The Road Down the Mountain, Crisis Emerges

In the haze, a familiar voice drifted slowly over.

"Shuya, when you grow up, you must remember this."

A kindly old man stood beneath the starry sky with his hands behind his back. He said leisurely, "This world is ever-changing, and danger is impossible to predict. Even the so-called martial Aristocratic Clans can hardly guarantee their own safety. The reason the Hua Family has its present status and circumstances is nothing more than the convergence of fortune and the push of the greater tide.

"If we encounter a true catastrophe... what would become of our family? Sigh!"

The old man sighed again and again.

A tender little girl with twin ponytails asked timidly, "Even Grandpa can't protect everyone? But Grandpa is a Great Grandmaster..."

"A grandmaster?"

The old man shook his head with a laugh. "Compared to heaven and earth, how insignificant are we?"

"In this world, perhaps only the transcendent immortals who have attained the Way and withdrawn from the mortal realm can truly roam the world freely, without worries or cares."

Seeing her mighty grandfather, who had once been so imposing on the battlefield, now reveal such a bleak, yearning expression, the little girl could not help murmuring the words "immortal," her voice filled with both curiosity and longing—

"Ugh?!"

Hua Shuya suddenly opened her eyes. As if jolted by electricity, she flipped up into a seated position and instinctively seized the sword at her side, pressing it against her forehead damp with cold sweat. Her expression shifted uncertainly.

"How did even my childhood memories surface... Wait! Did I just pass out?"

Fragments of the moments before she lost consciousness still lingered in her mind.

She seemed to have played a game of chess.

No, it could hardly even be called playing a game of chess. At most, she had... watched helplessly as the other party dropped a chess piece from his hand. That was all.

The instant she had entered the chess game, the sense of smallness and powerlessness she had felt, as though she were standing amid an endless galaxy, still shook her soul. It had been like witnessing an unparalleled divine miracle with her own eyes.

"Merely placing down a single chess piece actually possessed such terrifying power.

"So this was the legendary means of immortals. This was the attained expert my grandfather yearned for... Truly, they were worlds apart from ordinary martial artists!"

"Miss, are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

A slightly worried voice suddenly rang out, quickly pulling Hua Shuya's dazed consciousness back to reality. She raised her head and saw Lin Tianlu sitting solemnly across from her.

Hua Shuya hurriedly checked her body but found no pain or discomfort. She rose from the straw mat, yet felt neither dizzy nor light-headed.

"Senior, I... how long was I unconscious?"

"Less than fifteen minutes." Lin Tianlu roughly estimated the time and chuckled. "Rest assured, Miss. I did nothing improper while you were unconscious."

"I'm sorry you had to witness that, Senior. My qi and blood were merely a little disordered just now. There is no need to concern yourself."

Hua Shuya breathed a sigh of relief.

But in the next moment, her entire body suddenly stiffened.

Because she sensed something unusual.

The exhaustion brought on by several hours of climbing had vanished without a trace. Her whole body felt light and comfortable, as if the hidden injuries and old ailments rooted deep within her had all been completely uprooted. She was invigorated, brimming with vitality and vigor like never before!

Not only that, but when she slightly circulated her inner breath, she discovered that even the cultivation she had been stuck at for years had advanced greatly. Her inner force had become purer, her qi and blood surged within her, and all four limbs and every bone seemed to burn faintly.

This was... a martial artist's Pure Yang Realm!

After a single brief bout of unconsciousness, her strength was now enough to rival her father's. She had crossed several, perhaps even more than ten, years of painstaking cultivation in an instant.

Hua Shuya grew excited at once. After a moment of thought, realization dawned on her.

Perhaps it was precisely that extraordinarily profound chess game earlier. It had not only broadened her horizons, but had also brought her a transformation akin to shedding her mortal shell and renewing her bones!

At this thought, she hurriedly clasped her hands and bowed with a respectful expression.

"Thank you, Senior, for your gift. I will never dare forget this immense kindness and grace for as long as I live!"

Lin Tianlu: "???"

He was utterly bewildered.

The girl had just vomited blood and fallen unconscious, giving him quite a fright. He had only had time to gather some weeds, spread them into a straw mat for a bed, and carry her onto it to rest.

Not long after, the girl had woken up on her own.

He had done absolutely nothing during that time. Where had this supposed gift come from?

Could it be... the straw mat?

Lin Tianlu tugged up an awkward smile and waved his hand. "Miss, you needn't think too much of it. It was only a little effort. It's just that you vomited blood earlier. Perhaps your constitution is somewhat weak, so you should visit a doctor more often in the future."

A weak constitution?

Hua Shuya pressed her lips tightly together.

