Zhuge Jingwo's helper

As Xuanzhenzi's eldest disciple and one of the Emei Sect's Four Greats, Zhuge Jingwo possessed considerable power and cultivation.

His innate aptitude was poor. He had relied entirely on his steady temperament, resolute character, and diligent effort, accumulating strength patiently before making breakthroughs. As a result, his foundation in Daoist arts was exceptionally solid. Not long ago, he had mastered the Emei Sect's highest art, Supreme Purity Mystic Gate Formless Sword Qi. Though he had achieved only minor mastery, it already possessed tremendous power. With his master's help, he had also forged the physical form of the Invisible Sword.

The instant he attacked, Invisible Sword Qi shot wildly through the air, while the Invisible Sword itself swept back and forth. Its keen edge was at least as formidable as that of Shi Feiyang's White Light Sword.

The Emei Sect's Swordsmanship belonged to the orthodox Mystic Gate tradition. Its movements were sweeping and expansive, its advances and retreats measured, its bearing upright and imposing. Its strength depended entirely on the wielder's own power. In the hands of a powerful practitioner, it was as unstoppable as toppling mountains and overturning seas.

By comparison, Wei Fengniang's Tianshan Swordsmanship was grand and elegant, while the swordsmanship recorded in the Lesser Book of Heaven was fierce and overbearing. Both relied on unconventional moves, constantly courting danger to seize an advantage. Against weaker opponents, they could end a battle easily in two or three exchanges. But against someone like Zhuge Jingwo, if they failed to win early, signs of defeat would multiply as the battle wore on.

The sword arts Shi Feiyang had learned all belonged to unorthodox paths. This was his first encounter with genuine Mystic Gate Swordsmanship, and he observed it closely as he fought. Before long, he inwardly marveled at it. Compared with Zhuge Jingwo's Swordsmanship, what he practiced now was truly unfit to be shown. Not only were his sword arts inferior, his own mastery of them was lacking as well. The difference was truly that between clouds and mud, and he even began to feel ashamed of his inadequacy.

However, he was a Monster dragon with three thousand years of power, and his principal cultivation was not Swordsmanship but his Inner Cores. His two Inner Cores circled each other at high speed, soon producing the Water-Fire Taiji Diagram once more. He spread his claws, and the diagram expanded with them, forcibly generating a suction within that continually caught and clung to Zhuge Jingwo's Invisible Sword.

He cast another spell, producing Fire Sparrows, fire rats, fire cats, fire dogs, fire snakes... from the revolving Taiji Diagram. They hurled themselves at Zhuge Jingwo in an endless stream, forcing him to cut them down with Invisible Sword Qi, shattering the creatures one after another into clouds of fiery energy.

Within the Taiji Diagram, water and fire gave rise to each other. It could produce water as well as fire, conjuring vast surges of Cold Tide energy that condensed into countless fist-sized hailstones and battered Zhuge Jingwo about the head and face.

Because Zhuge Jingwo's aptitude was poor, Xuanzhenzi had given him no magical treasures for protection, telling him only to keep his feet firmly on the ground and climb the Great Dao of cultivation through his own efforts. Thus, despite having been a disciple for many years, he possessed nothing besides the Invisible Sword he had only recently forged.

The man and dragon fought for the time it took to eat a meal, and Zhuge Jingwo gradually became unable to hold out. Shi Feiyang's water-and-fire attacks grew ever fiercer, their momentum increasingly difficult to withstand. Knowing he could not defeat this Monster dragon and would never gather the herb today, he had no choice but to recall the Invisible Sword. Merging his body with his sword, he became an invisible blade aura more than a hundred feet long, pierced the dark clouds, and sped away through the sky.

Shi Feiyang withdrew his Inner Cores and gazed in the direction where Zhuge Jingwo had vanished, unable to keep unease from rising in his heart.

Now that I've driven Zhuge Jingwo away, will the Emei Sect let the matter rest? Other junior disciples nearby might come to lend a hand. The worst outcome would be Xuanzhenzi arriving in person. If that happens, I'll have no choice but to run. Fighting Xuanzhenzi with my current strength would be like smashing an egg against a rock. It would end even worse than my encounter with Xie Shan.

