Looming like a giant dragon, the emerald-green mountain range stretched for a thousand miles. Unfortunately, the dragon's head was abruptly severed, leaving sheer precipices thousands of feet high. Legend has it that this was once the inheritance ground of a flourishing sect from the ancient era, which was destroyed overnight in the great war between immortals and demons. Countless mighty figures perished here, and the lingering Demonic Qi has endured ever since. To prevent the Demonic Qi from leaking out, a massive array was cast over a radius of a thousand miles.
Every hundred years, the Demonic Qi subsides for a brief month, making it an ideal time for Nascent Soul stage cultivators to enter and seek opportunities. Countless Spirit Plants, magical treasures, and inheritances lie hidden within. Naturally, the deeper one ventures, the greater the Demonic Qi and the perils become.
That night, the valley, silent for a century, was brightly lit once more. At the entrance of the Secret Realm lay the encampment of the six major sects. At the very center were the Myriad Swords Sect and the Yunlan Sect, followed by the Canglan Sect and the Alchemy Sect, with the Array Sect and the Talismans Sect situated on the outermost edges.
Beyond the six major sects were smaller sects and gathering places for rogue cultivators, while the outermost periphery was occupied by nearby mortals and temporary taverns and shops.
"Father, we're going out for a stroll. I heard someone found a rare Spirit Plant at a mortal herbal stall yesterday, so I'm going to try my luck as well."
The speaker was Fan Ni, daughter of Fan Guangchuan, the leader of the Alchemy Sect. She had achieved Nascent Soul Formation five years ago and was now in the early Nascent Soul stage. Compared to those elderly figures who had lived for hundreds of years and were nearing the end of their lifespans to fight for a sliver of survival, the gap in strength between them was as vast as heaven and earth.
"Be careful, don't be rash, and return early!"
Fan Ni answered with a sweet smile, thinking to herself: which immortal cultivator does not need pills, and who would ever dare to offend the daughter of the Alchemy Sect's leader?
"Senior and junior brothers, shall we go out for a stroll?" Fan Ni asked.
The other disciples echoed her sentiments, gathering around her like stars orbiting the moon, ready to set out. A slender figure also quietly approached, standing at the edge of the crowd. Her name was Luoyu, the seventh disciple under the sect leader. Her mother had been an elder of the Alchemy Sect, and her father the foremost miracle worker of the Medical Sect. However, these were glories of the past; over a decade ago, both of them perished together, leaving their only daughter Luoyu to become the seventh disciple under Fan Guangchuan.
Plunged into this massive upheaval, Luoyu had grown taciturn. Her naturally delicate and pretty face, paired with her timid personality, made her all the easier to overlook. With no friends and no family, every moment of her life was spent on cultivation, pill-making, cultivation, and pill-making. A year ago, she finally successfully formed her Nascent Soul and entered the Alchemy Sect's inheritance grounds to comprehend techniques—the very inheritance that had caused a sensation across the entire immortal cultivation world. Back then, Fan Guangchuan had only spent three months in comprehension, yet he was hailed as a genius and became the leader's successor, whereas she had spent a full half-year. From then on, the name Luoyu spread far and wide, her prominence even eclipsing that of Fan Ni, the sect leader's daughter.
"You've just formed your Nascent Soul, what are you meddling for? You'd better stay safely in the camp," Fan Ni said, catching a glimpse out of the corner of her eye of Luoyu edging closer, and questioned her with displeasure.
Everyone's gazes turned toward her. Luoyu nervously twisted the hem of her dress, her face flushing to the root of her neck. After a long while, she stammered, "Senior Sister, I—I won't cause trouble for everyone."
Seeing her timid appearance, unable to even complete a sentence, with a voice so soft it was barely audible, Fan Ni felt even more stifled. Just as she was about to scold her a few more times, she saw Nangong Mu, the chief disciple of the Myriad Swords Sect, leading several disciples as they walked outward. Unable to spare any more attention for Luoyu, she hurried forward in a few quick steps to catch up.
