In a small village reduced to broken walls and shattered halberds, two boys of twelve or thirteen lay collapsed before a burned house. Under the shade of a nearby tree, a younger child leaned against the roots, sleeping soundly. Just then, a streak of light shot over from afar and landed in the village's ruins. When the light faded, it revealed a cultivator who had arrived on a flying sword, with several more streaks of light following behind him.
Still groggy, Ye Yun felt the wind blowing fiercely around him. He also felt as though he were suspended in midair. When he opened his eyes, he was nearly scared to death. Clusters of white clouds beneath his feet were rapidly sweeping backward, yet he was standing on nothing at all, simply floating in the air.
"Mom! Help! I don't want to die!" Ye Yun's childish wail suddenly rang out in the sky.
"Oh, little fellow, you're awake? You were sleeping so soundly that I didn't wake you. Don't worry, we're Qingyun disciples, not bad people. As long as you don't move around, you definitely won't fall. Even if you really do fall, I can save you before you hit the ground, so there's absolutely no need to worry about your safety."
Just as Ye Yun was at a loss, a magnetic voice sounded behind him. Once he understood what it had said, he immediately relaxed. Since they were Qingyun disciples, there was nothing to worry about. But why was he floating in the air? Shouldn't he have been standing on a sword?
With that question in mind, Ye Yun cautiously turned his small body and looked around. He discovered that he really was floating in the air, but an invisible wall beneath him supported his body. Below and behind him was an ancient-looking longsword.
"Little fellow, don't listen to him. He's just scaring you. You're protected by his escaping light, so you can't fall. Feel free to move around. If you actually fell, his fellow disciples would laugh at him for the rest of his life." At that moment, another voice sounded beside him.
Ye Yun turned his head and saw another young man flying on a sword beside him. Lin Jingyu lay peacefully in front of him, with only his feet resting on the sword. The rest of his body, like Ye Yun's, floated in the air.
Seeing this, Ye Yun's heart stirred. Tilting his head in confusion, he asked, "Are you immortals? Are you taking Little Yun'er to the Immortal Realm?"
The young man burst into laughter. "We aren't immortals. We're disciples of Qingyun Mountain. We happened to pass by and saw you. Little fellow, do you want to soar above the nine heavens on a flying sword like us someday?"
"Yes!" Ye Yun nodded vigorously. Ever since he was young, he had greatly envied the martial arts masters on television who could leap across rooftops and fly over walls. Later, after watching Chinese Paladin, he had envied Li Xiaoyao even more for being able to fly on a sword. Now that he had the chance, how could he let it slip away? Besides, this was a necessary condition for whether he could return home.
"You really are a child. Still, with your aptitude, and after what happened in the village, the masters and uncles will definitely accept you into the sect. I just don't know whether that will be your fortune or your misfortune." The man sighed softly, gave Ye Yun a smile, then focused on controlling his sword.
Seeing that everyone else was concentrating on flying their swords and no longer paying attention to him, Ye Yun widened his bright eyes and constantly surveyed the scenery around him. This was not his first time looking down at the earth from high above, but the previous time had been on a plane, at night. The ground had been pitch-black, and he could only vaguely make out a few blurry shapes. Now, not only was it daytime, but there was nothing beneath his feet at all. The rush of adrenaline made his head spin a little. Still, when he imagined himself someday standing in flowing white robes atop an immortal sword, the fear in his heart faded somewhat.
It had to be said that the vegetation in this unpolluted, sparsely populated world was truly splendid. As far as the eye could see beneath his feet, everything was green. If not for the rolling mountains and white clouds constantly sweeping past him, Ye Yun would have thought he was standing still.
Cao Miao Village had originally been within Qingyun Mountain's sphere of influence and was not far away. They were flying on swords at tremendous speed, and Ye Yun had awakened midway through the journey, not knowing how far they had already traveled before then. Thus, only a few minutes later, they arrived at Qingyun Mountain.
Qingyun Mountain truly deserved its reputation as a great righteous sect. Most of its buildings stood among perilous peaks, appearing and disappearing amid the clouds and mist. Many immortal cranes soared between the mountains, while some structures had even been built directly atop leveled mountaintops. Cloud bridges connected certain peaks to one another. It was both majestic and beautiful, utterly magnificent.
Although he had often seen scenes like this on television and in movies, it was his first time truly experiencing one in person. He could not help looking around from side to side. Whenever he saw something interesting, he would curiously walk over and touch it. The Qingyun Sect disciple leading him found this rather amusing and did not urge him onward. He had his fellow disciples first take the still-unconscious Zhang Xiaofan and Lin Jingyu away to rest, while he followed behind Ye Yun with great interest.
After satisfying his curiosity, Ye Yun withdrew his gaze. He would be living here from now on, so there would be plenty of time to look around. There was no need to rush. He turned to the Qingyun Sect disciple following behind him and said, "Big brother, I've seen enough. Let's go!"
The Qingyun Sect disciple smiled faintly. "Little fellow, stay close. You're not yet a Qingyun Sect disciple, so you mustn't wander around. There are cliffs everywhere here. One careless step, and you could fall to your death. Don't run about."
Ye Yun naturally understood that much. He sweetly replied, "Got it," then obediently followed behind the man. Before long, they arrived in a room with four beds. Lin Jingyu and Zhang Xiaofan lay resting on two of them.
After bringing Ye Yun into the room, the man told him to rest there and wait for their master's summons. He then turned to leave, but Ye Yun stopped him because he was hungry. It could not be helped; children were still growing and digested food quickly. He had been hungry for a long while.
The man thought for a moment, then took out a small bottle from his robes. From the exquisite porcelain vial, he poured out a pea-sized pill and handed it to Ye Yun with a smile. "This is called a Bigu Pill. It can't be used for cultivation, but it can keep you from feeling hungry for a day. It isn't mealtime yet, so eat this to tide yourself over."
Curiously, Ye Yun accepted the yellow-orange, pea-sized pill and sniffed it. He found that it gave off a faint herbal fragrance. He knew the man could not possibly mean him harm, so after smelling it, he tossed it into his mouth. To his surprise, the pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, needing no chewing. It was sweet, much like candy, but carried an additional faint fragrance. After swallowing it, not only was his hunger immediately gone, but his entire body felt refreshed.
The Qingyun Sect disciple smiled at this, turned and left, closing the door behind him. Seeing this, Li Yun climbed onto an empty bed and lay down, pondering the road ahead.
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