Just as Qin Wan sealed the letter containing the Spirit Stones and prepared to ask someone to deliver it down the mountain, a breeze carrying the faint fragrance of cold plum blossoms swept into her meditation room.
"Master." Qin Wan's heart jolted, and she hurried to her feet to bow.
The newcomer was a woman in a plain white Daoist robe, her features cool and breathtakingly beautiful.
This was Qin Wan's master, whose Daoist title was True Person Lone Moon.
True Person Lone Moon was a cultivator with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, and her cultivation had long since reached Foundation Establishment Perfection. But with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth in decline, she had been stuck at that bottleneck for a long time, unable to advance to Core Formation.
True Person Lone Moon's gaze fell on the letter. Her voice was as cool as a spring: "Another one for that boy named Xia Dong in Pingyang County?"
Qin Wan lowered her head, not daring to hide anything. "Yes. I was only..."
"You don't need to explain." True Person Lone Moon cut her off, her tone calm. "After you joined the sect, the sect naturally looked into your past in full. You and Xia Dong were once bound by a marriage contract, and he holds Dao Registry status in the Great You Dynasty. The sect has long had these matters on record."
Qin Wan's face paled. The laws of Great You were strict: marriage between Dao Registry descendants and immortal-sect disciples was explicitly forbidden. She feared her master would misunderstand and think her disloyal to the sect, or even bring the authorities down on her...
Seeing Qin Wan's expression, True Person Lone Moon softened slightly and admonished her, "Now that you've joined an immortal sect, don't become too entangled with people who hold Dao Registry status. The Great You Dynasty Court granted their descendants Dao Registry status precisely to divide us and keep us in check. In the end, we do not walk the same path."
She paused, a deep, shadowy light passing through her beautiful eyes. "Still, you needn't think the immortal sects are in such a wretched position. Though the sects have repeatedly yielded to the authorities, it is precisely because they exist that the Great You Dynasty dares not squeeze the cultivators of the realm too tightly.
"If the immortal sects were truly wiped out by the Great You Dynasty, the cultivators of this realm would have nowhere left to turn. They could only serve the dynasty as lapdogs, generation after generation. So even the cultivators in the imperial court aren't necessarily wholeheartedly devoted to it."
Qin Wan's heart tightened as she listened. Her master seemed to be hinting at something.
It seemed the waters of the Great You cultivation world ran deeper than she had imagined.
"The affairs of the world are nowhere near as simple as you imagine." True Person Lone Moon stood with her hands behind her back, gazing out at the sea of clouds beyond the meditation room. "The Great You Dynasty can never fully bring the immortal sects to heel. Still, for now, we do need to avoid the court's edge."
Qin Wan bowed respectfully and agreed, thinking her master had finished reprimanding her and would now confiscate the letter, severing this worldly tie for good.
But True Person Lone Moon's next words made her raise her head in shock.
"Still, since you've already written the letter, there's no harm in sending it." True Person Lone Moon's tone shifted; she spoke lightly. "The Great You court is a tangled web. Since Xia Dong holds Dao Registry status, he may yet find his fortune someday. It would do you no harm to cultivate a good relationship with him."
True Person Lone Moon's sleeve stirred.
"From now on, you may send Xia Dong two Spirit Stones each month, just to cultivate a good relationship. I'll provide the two Spirit Stones myself. They won't be deducted from your monthly allowance as an inner-sect disciple."
Qin Wan stood rooted to the spot, her face full of astonishment.
She couldn't understand why her master, who had always been aloof and proud, and deeply wary of the Great You Dynasty Court, would first sternly warn her and then suddenly show such goodwill toward a mortal Dao Registry descendant she had never met, even paying out of her own pocket to help Qin Wan maintain their connection.
But she knew that nothing she did in the immortal sect could escape her master's notice.
Fortunately, she had no ulterior motives.
Otherwise, with the Qixia Immortal Sect's current strength, destroying the tiny Qin Family would be as easy as a flick of the finger.
This path of cultivation truly was like walking on thin ice—more perilous than she had imagined.
