At dawn the next morning, Wei Yuan washed up early and headed for the plaza by the mountain gate.
Taichu Palace's immortal vessel rested in the very center of the plaza. It was twenty zhang long, pale green from end to end, with several folded masts along its sides. It would collect all the new disciples here and take them to the mountain gate.
Wei Yuan boarded the vessel with Zhang Sheng. It had three levels: the bottom carried cargo and luggage, the middle was for servants and attendants, and the top held six tables.
Zhang Sheng casually chose a seat on the top level. Before long, Sun Yu and Daoist Fu Feng boarded as well and sat at Wei Yuan's table.
With departure drawing near, people began boarding one after another. The first to arrive were two youths, each accompanied by an elder. They took separate tables, while their attendants went down to the level below. Wei Yuan vaguely recognized the two youths; they had stood beside Li Zhi and Bao Yun.
Next came a group dressed in strange, lavish clothes that left much of their skin bare. Their skin was dark, and large scales covered their necks and wrists. They all shared a pair of amber-colored eyes. One of the four was a youth—the same boy from the Yan Family of the East Sea who had come to the assessment riding a nine-colored deer.
The Yan Family chose the rearmost table on their own, the only one without a window. Seeing the usually ostentatious Yan Family act so low-key made Zhang Sheng curious.
Just then, two more groups boarded, one surrounding a boy and the other a girl. At the sight of them, Wei Yuan's heart gave a jump. He slowly turned toward the window and pretended to admire the view.
Wei Yuan knew both of them. The girl was Bao Yun, and the boy was Xiao Yu, who had struck Wei Yuan with several hundred sword blows and nearly injured him.
During the Martial Assessment, with Heaven and Earth Madman in his possession, Wei Yuan had carried the domineering air of one who looked down on the world and hadn't bothered with the little things. Now that he was back to his usual self, he felt he'd been rather ruthless back then—especially when he'd followed up with a spear thrust against Bao Yun. Thinking back on it, he felt quite embarrassed.
All six tables on the top level were now occupied, and everyone had arrived. Screens rose from the floor, dividing the cabin into six separate compartments. A faint glow shone across them; they not only blocked sound but also kept out spiritual perception.
Once the screens had risen, Zhang Sheng asked, "Why are they taking six people this year? I thought four was the most."
"This year's admissions are a little complicated..." Sun Yu said.
Sun Yu glanced at Daoist Fu Feng and continued, "Here's what happened. The Yan Family of the East Sea originally went to great lengths and paid quite a price to get Senior Brother Fu Feng to guarantee them third place. Senior Brother Fu Feng did his best, and after the Dao Assessment and Literary Assessment, the Yan Family's young master really was in third place. But during the Martial Assessment, Yuan'er swept all before him and claimed first place without question. That wasn't part of the plan, and it pushed the Yan boy out."
Zhang Sheng asked in surprise, "Then why is he still on the vessel?"
"The Yan Family of the East Sea and the Lu Family of Xuzhou, who had originally ranked fourth, were both unwilling to accept the results. After the exams, they each pulled strings and managed to get an extra spot. So the palace granted five places for this year's overall assessment. But then things changed again last night. The eldest daughter of the Bao Family was originally supposed to go to the Great Precious Flower Pure Land, where a ready-made Dharma Idol was waiting for her to inherit. Somehow, she suddenly came to Taichu Palace instead, and that pushed the Yan Family of the East Sea out."
Wei Yuan listened, puzzled. If places were assigned in order, the one pushed out should have been the Lu Family. Zhang Sheng had the same question.
Sun Yu went on explaining, "The overall assessment was graded on a five-point scale. The Yan boy scored only two points higher than the Young Master of the Lu Family, and the Lu Family had used far more influence than the Yan Family to secure their extra spot. So in the end, it was still the Yan Family that got pushed out. As for why they're still aboard, they pulled a few more strings. But the palace truly couldn't offer a sixth place, so it ended up like this: Yan Ming has actually been admitted to the grotto-heaven below, but he'll attend classes as an auditor at Taichu Palace."
Zhang Sheng was stunned. "They can do that?"
"I heard the Yan Family will make a substantial contribution to the palace every year from now on," Sun Yu said in a lowered voice.
"This—this... Outrageous! Doesn't that mean anyone can get in as long as they have money?"
Sun Yu said meaningfully, "It doesn't mean anyone with money can get in. It means you need a whole lot of money to get in."
