A woman in a blue robe, wearing a yellow sash, stood with her hands behind her back before the mountain gate. Looking down at Muyu Feifei with cold, bright eyes, she said nothing.
Muyu immediately wilted into human form.
Feifei rode on her shoulders, stacking herself into a little human pyramid.
Lu Ya looked up.
The woman was a five-star Immortal Master, dressed like a middle-aged woman. She had willow-leaf brows and bright eyes, pretty but not coquettish, with a dignified appearance and a gentle warmth beneath her stern expression.
Beneath her blue robe, her figure was full and shapely, but the well-tailored clothes and her dignified bearing lent her a graceful, elegant air. She didn't look overly voluptuous at all.
Was this the wealthy immortal beauty who was three thousand years older than me?
The pretty sect master those two girls had mentioned?
Well, she was pretty...
And three thousand years old wasn't exactly old.
The problem was that her dignified, elegant bearing made her seem old at heart!
I'd have to call her Auntie.
Hello, Auntie.
Young man, you're quite something. Auntie will take you to pick out a BMW at dawn.
This was way too familiar!
Lu Ya suddenly felt a little intimidated.
Muyu and Feifei were still stacked up like a little human pyramid. All four round ears atop their twin buns stood straight up.
Though they were a little short on confidence, with Lu Ya there to back them up, they stood proudly stacked together.
Their two big heads tilted upward, and they stood like mighty tigers on the stone steps three zhang away from the woman, not daring to come any closer.
Seeing that the two girls showed no remorse and were even proud of themselves, the woman furrowed her willow brows and asked sternly,
"You snuck out and still dare to come back? Where's Azure Phoenix?"
At the mention of Azure Phoenix, the girls burped. They grabbed Lu Ya and hurriedly changed the subject.
"Master, we brought a man back for the sect master!"
"Look, isn't he super handsome?"
Master?
So Auntie wasn't their sect master?
Lu Ya let out a long breath, silently relaxing his finger from the F key.
The woman was slightly annoyed.
She gathered immortal power and flicked her sleeve through the air, giving each girl a hard rap on the head.
"Azure Phoenix is already in your bellies! And you tricked this man into coming here from out of town. You're grounded for three days. No eating, drinking, or going outside!"
Muyu and Feifei clutched their tiger heads, deeply indignant. They raised their little faces and bared their teeth in a tantrum.
"Nanny, you're so mean! We're not getting grounded!"
"We brought a man back for the sect master... We've done a great service!"
Nanny...
The woman's forehead was covered in black lines, as if they'd struck a nerve.
She gave them two more hard knocks, and their little human pyramid promptly collapsed.
In the Immortal Realm, slender figures were considered beautiful, and being untouched by worldly concerns was even better.
Immortal women hated looking too full-figured, as though they had too much worldly air about them.
The woman quietly adjusted the front of her robe to make it look looser and more flowing.
She glanced at Lu Ya and saw that he was merely an Immortal Commoner. A trace of disappointment, barely perceptible, flickered through her composed, bright eyes.
"How should I address you, young master?"
Lu Ya paused.
Immortals rarely addressed Immortal Commoners as "young master."
Her tone was also very pleasant, without the slightest trace of condescension. She was nothing like the imposing figure suggested by her full figure.
Before Lu Ya could answer, the two girls eagerly spoke up.
"Let me introduce you—this is our nanny... Ahem, this is Ning Zhongzi, the Bamboo Spring Sect's Elder of Discipline and Elder of Alchemy, a venerable senior."
They deliberately dragged out the words "venerable senior." Then they pointed at Lu Ya.
"And this is..."
"Wait, big brother, what was your name again?"
"Lu Ya."
"That's right, this is Lu Ya. He caught Azure Phoenix. Look, isn't he handsome?"
Ning Zhongzi's brows twitched slightly. She clearly didn't believe the girls, and even seemed a little embarrassed.
"Please forgive them, Young Master Lu."
"Not at all. I came here hoping to find a Salted Fish... a place to pursue the Dao. I happened to meet these two children on the way. They said your sect was recruiting, so I came to have a look."
A mortal pursuing the Dao?
The woman's willow brows knitted slightly. It didn't sound very reliable, but her tone remained polite.
"What did the two children tell you?"
"That if I became Dao companions with your sect master, I could serve as Sword-Wielding Elder, join the ranks of the immortals, and get thirty Immortal Crystals a month without doing anything."
"It's true you wouldn't have to do anything. In fact, there's one particular thing you especially must not do. For someone without cultivation like you, doing it would put your life in danger."
What did she mean, one particular thing he especially mustn't do?
And doing it would put his life in danger?
