Chapter 75: Extra 1
After enduring ninety-nine tribulations, the Heavenly Gate swung open, and five-colored rays of light cascaded from the sky. Ming Jian Su, sword in hand, soared towards the brilliant light.
The thunderous cheers and celebrations from below gradually faded, and she thought she had finally escaped the drudgery of paperwork.
Everyone yearned for the carefree life of an immortal, soaring through the heavens on six dragons.
Ming Jian Su, a cultivator from the Mingxin Continent, ascended to the clouds and saw a Heavenly Gate, inscribed with the grand characters “Mingxin Gate.” Beside it was a table, its material unknown, where a young immortal, adorned with a golden crown and a crimson robe, sat diligently writing.
Unfamiliar with the customs of ascension, she had assumed that, upon achieving immortality, she would be free to roam the heavens. As she was about to pass through the gate, the immortal called out to her, instructing her to register her name. She frowned slightly, a sense of foreboding washing over her. But she dismissed it. She was in the Immortal Realm now. What danger could there be? Wasn’t it a realm of peace and tranquility?
“Official or wandering immortal?” the immortal asked enthusiastically.
“What’s the difference?” she asked, her tone polite.
He glanced at her and explained patiently, “A wandering immortal finds their own dwelling, refines their own resources, lives off the land, and answers to no one. They receive no benefits.”
That sounded rather bleak.
“What about an official?” she asked.
His eyes lit up, his earlier apathy vanishing. His lips moved rapidly, saliva spraying as he spoke.
He painted a beautiful picture, and she caught the keywords: Cinnabar Jade, elixirs, benefits denied to wandering immortals. In return, they had to complete certain tasks. But what could possibly go wrong in the Immortal Realm?
“There are many paradises in the Immortal Realm, but most are under the Heavenly Court’s control,” he added. “If you become an official, you’ll be assigned a dwelling. If you choose to be a wandering immortal, you’re on your own.”
A dwelling, like a mountain peak.
She understood. “I’ll be an official,” she said, nodding.
He quickly wrote down her name. She took the document, glanced at it, and asked, “Candidate Immortal? What does this mean?”
Perhaps because she had already registered, he was no longer interested in talking to her. He waved his hand dismissively. “Just wait for someone to recruit you,” he said.
She decided to trust him.
On her first day in the Immortal Realm, she received her assigned dwelling from the Heavenly Mechanism Department: a cave in an unnamed mountain.
The description was incredibly vague. What did “a cave” even mean? She wanted to ask, but the busy official, engrossed in a device called the Chaos Mirror, ignored her. She also received a Chaos Mirror, but, newly ascended, she had little interest in it. Her priority was finding her dwelling.
She spent a Cinnabar Jade on a map, but the mountain peaks were poorly drawn. She could only guess. After hours of searching, as the sun began to set, she hadn’t found the unnamed mountain but had stumbled into a strange abyss. Looking up through the narrow opening, she could only see a sliver of sky. The sound of rushing water filled her ears.
She was about to leave, but Undefeated hummed, the same way it had when she had discovered hidden treasures in the lower realm.
Could there be something valuable down here? Adhering to her principle of “never missing an opportunity,” she walked towards the strongest concentration of spiritual energy. There was no water below, only a constant flow of dense primordial energy. It was pitch black at first, but then her vision was filled with blue and red crystals, shimmering with light. She didn’t recognize them, but as she approached, she was blocked by a barrier.
Where there was a formation, there was treasure—this belief had been ingrained in her during her time in the lower realm.
Her initial confusion vanished, replaced by a calm confidence. She drew Undefeated and struck the invisible barrier! Sword energy surged like a river of starlight, and with a crisp crack, countless shards of light, like jade dust, rained down. She reached the red and blue crystals, and a single touch told her they were merely decorative, useless for cultivation.
She immediately looked away, as if even a glance was a waste of her time.
The abyss hadn’t reached its end yet. A strange aura lingered within the flowing energy.
She continued walking and suddenly caught sight of a figure. Her grip on Undefeated tightened, and her eyes narrowed, her entire body tense as she watched the figure emerge from around the corner.
It was a woman.
She wore a crimson cloak, her long, black hair cascading down her shoulders, her head uncovered.
Her beautiful face held a hint of drowsiness, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings.
Her eyes, hidden beneath those lashes, were dark and deep, filled with curiosity. A thin line of blood trailed down from the corner of her eyebrow, marring her flawless skin.
Ming Jian Su stared at her, speechless.
She wasn’t one of those romantic poets from the lower realm, capable of composing verses to describe this unexpected beauty. For a moment, she simply wanted to pull the woman into her arms and lick away the blood staining her brow.
