Chapter 44: Senior Sister
The wood Yue Qingying mentioned wasn’t ordinary wood, but a special type grown in the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land called Spirit Gathering Wood. As its name suggested, it could effectively gather surrounding spiritual energy. Living in a house made of this wood would be beneficial even for ordinary people, promoting health and longevity.
For cultivators, increasing the spiritual energy density of their living space was naturally advantageous.
This was especially true for those who hadn’t reached the Transcendence Realm and couldn’t generate their own spiritual energy. The denser the surrounding energy, the faster their progress in the Spring Opening Realm.
Although she had suggested they work together, Yue Qingying didn’t let Mingyan help. She retrieved the Spirit Gathering Wood from her Qi Sea and quickly built a small, aesthetically pleasing cottage.
It wasn’t exactly “built by hand,” as she used her spiritual energy to manipulate the wood. As a Qi Sea Realm cultivator, she had precise control over her energy.
“This should be fine.” She showed no signs of fatigue after completing the cottage. Such a small expenditure of energy was insignificant to her.
“Thank you, Senior Sister,” Mingyan said sincerely.
“You’re welcome. Before accepting you as a disciple, Master only had me. Now, with you as her personal disciple, there are only two of us. We should look after each other.” Yue Qingying smiled gently. “Now, let me explain the situation here in the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land.”
“First, don’t form close relationships with anyone in the Wind Spirit Branch. I’m not sure if Master mentioned this, so I’ll remind you again. I can’t explain the reason yet, but Master will tell you when the time is right. Just remember what I said.” Her voice was gentle, a stark contrast to her initial coldness. Becoming her junior brother had clearly changed her attitude…
Her words surprised Mingyan. Although the Wind Spirit and Moon Shadow Branches were separate, telling him not to form close relationships with anyone in the Wind Spirit Branch seemed excessive…
But he nodded. “I’ll remember that.”
“Good.” Yue Qingying smiled, seeing him agree. “Both the Wind Spirit and Moon Shadow Branches are part of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land. Your situation is unique. You’re Master’s disciple, and she’s the Headmaster of the Moon Shadow Branch. So, strictly speaking, you don’t belong to either branch.”
“As a male disciple, you’re not allowed to enter the Moon Shadow Courtyard. It’s protected by numerous formations. Without cultivating the Moon Shadow Scripture, entering it would be harmful. Besides, most of the disciples there are accustomed to a life without men and are quite… casual in their attire and speech. So, unless you have Master’s permission or it’s absolutely necessary, you mustn’t enter the Moon Shadow Courtyard. Do you understand?”
“I understand,” Mingyan nodded. He understood such rules.
“That’s enough about rules. Let me tell you about the history of the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land.” Yue Qingying, pleased with his obedience, began her story.
As Mingyan already knew, the Sacred Land was founded by a couple, both incredibly powerful figures of their time: Great Empress Yue Ying and Human King Feng Ling.
One was a Great Emperor, the strongest being in the world, having achieved enlightenment. Her husband, Feng Ling, was also an exceptional genius, a Human King, who could have also become a Great Emperor. However, only one Great Emperor could exist at a time. Upon achieving enlightenment, the Heavenly Dao would suppress other cultivators, preventing them from reaching the same level. Even at the peak of the Human King Realm, he couldn’t become a Great Emperor.
A Human King’s lifespan was only five thousand years, ten thousand with the Immortality Herb.
Great Empress Yue Ying had found several Immortality Herbs but didn’t consume them herself. After ruling the world for ten thousand years with her husband, they both perished, choosing not to live a second life alone. They left behind two Emperor-level scriptures: the Wind Spirit Scripture and the Moon Shadow Scripture. One contained the essence of a Great Emperor’s knowledge, the other the culmination of a Human King’s learning, refined and perfected by the Great Emperor himself, making it comparable to other Emperor-level scriptures, only slightly weaker.
Although the two scriptures complemented each other, they couldn’t be cultivated together. Women could only cultivate the Moon Shadow Scripture, and men could only cultivate the Wind Spirit Scripture. Attempting to cultivate the other would cause severe backlash and lead to Qi Deviation.
However, if cultivated by a couple, they enhanced each other’s progress.
Therefore, historically, the Holy Masters of the two branches were often couples, creating a unique dual-leadership structure. Thanks to this and their special constitutions, the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sacred Land had once been the most powerful Sacred Land in the Eastern Continent.
Due to the complementary nature of the scriptures, intermarriage between the branches had been encouraged. The Wind Spirit Holy Son and Moon Shadow Holy Maiden, the Wind Spirit Holy Master and Moon Shadow Holy Master, were often couples, and romantic relationships between disciples of the two branches were common. There were even rumors that the two scriptures were dual cultivation techniques.
This wasn’t true. Although the creators of the scriptures were a couple, the two techniques, while complementary, didn’t contain any dual cultivation methods.