It was true that in other people's eyes, she might not have possessed the strength to lift a cauldron, but she was still a person of extraordinary physical power.

Yet this Senior before her had seen through the secret within her body at a glance...

The reason she had followed her grandfather in practicing martial arts since childhood was that her mother had been frail and born with consumption. Hua Shuya had inherited it from her, and had been plagued by illness throughout her youth.

Even after cultivating protective inner force many years later, that congenital ailment rooted within her body would still occasionally bring pain and discomfort.

"I will certainly follow Senior's advice."

Hua Shuya answered solemnly.

Seeing how rigidly she spoke and behaved, Lin Tianlu maintained his kindly smile, but inwardly he could not help sighing.

Communicating with ancient people... really was troublesome.

Especially since this beautiful girl kept addressing him as "Senior," making it impossible for him to draw closer to her. He did not even know how to ask her to let him accompany her down the mountain.

...Though being called "Senior" did sound rather pleasant.

"Senior, I wonder about the immortal Daoist sect on Taiyi Mountain..."

"The sect?" Lin Tianlu quickly came back to himself and spread his hands with a laugh. "I nearly forgot. You fainted before I could finish explaining.

"Take a careful look around. There is no so-called immortal mansion sect here anymore. Otherwise, I would not have been stranded in the mountains, passing the time by playing chess alone."

"The sect... is gone?"

Hua Shuya was astonished. Only then did she have the spare attention to notice the abnormalities around them.

Earlier, she had merely swept her eyes over the area and taken the scattered rocks for ordinary rubble. But now that she looked closely, she realized that these were clearly the remnants of collapsed buildings!

"This legendary immortal Daoist sect had actually fallen into such ruin..."

She walked to a shattered stone stele in astonishment and gently brushed its surface with her fingertips as sand drifted down. It had clearly gone untended for decades. Only faint traces of some kind of writing remained on the stele, but they had long since blurred beyond recognition.

"Things remain, but the people have changed."

Lin Tianlu slowly followed her over and said calmly, "Even those who cultivate immortality and the Way cannot possess boundless fortune and longevity. Whether a hundred years, a thousand years, or ten thousand years, the time will eventually come when a calamity arrives. If a sect could truly last forever and never perish, why would the immortal Daoist mansions of this age exist only in folk legends?"

Hua Shuya pondered for a moment, then turned and clasped her hands. "I will remember Senior's words."

"Huh?"

Lin Tianlu froze for a moment, then could only give an awkward laugh. "Miss, since this immortal sect is gone, are you planning to head straight down the mountain?"

"Since I cannot find Immortal Destiny, I naturally will not indulge in any further fantasies." Hua Shuya smiled faintly. "Besides, meeting such an expert as Senior on this journey is already a fortunate event in my life.

"I wonder what arrangements Senior has for your next journey. If you do not mind, why not come down the mountain with me? Let me properly entertain you. Consider it a repayment for Senior's guidance and gift."

Lin Tianlu's eyes lit up at once. "Of course. It would be wonderful if you could give me a lift, Miss. Why don't we head down the mountain now?"

He had been worrying over how to bring it up. He had never expected this girl to be so considerate and offer to help him out directly.

Seeing how warm and amiable Lin Tianlu was, Hua Shuya secretly sighed as well.

She had truly been worried that this eminent Senior would be indifferent to worldly affairs, avoid entanglements of karma, and refuse to accompany her down the mountain. Now that she could travel with him for a while longer, perhaps she might receive more guidance... Even the slightest bit would benefit her immensely.

"Senior, please follow me."

"All right... Wait a moment. I'll pack up a few things first."

Lin Tianlu quickly gathered the chessboard and pieces on the stone table, along with the broken jade pendant and other items, putting them one by one inside his robe.

As for the rust-covered broken sword he had dug out of the earth, he thought it over before placing it inside his robe as well. If anything happened, it could at least serve as a makeshift weapon. It was better than going bare-handed.

Fortunately, he did not have many belongings, and they could just barely fit. The heaviest thing was this chessboard.

Hua Shuya waited quietly at the mountain trailhead. When Lin Tianlu returned, she immediately took two iron clasps from her robes. "Senior, if you do not mind, you can fasten these clasps to yourself and connect them to the iron chain. That way, you can avoid slipping on the steep mountain path... Of course, with Senior's abilities, this minor mountain trail naturally poses no—"

"Thank you, thank you."

Lin Tianlu accepted the clasps without hesitation and clasped his hands toward her with a smile. "It's truly thanks to your appearance, Miss. Otherwise, I have no idea how long I would have been stranded on this mountain."

Hua Shuya smiled warmly, not taking his joking words to heart.