Lu Ya had thought there might be trouble and considered making an excuse to leave, but now that the woman had said this, he suddenly grew curious.
"What exactly must I not do?"
"You must not develop worldly feelings for the sect master. That's all."
Ning Zhongzi made no attempt to hide anything, her bright eyes as calm as still water.
"Can you manage that, young master?"
"A public-facing Dao partnership?"
"More or less."
"Understood."
Lu Ya kept a serious expression, but inside, he was delighted.
Romance was worse than gaming. He knew from experience how much trouble falling in love could be. The reason he didn't mind being kept by a wealthy immortal beauty was that he'd rather sell his body than get into a relationship.
And now the wealthy immortal beauty was saying:
I don't even want your body. Just pretend to be a married couple, and you can enjoy a carefree life without worrying about food or clothes...
Brilliant!
"Not developing worldly feelings is easy enough. But your sect seems to have very few members. How will you keep it going?"
Not developing worldly feelings was easy?
Ning Zhongzi paused slightly, then gave Lu Ya another careful once-over.
Though he was only an Immortal Commoner, he was handsome and distinguished, and his bearing carried an imposing, immortal air.
He also kept his eyes very proper when looking at her, unlike most men, who would let their gazes wander when they saw an immortal woman...
Could a man this pure really exist?
Why was a man like this only an Immortal Commoner?
As for how the Bamboo Spring Sect would keep going, Ning Zhongzi was quite certain.
"As long as you truly refrain from developing worldly feelings, our sect can enjoy lasting peace."
So if they kept things clean, it'd last?
Lu Ya grew even more curious.
"Let's meet her first."
Ning Zhongzi was slightly taken aback, but still courteously led Lu Ya up the mountain.
"Please, follow me."
Ning Zhongzi mounted a slender spirit sword and carried Lu Ya to the Sword Terrace at the mountain's summit.
The Sword Terrace lay to the north of the summit.
The summit was covered in rolling bamboo groves. The bamboo was greener and straighter, like sharp swords thrust point-down into the ground.
Cherry blossoms grew among the bamboo here and there, giving the place a completely different feel from the pine and maple trees halfway up the mountain.
The Sword Terrace was a huge stone hanging over the mountainside.
To the south, it backed onto the bamboo grove. A few ancient pines grew at an angle from cracks along the cliff, and a clear stream beside them plunged down in a waterfall.
Standing beside the waterfall, one could see the scenery across the northern half of Floating Mountain: the sea of clouds in the sky, the rivers and fields, all breathtakingly beautiful.
To the west of the Sword Terrace, golden afterglow pierced the sea of clouds and spilled across the land, as if draping Floating Mountain in a majestic, divine radiance.
Lu Ya stared in a daze, feeling once more the wonder he'd felt when he first started playing games.
Next-generation visual detail.
Spectacular immortal scenery.
The shifting colors of the clouds and light...
Everything delivered a stunning visual experience and an incomparable sense of immersion.
But the grandeur of the real Immortal Realm surpassed even the game!
By then, Muyu and Feifei had caught up.
Ning Zhongzi said to them,
"I'll stay here with Young Master Lu. You two go and call the sect master."
The two little tigers bounced into the bamboo grove, full of excitement.
Ning Zhongzi stood with her hands behind her back at the edge of the cliff.
"Beautiful sunset, isn't it?"
Lu Ya nodded.
"Take a good look. If you so much as develop the slightest worldly feeling for the sect master, this will be the last sunset you ever see."
Lu Ya:
"..."
Ning Zhongzi turned around and straightened Lu Ya's robes. Seeing that his gaze remained level and his breathing steady, she finally relaxed a little.
Lu Ya's curiosity had already been roused to the skies. He had no mind to pay attention to Ning Zhongzi standing right in front of him.
His divine sense spread out, instantly covering the entire summit.
Though the summit was somewhat uneven, it was mostly flat, with several dozen mu of land covered in bamboo groves and scattered cherry trees.
A clear lake sat in the middle of the grove, with several pavilions along its banks.
To the north was the Hanging Stone Sword Terrace where Lu Ya stood.
To the south stood a grand council hall.
To the east was a medicinal garden.
To the west lay a hot spring.
Mist curled above the hot spring, joining the sea of clouds beyond the cliff in an endless expanse, like a heavenly paradise.
Lu Ya's divine sense passed through the mist and saw a pool of clear spring water, with a few bamboo leaves and cherry blossoms floating on it.
A woman rested her pale jade arm on the spring's edge, leaning against the stone with her eyes closed. Her languid sword-like eyes slowly opened.
The instant Lu Ya's divine sense met the woman's sword-like gaze—
A sword intent, as if from the primordial Abyss, stabbed into Lu Ya's dantian.
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