"Baizhi, your journey down the mountain has brought your Dao heart another step forward. That is truly worth celebrating."
True Person Cangyuan looked at the young woman in Daoist robes below him.
Jade Sun Mountain had many disciples now, but few of the younger generation had made much of themselves. Among those who had reached the Reverted Elixir realm, only three or four could be called promising. His own disciple stood at the head of them all. And through a twist of fate on this journey, she had entered the Ancient Netherworld. That opportunity alone was enough to let her learn more.
"I'm ashamed, Master. I failed to find any trace of Zuo Lengchan. Though I accomplished a few small things, all that effort came to nothing."
Xue Baizhi spoke calmly. During her travels, she had truly tasted something of mortal life. She had upheld justice and settled grudges to her heart's content. Amid clear waters and green mountains, she had grasped something of the wondrous workings of heaven and earth; amid the myriad faces of the human world, she had found a still, unshaken point within herself.
Tempered in the dust of the mortal world, her Dao heart had grown ever clearer, like crystal, while the sword intent around her had become keener and harder to fathom.
Her cultivation, stagnant for so long, had begun to show signs of advancing. Void Step remained a distant goal, but at last she could see the road ahead.
"That is precisely why I summoned you today and had you walk the Heart-Questioning Path."
A trace of gravity settled over True Person Cangyuan's face.
"Elder Gu, in your judgment, is Baizhi qualified to enter the Founders' Hall?"
Elder Gu looked grave. He was one of the few surviving Immortal True Persons on Jade