Chapter 76 - 73: Are You Him?
Qiu Yuehan headed down the mountain under the cover of night.
The moon hung in the starry sky, illuminating the darkness.
The Daoist Sect, one of the Nine Gates and Twelve Palaces, was the most powerful Sect in the entire White Realm, yet it was also the smallest.
Most major Sects, like Miao Yu Palace, had subordinate Sub-Sects, but the Daoist Sect had none. In fact, its ranks were exceptionally thin.
The Daoist Sect only possessed three mountain peaks, including Celestial Mountain itself.
An Array on the mountains separated the immortal from the mortal, while a Mortal Dynasty lay at their base. Daoist Disciples would often hide their identities and descend into the dynasty to experience the Red Dust.
This followed the current Daoist Sect Master’s decree: Daoist Disciples must never see themselves as Immortals, nor forget that they are human.
This decree seemed to be for protecting mortals and maintaining the order between them and immortals, but it was not nearly so simple.
Without entering Yao Guang and illuminating the stars, a Cultivator would forever be under the threat of the Desire Demon.
However, if a Cultivator regularly set aside their pride and truly integrated into mortal life—experiencing birth, aging, sickness, and death, seeing through the Red Dust and their own attachments—the likelihood of being corrupted by a Desire Demon was greatly reduced.
This revealed that the Daoist Sect’s Desire Relief Technique followed the path of the Red Dust.
Qiu Yuehan passed through the Daoist Sect’s Grand Array with ease and soon arrived at the foot of the mountain.
Following the guidance of the Demon Pattern, she found an inn.
A light was on inside.
Inhale, exhale. Qiu Yuehan suppressed her emotions and prepared to push the door open.
’The door... isn’t closed?’
"Let me get a good look. Don’t move."
Qiu Yuehan’s hand froze on the door. She peeked through the crack and saw a Silver-haired Maiden standing with her back to the entrance, in front of the Old Monster. The Old Monster was leaning over with his hands on the maiden’s delicate shoulders. ’Is he... kissing her?’
’This is bad!’
’After what happened to my junior sister, now even the Little Ancestor of the Compassionate Palace is going to fall into his clutches!’
Qiu Yuehan’s heart pounded in terror as she watched.
She had long heard that the Little Ancestor of the Compassionate Palace practiced a path of supreme detachment. ’Is this emotionless Bodhisattva now also going to be trained into an obedient puppet?’
"Something’s not right. Have you been like this since birth?"
Lu Changyuan released the young woman’s shoulders.
Su Youwan picked up the white cloth again, blindfolded herself, and said softly, "No. It started around the time I decided to cultivate the Destined Celestial Dao."
They were talking about the young woman’s eyes.
Red eyes were not a good sign, especially in the Cultivation Realm.
Most of the time, red eyes signified corruption by a Desire Demon. When Xia Lianxue’s mind was invaded by one, her eyes had turned scarlet. Yet the Silver-haired Maiden before him showed no signs of such corruption.
Lu Changyuan hadn’t sensed even the slightest hint of a Desire Demon’s aura on Su Youwan before either.
’How strange.’
"So, Youwan has to keep her eyes covered with this white cloth, otherwise she would frighten people. Can’t even you tell what the problem is, Young Master Lu?"
Everyone in the Compassionate Palace, from the top down, had looked into it, but no one could figure it out.
Lu Changyuan shook his head, then narrowed his eyes.
’He’d really never seen a case like this before.’
"Could it be possible that it’s simply a case of your qi and blood surging into your eyes, causing them to turn red?"
’Since he couldn’t see any issues from the perspective of Magic, he decided to consider it from a mortal angle.’
Su Youwan said, "The palace invited someone from the Walking Pill Sect. They said there was nothing wrong."
Lu Changyuan nodded and said decisively, "Then leave it be. You don’t want to create a problem by trying to ’fix’ it."
’As the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. What if the ’cure’ destroyed her Dao and killed her? That would be a complete disaster.’
After a brief pause, Lu Changyuan waved his hand and threw the door open. Qiu Yuehan stumbled inside.
"Why didn’t you knock?"