"Senior Brother Nangong."
Nangong Mu paused, looked at the red-robed woman gracefully pursuing him from behind, smiled faintly, and cupped his fists in salute.
"Junior Sister Fan."
"Is Senior Brother heading to the periphery?"
"Yes," Nangong Mu replied. "A few junior brothers are participating for the first time, so I'm taking them out to have a look."
"This is my first time here too. Can Senior Brother take me along?"
"Of course," Nangong Mu said. "I hear that Junior Sister and Daoist Liangchen of the Canglan Sect have a happy union approaching. Whatever Junior Sister takes a fancy to in a moment, just let me know; consider it a wedding gift I'm giving you in advance."
Fan Ni's spirits instantly wilted. How could Liangchen ever compare to Nangong Mu? Yet this was an arrangement dictated by her parents and arranged by matchmakers, something agreed upon by both sects, leaving no room for her to make her own decisions. For a moment, it was awkward to agree or refuse, so she could only deflect:
"Senior Brother, please don't make fun of me. We haven't even gotten engaged yet!"
Nangong Mu smiled, assuming it was just the shyness of a young girl, and did not pursue the topic further. He swept his gaze over the Alchemy Sect's disciples, finally letting his eyes rest on Luoyu as he asked:
"Is this Fairy Luoyu?"
Luoyu had not expected him to ask about her so suddenly. Flustered, she glanced at him, lowered her head, cupped her fists in salute, and answered in the affirmative.
Fan Ni had not anticipated that Nangong Mu would notice Luoyu, who had been lingering at the very back like an invisible person. For the sake of her own pride and not wanting to appear overbearing, she hurriedly changed the subject.
"Senior Brother, let's go. These spirit herbs won't wait for us."
The group walked forward talking and laughing. However, Liao Xing, her fourth senior brother who was always taciturn, paused and waited for Luoyu for a moment, then said in a low voice:
"Junior Sister, keep close and don't get left behind. I'll take the rear."Luoyu nodded and hurried to catch up with the others. However, she was always used to walking at the very edge, and suddenly having someone right behind her made her feel like she didn't even know how to walk anymore, not knowing where to put her hands and feet. Fortunately, Liao Xing noticed her awkwardness in time and stepped up to walk side by side with her.
To be honest, this was her very first time seeing such a lively scene. Her eyes darted around in secret, and whenever she accidentally locked eyes with someone passing by, she would hastily look away, eventually deciding it was safer to keep her eyes fixed on the tip of her nose and her nose fixed on her heart as she silently walked with her head down.
Fan Ni had bought a dozen or so medicinal ingredients that could be used for alchemy, but unfortunately failed to encounter any rare Spirit Plants, leaving her somewhat disappointed as she complained to Nangong Mu.
"Senior Brother, how come I never run into that kind of good fortune?"
Nangong Mu smiled nonchalantly and comforted her:
"That kind of luck isn't something everyone can have, Junior Sister needn't take it to heart. Ahead is a restaurant run by Zhiwei Pavilion, I'll treat everyone to a meal."
The others quickly expressed their gratitude. Zhiwei Pavilion's food was notoriously expensive, but also notoriously delicious. Originally, a few disciples who were tight on cash were thinking of making an excuse to look around a bit more and not follow them in, but now that Nangong Mu had spoken, they naturally felt a deep sense of sincere gratitude.
Just as they stepped into the restaurant, before the proprietor could even speak, someone called out from the second floor:
"Fan Ni, up here!"
Liangchen rested one hand on the railing while waving the other vigorously, beckoning to the few people who had just entered the lobby downstairs.
Fan Ni's expression instantly froze. They were both young talents; why couldn't he be as gentle, refined, and graceful as Senior Brother Nangong? She had no idea what her father saw in him—could it just be because he had been injured in his youth and stayed at the Alchemy Sect for a year? What childhood affection; he was simply an overgrown, spoiled playboy!
