully in mid-air as she gazed down at the desolate Cangqiong Continent below.
With a sudden slip of her foot, a flash of white light transformed into a shooting star plummeting from a height of ten thousand feet, crashing straight down into the void of the Cangqiong Continent and carving out a massive crater. The translucent little wine flask spilled its contents, turning into cascading streams of colorful rivers that irrigated the endlessly dark and barren expanse below.
She staggered to her feet, half-drunk and narrowing her eyes, then waved her left hand. Suddenly, the empty continent burst with vitality, sprouting vast mountains and forests.
"Ha, truly a fine brew!"
Still half-tipsy, she brushed away the colorful wine stains from her flushed face and lay down upon the Cangqiong Continent, drifting into a thousand-year-long sweet dream.
"Good wine. Fine wine."
A millennium later, the Cangqiong Continent teemed with life. Countless living beings had awakened under the nourishment of the spilled wine, basking in sparkling clarity and the radiant glow of Liúlí Light, brimming with infinite vitality.
"Mmm... mmm."
Lost in slumber, she let out a soft murmur. With a hazy mind, she gently brushed her sleepy eyes with her jade-like hands and slowly sat up.
She peered around with half-closed eyes, taking in the thriving, vibrant landscape, and stood stunned for a moment, gazing blankly at her surroundings.
"Could it be that this forest of life was unintentionally created by me? Ha, ha..."
She slowly stood up and burst into laughter, picking up her precious wine as she stumbled off to wander aimlessly through the lush woods. Suddenly, an eerie voice rang out in the empty air.
"Who's there?"
From the dense mountain forest ahead, a strange entity materialized. Floating mid-air and gripping a sword, he watched the distant, half-crazed, and swaying figure of the white-clad Chen Liushang with a look of utter astonishment.
"Master, look! There's an outsider here!"
"Where did she come from?"
Chen Liushang stared at the two strange entities, holding her little wine flask and blinking in utter confusion.
"And who might the two of you be? Do you have any idea who I am?"
Abruptly, her drunken eyes closed, her feet slipped, and her white-clad form dropped from the air. Swirling tendrils of seven-colored celestial qi wrapped around her as she collapsed onto the empty forest floor, her cheeks flushed and thoroughly intoxicated.
The young swordsman dropped down in a graceful mid-air bound, landing perfectly before gazing in bewilderment at the woman half a meter away.
"Master, look, she seems to have fallen asleep."
Gazing at the stunning woman whose face radiated a brilliant Liúlí Light, the youth momentarily lost himself. His heart stirred, a faint blush rose across his stern face, and his eyes flickered with a shimmering brilliance.
The black-robed elder, hovering in a carriage suspended in mid-air, looked with suspicion upon the white-clad woman enveloped in extraordinary celestial qi, and hesitantly shouted down to the youth.
"Bring her up first."
"Yes, Master."
Channeling his spiritual energy, the youth scooped her up into his arms and brought her aboard the magnificent, floating carriage.
"Mmm... mmm."
Her cheeks flushed pink, Chen Liushang muttered incoherently in her dreams as she rested limply against the young man's body.
"Could this woman be having some wonderful dream?"
The youth smiled faintly as he looked down at Chen Liushang, whose otherworldly beauty shone with a divine, translucent luster.
The carriage sped onward, jolting along the way, but Chen Liushang remained half-drunk and fast asleep until they reached the grand gates of the Cangqiong Continent's premier immortal-cultivation pavilion.
"Xuan'er, hurry and take her into the inner courtyard."
"Yes, Master."
Ming Xuan carried the heavily sleeping, half-intoxicated Chen Liushang all the way, making a sharp turn past the inner archway and into the living quarters of the Qianchen Pavilion's inner disciples.
"She's so heavy!"
Hearing this teasing remark, Chen Liushang snapped her sleepy eyes wide open, and without a moment's hesitation, her left hand struck mercilessly across Ming Xuan's stern face.
A sharp, stinging chill immediately rushed through him.
"Is she actually asleep or not?"
Staring blankly at the young woman, whose eyes were once again tightly shut and unresponsive, Ming Xuan asked in helpless confusion.
He carefully laid down the murmuring Chen Liushang, gazed at her in a trance, and gently pulled a small quilt over her.
The elder paced back and forth across Ming Xuan's grand hall, his gaze locked firmly on Chen Liushang, whose entire body radiated celestial light. Hesitating for a moment, he flicked his dark sleeve, stroked his gray beard, and said slowly:
"You... take good care of her for now."
Ming Xuan bowed respectfully to his master, the Fourth Elder of the Qianchen Pavilion.
"Yes, Master."
A solemn expression settled over Ming Xuan's stern face. He turned back to look at the sleeping woman, lifted her slightly, and fed her a small sip of clearing tea.
"Cough, cough."
Chen Liushang, still lost in her dream, choked on the bitter tea.
Ming Xuan stared blankly at Chen Liushang—who, despite coughing and looking frail, retained an ethereal and transcendent beauty. Quickly grabbing a white cloth from the bedside, he wiped the yellowish tea stain from the corner of her lips.
For a moment, he lost his composure, a deep blush spreading across most of his stern face. He hastily turned, shut the pavilion door behind him, and hurried away from the room.
"Young Master."
A young maid in green robes approached from the opposite direction. Her eyes filled with respect as she dropped into a half-curtsy and greeted him.
"Mmm."
"She... is inside."
He hesitated, gesturing toward the chamber door behind him, using his eyes to signal Biluo to properly tend to the unidentified woman.
"Young Master, Biluo understands."
With a gentle half-curtsy and a faint, delicate smile, Biluo looked respectfully up at the tall figure of Ming Xuan.
"I've never seen such a woman in Qianchen Pavilion before, and I wonder what is wrong with her."
The smooth brow on Biluo's pretty face furrowed deeply. She gently pressed her fingers to Chen Liushang's wrist to check her pulse, but suddenly the color drained from her face, her eyes widened in terror, and she turned and bolted out of the Young Master's chambers in a panic.
With trembling hands, she managed to steady her gaze enough to close the chamber door. She hurried to the chambers of the Qianchen Pavilion's Pavilion Master, and with a heart full of nervous hesitation, she spoke.
"Pavilion Master, Biluo begs an audience."
"Enter."
Pavilion Master Ming Shaofan gave a light flick of his hand, and the heavy doors of Qianchen Pavilion instantly swung open. Calming her racing mind, Biluo stepped across the towering gilded threshold, dropped into a curtsy before the extraordinarily poised Ming Shaofan, and stammered respectfully,
"Pavilion Master, that woman... that woman in white, has no pulse."