After all, how could an "immortal" who had lived alone on this isolated mountain for more than half a month be "trapped" by such a mountain path? He was surely only being modest, or perhaps his words held some deeper meaning.

An immortal could joke, but that did not mean a tiny mortal like her could speak carelessly.

The two soon began descending the steep slope together amid mutual courtesy.

Hua Shuya proceeded with extreme caution, placing one footprint after another, afraid that she might accidentally embarrass herself before the immortal.

Although her martial arts were formidable, if one carelessly rolled down from a mountain peak towering into the clouds, she would ultimately meet the fate of having her bones scattered and body destroyed. No matter how good one's lightness skill was, one still could not stand in midair or fly by stepping through the void. Those were the methods of legendary immortals.

But—

Hua Shuya cast an unobtrusive glance at Lin Tianlu following behind her.

This immortal kept saying that he was merely an ordinary scholar with no strength to truss a chicken, stranded at the mountaintop and perhaps needing her help while descending.

Yet now that they had truly set foot on the road down the mountain, his steps were incredibly light, as natural and effortless as treading on clouds and riding the mist.

Such lightness skill is truly unheard-of!

Hua Shuya was secretly shocked, and her conviction only grew firmer.

This person was certainly extraordinary!

Even if he was not an ancient immortal capable of moving mountains and overturning seas, he was undoubtedly an unparalleled expert unseen in the present age.

At the same time, even Lin Tianlu, slow as he was to react, had now sensed something unusual about himself.

His footsteps... were so light!

He had originally imagined that walking along the mountain path would leave him staggering all over the place. Yet after actually trying it, Lin Tianlu felt as though he were walking on level ground, without the slightest sense of losing his balance. He did not even feel that the mountain path was troublesome enough to require the iron chain tied around his waist.

Could this scholar have once trained his body diligently?

But after carefully recalling things, all he could remember were fragments of studying day and night.

"Besides, I've lived atop the mountain for half a month without feeling the slightest hunger. I didn't pay much attention to it before, but now that I think about it, could my body have undergone some kind of mutation after transmigrating and being reborn?"

This... change had occurred so inexplicably that Lin Tianlu himself was utterly confused.

He had neither eaten any strange fruits or pills on the mountain, nor encountered some immortal or grandmaster who passed down cultivation through an infusion. Every day, he had merely entertained himself on the mountain to pass the time. He had not felt any real sensation of becoming stronger at all.

Could it simply have been caused by the environment at the mountaintop?

"Could there be some profound mystery in the ruins of the sect?"

After weighing it briefly, Lin Tianlu ultimately decided to go down the mountain first.

Whatever the case, he would first head down and find a village or town to stock up on food and buy some fresh clothes. As for the secrets on Taiyi Mountain that he had failed to discover before, he could return to search for them after making proper preparations.

After all, such a massive mountain could not possibly vanish into thin air, right?

After walking for several minutes, the extremely steep mountain path gradually began to level out. The temperature rose as Hua Shuya, walking in front, exhaled a breath of stale air and undid the iron chain around her body.

"Senior, we can walk down normally from here."

"All right."

Hua Shuya smoothed her hair and glanced around with faint suspicion.

Why had none of her attendants who had been stationed here appeared?

Could they have been unable to withstand the cold environment and secretly gone down the mountain to warm themselves?

Although puzzled, Hua Shuya did not think too much of it and was just about to lead Lin Tianlu onward.

But at that moment, a faint rustling suddenly sounded from the surrounding trees. At the same time, footsteps approached from afar.

Hua Shuya frowned slightly. When human figures first emerged among the trees, she could not help wanting to question them.

There had been eight people stationed here, yet not one was present now. They had taken her money and abandoned their posts so blatantly. They deserved a proper scolding.

"Why are you—"

"Shh!"

A palm suddenly extended in front of her, stopping the words she was about to say.

Hua Shuya was slightly stunned. She turned her head in surprise. "Senior?"

"Something's wrong."

Lin Tianlu had already moved to her side, his expression grave.

The instant they finished speaking, the bushes were slowly pushed aside, and a middle-aged man in thick cotton clothes stumbled out.

Hua Shuya let out a soft cry.

There was no doubt that this man was one of the attendants she had brought with her. Why was Senior—

"Mm?!"

But she suddenly widened her eyes and retreated two steps in horror.

Because when the middle-aged man raised his head, the shadows receded, revealing a bloody face riddled with holes and wounds. It was horrifying beyond words!

Lin Tianlu was startled, the corner of his eye twitching repeatedly.

"Don't do this to me. This ancient world...

"Could there be a biological apocalypse too?!"