Zhang Sheng fell silent.
The appointed time arrived. The immortal vessel shuddered lightly and began to rise. The plaza and mountain gate below quickly shrank, and then the vessel passed through an invisible boundary. The scenery below changed in an instant: the immortal mountains and green trees disappeared, leaving only a small green hill embedded in an endless stretch of yellow earth.
The vessel continued upward until it pierced the clouds and floated above a sea of clouds. Only then did the masts on either side unfold, raising sails shaped like fish fins.
Sunlight fell across the sea of clouds, dyeing it gold. Wherever the immortal vessel passed, the clouds parted to either side. It was like a ship cleaving through a golden ocean, an indescribably magnificent sight.
The immortal vessel gradually picked up speed and climbed higher still, leaving the golden sea of clouds behind. The view outside the windows blurred, and the clouds became streaks of golden light. Yet the vessel remained so steady that, unless one looked out the window, there was no sense of movement at all.
It was Wei Yuan's first time seeing such an immortal vista, and he was shaken to the core. He kept his eyes on the view outside.
Sunset, then sunrise.
A day later, an immortal mountain suddenly appeared in the sea of clouds ahead. From afar, it looked like nothing more than a rugged peak, but as they drew near, the mountain transformed in an instant, revealing a towering immortal gate.
The vessel passed through the gate, and the world around them changed.
The immortal vessel landed in a circular plaza. The plaza was paved with white jade, and a bluestone road stretched ahead, leading straight to a distant cluster of towering palaces. Gentle grasslands bordered the road, lush green grass spreading far into the distance, dotted here and there with wildflowers of every color.
Most of the white jade plaza hung suspended in midair. Looking over the edge revealed only a boundless sea of clouds, with no bottom in sight. Hundreds of zhang across, the plaza was like a giant jade dish resting halfway up the mountainside, without a single support or chain in sight.
Looking out from the plaza, beyond the palaces lay rolling highlands. Several verdant peaks speared into the sky, and pagodas and pavilions appeared and disappeared among waterfalls and pine forests. Farther off, several mountain peaks actually floated above the sea of clouds.
From time to time, one or two enormous beasts or immortal birds whose names he did not know burst out of the clouds. Some flew toward a mountain peak, while others shot straight upward and vanished at the edge of the sky.
Wei Yuan stepped out of the cabin and stood on deck, gazing into the distance. He had never seen such sights, not even in his dreams. Even the most ordinary patch of grass was like a soft, bright carpet, stretching a hundred li into the distance. And the flowers scattered across it were extraordinary too, if you looked closely: not a single one was alike, and each constantly breathed out a hazy mist.
Born into a farming family, Wei Yuan could tell at a glance that this was the finest farmland he had ever seen. If they planted grain here, wouldn't each mu yield a thousand jin? But after seeing the dazzling wonders of the immortal world, he wondered if he was simply too ignorant. With immortal arts, perhaps a field like this could yield twelve hundred jin.
Wei Yuan followed the grassland with his gaze, looking farther and farther. Just looking at that vibrant expanse made him feel his mind growing more and more lively. As he stared, his vision reached almost to the edge of the grassland. Suddenly, darkness closed in, and he nearly collapsed.
Zhang Sheng reached out and patted him on the back. Wei Yuan's body immediately felt renewed, and all the weakness and emptiness vanished in an instant.
"Don't look that far before you've begun cultivating," Zhang Sheng said. "You don't have Dao Power yet, so what you're using up is your Primordial Spirit."
Sun Yu's eyes lit up. "To exhaust your Primordial Spirit all at once—now that's a disciple I'm a little envious of."
Zhang Sheng ignored Sun Yu. Pointing ahead, he asked Wei Yuan, "This is Empty Valley Hanging Green, one of the three great mountain gates of Taichu Palace. What do you think?"
Wei Yuan looked at the white jade plaza used only to moor immortal vessels, the smooth-as-a-mirror bluestone road, the distant, towering palaces, and the ten-thousand-zhang verdant peaks that looked like the abode of immortals. In the end, his gaze settled on the emerald-green grassland.
Then he suddenly asked, "If the immortal path is so wondrous, why are there still so many people starving to death in the mortal world?"
Sun Yu and Zhang Sheng were both taken aback.
A deep, resonant voice suddenly rang out behind them. "Well asked!"
Before you continue