Into The Sea

The initiation ceremony commenced as scheduled.

Qiuxian Platform was vast and flat, surrounded by clouds and mist, easily accommodating over a hundred inner disciples. In front of the platform were five jade-white stone chairs. The Sect Leader, who appeared surprisingly young despite her white hair, looking barely over twenty, sat in the middle.Seated beside the Sect Leader were three people, all upright and serious. Lan Wu recognized one as Qin Yu. Next to Qin Yu was an empty seat, likely reserved for her master who couldn’t return in time.

Lan Wu stood alongside Yu Shanye in the line for Qianyun Peak. Scanning the crowd, she noticed that their group was actually one of the largest among the five. Under Qin Yu, however, stood only two people: Ji Lingyue and a tall woman dressed in the white robes of Haochen Mountain, but with a fiery red blade hanging at her waist.

Lan Wu’s gaze swept across the crowd, landing on a familiar face.

The delicate-featured young man stood with his chin held high in the Sect Leader’s section, his nose practically pointing to the sky.

Wasn’t that… Qing Zibai?

Lan Wu clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned her head back, folding her arms as she drifted into thought.

With their master absent, their presence at the initiation ceremony was purely ceremonial. But it didn’t take long for her to feel bored. The sea of white in front of her, against the backdrop of the misty snow-capped mountains, was bland and dull. Lan Wu stifled a yawn, her eyelids drooping.

Yu Shanye glanced at her and couldn’t help asking. “Why are you so tired? You went to bed early last night.”

Lan Wu blinked, feeling a bit guilty. “The… the mosquitoes were unbearable last night. I didn’t sleep well.”

“Really?” Yu Shanye looked skeptical but turned back to watch the other four lines of new disciples. They stepped forward one by one, bowing to their masters and receiving golden tokens.

After everyone had received their tokens, the sect leader stood up. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it reached everyone’s ears clearly. “These are called Identity tokens, a symbol of your status as an inner disciple of Haochen Mountain. After you drip your blood on them, they will recognize you as their owner. The formation within can protect you once, keep them safe and do not give them away lightly…”

Lan Wu’s eyes widened, and she instinctively looked down at the token hanging from her waist. The Qianyun Peak token was intricately carved with a flower and a tree, so lifelike they seemed to sway in a gentle breeze. Following the Sect Leader’s instructions, she picked it up, examining it closely before hesitantly pricking her finger and letting a drop of blood fall onto its surface.

A golden light flashed, and the characters “Lan Wu” gradually appeared at the base of the token.

Lan Wu was amazed, deeply impressed by the sophistication of human craftsmanship.

No wonder… no wonder the demon clans could never defeat the human cultivators.

Lost in thought, she missed the rest of the speech. After the ceremony ended, she subconsciously glanced at Ji Lingyue, just in time to meet her gaze.

Ji Lingyue offered a small smile before being pulled away by the senior sister standing beside her, heading towards Qin Yu. Lan Wu slowly withdrew her gaze and followed Yu Shanye back to Qianyun Peak.

That afternoon, Ye Qingjun’s puppet returned, dropping off a thick stack of books. Without Ye Qingjun’s presence, the puppet acted like a soulless object, moving methodically and devoid of any emotion or awareness.

Lan Wu picked one up and flipped through it. Inside were densely packed cultivation techniques and philosophies. Just a glance gave her a headache. “Why do I have to learn this?”

Yu Shanye also looked troubled. “This… isn’t this supposed to be about cultivation? Why are they handing out books like in a mortal school? Don’t tell me we have to attend classes on time too?”

“Yes,” the puppet replied.

It extended its hand, and a thin sheet of paper materialized, glowing with a faint golden light. Elegant characters appeared on its surface.

“Moonday and Fireday, sword practice at the main peak, instructed by Elder Qin Yu. Waterday and Woodday, studying scriptures at the main peak, taught by Elder Bai Wang…”

There was a lot more, but Lan Wu skimmed through it, seeing that classes started at dawn and ended at dusk, with only one day off every seven days.

After a long silence, she painfully covered her face, wondering if she’d lost her mind by coming to a place like this. That night, when Ji Lingyue sneaked over, Lan Wu was still tossing and turning in distress. The girl climbed onto the bed and curiously asked, “What’s bothering you?”