But the thought that becoming an immortal would preserve her youth forever and grant her eternal life filled Qin Wan with determination. She couldn't bear to give up this path.
Several days later, in the little courtyard in Pingyang County.
Xia Dong received another letter from the Prefecture City. This one was written in Qin Wan's own hand. A small brocade box had arrived with it.
Xia Dong opened the letter and read it carefully.
When he finished, a look of understanding flashed through his eyes.
Then Xia Dong gave the letter's contents some serious thought.
Miss Qin's reply was much more straightforward this time. She had even laid bare the true reason she had urged him to marry and have children.
It turned out that after her master, True Person Lone Moon, had admonished her, Qin Wan had gained a deeper understanding of the intricate relationship between the immortal sects and the imperial court.
She was a clever woman. After this fright, she had understood one thing.
Since she had decided to maintain her "good relationship" with Xia Dong, there were some things she could no longer keep hidden.
After all, rather than let Xia Dong uncover the truth about Dao Registry status through his own efforts someday and resent the Qin Family for keeping it from him, it was better for her to come clean now.
That was certainly better than being seen as someone who had schemed against him from the start.
Otherwise, all their previous investment might go to waste.
What was more, Qin Wan had her own suspicions:
Her master, True Person Lone Moon, was a great cultivator at Foundation Establishment Perfection, with exceptionally high standards. Even with the immortal sect's scarce resources, she could never be so eager to please a mortal Dao Registry descendant just for a mere Foundation Establishment Pill.
And if it was for the legendary Ascension Order? Given her master's strength and status, she could simply seek out other Dao Registry Lineages who already had children with Spirit Roots and strike a deal with them. She had plenty of ways to do that. Why waste her efforts on Xia Dong, who had no children and no Spirit Root?
But Qin Wan was certain that since her master had not only allowed her to maintain this relationship but even supported her, it meant Xia Dong must possess tremendous potential and benefits she herself could not see through.
Setting down the letter, Xia Dong let out a long breath, feeling as though more than half the fog that had shrouded his view had lifted.
"I see..."
Xia Dong had long known that the words "Dao Registry" were stamped on his household register, and he had guessed that the status was unusual. But if Qin Wan hadn't told him outright in her letter that Dao Registry descendants who possessed Spirit Roots could receive special cultivation resources directly from the Great You Imperial House—resources that could even make immortal-sect disciples envious—he might have remained ignorant of it for a long time.
Once he understood it all, Xia Dong couldn't help feeling a pang of regret.
"What a shame. If I had even the lowest-grade trash Spirit Root, this Dao Registry status would be enough to let me truly set foot on the immortal path."
Without a Spirit Root, mortals and immortals followed separate paths. The direct benefit of Dao Registry status to him was greatly diminished. It was like guarding a mountain of gold with no key to unlock it; his future was ultimately limited.
"Looks like I can't rush into marriage and having children. Otherwise..." Xia Dong understood that he had this status because Dao Registry descendants with Spirit Roots could obtain special cultivation resources. Once he had a child, his greatest value would be gone.
No wonder Miss Qin hadn't told him the truth at first.
Still, Miss Qin had ultimately told him about it outright, and that made Xia Dong think more highly of her.
Though he didn't know why, he would remember this kindness.
Xia Dong gathered his thoughts, held the letter over the oil lamp, and watched it turn to ash.
Then his gaze fell on the little brocade box.
He opened it. Two thumb-sized Spirit Stones, warm and translucent throughout, lay quietly on the velvet, giving off a faint, enchanting glow.
Xia Dong's breathing grew a little quick.
Last time, just one Spirit Stone had been absorbed by the Bronze Ancient Bell in his sea of consciousness and helped him break through the barrier of martial arts. It had taken Crane Stance from "Perfection" into the wholly new realm of "Limit-Breaking," giving birth to Crane Shadow Step.
And now, he had two whole Spirit Stones!
"I wonder what kind of surprise the Ancient Bell will bring me this time?"
Xia Dong took a deep breath and steadied his mind.
Then he locked the doors and windows, took off his outer clothes, and lay down on the bed. He carefully tucked the two Spirit Stones under his pillow and slowly closed his eyes.
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