After hearing about Eldest Senior Brother's situation.
Daoist Master Lingxu let out a deep sigh. "Sigh, he's another pitiful soul ruined by love. Let him go."
"Let him... let him go?" Ling Xuanxiao was puzzled.
His master's death, along with Xue Yun's affairs, seemed to have made Lingxu somewhat melancholy.
"Life is unpredictable. Sometimes, when you think about it, why live so tiredly? If I hadn't let go back then, perhaps we would have been together..."
Ling Xuanxiao: Master, your Dao heart isn't very firm!!
After bidding farewell to his master, Ling Xuanxiao returned to his mountain peak.
Ling Xuanxiao was weighed down with worry. Eldest Senior Brother, Shu Mountain's most gifted disciple and the leader of the younger generation, was now deeply entangled in love.
How would he support Shu Mountain in the future?
Then there was Daoist Master Lingxu, his master, who was to take over as sect leader. His Dao heart did not seem especially firm either.
This was the best of times.
To attain the Dao and become immortal, to gain Eternal Life—this was the dream countless people yearned for even in their sleep.
Yet it was also the worst of times.
The strong devoured the weak, and the powerful could strip away the lives of the weak at will.
Ling Xuanxiao thought that everyone was the protagonist of their own story. It was only that a select few starred in bestselling tales that ascended to godhood.
While most were merely protagonists of stories that flopped and ended in ruins.
Ling Xuanxiao wanted to be the former.
In his previous life, Ling Xuanxiao had been diagnosed with an incurable illness at a young age.
ALS.
He had no choice but to leave school and move into a hospital.
As his condition worsened, he lay in bed for ten years.
By the end, his eyes were the only part of his entire body that could still move.
Back then, he had only wanted to die sooner. Death would mean liberation.
Living was simply torture for Ling Xuanxiao.
As the ventilator gradually stopped moving, Ling Xuanxiao thought that this was how his life would end.
Then, he discovered that he had been reborn.
He had come to this world.
In this life, he had only one wish.
To live, to attain the Dao and become immortal!!
He wanted to see a broader world.
He wanted to be the male lead.
However, Ling Xuanxiao discovered that this wish seemingly... would not be so smooth sailing.
"..."
Upon receiving news that the Shu Mountain Sect Leader had passed away, every sect came to Shu Mountain to pay their respects.
A few days later, visitors to Shu Mountain came in an unending stream.
The Great Xia Imperial Family had also arrived at Shu Mountain.
It was said that Empress Changsun had personally brought the Princess to Shu Mountain this time.
First, to mourn the deceased sect leader.
Second, to ask Shu Mountain to discipline her disappointing daughter.
Ling Xuanxiao was responsible for receiving the Great Xia Imperial Family's delegation.
Ahead of him, more than a dozen warhorses suddenly appeared, their bodies silver-white from head to hoof and clad in thick, sturdy scale armor.
The warhorses held their heads high and their chests proud, their powerful hooves striking the ground with dull yet resounding thuds.
Behind those dozen incomparably magnificent steeds, a luxurious dragon carriage was being steadily drawn along.
The dragon carriage was exquisitely adorned, carved with all manner of mysterious and magnificent patterns, emanating an aura of nobility that could not be violated.
Along both sides of the dragon carriage stood rows of Imperial Guards in golden armor, holding sharp spears.
Ling Xuanxiao performed a Daoist salute. "Greetings, Empress."
"Greetings, Daoist."
The Empress gave a slight nod, showing the Shushan Disciple every courtesy.
"The Sect Leader is already waiting in the main hall. Please follow this poor Daoist, Your Majesty."
"Mother, it's him!"
Ling Xuanxiao raised his eyes and saw that the carriage curtain had already been lifted.
The mother and daughter seated inside were Empress Changsun and her most beloved daughter, Zhao Lu.
Ling Xuanxiao paused for a moment, then his expression returned to normal.
He did not want the matter of saving the Great Xia Princess to become known by everyone.
He would just treat it as if he had saved an ordinary person.
Getting involved with the imperial family was not a wise decision.
Serving a ruler was like living beside a tiger. The whirlpool of politics was bottomless, and one careless step could swallow a person whole.
Inside the main hall.
Empress Changsun said, "So you were the one who saved my Lu'er."
His master, Daoist Master Lingxu, and his three other martial uncles all looked toward Ling Xuanxiao.
Ling Xuanxiao's expression did not change. "Your Majesty must be mistaken. I have never met the Princess."
"Is that true?"
"Absolutely true."
Zhao Lu took out the purple crystal Image Stone hanging before her chest.
Everyone looked at Ling Xuanxiao's incomparably clear face displayed on the Image Stone.
Ling Xuanxiao narrowed his eyes slightly. This... was 4K ultra-high definition?
That thing was an Image Stone!?
It was not that Ling Xuanxiao had failed to notice it at the time. Zhao Lu's Image Stone had simply been far too flashy and high-end.
Imperial family stuff—I had no damn clue~
Daoist Master Lingxu chuckled. "Please forgive him, Your Majesty. My Xuanxiao has always been so indifferent to fame and fortune."
"Not at all. I should be the one thanking him properly. If not for him, my precious daughter might have been separated from me by the boundary between yin and yang. He is my daughter's lifesaver."
Ling Xuanxiao forced out an awkward smile.
Empress Changsun spoke, then Daoist Master Lingxu spoke.
Then the Empress spoke again, and Lingxu spoke again...
As a junior, Ling Xuanxiao had few chances to speak. He noticed that Princess Zhao Lu across from him kept glancing his way from time to time.
Whenever he looked back, Zhao Lu would quickly lower her head again.
Ling Xuanxiao had a bad feeling.
Could it be... that the Princess had taken a liking to him because of this?
Please, anything but marrying a Princess.
Palace coups, dynasties collapsing, political struggles...
Ling Xuanxiao's thoughts drifted farther and farther away before he finally pulled them back after a long while.
A few days later, the sect leader's funeral ended.
Ling Xuanxiao had been busy receiving guests these past few days. He had run into Zhao Lu twice, but each time, Ling Xuanxiao had hurriedly fled.
Like a mouse seeing a cat.
Once everything had been handled properly, Ling Xuanxiao returned straight to the mountain gate and continued cultivating diligently.
Fourth Senior Sister arrived on her sword, bringing bad news.
The Sect Leader had already agreed to the Empress's request and accepted Princess Zhao Lu as a disciple.
Ling Xuanxiao sighed silently.
Forget it. When soldiers came, he would block them with generals; when water came, he would dam it with earth.
Fourth Senior Sister smiled. "I saw that Princess. She's truly beautiful. You brat are in luck."
"They're all just empty shells."
Fourth Senior Sister chatted with Ling Xuanxiao for a few more moments before leaving.
Fourth Senior Sister's real name was Su Wan. She was the standard sort of White Lotus.
The kind of existence who would be the female lead in a fantasy romance period drama.
Sweet, naive, and foolish.
Several senior and junior brothers all took great care of her and harbored good feelings toward her.
This displeased several female disciples, who would occasionally make trouble for Fourth Senior Sister.
Yet no matter what she experienced, Fourth Senior Sister still maintained her optimistic and cheerful nature.
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