Lan Wu groaned. “I don’t want… to go to class at the main peak…”

“Are you afraid of the cold?” Ji Lingyue tilted her head, snuggling closer to Lan Wu as she offered comfort. “It’s not that bad. I checked it out. The classrooms on the main peak are halfway up the mountain, so it’s not that cold. There’s also a town at the foot of the main peak. If you get bored, you can go for a walk.”

Lan Wu sighed. “My life has never been this structured.”

Ji Lingyue shot her a curious look. “What kind of life did you live before?”

Lan Wu let out another sigh and rolled over, her voice barely a whisper. “It doesn’t matter anymore. I’m not going back.”

She lowered her head and gave Ji Lingyue a peck on the cheek. Ji Lingyue blinked, wrapped her arms around Lan Wu’s neck, and slowly moved her lips closer.

Early the next morning, before dawn, Ji Lingyue quietly got up, rustling as she dressed. Lan Wu groaned a few times, struggling to open her eyes, and asked hoarsely. “Why are you up so early?”

“Did I wake you?” Ji Lingyue asked. “Master wants me to practice horse stance with a heavy iron sword for an hour every morning before class.”

Lan Wu was speechless. “…This really isn’t something a human can take.”

“Don’t say that,” Ji Lingyue explained. “Master is strict with me because he has high expectations and wants to push me.”

After a moment of silence, Lan Wu hesitantly asked, “Does this mean you’ll still have tasks after classes?”

Ji Lingyue nodded. “Master said I have to run two laps around the Main Peak after afternoon classes. I can only rest after I’m done.”

“I see…” Lan Wu fell silent. After a while, she couldn’t help but count on her fingers and exclaimed, “But then you only get three hours of sleep every day!”

“Three hours is enough.”

“That’s not okay,” Lan Wu protested, “And you still come to see me every night…”

Ji Lingyue blushed and said softly, “It’s okay, I’m not tired.”

With that, Ji Lingyue straightened her clothes, bid Lan Wu farewell, and quietly slipped out of the room, her steps light and full of energy.

Lan Wu turned over, trying to fall back asleep, but it was no use. She sat up and grabbed a book from the table.

The cover of the book read “The Path to Enlightenment.” Lan Wu skimmed through the pages, learning that cultivators were classified into nine major realms, each further divided into three minor stages. Every breakthrough to a major realm would trigger a Thunder Tribulation, which grew more powerful the higher one ascended.

“Foundation Establishment, Qi Refining, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Splitting, Body Integration, Great Ascension, Nirvana, Tribulation Transcendence…” Lan Wu frowned and muttered, “This is so complicated.”

Despite her complaints, she continued reading.

The preface stated that ten thousand years ago, the universe was a chaotic void. Then, the lighter, purer Qi rose to form the heavens, while the heavier, turbid Qi settled to form the earth. Those who absorbed the purer Qi into their bodies became celestial beings, while those who drew the impure Qi into their bodies became demons.

Foundation Establishment was the first step, where one learned to draw in the pure Qi of heaven and earth, known as spiritual energy, circulating it through their meridians to lay the foundation for future cultivation. Only after reaching Foundation Establishment stage does one truly step onto the path of immortality.

Even among beasts that take human form, those who absorbed pure Qi became spirit beasts, while those who absorbed impure Qi became demon beasts.

However, the method of absorbing spiritual energy described in the book differed greatly from Lan Wu’s previous cultivation methods. Pondering for a moment, she figured she had nothing to lose since her powers were currently sealed. Following the instructions, she sat cross-legged, hands resting on her knees, and guided the spiritual energy into her body, attempting to circulate it.

As the faint, pure spiritual energy reached her spiritual sea, it came into contact with the gray mist that shrouded her mermaid pearl and instantly dissipated.

Lan Wu was taken aback. She tried again, refusing to believe it, but the gray mist, like a ravenous beast, devoured every bit of spiritual energy she drew in, leaving nothing behind.

Lan Wu was speechless.

She had a sinking feeling that she was doomed.

After the initiation ceremony, Lan Wu’s life became that of a mortal student. Every day, she left early and returned late, drowsily listening to the lectures of the white-bearded elder or learning swordsmanship and talisman techniques from various elders. When Lightday, the only day off, came, she hoped to relax and proposed to Ji Lingyue that they go down the mountain together to explore Jixue City, dozens of miles away. However, Ji Lingyue shyly declined her offer.