Nangong Mu said, "Junior Sister, let's go up."
Fan Ni could only nod submissively, especially since their betrothal was already out in the open, with only the formal engagement ceremony left to go.
The second floor was filled with small private alcoves sized for tables of four, separated by dense greenery. Seeing Fan Ni's group come up, the three junior brothers sitting with Liangchen hurriedly gave up their seats and moved to the table next door. The other acquaintances also paired off into groups of four and sat down. The Myriad Swords Sect and Alchemy Sect members filled the tables completely, leaving Luoyu and Liao Xing, who had come up last, to look awkwardly at the final two available seats: one was a table for three with the Canglan Sect group, and the other was the table with Fan Ni, Nangong Mu, and Liangchen. Naturally, Liao Xing would not let his little junior sister go and sit with a group of unfamiliar male cultivators from another sect. He took the lead in walking over to the Canglan Sect's side, gave a formal bow to acknowledge them, and took a seat.
Both Nangong Mu and Liangchen had assumed Fan Ni would surely invite her own junior sister to sit with them, but who would have expected her to intently study the menu, either intentionally or unintentionally, leaving Luoyu standing all by herself in place, staring down at the tips of her shoes with a flushed face.
Luoyu was on the verge of shredding the hem of her dress. Summoning a massive amount of courage, she forced herself to say:
"I... I still have matters to attend to, I'll head back first."
With that, she turned and walked downstairs, caring nothing for the gazes fixed on her from behind.
"Luoyu, sit here. Fan Ni is busy ordering food and hasn't had a chance to look after you, don't mind it."
Liangchen couldn't figure out why Fan Ni, who was always so innocent and carefree, would treat her own fellow sect junior sister with such indifference. If word of this got out, it might damage her reputation. As her future cultivation partner, he had a responsibility to uphold and guide her.
"Fairy Luoyu, come over and sit. It's not safe for you to go back all by yourself," Nangong Mu added.
Fan Ni still said nothing, watching with cold eyes as that slightly trembling figure, uncertain of where she belonged, stood before them.
"I'll escort Junior Sister back; I actually have some matters to take care of on my way anyway," Liao Xing said as he stood up.
"Fourth Junior Brother has family affairs to attend to, right? I was just planning to tell Father today to hand over the alchemy sales in Yunshi City to your family to handle."
If Fan Ni had merely feigned looking at the menu just a moment ago, this was now a blatant suppression of Luoyu. Yes, it was barefaced suppression. Who told the two people beside her to speak up on her behalf? She wanted to make everyone understand: what kind of bullshit genius was she? Did someone like that even deserve to sit at the same table as her? The daughter of the Alchemy Sect Master, and a talent who could never grow up—let them choose!
A dull ache stabbed at Liangchen's heart. He had stayed at the Alchemy Sect for a year during his youth, and back then, Luoyu was the Fifth Elder's cherished pearl. Although she couldn't compare to Fan Ni in nobility, she had been gentle and sensible since childhood, often coming to visit him with various pastries and candied fruit. When he was very ill back then, the happiest part of his day was being able to eat the candied fruit she brought. It was just a pity that as she grew older, she had gradually become timid and lacking in confidence. The few times he went to the Alchemy Sect later on, she wouldn't even speak when they met, and that gratitude from his youth had slowly faded away.
However, this didn't mean Liangchen was willing to watch her suffer bullying. He loved Fan Ni deeply, true, but he could not simply stand by and let her harm Luoyu.
These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant. Before Liao Xing could make his choice, Liangchen stood up, grabbed Luoyu by the arm, secretly slipped a silk handkerchief into her palm, and used his body to shield her from the probing gazes behind them as he said in a low voice:
"Don't be afraid, I'm here. Wipe your tears."
That large hand gripping Luoyu's arm was steady and strong, radiating a comforting warmth through layers of clothing that put her at ease. Luoyu took the handkerchief, quickly wiped her tears, and with her head bowed, followed closely step by step to sit down beside him.