Li Xiuxiu's Past

For a moment, the atmosphere in the courtyard turned somewhat awkward.

"County Princess, before this, did you ever consider embarking on the path of immortality?"

Li Xiuxiu asked Qin Yue.

Qin Yue was slightly taken aback, then a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes, as if she were searching for something within her memories.

Then, she shook her head.

"No."

Qin Yue replied.

If not for the Elder from Xingtian Gate who happened to travel to Taiyun City not long ago and accidentally discovered Qin Yue's Glass Mirror Physique, she might never have stepped onto the path of cultivation in her life.

For the vast majority of people in this world, cultivation was an ethereal concept.

Don't look at the Body Tempering Realm cultivators in the Empty Mountain Sect, who were as common as weeds. If you took any one of them and placed them in a secular dynasty, they would be one in ten thousand.

The Wang family in Taiyun City, a top cultivation family in Taiyun City, only had two Qi Condensation Realm cultivators.

Qin Yue had indeed never thought about cultivation because, before all this happened, she believed it was too distant.

She had only heard her father, the King, talking to someone at a banquet a few years ago, mentioning that the Crown Prince of the Qingque Kingdom had been deposed by the Emperor for joining a Taoist temple near the capital to cultivate.

The Crown Prince had great prestige in court, yet not a single minister opposed his deposition.

The reason was simple: a world ruled by immortals was the greatest taboo in this world. No cultivator was allowed to hold office in the court, let alone be an emperor.

Qin Yue originally thought she would never have the chance to interact with cultivators, but now, she was about to join the Empty Mountain Sect, one of the five largest sects on the Chenping Continent.

If you were to ask if she was looking forward to it?

Qin Yue's answer was actually no. Regarding joining the Empty Mountain Sect, she felt more apprehension.

"Since I was a child, I wanted to become an immortal,"

Li Xiuxiu said.

"Unlike you, County Princess, I come from a village in the southeastern border of the Qingque Kingdom. I also had a younger brother, three years my junior. Then, when I was seven, my village was hit by a drought that the Qingque Kingdom hadn't seen in a hundred years."

"That year, the entire town, and even the neighboring towns, had no harvest. My father died in an accident due to corvée labor when I was four and my brother was one. Only my mother, my brother, and I lived together."

"Later, there was nothing left in the village; even the tree bark was completely gnawed away by the disaster victims. With no other options, my mother had to take my brother and me to the town to make a living."

"Coincidentally, we arrived just in time for the town's distribution of relief porridge. The town's yamen set up a large pot in front of the market and poured a lot of water into it."

"A lot of water, and only a small basin of rice."

"Rather than calling it porridge, it was more like thin rice soup. Even so, the relief food distributed by the town was still in short supply. My mother, my brother, and I only managed to get one bowl of thin rice soup."

"My mother knew very well that my brother and I were very weak, very weak. If this bowl of thin rice soup was given entirely to one person, perhaps they might have a chance to survive."

"My mother wanted my brother to drink it."

"She didn't say it, but I knew that more than me, she wanted to save my brother's life. I could see it in her eyes."

"But no one expected that before we could drink the porridge, my brother died. He was trampled to death by the horse of the estate manager of the town's gentry."

"I think that manager must have been a good person because he dismounted, took a good look at my brother lying on the ground, sighed, and gave my mother and me a baked flatbread each."

"Thanks to those two flatbreads, my mother and I survived. Later, I met an Immortal Master from the Empty Mountain Sect who was traveling through the Qingque Kingdom, and he brought me back to the Empty Mountain Sect, where I became a disciple."

Li Xiuxiu recounted her story to Qin Yue.

Qin Yue blinked, listening to Li Xiuxiu's narration. All the tragic experiences she described were like fairy tales to Qin Yue.

She felt it was miserable.

But it was hard to empathize.

This County Princess from the royal mansion had probably experienced her greatest hardship in her life, which was accidentally choking slightly while eating 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 hadn't been trampled to death, and I had starved instead, I think I might have hated her."

As she spoke, Li Xiuxiu chuckled.

Seeing Li Xiuxiu's smile, Qin Yue seemed to suddenly feel at ease and let out a sigh of relief.

"However, Senior Sister Li, you are now an Immortal Master of the Empty Mountain Sect. You are finally free from the constraints of your background and destiny and can control your own life..."

"No, County Princess."

Li Xiuxiu said with a serious expression.

"Cultivators, even more so, must be divided into different ranks."

"Why?"

Qin Yue asked, confused.

"It's probably like this: I spent countless hardships to join the Empty Mountain Sect and cultivated diligently for twelve years, yet I'm still just an ordinary disciple in the Outer Court with no one paying attention to me."

Li Xiuxiu said, pausing slightly.

"While you, County Princess, just stepped into the Sect and will immediately become a personal disciple of an Elder within the Empty Mountain Sect."

"..."

Qin Yue fell silent.

The gap between cultivators was even greater than the gap between nobles and commoners.

This was because talent was predetermined by fate and could not be changed by anything.

"County Princess."

Li Xiuxiu said.

"May I ask which Elder's disciple you will be after entering Qingchan Peak?"

"I'm not entirely sure of the specifics."

Qin Yue pondered for a moment before replying.

"Senior Lu only told me that my Master's name is Bai Qiming."

Taiyun City, market street.

After passing through this street, Chen Yan would soon reach the overseas consulate in the city.

It was completely different from what he had imagined. Although this villa was located in the center of Taiyun City, the surrounding environment was quite tranquil.

A young attendant in a green robe stood at the entrance of the consulate. Upon seeing Chen Yan arrive, he quickly bowed, looking very cute.

"May I ask, Immortal Master, are you looking for the Consul Immortal Master?"

"That's right."

Chen Yan replied.

"Then please follow me."

The overseas consuls of the Empty Mountain Sect were usually Qi Condensation Realm disciples from the Outer Court. Unless they committed any mistakes, their positions were rarely changed.

The current overseas consul of Taiyun City was named He Yinglang, and he had held this position for over forty years.

In the backyard of the consulate sat an old man wearing an Outer Court Daoist Robe of the Empty Mountain Sect, his hair white. He held a small teacup in his hand.

He looked up and gazed at Chen Yan, who was brought in by the young attendant.

His gaze locked onto the gilded crane-and-cloud pattern on Chen Yan's sleeve for a moment before he asked.

"May I ask, Fellow Daoist from Kongyuan Mountain, what business brings you here?"