Perhaps this was hell

Far away beside the deep crater, the disciples were also quietly discussing what had happened.

Just as Lan Yue was secretly checking the system and enjoying the drama, Fang Ming quietly sidled over.

"Lan Yue, is this that 'chasing your wife through the crematorium' you were talking about?"

Lan Yue looked up and saw the Scarlet Moon Sect Master swinging Elder Whitebrow around, occasionally smashing him into the deep crater.

Just watching made her ache all over.

"Perhaps this isn't a crematorium anymore, but hell?" Lan Yue's lips twitched.

The others wholeheartedly agreed.

Before long, the Scarlet Moon Sect Master disappeared again, taking Elder Whitebrow with them.

Peace returned to the entire Southern Spirit Sect.

After this incident, the Morning Cultivation Hall would have to remain closed for ten days to half a month. After all, half of it had been destroyed.

Lan Yue finally no longer had to be detained in the Morning Cultivation Hall. She couldn't have been happier!

She had to sleep until noon every day to make up for all those days she'd been forced to rise before dawn!

But she had barely lain down on her bed when an excited voice rang out outside.

"Junior Sister, come out! I'll teach you Sword Flight!" Riding a gilded gold longsword, Li Bai flew up outside Spirit Moon Peak's Protective Array.

Yes, he had come to fulfill his promise. He had promised to teach his junior sister Sword Flight, and he wouldn't go back on his word.

Not only that, he had brought Yun Xi along.

Yun Xi had only just achieved qi induction and had yet to find a master.

Of course, it wasn't because no one wanted her. Her Sect Master father simply had lofty standards and insisted on finding the most formidable master for his daughter.

So for now, she was learning Sword Flight and some basic sword techniques from Li Bai. Once Yun Chong found someone, he would send his daughter over.

Looking utterly world-weary, Lan Yue opened the Protective Array to let the two of them in, then plunged back into bed and bundled herself up tightly.

"Junior Sister, look at the time! How are you still sleeping? Come practice!" Li Bai looked at the beautiful weather outside, then at his junior sister wrapped up like a silkworm cocoon. It positively pained him.

"Senior Brother, you won't be able to teach me." Lan Yue's eyelids drooped, and she felt even more world-weary.

It wasn't as though no one had taught her. Before going into seclusion, that master she'd acquired so easily had stuffed her hands with piles of jade slips and Recording Stones.

Those jade slips recorded the Spirit Moon Peak Master's cultivation experiences and insights over the years.

The Recording Stones even contained recordings of her master practicing sword techniques from the Qi Refining stage all the way to the Spirit Transformation stage.

Naturally, there were recordings of the earliest Sword Flight lessons too.

She simply couldn't manage Sword Flight, no matter how she studied.

"How could I possibly fail to teach you? It's just Sword Flight! There's nothing your senior brother can't teach!" Li Bai patted his chest, his face resolute.

The cocoon-like bundle of bedding shifted, and Lan Yue finally crawled out.

Four hours later, Li Bai stared at his junior sister, looking utterly defeated.

"This shouldn't be happening. When I learned Sword Flight, I flew off as soon as I stepped on the sword. Why do you always fall off the moment you step on?"

"How about trying a different Spirit Sword? Maybe that Ancient Sword from the Blood Pool isn't reliable?"

Li Bai had barely finished his suggestion when Silver Snow rushed over and slapped the back of his hand hard.

Li Bai refused to admit defeat. "One more try. It'll definitely work! Use my Spirit Sword!"

Lan Yue soothed Silver Snow for a while, then silently accepted the Spirit Sword.

Half a day later, Li Bai collapsed onto the ground, looking as though he had nothing left to live for.

"Junior Sister, maybe you should try another Spirit Artifact. I suggest having a round Spirit Artifact made that encloses you on all sides. That way, you won't fall out."

By now, Li Bai looked even more world-weary than Lan Yue. He had even begun doubting himself, wondering whether something was wrong with him that made him unable to teach his junior sister.

"Senior Brother, you're right. Maybe Spirit Swords just aren't for me." Lan Yue also lay on Spirit Moon Peak's grass, watching the spirit cranes flying overhead.

While the two of them were questioning their lives together, Yun Xi walked over with a food basket.

"Why don't we eat first? Then we'll have the strength to practice again."