Her heart pounded, a sensation she had never experienced before.
A blush crept up her cheeks, glowing under the red crystals’ light, as beautiful as a plum blossom blooming in the snow.
Could there be seductive heart demons in the Immortal Realm? She grasped at this thought amidst her muddled mind, desperately clinging to it.
She finally moved, approaching the woman, her sharp sword pressed against her snow-white neck.
If this were a life-or-death battle, her earlier lapse in focus would have been fatal. It was unacceptable.
The woman tilted her head, unfazed by the thin line of blood welling up where the blade touched her skin.
She looked at Ming Jian Su, confused.
A wave of protectiveness washed over Ming Jian Su.
Before her mind could even process this unexpected emotion, she lowered her sword. She pressed a finger against the woman’s forehead, sealing her movements, and asked, forcing her voice to remain cold, “Who are you?”
The woman pursed her lips. “Feng Chiyue,” she said.
An unfamiliar name.
Newly arrived, she knew nothing.
Frustration flickered in her eyes, but she pushed it aside. “Are there any treasures here?” she asked.
Feng Chiyue blinked, ignoring her question. “Are you here to take me out?” she asked.
Ming Jian Su stared at her, bewildered. Under her sincere gaze, she almost said “yes,” but her iron will stopped her.
She stepped back, distancing herself from the captivating beauty. “You’re trapped here,” she said, avoiding her question.
“Confined, not trapped,” Feng Chiyue corrected, her tone slightly annoyed.
Ming Jian Su didn’t believe her.
Feng Chiyue blinked again. “I haven’t done anything wrong,” she said.
“Then why are you here?”
“Yes, why am I here?” She had woken up in this place, her memories fragmented, unable to escape. She had spent decades here, alone, in this sunless abyss, drifting between sleep and wakefulness.
But today, someone had appeared, and she was beautiful.
She had to get out! Feng Chiyue’s heart was usually calm, devoid of desires, but now, this single thought consumed her, shaking her to her core, her expression alight with longing and hope.
“When are we leaving?” she asked eagerly.
Ming Jian Su stared at her, bewildered. For a moment, she thought she had agreed without realizing it.
She shook Undefeated, averted her gaze, refusing to look at that captivating face. “I’m not taking you anywhere,” she said.
Feng Chiyue ignored her and continued, “Where will we live? What’s it like outside? Is it fun?”
“I said, I’m not taking you,” Ming Jian Su repeated, her voice firm.
The cheerful voice finally stopped, and she sighed in relief. But then a soft sigh reached her ears.
“I swear, I’m not a bad person.”
“If I ever do anything wrong, may heaven and earth be overturned.”
“What kind of oath is that?” Ming Jian Su interrupted. Meeting her eyes, her blunt words softened.
“We’ve only just met.”
“Yes,” Feng Chiyue said with a sigh. “What a shame we didn’t meet sooner.”
She studied Ming Jian Su for a moment, then her eyes lit up. “Are you looking for something?” she asked. “I can take you there.”
Perhaps blinded by beauty, Ming Jian Su’s reason and vigilance abandoned her once more. She released the spell binding Feng Chiyue.
Feng Chiyue walked ahead, then stopped beside her, taking her arm naturally, her voice soft and coaxing. “When you broke that barrier earlier, a lamp shattered and hit my head. It hurt so much.” She gestured to her forehead.
Ming Jian Su didn’t like being touched and would have normally shaken her off, but seeing a small mark on her flawless skin, she felt a pang of guilt and allowed Feng Chiyue to lead her deeper into the abyss.
At the end was a chamber, its walls bearing traces of powerful magic.
There was only a single bed carved from white jade, its surface inlaid with countless intricate formations, channeling the surrounding primordial energy.
Cultivating here would surely accelerate one’s progress.
But was this the only treasure? Ming Jian Su, who had expected to find rare and valuable materials, pondered.
Feng Chiyue, having reached their destination, let go of her arm. She fumbled around on the bed for a moment, then retrieved a small booklet and tossed it to Ming Jian Su.
She glanced at it and saw that it was a journal left by someone from the past, bearing several seals. It spoke of a younger sister who had been injured and hidden in the Abyss of the Milky Way to recover. If a fated person arrived, they were to take her back, and a generous reward would be given. Ming Jian Su stared at the words “generous reward,” lost in thought, then another booklet was thrust into her hands. She flipped through it and saw only six large characters: “Phoenix Care Manual.”
She looked at Feng Chiyue, her eyes wide with surprise. “Are you a phoenix?” she asked.
Feng Chiyue tilted her head, studying her. After a long moment, she blinked. “I think so,” she said.
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