Taking a Master

After traveling for roughly half a year, Shen Ge had crossed two commanderies and arrived in Qingyang Commandery. He stood on a mountaintop with a map in his hand, gesturing as he studied it.

His cultivation had now reached the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement, and there were faint signs of an impending breakthrough. If he still couldn't find a Foundation Establishment Pill, he would have no choice but to force his breakthrough.

"Damn it, wasn't it supposed to be at the top of the mountains? There are so many peaks here. Which one is it?!"

After muttering a few words, Shen Ge put away the map and headed down the mountain.

This was already the third peak he had searched, yet he hadn't seen so much as a shadow of the Spirit Moon Sect.

"There are still three places that mostly match Su Liuyue's description. I hope this trip won't be for nothing."

Within a secret chamber in the Spirit Moon Sect, which stood atop White Jade Mountain in the heart of Qingyang Commandery, a pair of eyes suddenly opened. Two beams of golden light burst forth from them.

"Liuyue, what is it?" A woman's cool voice rang out in the secret chamber from nowhere. She could be heard, but not seen.

Su Liuyue spoke with a hint of respect. "Master, it's nothing. A disciple token I left outside earlier simply reacted."

"You mean that little fellow? A supreme-grade Metal Spirit Root would be well suited to our Divine Sword Peak's Cultivation Method. Go and bring him back. Perhaps within a hundred years, our Divine Sword Peak will gain another Golden Core cultivator."

"That was just what I intended," Su Liuyue said with a nod. "I originally wanted to bring him back with me, but he still had unfinished business in the mortal world, so I let him go. Now that he has come to Qingyang Commandery, though, I imagine he's here to join the sect. It's time I went to bring him in."

With that, Su Liuyue bowed to the empty air, then vanished from the room in a flash.

Out in the wilderness, Shen Ge was traveling when a figure suddenly appeared ahead of him, without his knowing when, silent and without warning. Startled, he reflexively moved to unleash his flying sword, but forcibly held it back just as it was about to leave his hand.

After all, anyone who could appear silently in front of him had to be far stronger than him. If he unleashed his flying sword and attacked, even someone only asking for directions would fly into a rage and strike back.

"It's been over a year. I didn't expect you to have acquired a whole set of Law Artifacts."

Hearing that slightly familiar, cool voice, Shen Ge looked closely. The person ahead of him was Su Liuyun.

Once he knew she wasn't an enemy, Shen Ge hurried forward and greeted her. "Big Sister, I never expected to run into you here. I was just worrying about how to find your Spirit Moon Sect."

"Big Sister?" Su Liuyue was somewhat unused to being addressed that way, but fortunately, Shen Ge's gaze was pure, so she didn't find it off-putting.

Shen Ge took out a box and offered it to her. "Big Sister, I found this in the market at Sunset Valley. A female cultivator carved it by hand. It isn't a Law Artifact, but it's exquisitely beautiful. I thought it suited your bearing, Big Sister, so I bought it as a gift for you. Please don't think poorly of it."

Every other word was "Big Sister." It was as though his little mouth had been smeared with honey.

"For me?" Su Liuyue opened the box and looked inside. Lying within was an ice phoenix made from cold ice jade. It was indeed exquisite, the phoenix carved so vividly it seemed alive.

Su Liuyue liked both its appearance and its symbolism. She took the box and put it away. "It's nice. I'll accept it. That was thoughtful of you."

Though her tone was as cool as ever, Shen Ge heard a hint of warmth in it.

Overjoyed, Shen Ge said, "Big Sister, you're too kind. Since you gave me such a great gift, how could I, your little brother, forget your kindness? It's just that the market was too small and didn't have much worth buying. Otherwise, I could have given you something better."

"All right. If you keep talking, you'll expose your real intentions," Su Liuyue said. "Come on. I'll take you back to the Spirit Moon Sect."

Su Liuyue carried Shen Ge into the air with one hand. As he watched the mountains and rivers racing backward below, a flicker of envy crossed his eyes.

This was flight without relying on any tool! What man hadn't dreamed of soaring straight into the nine heavens and cleaving thunderbolts with a sword? This was fucking cultivation!

In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the view before Shen Ge changed. Pavilions stood atop the mountain peaks, and not far below them lay a sea of pristine white clouds. It looked as though the inhabitants lived in the heavens.

Above the sea of clouds, cultivators rode all manner of Law Artifacts back and forth between the peaks. A single glance was enough to feel the place's immortal atmosphere.

Shen Ge gave the area a quick look. Roughly a hundred peaks rose above the sea of clouds, but only the fifty or so at the center had buildings on them. The rest were covered in trees.

People were coming and going from those peaks, however, so there were presumably cave abodes on them.

Su Liuyue spoke. "All right, stop staring. You'll have plenty of time to learn about all this later."

Before long, the two landed on a peak where a gigantic stone sword towered.

Shen Ge stared in astonishment at the enormous stone sword, nearly two hundred meters tall and fifty meters wide. "Big Sister, did you carve the mountaintop into a sword? Goodness, that's some undertaking. You could call that moving mountains, couldn't you?"

Su Liuyun gave him a cold glance and started toward the hall in the very center. "Don't stand there. Follow me."

Hearing that, Shen Ge had no time to be surprised and hurried after her.

They occasionally passed people along the way, and every one of them respectfully cupped their hands to Su Liuyue and addressed her as "Elder Su."

Strictly speaking, they were all Su Liuyue's junior brothers and sisters, but now that she had advanced to the Golden Core Stage and been promoted to elder, they naturally had to address her as an elder.

When they reached the hall, Shen Ge stared in wonder at the magnificent buildings around him like a bumpkin who had never seen the world. Only when he glimpsed a breathtakingly beautiful woman in blood-red robes sitting in the chair at the center of the hall did he compose himself.

"This junior is Shen Ge. Greetings, Senior," Shen Ge said, stepping forward and bowing.

He had just been wondering whether to kneel, but before he could make up his mind, his body had already bowed.

"So you're the one who saved Liuyue? You're quite good-looking. Liuyue tells me you have a supreme-grade Metal Spirit Root. Your aptitude is indeed high, but you mustn't grow arrogant or indulge yourself. Remember, Heaven Spirit Roots and Variant Spirit Roots rank above yours."

"I'll remember your teachings, Senior. I'll guard against arrogance and impatience and cultivate with my feet firmly on the ground."

Mo Qingyu nodded and said coolly, "Since you saved Liuyue, whether you meant to or not, this karmic debt of gratitude must be repaid. I will take you as my disciple. Are you willing?"

Su Liuyue stared at her master in astonishment. She hadn't expected her master to consider taking him as a disciple. She had thought her master would simply give him a place as a disciple and leave it at that.

Beside her, Shen Ge was overjoyed to hear this. His legs slid out from under him, and he dropped smoothly to his knees. "Your disciple Shen Ge greets Master and Eldest Senior Sister."

Her disciple was already at the Golden Core Stage, so wouldn't her own cultivation be even stronger? With such a powerful master as his backer, he was practically set to soar!