Legend had it that the immortals had left the royal family a treasure for sending messages across ten thousand miles.
As the Immortal Ceremony approached once every ten years, the immortals would send a message to the emperor.
At that moment, the golden bell rang, signifying that the immortals had sent the emperor a message.
At last, I'll get to see an immortal! Li Ji'an felt a surge of excitement stir within him.
He had crossed into this world and lived three lives, yet he still had no idea what kind of "immortals" this world's immortals were.
Were they like the immortals in A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, or like the Jade Emperor in the Heavenly Court?
But none of that mattered. As long as they weren't the kind of "immortals" from Dao of the Bizarre Immortal, he could accept them.
"The golden bell has rung. The immortal master will descend in about ten days. Have you mastered the Floating Duckweed Steps?" Interrupted by the Nine Bell Chimes, Ning Sujin dropped the previous argument. A hint of worry laced her voice.
Li Ji'an felt puzzled too.
When he'd seen Ning Sujin earlier that day, he'd asked her about Ning Yutan's fortune, and she'd told him it hadn't changed.
He'd assumed that the great ill fortune would come on the road. But the danger along the way had been averted, and even now her fortune remained dire. Li Ji'an couldn't help but wonder.
Would danger strike in the days before the immortal master arrived?
Or...
Could there still be danger after she followed the immortal master and ascended to the Immortal Realm?
"I've mastered it!" Sensing the thread of worry in Ning Sujin's voice, Ning Yutan suppressed the smugness that had almost slipped out and answered honestly.
Ning Sujin shot her a sidelong glance. "Believe it or not, I still sense that great ill fortune awaits you. Keep your wits about you in all things, even if you're following the immortal master to ascend..."
"..." Ning Yutan's eyes flew wide open as she stared at Ning Sujin in disbelief.
Great ill fortune even while following the immortal master?
That was far too blasphemous. If anyone else heard her, they might accuse her of disrespecting the immortal master.
For a moment, Ning Yutan couldn't tell whether Ning Sujin's repeated warnings of "great ill fortune" were just a delusion or something more.
When she'd first been selected as an immortal seedling, Ning Sujin had casually warned her of great ill fortune. Ning Yutan had thought she was cursing her. Later, when Ning Sujin had solemnly warned her again on the road, she'd taken it seriously—and it had turned out that she'd escaped a deadly peril. Thinking Ning Sujin must have received a secret warning from someone in the Su Family, she'd even felt grateful to her.
But now, Ning Sujin was still telling her that she was doomed to great ill fortune—and even that following the immortal master could bring disaster.
She had no choice but to reconsider what Ning Sujin had been saying.
Could that old woman's long-rumored delusions actually be real? Without thinking, Ning Yutan looked at Ning Sujin with a flicker of doubt.
Seeing that familiar look of distrust, Ning Sujin's face darkened at once. "You can't save someone determined to die! Just pretend I never said anything."
"Yutan, don't you know Sister Jin's character? Do you think she'd go on like this unless she was sure? Better to believe it and be safe than dismiss it and regret it. Be careful in everything." Seeing the sisters fall out again, Li Ji'an stepped in to mediate.
Ning Yutan glanced at Li Ji'an, then caught Ning Sujin's dark expression out of the corner of her eye. She obediently nodded. "Mm, Brother Li is right. I'll be careful. Thank you."
"You should be thanking your sister!" Li Ji'an said with a smile and a shake of his head.
"Who needs her thanks!" Ning Sujin gave a cold snort before he could finish, then turned away.
Li Ji'an could only smile wryly. He thought it over, but in the end said nothing more. The immortal master would take Ning Yutan away in ten days, and the two sisters would soon have to part ways. He'd find out how that went soon enough.
"Immortal seedling Ning, an edict from the palace master: proceed to the Immortal Hall immediately!" Just then, a nasal voice called from outside the courtyard.
The palace master was none other than the current emperor.
Once one entered the Immortal Seeking Palace, one had to address him as the palace master, not the emperor.
Ning Yutan didn't dare delay and hurried out the door.
As soon as Ning Yutan left, Ning Sujin followed without hesitation, seemingly eager to avoid being alone with Li Ji'an.
Li Ji'an raised an eyebrow, half amused and half helpless. "Sister Jin..."
"It's still the same as before. There are no signs of ill fortune!" Ning Sujin cut him off and gave him her answer.
"Wait, Sister Jin! I wasn't asking about anyone's fortune," Li Ji'an hurried to explain.