Qiu Yuehan immediately felt as if thorns were pricking her back. She thought for a moment before finally calling out, "Master."
’An idea had just struck her.’
’If she could just place a small moral shackle on Lu Changyuan, wouldn’t she be safe?’
Before Lu Changyuan could speak, the Third Princess turned around, looked Qiu Yuehan up and down, and said impassively, "You two... have this kind of dynamic? First, you were playing the part of a father to Miss Xia, and now you’re taking on a disciple..."
"Go on, get out of here," Lu Changyuan snapped.
Su Youwan’s lips curled into a smile. She picked up her birdcage. "I’ll go rest in the next room. Young Master Lu, please don’t let Youwan hear anything improper. Youwan is a woman of the cloth and must focus on her cultivation."
With a smile playing on her lips, the Silver-haired Maiden walked out.
Only then did Lu Changyuan turn to look at Qiu Yuehan. The cool and aloof White Skirt Fairy stood perfectly straight. Her hair was unbound, a smooth fall of black that cascaded over her upright back all the way to her slender waist. In the candlelight, her long legs looked like deadly blades, enough to make one’s heart skip a beat.
Qiu Yuehan spoke first. "My junior sister is very worried about you."
Lu Changyuan said nonchalantly, "Why are you suddenly calling me ’Master’?"
"The Daoist Sect Master calls me his junior sister."
Qiu Yuehan gritted her teeth. "And I’ve received your inheritance, so there’s nothing wrong with calling you Master. Besides, I still have... on my shoulder... the Demon Pattern!"
A half-smile played on Lu Changyuan’s lips. "Without a kowtow, it doesn’t count as a formal apprenticeship. At best, you’re an unofficial disciple. By the way, are you sure you don’t want me to remove that Demon Pattern? You’ve already mastered the basics of the Heart Method, so you can continue cultivating on your own."
"No!"
A rebellious impulse suddenly surged through Qiu Yuehan.
In truth, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse the benefits the Demon Pattern provided.
’Just think about what she had gained: a Heart Method, Swordsmanship, and the Red Dust Intent.’
’How could she possibly let go of such a celestial opportunity?’
’Qiu Yuehan admitted to herself that she was greedy. Worst case, once her cultivation was powerful enough, she would become the most obedient sword in Lu Changyuan’s hand. Wouldn’t that be repayment enough?’
A voice sounded from behind her. "To face your desires head-on... you’re stronger than I was in my youth."
The Moon Fairy turned and saw a figure in red standing in the doorway.
Qiu Yuehan froze, her cheeks flushing slightly. But Jiang Jiayi simply said, "Surprised? If I hadn’t followed you, how would you have gotten down the mountain so easily? Did you really think you can come and go from the Daoist Sect as you please?"
Lu Changyuan handed a letter to Qiu Yuehan. "Give this to your junior sister for me. I won’t be entering the Daoist Sect for the time being."
’People would die if I went in.’
’Best not to risk it.’
Jiang Jiayi walked up to Lu Changyuan and asked softly, "Are you the Sect Leader?"
A thousand years ago, five hundred years after the Chang’an Daoist entered Yao Guang, he held a grand disciple recruitment ceremony.
Both Jiang Jiayi and the current Daoist Sect Master joined the Sect during that ceremony. By then, the Chang’an Daoist had already lost his original face and his emotions, wearing a Platinum Mask day and night. Few in the world knew what he truly looked like.
Even Jiang Jiayi herself had only seen the Chang’an Daoist’s true face a handful of times... It was a face riddled with sword scars, a terrifying sight.
But that was the face Jiang Jiayi had remembered for all these years.
She looked at Lu Changyuan, thinking, ’Without the scars, and a bit younger... he would look just like this.’
"I want a straight answer. Are you him?"
Jiang Jiayi’s mind flooded with memories.
The recruitment ceremony had been a test of character. Her talent was unparalleled, and she possessed an Innate Sword Body. It should have been a certainty that she would become the Chang’an Daoist’s sole True Disciple. But she lost to the one who was now the Daoist Sect Master, ultimately becoming a shared disciple to the other Peak Masters instead.