For a moment, the atmosphere in the courtyard suddenly turned a little awkward.
"Before this, had the County Princess ever considered setting foot on the Immortal Path?"
Li Xiuxiu asked Qin Yue.
Qin Yue was slightly stunned. Then a trace of bewilderment flashed through her eyes, as though she were searching through her memories for something.
After that, she shook her head.
"No."
Qin Yue said.
If not for the Attendant Elder from Xingtian Gate who had traveled to Taiyun City some time ago and happened to discover Qin Yue's Glass Mirror Physique, she might never have set foot upon the path of cultivation in her entire life.
For the overwhelming majority of people in this world, cultivation was something illusory and unreachable.
Do not be fooled by how Body Tempering Realm cultivators were as numerous as weeds in the Empty Mountain Sect. Pick any one of them at random and place them in a mortal dynasty, and they would be one in ten thousand.
Take the Wang Family of Taiyun City. As one of the city's foremost cultivation lineages, it possessed only two Qi Condensation Realm cultivators.
Qin Yue truly had never thought about cultivation, because before all this happened, she had believed it was all far too distant.
Only several years ago, when she overheard her royal father speaking with someone at a banquet, had she learned that the Crown Prince of the reigning emperor of the Qingque Kingdom had been stripped of his position for entering a Daoist temple near the capital to cultivate.
The Crown Prince had enjoyed immense prestige at court, yet not a single minister had opposed his removal.
The reason was simple. Immortal Dao ruling the realm was the greatest taboo in this world. No cultivator was permitted to hold office at court, much less become emperor.
Qin Yue had once believed that she would never have any opportunity in her life to cross paths with cultivators. Yet now, she was about to enter the Empty Mountain Sect, one of the five greatest sects on the Chenping Continent.
If one asked whether she was looking forward to it?
Qin Yue's answer was actually no. More than anticipation, entering the Empty Mountain Sect left her feeling uneasy.
"Ever since I was little, I wanted to become an immortal."
Li Xiuxiu said:
"Unlike you, County Princess, I was born in a Village on the southeastern border of the Qingque Kingdom. I originally had a younger brother, three years younger than me. Then, when I was seven, we encountered a drought the Qingque Kingdom had not seen in a hundred years."
"That year, it was the same across the entire town and even several neighboring towns. The fields yielded not a single grain. My father had died in an accident during corvée labor when I was four and my brother was one. Only Mother remained, relying on each other with my brother and me."
"Later, there was nothing left in the Village. Even the tree bark had been gnawed clean by the disaster victims. With no other choice, Mother could only take my brother and me to town to scrape out a living."
"As it happened, we caught the day when relief porridge was being distributed in town. The town yamen runners set up a huge pot at the market entrance, then poured a great deal of water into it.
"A great deal of water. As for rice, there was only a small basinful."
"Rather than porridge, it was more like thin rice soup. Even so, the relief grain distributed by the town was still far from enough to meet the demand. Mother took my brother and me there, and altogether we only received one bowl of thin rice soup."
"Mother knew very well that my brother and I were both already terribly, terribly weak. Only by giving the whole bowl of thin rice soup to one person might there have been a chance to save that person's life."
"Mother wanted to give it to my brother."
"She did not say it, but I knew. Compared to me, she wanted to save my brother more. I could see it in her eyes."
"But what no one expected was that before we could even drink the porridge, my brother died. He was trampled to death by the horse of a steward from a wealthy household in town."
"I think that steward must have been a good man, because he dismounted, carefully examined my brother lying on the ground, sighed, and even gave Mother and me one Cooked Cake each."
"Mother and I survived on those two Cooked Cakes. Later, I met an immortal master of the Empty Mountain Sect traveling through the Qingque Kingdom. He took me back to the Empty Mountain Sect, where I became an Empty Mountain Sect disciple."
Li Xiuxiu told Qin Yue her story.
Qin Yue blinked as she listened to Li Xiuxiu's account. Every painful experience Li Xiuxiu described sounded like a fairy tale to Qin Yue.
She felt it was terribly tragic.
Yet it was also difficult for her to empathize.
For this County Princess of the royal residence, the greatest hardship she had likely endured from birth until now was accidentally getting slightly choked on an osmanthus cake.
"Senior Sister, do you hate your mother?"
Qin Yue asked.
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"I don't know."
Li Xiuxiu shook her head.
"Perhaps if my brother had not been trampled to death by that horse, and I had starved to death instead, then I think I would have hated her."
As she spoke, Li Xiuxiu began to laugh.
Seeing Li Xiuxiu's smile, Qin Yue seemed to suddenly feel at ease as well. She let out a breath of relief.
"But now, Senior Sister Li, you are already an immortal master of the Empty Mountain Sect. At last, you no longer have to be bound by your origins and fate. You can take charge of your own life..."
"No, County Princess."
Li Xiuxiu said with a grave expression:
"Cultivators must be divided into ranks even more strictly."
"Why?"
Qin Yue asked in confusion.
"Perhaps it is like this: I went through untold hardship to enter the Empty Mountain Sect and cultivated bitterly for twelve years, yet I am still merely an ordinary disciple in the outer court whom no one cares about."
Li Xiuxiu paused slightly before continuing:
"While you, County Princess, have only just entered the sect, yet you will become the Personal Disciple of an inner sect elder of the Empty Mountain Sect."
"..."
Qin Yue fell silent.
The gap between cultivator and cultivator was even greater than the gap between nobility and commoners.
Because talent was decreed by fate, and no matter what happened, it could never be changed.
"County Princess."
Li Xiuxiu said:
"Would it be convenient to reveal which elder of Qingchan Peak you will be taking as your master after entering the sect?"
"I do not know the specifics either."
Qin Yue thought for a moment, then said:
"Senior Lu only told me that my master's name is Bai Qiming."
Taiyun City, Market Street.
Once Chen Yan crossed this street, he would reach the city's Consulate Office.
It was entirely different from what he had imagined. Although this courtyard residence stood in the heart of Taiyun City, its surroundings were remarkably quiet.
A young attendant in blue stood at the entrance of the Consulate Office. Seeing Chen Yan approach, he hurriedly cupped his hands in salute, looking quite adorable.
"May I ask, Immortal Master, have you come to see the consul Immortal Master?"
"Precisely."
Chen Yan answered.
"Then please follow me."
The Empty Mountain Sect's foreign consuls were generally Outer Court disciples in the Qi Condensation Realm. So long as they committed no mistakes, they were not easily replaced.
The current foreign consul of Taiyun City was named He Yinglang, and he had occupied this post for more than forty years.
In the rear courtyard of the Consulate Office sat an elderly man wearing the Outer Court Daoist robes of the Empty Mountain Sect, his hair mottled with white. He held a delicate teacup in his hand.
He raised his head and looked toward Chen Yan, whom the young attendant had led inside.
The instant his gaze settled upon the gilded Cloud Crane pattern on Chen Yan's sleeve, he spoke.
"May I ask what business this fellow Daoist from Kongyuan Mountain has here?"
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