Emperor-level scriptures contained the essence of a Great Emperor’s knowledge. Many such scriptures complemented each other. After all, even a Great Emperor’s knowledge wasn’t all-encompassing. A scripture might excel in one major realm but be ordinary in another. This was common. Just because two scriptures complemented each other didn’t make them dual cultivation techniques.
About five thousand years ago, due to the prevalence of intermarriage between the branches, many disciples mistakenly believed the Wind Spirit and Moon Shadow Scriptures were dual cultivation techniques. Combined with the encouragement of inter-branch relationships, the situation spiraled out of control. What was once encouragement became promiscuity, affecting the entire Sacred Land and even hindering their cultivation. As a result, the Holy Masters of that generation failed to reach the Human Gateway Realm, remaining at half-step Human Gateway.
This weakened the Sacred Land and nearly led to its destruction by those with malicious intent. Fortunately, thanks to its deep foundation, accumulated over hundreds of thousands of years, it survived the attack. Learning from this experience, they separated the two branches completely, forbidding relationships without a genuine emotional foundation, disguised as dual cultivation. This restored order and allowed the Sacred Land to recover.
Since then, although romantic relationships weren’t strictly forbidden, the Holy Masters, to set an example, generally focused on their respective branches, minimizing interaction and avoiding romantic entanglements.
Three generations of Holy Masters had passed since then. Yue Wu Xia was the third.
The Wind Spirit Branch had a unique situation. The first and second generations after the separation had Human Gateway Realm Holy Masters, but the current generation only had Wang Daoming, a half-step Human Gateway cultivator. Wang Daoming and Yue Wu Xia had been the Wind Spirit Holy Son and Moon Shadow Holy Maiden of the previous generation. Wang Daoming had even pursued Yue Wu Xia, but it hadn’t worked out.
As the Holy Son, he often accompanied Yue Wu Xia to various events and competitions, but she always outshone him. Her talent was exceptional, the most outstanding Holy Maiden in hundreds of thousands of years. Wang Daoming, however, was arguably the weakest Holy Son in just as long. He was a mere shadow beside her, but blinded by his affection, he hadn’t cared.
Yue Wu Xia lived up to expectations, reaching the Human Gateway Realm at a young age, becoming the youngest Holy Master in history. At that time, Wang Daoming was only at the Rotating Core Realm. Many years later, he had only reached the peak of Rotating Core, half-step Human Gateway, still unable to break through. Although he became the Headmaster of the Wind Spirit Branch after the previous Headmaster’s death, he wasn’t worthy of the title of Holy Master, not having reached the Human Gateway Realm. He was still technically the Holy Son, but he was also the Headmaster. It was a strange situation. Moreover, although the younger generation of the Wind Spirit Branch had some Qi Sea Realm cultivators, they were all quite old, having reached that realm in their mid-twenties. Their talent was mediocre compared to other Sacred Lands, so the position of Holy Son remained vacant.
“If you can reach the Qi Sea Realm within two years, the position of Holy Son might be yours,” Yue Qingying said, a playful glint in her eyes.
“May I ask a question, Senior Sister?”
“Go ahead.”
“How long did it take you to reach the Qi Sea Realm from Great Brook?”
“…I reached Great Brook at seven and early Qi Sea at seventeen. It took ten years.”
“…Do you really think I can reach the Qi Sea Realm in two years, Senior Sister?” Mingyan asked after a moment of silence.
“With your talent, and you’re only at Great Brook at sixteen… You haven’t been cultivating for long, have you?”
“Strictly speaking, I only started last year,” Mingyan nodded.
Yue Qingying’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, then she smiled. “I reached Spring Gushing at four and Great Brook at seven. It took you only a year to reach Great Brook from nothing. Reaching Qi Sea from Great Brook in two years isn’t impossible, but you’ll need a great opportunity.”
“You seem very confident in me, Senior Sister.” Mingyan knew he was talented, but he didn’t fully understand his own potential.
“For Master to make an exception and accept you as her disciple, your future must be extraordinary.” Yue Qingying nodded. “You’ll likely surpass even me…”
Mingyan was slightly confused. Perhaps he should ask his master about his constitution. Not knowing his own potential could lead to miscalculations. His eyes hardened with resolve. “Regardless, I’ll do my best.”
Even if he couldn’t reach the Qi Sea Realm in two years, he would strive to improve as much as possible. He had to attend the Peach Banquet at Yaochi in a year and a half.
“That’s enough.” Yue Qingying smiled and nodded. “If you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I’ll do my best to answer them.”
“You must have other matters to attend to, Senior Sister. I’ve learned enough for now. Please, go ahead. I won’t keep you any longer.”
“Do you have no more questions?”
Mingyan nodded.
“Then I’ll attend to my tasks. Master will likely arrange some trials for you soon. I hope you’ll pass them. Farewell.” Yue Qingying nodded, tapped her foot gently, and vanished in a flash of light.
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