Thirty Glorious Years

Behind Golden Ao Mountain, at the octagonal pavilion, the Purple Qi had already begun to extinguish.

The bright moon hangs high in the sky like a mirror, a gentle mountain breeze blows, and the fragrance of osmanthus fills the air.

Before the pavilion, Zilin gently folded a piece of white paper in her palm, its surface shimmering softly in the moonlight. She held the folded paper figure to her lips, exhaling a breath of Purple Qi that landed on it. The paper figure, imbued with the Purple Qi, slipped from her hands and transformed into a slender, purple-clad dancer upon landing, her features exquisite, standing gracefully before the crowd.

Seeing this, Mo Li's honest voice rang out in the pavilion:

"The Purple Qi is incredibly wondrous. It may not be apparent before Purple Mansion, but once the Purple Mansion is broken, most of the various arts of cultivation become second nature—though most can only be used with difficulty, it is enough to make my Mystic Body cultivation the envy of others."

Upon hearing this, Zilin immediately smiled and said:

"Fellow Daoist Mo Li is joking. The Mystic Body Dao is incredibly powerful, who doesn't know that? Back then, your esteemed Dao's Pure Source Mystic Dao True Lord and the Heavenly Gang Mighty Spirit Manifestation Three Altar True Lord of the Qianyuan Dao Lineage lineage were the only two True Lord -level figures, besides the Heavenly Venerable of the Yunzhong and the South Pole, to escape from the Nine Bends Yellow River Formation. Although the two Heavenly Venerable of the two Dao lineages were trapped in the formation back then, the Mystic Body and Gang Qi still suffered losses against the Turbid Qi, but compared to my Purple Qi Dao, they are far superior."

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Yao, Xuan Yan, and Ying Qi in the pavilion all burst into laughter.

Xuan Yan smiled and waved his hand, then said:

"Alright, alright, if you keep flattering each other, the moon will be setting. Fellow Zilin, why don't you ask the paper spirit to set up the banquet? It's a rare occasion for everyone to gather together, so let's enjoy the fragrance of osmanthus and the moonlight and have a good drink."

As soon as Xuan Yan finished speaking, before the laughter of the crowd had subsided, Zilin had already produced several more sheets of white paper in her hand.

She said no more, only lowered her head and folded the paper with her fingertips. The few pieces of white paper seemed to come alive in her palm, folding, overlapping, and unfolding. In a short while, several more paper figures floated down from her hand, grew upon touching the ground, and transformed into several purple-clad dancers, each with a different posture, standing gracefully in front of the pavilion.

She raised her hand again, and a sheet of white paper unfolded in the wind. A wisp of Purple Qi swirled around it, and the paper surface glowed slightly. When you looked again, it had transformed into a pipa (a Chinese lute), suspended in mid-air. Then came the second and the third sheet. In a short while, more than ten musical instruments, including a flute, a xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute), a sheng (a type of mouth organ), a drum, a guqin (a seven-stringed zither), and a yueqin (a moon lute), appeared one by one. They were all made of folded paper, pure white, with occasional faint purple glints, and were arranged in a pleasing, staggered manner below the stone steps in front of the pavilion.

"Go," Zilin said softly.

The paper musical instruments, though unplayed, vibrated in unison. The next moment, clear music began to play: the pipa was gently plucked, the xiao (vertical flute) wailed, the flute's melody was clear and melodious, and the drumbeats were like rain, spreading out a whole symphony of string and bamboo instruments amidst the shadows of osmanthus trees and the moonlight. The music was unlike any ordinary sound; it was ethereal and otherworldly, as if in the clouds or underwater, intertwined with the mountain breeze and the fragrance of osmanthus, sounding like a dream.

Immediately afterwards, the paper dancers moved to the music, their sleeves fluttering and their clothes swaying as they danced gracefully under the moon. Then, another paper figure emerged from Zilin's sleeve, handsome and dressed as a child, holding a paper wine pot. He walked to the stone table, bowed to the crowd, and then tilted the pot slightly, allowing clear wine to gush out and steadily pour into each person's cup without spilling a drop.