Still, Xuanzhenzi probably won't come. With his standing, personally intervening because a Monster dragon drove off his disciple would make him a laughingstock. The Three Immortals of the Eastern Sea are all inveterate homebodies, staying holed up at Turtle-Fishing Rock in the Eastern Sea year-round. Besides, they'll soon be crossing swords with Wutai. They won't come here just to avenge a disciple over this.

Shi Feiyang tried casting a divination. It indicated that Xuanzhenzi would not come, but Zhuge Jingwo would indeed return after leaving. Moreover, when he came again, he would certainly bring a helper—and that helper would be a woman.

He could not think which female immortal it might be. All he could do was return anxiously to the Purple River Grass, hoping the Immortal Herb would ripen quickly. Once the melon ripened and fell from its stem, he would take it and leave this place at once.

Meanwhile, after departing, Zhuge Jingwo traveled west and landed on a nearby small island, sighing silently.

He had failed to complete the herb-gathering task his master had entrusted to him, so he could not return to report. Yet he could not defeat the Monster dragon guarding the herb alone. He still needed help. He pondered which fellow disciple in the Eastern Sea he could ask. Even if they could not come in person, borrowing a couple of useful magical treasures would do.

Before he could think of anyone, a woman suddenly appeared on the cliff ahead. From a distance, she looked only seventeen or eighteen. She wore a pink top and red skirt in graded shades, and her lovely face possessed beauty that could topple cities and kingdoms. Her eyes shone like stars. A silver lock hung at her neck, gold hairpins adorned her hair, and a colorful silk sash encircled her waist. In her right hand she held a little Bai jade hoe wreathed in colorful mist, while a flower basket hung from her left arm. Woven from flowering branches and filled with flowers and herbs, it was covered inside and out with blossoms of every hue.

Seeing Zhuge Jingwo, the woman flew straight down from the cliff. She neither rode a sword nor displayed any light of flight, simply floating through the air like a flying immortal maiden from legend.

When she reached him, the woman bowed slightly, her smile enchanting. "This little island stands alone far out at sea. That you should reach it, fellow Daoist, speaks of a great affinity indeed. I have some flower-nectar wine brewing in the mountains, and today is just the day to unseal it. If you do not mind, please come and taste it."

Zhuge Jingwo hastily declined. "I was merely passing through your blessed land and happened to stop here to rest. I would not dare impose..."

They exchanged names. The woman's Daoist name was Baoxiang, which Zhuge Jingwo had never heard before. Baoxiang had never heard Zhuge Jingwo's name either. She insisted on inviting him to drink her flower-nectar wine, but Zhuge Jingwo would not agree and even prepared to leave outright.

Baoxiang could only give up. She then said, "I can see that you are Dragons and Phoenixes among men, fellow Daoist. Why, then, does worry furrow your brow? If you have encountered some difficulty, you may tell me about it. I dare not promise anything else, but I know everything that happens within the surrounding Ten-Thousand-Mile Sea Frontier."

After a moment's consideration, Zhuge Jingwo explained that he had come to gather an herb on his master's orders, only to find a Monster dragon occupying the ground beside the Immortal Herb. Unable to subdue the dragon, he had withdrawn for the time being to seek help.

At this, joy blossomed in Baoxiang's heart. "No Monster dragon has ever appeared in these waters before. It must be an outsider, or there is no way I would not know of it. Since you need to gather the herb, there is no need to seek another expert. I will go with you and slay that Monster dragon."

Not wishing to incur an obligation for nothing, Zhuge Jingwo shook his head and refused.

Baoxiang said, "Even without you, I could not permit a Monster dragon to appear here. You do not know this, but I have a cookbook at home passed down from the Lingkong Immortal Realm. It contains a dish called roasted dragon liver, which is said to be delicious, as well as several other ways to cook dragon. I have long wanted to try them, but I have never encountered a suitable true dragon. How about this? You go gather your herb, and I go kill the dragon. There is no question of either of us helping the other. We would merely travel together, each taking what we need. What do you say?"

Zhuge Jingwo still hesitated.

Baoxiang added, "Then whether you gather the herb or not, I am determined to kill that dragon. I simply do not know exactly where it is. Please point me in the right direction, fellow Daoist, and I will go slay it myself. Surely you would not refuse such a small favor?"