"I'm so touched! Yun Xi, you actually went to get food for us!" Lan Yue's previously listless eyes instantly lit up. She was moved beyond words.

Spirit Valley Hall was no ordinary distance from Spirit Moon Peak. Every time she wanted to eat, she had to set off half a day in advance.

As time went on, Lan Yue lost the desire to move at all, to the point that she could count her visits to Spirit Valley Hall since joining the sect on one hand!

What an angel of a daughter! I love her!

"Come on, let's eat first!" Nothing mattered more than digging in!

"By the way, Yun Xi, how did you get there and back so quickly?" Lan Yue asked, nibbling a piping-hot Crystal Bun with her eyes half closed.

The food over there really was delicious. It was just so far away! That deserved an absolutely terrible review!

Across from her, Yun Xi passed her a Spirit Dove leg. After a moment's hesitation, she answered honestly.

"I flew over on a sword."

"You flew over on a sword. Even flying over on a sword takes..." Lan Yue spoke indistinctly around a mouthful of Spirit Dove leg.

But only after swallowing the meat did she register it. "What? Sword Flight?"

Lan Yue nearly choked on that mouthful of piping-hot squab.

"Wait, weren't you just waiting beside us for your turn to practice? You'd never learned it before! And you only achieved qi induction a little while ago!"

After arriving, Li Bai had explained that he would be looking after Yun Xi for a while and teaching her Sword Flight alongside Lan Yue.

"Yes. I was watching from the side, and then I suddenly knew how." Yun Xi scratched her head sheepishly. After a moment's thought, she offered another dove leg.

Crack.

Lan Yue could almost hear her jaw hitting the ground. She felt something shatter inside her.

She immediately turned her grief and indignation into strength and bit down hard on the Spirit Dove leg.

Still, this Spirit Dove leg was pretty delicious.

As she ate, she forgot her grief and indignation. Once she had eaten and drunk her fill, she even found her courage again!

"Let's try once more. It'll definitely work this time!" Lan Yue clenched her fists, brimming with confidence.

[System: Host, perhaps you should stop trying. You won't succeed no matter how many times you try.]

[Lan Yue: Why did you suddenly pop up? Why wouldn't I succeed? Have you ever seen anything that I, Lan Yue, couldn't accomplish?]

The system in her mind hesitated for a moment, then kept his mouth shut. He decided to tell his host later that her unstable soul was the reason she couldn't manage Sword Flight.

"Come on, let's try again. A sword's keen edge comes from grinding, and plum blossoms gain their fragrance from bitter cold! How can we say we can't do it without tempering ourselves a thousand times?" Lan Yue's fighting spirit soared.

"I'm going to summon my flying Spirit Artifact again right now!"

"Junior Sister, you're right. How can we give up so easily without tempering ourselves a thousand times?" Li Bai greatly admired his junior sister's courage. At that moment, her figure seemed so...

Hmm? Why was she getting smaller?

As he watched his junior sister's figure grow smaller and smaller, his open mouth never closed.

What happened? How had he suddenly ended up in midair?

No, he wasn't rising into the air himself. The huge rock beneath his feet was slowly rising!

What was going on? Had a demonic beast broken into Spirit Moon Peak too?

Li Bai looked down nervously and met the eyes of a bluestone-colored Spirit Tortoise.

The Spirit Tortoise had just woken up. Its eyes rolled around before finally focusing, and it stared over curiously.

It glanced at the stranger on its back, evidently uninterested, then turned its gaze toward the ground.

"Come on, Er Dan! From now on, you're my exclusive mount! We'll roam the Cultivation World together!" Lan Yue excitedly patted the Spirit Tortoise's little tail.

The bluestone-colored tortoise clearly recognized Lan Yue too. It curled its tail around her and placed her on its shell.

Lan Yue reached out and pulled Yun Xi up as well. The three of them sat in a row on the enormous Spirit Tortoise, with plenty of room left over.

"The flying Spirit Artifact you meant was this tortoise?" Li Bai finally caught on.

"Of course. Since I can't manage Sword Flight, I can't just keep bashing my head against that one option, can I? We need to be flexible and learn to diversify our investments." Lan Yue looked as though this were perfectly obvious.

Li Bai: "..."

"But can tortoises fly?"

If it crawled, how long would it take to get anywhere?