“Master wants me to chop firewood in the snowy mountains.”

While scribbling away, Lan Wu asked incredulously, “What do you need firewood for?”

“Sword practice,” Ji Lingyue replied.

“…Alright then.” Lan Wu sighed, settling for the next best thing. “I’ll go with Yu Shanye then.”

Ji Lingyue blinked, setting down the brush she was using to help Lan Wu copy scriptures. “You should focus on your cultivation too,” she said, turning to face Lan Wu. “Didn’t Elder Bai Wang say that others can already gather spiritual energy and are close to Foundation Establishment, but you still can’t? You even talked back to Elder Bai, otherwise you wouldn’t have been punished to copy the Heart Cleansing Scripture…”

“When did I talk back?” Lan Wu protested. “I was just telling the truth! I’m not slacking off, I really can’t gather any spiritual energy!”

“How is that possible?” Ji Lingyue frowned. “You have dual spiritual roots. As long as you follow the steps in the book, it should be easy.”

Lan Wu mumbled, “Well, maybe not.”

Ji Lingyue pursed her lips, assuming a serious expression. “Lan Wu, you’re talented. You shouldn’t waste this chance. If you don’t focus on your cultivation, I won’t help you copy scriptures anymore.”

Lan Wu froze, turning to look at her with wide, pleading eyes. “Please don’t. If you don’t help me, I’ll never finish copying the Heart Cleansing Scripture five times in three days!”

Ji Lingyue couldn’t help but soften when she saw her big, round eyes. She sighed helplessly, looked away, and continued copying.

After a while, she mumbled, “I never went to school before, so my handwriting is poor. But why is yours just as bad?”

Lan Wu stammered, unable to come up with a response. Fortunately, Ji Lingyue didn’t dwell on it, her hand awkwardly forming each stroke of the characters.

Time flew by in the mountains. Before Lan Wu knew it, a month had passed since her arrival at Haochen Mountain.

It was another Lightday, and she lazily slept until late morning. When she sat up and yawned, she glanced at the empty space beside her and realized Ji Lingyue hadn’t come the previous night.

Panic surged through her. She scrambled out of bed, throwing on her clothes before dashing out the door.

Yu Shanye was in the courtyard watering flowers and was surprised by the sudden commotion. She turned and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“I…” Lan Wu hesitated for a moment before blurting out, “I’m going out for a while. You don’t need to prepare lunch for me.”

Before Yu Shanye could respond, Lan Wu dashed out. She was so used to Ji Lingyue coming to her on her spirit crane that she never realized how far Jinling Peak was from Qianyun Peak.

By the time she reached the foot of the mountain, the biting wind sent shivers down her spine. Looking up, she saw a seemingly endless path winding its way up the snow-covered slopes, lined with frost-covered pines.

She gritted her teeth and started climbing. After what felt like an eternity, she finally spotted a cluster of buildings halfway up the mountain, barely visible through the swirling mist. Shivering from the cold, her breath turning to white mist, she made her way to the courtyard entrance and pushed open the gate, the bell hanging from the eaves tinkling softly.

“Ah Yue?” Lan Wu called out, her eyelashes already frosted over, her lips losing their color.

Without spiritual energy to ward off the cold, her fragile body was quickly freezing.

“Ah Yue…” She circled the courtyard, but there was no sign of Ji Lingyue. Just as she was about to give up and leave, she heard a rustling sound coming from behind the courtyard.

She hesitated, then slowly walked toward the sound.

Snowflakes fell softly, blanketing everything in white. The stillness was only broken by the sudden crunch of footsteps in the snow.

A girl climbed out of an icy pond, wearing only a white robe that reached her ankles. Her wet hair clung to her face. She looked up, her delicate, snow-white face with slightly reddened eyes meeting Lan Wu’s gaze.

Lan Wu froze, staring at her in shock.

The girl frowned, her bare feet sinking into the snow as she stumbled towards Lan Wu.

“Lan Wu…” she cried, collapsing into Lan Wu’s arms. Her body was burning hot, tears streaming down her face. “Lan Wu… please help me…”

Lan Wu shivered and, after a moment, slowly wrapped her arms around the girl’s waist. In disbelief, she whispered, “Ah Yue?”