In the second month of spring, the breeze was gentle and the sun shone bright.
Rain Xiang Mountain was bustling that day. Magic winds and streaks of flight-light in every color descended one after another, while the reception attendants welcomed arrivals and saw off departures, so busy their feet scarcely touched the ground.
The enormous influx also brought an endless stream of pedestrians to the Market Ward below the mountain. The disciples maintaining order all wore joyful expressions, sharing in the honor of the mountain's newly ascended True Person.
Green pines waved along the mountain path, and names were loudly announced from time to time. Whether they came from aristocratic clans or illustrious immortal races, these were all important figures rarely seen on ordinary days.
Bi Xingjian stood at the mountain gate looking thoroughly miserable. Beside him, Butterfly-Bearing, dressed as a Daoist attendant, tilted his round face up to look around, dutifully keeping him company.
Such a joyous occasion ought to have made him happy, but being made to welcome and see off guests left Bi Xingjian rather less pleased.
His junior brother becoming a True Person was a momentous event. When his fellow cultivators and friends learned the news, their reactions varied, but their feelings were, for the most part, exceedingly complicated.
Some comforted him, and others offered advice, but it all boiled down to telling him to keep an even keel and not entertain any thoughts of competing.
Bi Xingjian had explained at length that he did not mind, but no one believed him. They all thought he was putting on a brave face.
By now, he could not be bothered to argue. He could hardly be happier that his junior brother had become a True Person. If anything truly troubled him, it was no more than a