The Yin Celestial

Gold-threaded silver curtains hung around an ancient incense burner, from which fragrance rose.

Three or five attendants stood behind the beautiful woman, some holding fans, some incense, others mirrors. They were all handsome young men in brocade robes and jade belts, with exceptional bearing and grace. Even the aura of the Dao faintly suffused their bodies.

Grand, lilting music had filled the Jade-Green Heavenly Palace, creating a scene of harmony, but the beautiful woman's remark had stirred a measure of awkwardness.

The musicians playing zithers and flutes all trembled, wishing they could cover their ears and pretend they had never heard those words.

The three elders accompanying them reacted differently.

Yan Feichen smiled, while Gu Jun's face darkened, seemingly displeased.

High Person Yuanji was even more uneasy. He studied everyone's expressions in turn, his round, plump face caught between joy and worry as his eyes darted about.

Wretched bitch! Damn you! Damn you to the deepest hell! Back then, you tried to steal my primal yang and disrupt my Dao heart. Now you dredge up the past again. Do you truly think I cannot kill you?

The leader of the Mysterious Truth Sect lowered his brows, barely suppressing the anger on his face while fury raged within.

"Aunt, enough idle chatter! Why leave Shangyu, where you were perfectly well, and come to my ritual grounds? Just what are you after?"

He gave a mocking smile.

"I heard that although an elder of the demonic Huzhao Sect favors you, she will only admit you to her sect if you subdue a Three-Headed Evil Hatred Yin-Victory Demon on your own.

"All these years, you've whipped up wind and waves in mortal kingdoms, committing who knows how many sins. Jun Yao of the Jade Dawn School even pursued you for three thousand li. Had the clan elders not sheltered you, his lightning arts would long since have slain you along with the other demons!"

This time, it was the beautiful woman's face that soured.

The leader of the Mysterious Truth Sect studied her with interest and asked with a smile:

"Still, Aunt, you seem to have refined an Evil Hatred Yin-Victory Demon? Only it escaped before you could subdue it, didn't it? What a pity. Such a terrible pity!"

"Little Jian, there's no need to put on such a performance," the beautiful woman said coldly.

"If we're comparing ill fortune, who could possibly rival you? Look at you-the noble young lord of our Ai clan, the great Daoist of the Jade Dawn School, reduced to this. You don't even have a blessed land and must shelter on this wretched mountain."

"If you had become a True Disciple back then-"

"Shut your mouth!"

The leader of the Mysterious Truth Sect flew into a rage. His gaze became two keen beams of divine radiance, which wheeled once, leaped into the air, and slashed down at the beautiful woman's head.

Like light, like lightning, the divine beams reached her in an instant. Yet she remained unhurried. The servants behind her jointly raised a bronze mirror and shone it into the air, pinning the two beams firmly in place.

"Ai Jian, you think that Refining-Degree Eye Sword of yours can hurt me? Even without any external aid, it couldn't pierce my Dao body." The beautiful woman shook her head disdainfully.

"What is this?"

On the Black Crane Cloud Couch, Ai Jian, who had been brimming with fury, instead calmed down.

"Where did you get that Kui Gang Mirror? I haven't returned to Shangyu in years. Have those clan elders become so generous that they've given you a magical treasure fit for a Golden Core True Person?"

"I'm not the Kui Gang Mirror's owner. I merely borrowed it."

"Oh?"

"Little Jian, I didn't come all this way just to bicker with you. If we keep exposing each other's sore spots, we'll only damage our bond." The beautiful woman clapped her hands and smiled.

Ai Jian snorted coldly. Killing intent flashed in his eyes, then vanished.

"During these years on Little Sweet Mountain, you must have heard a certain rumor from the clan?"

"A rumor? From Shangyu?" Ai Jian considered briefly, then said indifferently, "You mean that little girl whose birth supposedly filled the city with red light, and whom blue birds bathed with water carried in their beaks?"

"Precisely. Little Jian, you mustn't underestimate her," the beautiful woman said. "Not only was she born extraordinary, but she has also won the favor of the Vermilion Luminescence Sect, one of the Eight Orthodox Sects. Even True Person Zhuojing, who had been in seclusion for a hundred years, came down the mountain personally to take her as a Personal Disciple-"

"Enough, Aunt! No need to say more. I've more or less guessed why you're here! And here I thought it was something important."

Ai Jian waved a hand, cutting her off roughly.

"In cultivation, you're at least a cultivator of the Second Cave Mystery Realm. In kinship, you're her elder. Is some mere yellow-beaked child worth all this running about on her behalf?"

"If you wish to abase yourself, Aunt, that's your business. I won't join you."

He raised a hand and pointed toward the clouds outside the palace, signaling her dismissal.

"We have never seen eye to eye. Please leave."

"I don't mind leaving, but what about you, Little Jian? I remember that ever since you caused that disaster, you've wanted to return to the Jade Dawn School and have hoped the clan chief would intercede for you."

The beautiful woman stayed where she was, still smiling. "If you help me this time, once the matter is settled, you'll have that achievement to your credit. Add a few good words from me to our niece... and perhaps your wish will come true?"

"..."

Ai Jian did not answer.

"You only know that our niece was born extraordinary. You don't know just how extraordinary she is." Seeing Ai Jian remain silent, the beautiful woman rose leisurely and spoke.

"She studied the clan's Qi-Refining Method and cultivated Violet Clarity True Qi, ranked among the upper-grade ninth-tier qi. After taking True Person Zhuojing of the Vermilion Luminescence Sect as her master, she was further granted its scriptures. Within ten years, she established her Dao foundation, opened her Purple Mansion, and entered Cavern Mystery... Now she is already close to drawing in the Five Essences and stepping into the Second Cave Mystery Realm."

"...How old is she?"

Ai Jian suddenly spoke.

"Twenty-four."

Those words immediately caused an uproar.

A twenty-four-year-old Cavern Mystery adept? A rare prize indeed! Damn it! If I let this chance slip, heaven ought to strike me with lightning!

High Person Yuanji's heart burned with excitement, and he could not help rubbing his hands together.

Across from him, Yan Feichen saw his behavior and looked disdainful.

Apart from the elders' differing expressions and the musicians, who had long since been frightened senseless and stood dumbstruck, not daring to speak,

Ai Jian remained lost in thought on the Black Crane Jade Dais, as though none of this concerned him.

Only after a long while did he slowly speak.

"Even so, how can you guarantee that she can get me back into the Jade Dawn School? With nothing more than a mere second-level Cavern Mystery cultivator and an elder from another sect?"

"I have a clever plan of my own. Set your mind at ease, Little Jian. When have I ever lied to you?" The beautiful woman blinked coquettishly.

"Very well..." Ai Jian's expression shifted uncertainly. After a long while, he finally sighed.

"How does our niece wish me to serve her?"

"Find someone."

"Find whom?" Ai Jian asked.

"The Yin Celestial, of course."

"The Yin Celestial?"

Within the One True Dharma Realm.

Chen Heng's beheaded corpse quickly vanished along with the pool of blood. In the blink of an eye, a new body appeared in the same place.

"Cough... cough, cough..."

After returning to life, he coughed several times, a sickly crimson flush rising to his face.

Although dying within the Dharma Realm did not harm his true body, dying a hundred or so times a day was a different kind of torment for an ordinary person.

"I've grasped ninety-nine parts out of a hundred. Only the final part remains..."

Chen Heng held two fingers together like a brush and absently traced words and drawings on the ground. Frowning, he said, "Where exactly did I go wrong with this final part?"