Ning Sujin looked a little surprised and stopped in her tracks. "You're actually not worried about fortune anymore?"
"Not quite. Let's just say I have two things to ask." Li Ji'an gave her a shameless grin.
"Heh, I knew it. What else?"
"Where did you see the immortal ten years ago? Did the immortal master notice you?" Li Ji'an asked bluntly. From what he'd learned by dropping hints over the past two months, when an immortal master descended, ordinary people had to keep away. They weren't allowed to spy on the immortal.
Of course, that was a rule the emperor had made. At least, someone had once accidentally seen an immortal master descend, and the immortal master hadn't reacted at all. It was the emperor who'd stepped in and severely punished the onlooker.
"You want to see the immortal too?"
"If I go see the immortal, what will my fortune be?"
"Just come with me when the time comes," Ning Sujin replied confidently.
"Thank you, Sister Jin!"
With Ning Sujin's promise, Li Ji'an felt much more at ease.
Whatever else happened, he couldn't give up the chance to become an immortal. Still, he was uneasy about the unknown Immortal Realm. He could only do his best to avoid risks: first, he'd get a look at the "immortal" and rule out the kind that was obviously fake.
After seeing Ning Sujin off, Li Ji'an was just about to close the door when a small figure approached, looking timid.
Li Ji'an furrowed his brow slightly as he looked at Zhao Yunsheng, who was not yet ten, and sighed inwardly.
Zhao Yunsheng was the legitimate grandson of Prince Yun. He should have been enjoying a life of luxury in Yunzhou, but because of the attack on the immortal seedlings three months ago, Prince Yun had sent him to the Immortal Seeking Palace a few days earlier.
The main thing was that his talent was nothing special. He hadn't qualified to enter the Immortal Seeking Palace at all. The exception had clearly been made to keep him as a hostage.
By a strange coincidence, the boy had been assigned to a wing-room beside Li Ji'an's.
And for some reason, once he'd heard Li Ji'an was from Chong'an Prefecture, he'd grown even closer to him.
"Brother Li, were those two sisters just now from the Duke Dingguo's residence?"
"That's right. You know about the Duke Dingguo?" Li Ji'an suddenly sensed something and turned the question back on him, fishing for information.
Zhao Yunsheng blinked. "I... I heard my grandfather mention it."
"Did your grandfather tell you to spend more time with the young ladies of the Duke's residence?"
"Y-yes... Oh, no, he didn't, he didn't..."
Li Ji'an had meant to say more, but in the end he shook his head and let it go. He had no interest in getting involved in these affairs.
"Did you need something?"
"I'm still scared on my own. I want to sleep with you again."
Li Ji'an gave an awkward smile. "We agreed on this yesterday. It was the last night.
"Besides, this is the Immortal Seeking Palace, the safest place in the whole world. Even the immortal master will descend here, so you can rest easy.
"And your cousin is an immortal seedling this time around. You can ask him for anything you need."
"My grandfather won't let me!"
"Brother Li... you're like my own brother..."
"All right, all right. Same rule as before: if you wet the bed, you'll have to carry your quilt outside and hang it out to dry." Seeing the little boy's timid expression, Li Ji'an finally relented.
As the immortal's descent drew closer, the entire Immortal Seeking Palace grew busy.
All eight immortal seedlings had been moved into the inner Immortal Hall, where no outsiders could even catch sight of them.
At dawn on the eighth day, Li Ji'an finally received Ning Sujin's summons.
"I've gone over it again and again. If we hide in the side room beside the Immortal Hall now, there'll be no sign of ill fortune! This is also the best place to see the immortal up close."
When they reached the side room beside the Immortal Hall, Li Ji'an's passive sense again confirmed there was absolutely no danger. The two of them perfectly evaded the Golden Saber Guards changing shifts and the Shadow Guard, whose attention had been drawn to a bird flying west. They slipped into the cramped room without a hitch.
The room was a ventilation passage for the main hall. It had honeycomb-like air holes on both sides, allowing them to see the sky above the hall as well as part of its interior.
The only thing they hadn't accounted for was how tiny the room was. Once they squeezed inside, there wasn't a sliver of space left. Their bodies had to press tightly together, their faces almost touching.
And as soon as they'd squeezed in, the patrol guards could already be heard outside.
That meant the two of them would have to stay cramped together in the room until the immortal master led the immortal seedlings in their ascension.
At least three days and three nights!
Before you continue