An unbroken mountain range appeared on the distant horizon, wrapped in mist like a wondrous veil of white gauze, ever shifting and changing. Through that gauze, peaks loomed here and there, thrusting abruptly into the heavens, a thousand summits vying in elegance. This scenery, like an immortal paradise in the mortal world, left the country bumpkin Li Xiaoya utterly spellbound.
Fairy Qingxia flew so swiftly that they were above the mountains in the blink of an eye, descending until they skimmed the peaks. Most were enormous, shoot-shaped mountains that rose from the earth like stone pillars. Some resembled Guanyin, others old men, and still others treasured swords, taking every imaginable form, each astonishingly lifelike. All manner of ancient green pines grew upon them, taking stone as their mother and clouds as their milk. Their roots intertwined, their trunks twisted like powerful dragons, and their flat crowns spread with vigorous branches. Upright or leaning, they clung to summits and mountainsides in a thousand poses, dotted with mountain flowers in a riot of purple and red. Now and then, white egrets and cranes flew out of the valleys. What a picture of divine mountains and immortal splendor.
"Wow! This place is so beautiful! Sister Qingxia, where are we?" Completely captivated by the marvelous scenery, Li Xiaoya had even begun speaking more sweetly.
"This is the Divine Path Mountain range on the border of the Liang Kingdom. Our Heavenly Dao Sect is based on Divine Path Mountain within this range," Fairy Qingxia explained with a smile, apparently in a good mood herself.
"You're so lucky, then! You get to see scenery like this every day!" Li Xiaoya exclaimed enviously.
"What's so special about this? Wait until you reach our Divine Path Mountain. Then you'll know what beautiful scenery really is!" Liu Xian'er interjected beside him.
"There's scenery even more beautiful than this?" Li Xiaoya was truly stunned. What could a sight more beautiful than this possibly look like?
Fairy Qingxia flew with the two of them for a full hour before finally reaching another stretch of mountains. By then, the sight before Li Xiaoya had shocked him speechless. Seven enormous peaks of differing shapes surrounded a gigantic mountain like seven stars cradling the moon. That mountain seemed to soar into the clouds, standing more than half again as tall as the shoot-shaped peaks around it. Banks of auspicious clouds circled its slopes, and streams of waterfalls cascaded down, shimmering with rainbow after rainbow in the sunlight. Countless white egrets and cranes roosted and frolicked around it. Many magnificent palaces and lofty towers stood upon the mountain, glittering with dazzling brilliance beneath the sun. Only when Fairy Qingxia drew closer to its waist did Li Xiaoya realize how extraordinarily tall and vast it was. Looking up, he could not even see the summit.
"This... this is a divine mountain!" Gazing at the beauty before him, Li Xiaoya was almost dazed.
"It's Divine Path Mountain!" Liu Xian'er corrected him from the side. But Li Xiaoya was already so entranced by the scenery that he could no longer hear her.
Ignoring the somewhat stupefied Li Xiaoya, Fairy Qingxia flicked her sleeve. A streak of azure light shot out and sped toward a certain spot on the mountain, while she continued flying toward the summit with the two of them.
Along the way, they encountered many disciples flying with all manner of objects beneath their feet. These disciples glanced at Fairy Qingxia's party from afar, but the moment they noticed that she was flying without a magical artifact, they dared not take another look. They respectfully moved aside, waiting until her party had passed before flying away and discussing it in hushed voices.
Fairy Qingxia showed no intention of acknowledging them and continued toward the mountain's heights. The higher she flew, however, the fewer disciples they encountered, until there were only a scant handful.
At last, Fairy Qingxia brought Li Xiaoya to a square before an enormous palace roofed with golden glazed tiles. The square was paved with large blue bricks, and the hall towered frighteningly high, taller than the tallest building Li Xiaoya had ever seen. Rows of red-lacquered pillars stood before it, each thicker than two people could encircle together. Above the entrance were three large characters, written with the sweeping vigor of soaring dragons and dancing phoenixes. Li Xiaoya recognized only the first character, "Heaven." They probably say Heavenly Dao Gate, he guessed inwardly. Only after he learned to read did he discover that it was called the Heavenly Dao Hall.
Before Fairy Qingxia reached the entrance, a handsome middle-aged man hurried out from within. He wore purple Daoist robes and a golden crown, with a beard three inches long. Rushing up to her, he bowed deeply and said respectfully, "Disciple Xuandaozi pays his respects to Grand Martial Aunt. I did not know you would grace us with your presence. Please forgive me for failing to come out and welcome you!"
"No need for such ceremony!" Fairy Qingxia said casually.
"Yes, Grand Martial Aunt!" Xuandaozi raised his head and answered respectfully. When he saw Li Xiaoya trapped inside the blue barrier of light, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes, but his expression immediately returned to normal.
Xuandaozi respectfully led Fairy Qingxia into the hall. The interior was equally magnificent, its floor paved with marble as smooth as a mirror. A huge scroll painting hung on the wall facing the entrance, depicting an old man with snow-white hair and beard riding a crane and gazing up at the sky. A long altar table stood before the painting, bearing an incense burner and offerings of fruit. A Grandmaster's Chair stood before the table, with a row of matching chairs on either side. Fairy Qingxia brought the two of them over and casually seated herself in one of the chairs. Liu Xian'er stood obediently behind her, while Xuandaozi remained respectfully at her side, looking as though he awaited her instructions.
"Senior Brother Daoling will be here shortly to discuss something with me. You may leave. There is no need for you to attend us here. Pass down word that no one is to disturb us," Fairy Qingxia said without any change in expression.
Xuandaozi's heart gave a jolt at her words. The sect's Nascent Soul elders were usually like divine dragons whose heads could be glimpsed but whose tails were never seen. It was common for them not to appear in the sect for three or five years, or even several decades. The three great elders at the nascent soul late stage were rarer sights still. Had Fairy Qingxia not visited a little while ago, he probably would not even have recognized her. Now, apparently, even Heavenly Venerable Daoling, one of those three great elders, was coming out after a long period of secluded cultivation. Could something momentous be about to happen? Though his mind was full of questions, Xuandaozi still withdrew respectfully.
"Sister Qingxia! So you really are an elder of this sect or whatever it's called?" Li Xiaoya asked curiously as he watched Xuandaozi leave.
"Don't go calling me sister!" Fairy Qingxia's face chilled at his words, and she suddenly warned him.
"Huh? What should I call you, then?" Li Xiaoya asked, pursing his lips.
"Just keep your mouth shut!" Fairy Qingxia snapped. Had the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma not possessed this boy, she would have long since hurled a Fireball Technique at him and reduced him to ashes. She flicked her sleeve, and a streak of blue light shot into Li Xiaoya.
"Hey! You...?" Li Xiaoya tried to say more, but his eyelids grew heavy, and a thought flashed through his mind. Oh, great! That trick again.
"Junior Sister! You're back." Just as Li Xiaoya fell asleep, the rich, resonant voice of a mature man suddenly rang out in the hall.
(Two pieces of wonderful news! First, the comic adaptation of the Spirit Realm arc of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality has reached 100 pages. Second, this book has passed 100 bookmarks! Thank you to all the Mortal fans for your support, and special thanks to Xianxian!)
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