Mo Li stared wide-eyed, opened his mouth, and after a long while, finally said:

"Fellow Daoist Zilin... your Paper Spirit Dao is far from 'barely usable'! It's practically a portable immortal amusement park."

Ying Qi also clicked his tongue in amazement, picked up the wine cup poured from the paper pot, looked at it, and then smelled it before laughing:

"This wine... could it also be made of folded paper?"

Zilin covered her mouth and smiled, without answering, only making a "please" gesture.

Su Yao picked up his wine cup, took a small sip, and then said calmly:

"It's made of folded paper. It's merely a manifestation of Purple Qi, so it can only temporarily possess its form. This wine will dissipate before tonight."

Xuan Yan laughed heartily:

"Isn't that perfect? Let's drink and be merry while we can, and once it's over, it's over."

Upon hearing this, everyone smiled and raised their glasses.

Outside the pavilion, the rain pattered softly, the moonlight shone like silk, paper figures danced gracefully, and music flowed like water.

After several rounds of drinks, the moon had already begun to set in the west.

The paper dancers in front of the pavilion were still dancing gracefully, but the music had gradually slowed down, like water flowing into a pool, turning from clear and melodious to faint and ethereal. Only a wisp of flute music remained, faint and intermittent in the night wind, like the lingering thoughts in people's hearts.

The cups on the stone table were half empty, and the fragrance of osmanthus and wine mingled together, giving everyone a slightly warm glow on their faces.

Mo Li was already somewhat drunk. He rested his elbow on the stone table, propped his chin on his hand, and squinted at the dancing figures under the moonlight, mumbling:

"This paper figure... is truly remarkable."

Ying Qi smiled and gave him a push:

"Once Fellow Zilin has Five Laws Perfection, you should ask her for a breath of Purple Qi to forge a Spirit Artifact. At that time, you can have as many of these paper figures as you desire."

Upon hearing this, the crowd chuckled softly once more.

Zilin leaned against a pavilion pillar, idly playing with a paper wine cup in her hand, her expression languid, a smile playing on her lips, occasionally stealing a glance at Su Yao.

Just as the pavilion was filled with leisure and the fragrance of osmanthus blossoms was intoxicating, Su Yao gently placed the wine cup in his hand back on the stone table.

The sound was soft, but it silenced everyone.

Everyone turned to look at him simultaneously.

Su Yao didn't speak immediately. He only looked up at the setting moon in the sky for a moment before slowly saying:

Life between heaven and earth is like a white horse flashing past a crack in the wall—it's over in an instant.

His voice wasn't loud, but it was like the first beat of the drum, dispelling some of the intoxication in the pavilion.

Ying Qi was the first to regain her senses, sat up straight, and asked:

"Brother Su, do you have something to say?"

Su Yao withdrew his gaze, sweeping it over the faces of everyone present, finally settling it on the wine cup in front of him. His voice was flat and emotionless as he simply said:

Do you all remember when was the last time we sat down together for a drink?

The pavilion fell silent once more.

This question, though asked lightly, silenced all the laughter that had just followed.

Xuan Yan said in a low voice:

"It must be before the reincarnation of the True Lord that we are here to discuss countermeasures."

He paused, then continued:

"Since then, we have all gone into seclusion to break through to the Purple Mansion. Fellow Daoist Su emerged from seclusion sixteen years ago; Fellow Daoist Yang Xiu emerged a little over a year later; then eleven years ago, Fellow Mo Li broke through; a year ago, Fellow Ying Qi and I emerged from seclusion one after the other; and only today has Fellow Daoist Zilin finally succeeded."

His gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on the osmanthus blossoms falling like rain outside the pavilion, and his voice lowered even further:

"If I count, it's been twenty-nine years since we last met. Yet even now, Fellow Daoist Yang is still in seclusion, and as for Azure Jade... let's not talk about her."

Upon hearing this, Su Yao raised his wine glass and said with emotion:

"Yes, thirty glorious years, time flies..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the osmanthus tree in front of the pavilion swayed gently, and the falling petals fell silently.

The paper figure's sleeves were still fluttering in the wind, and the tireless flute melody suddenly took on a different kind of coolness.