Chapter 6 Part 1
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Chapter 6: What Have You Come to Realize This Time? (1)
Yaochi Holy Mountain.
On the Ascending Roof.
The strong wind howled across the rooftop. Mountain clouds rolled above, shrouding the peak in mist, while a woman in a loose white robe gazed into the distant gray sky.
She stood motionless—
As if frozen in a tense, silent game of Jenga.
Not until the distinct sound of footsteps echoed behind her did she finally turn around.
“Saint Lord.”
“Hmm.”
The woman who arrived was none other than the Saint Lord of Yaochi Holy Mountain.
For a thousand years, she had reigned over the sect, her name known even among those who had never set foot on the martial path. Yet despite the reverence surrounding her, she appeared unassuming.
Short in stature, ordinary in demeanor.
Standing beside Ying Shi’s master, the contrast was striking.
Had she not been clad in her resplendent robes, wearing that cold, unshakable expression, one might mistake her for a young girl.
“Still thinking about Ying Shi?”
The Saint Lord came to stand beside Ying Shi’s master.
Though small in size, her voice carried the weight of an elder sister’s wisdom.
Ying Shi’s master nodded gently. “She is my disciple. How could I not worry?”
The Saint Lord leaned against the railing.
Because of her height, she had to rise onto her tiptoes. The wind played with her jet-black hair, carrying the faint fragrance of festival flowers, filling the mountains with its lingering scent.
A sense of tranquility settled over Ying Shi’s master.
This was why the Saint Lord was who she was.
Her presence alone could inspire boundless courage within the disciples of Yaochi Holy Mountain, no matter the crisis.
Raising her right hand, she spread her fingers, blocking the last sliver of light on the horizon.
She spoke.
“When Ying Shi came to me, I did not hesitate for long.”
“Her childhood left scars that have become fixations in her mind.”
“If we can address them before her Yin Fire Disaster, there may still be hope. But now…”
She sighed.
Ying Shi’s master could only agree.
Cultivators are not like ordinary people.
Though they may long for freedom, their transcendence from the mundane binds them in other ways.
The Three Great Disasters are shackles no one can escape.
The Sky Thunder Disaster tests the body.
The Yin Fire Disaster tests the heart.
The Guafeng Disaster tests the soul.
Bearing her inner wounds, Ying Shi endured the spiritual torment of the Yin Fire Disaster.
Not out of courage—
But out of helpless compromise.
She fell.
“I’m no good. I’m useless.”
Such thoughts had been branded into her heart like an unbreakable seal.
No one could force their way into her mind.
No whip could reach her.
If they tried, it would only deepen the cracks inside her, causing irreparable harm.
“The best way is to let her climb out of the well on her own. She has the ability—she just doesn’t believe she does.”
The Saint Lord murmured softly.
“That’s why, when she told me she wanted to leave the mountain to find Bai Lian, I agreed without hesitation.”
Ying Shi’s master raised an eyebrow. “Because Bai Lian is the reincarnated Immortal Emperor?”
The Saint Lord shook her head. “No. Because Bai Lian is a Natural Saint.”
Two things have the power to move one’s soul:
The vast, endless stars above.
The unshakable morality within one’s heart.
Among all those she knew, few possessed a purer heart than Bai Lian.
Except…
A face flashed in the Saint Lord’s mind.
She smiled.
Light does not try to illuminate its surroundings. It simply exists, and by existing, it banishes the darkness.
She turned back.
“It wasn’t just about Bai Lian. This was also the first time Ying Shi had tried to step out of the well by herself.”
“I don’t know if this path is right, but she should at least try. The world outside is vast—she cannot remain caged in Yaochi Holy Mountain forever.”
Ying Shi’s master nodded in silent agreement.
But—
“What if she never comes back?”
The Saint Lord glanced at her.
“Are you testing me?”
Ying Shi’s master opened her mouth, but no words came.
“I allowed her to leave after careful consideration.”
Though the Saint Lord spoke little, her meaning was clear.
Go. Whatever happens, I have already accounted for it.
Then—
“No need to worry too much.” The Saint Lord’s voice was soft. “I just received word from Sect Leader Jue Yunzi of the Duxian Sect. Ying Shi has requested to stay by Bai Lian’s side to learn.”
“It seems… there’s no hope now.”
Ying Shi’s master fell silent.
Relief.
Sadness.
Complicated emotions swirled within her.
This departure was inevitable.
A hard blow to the heart—
But alas.
The road is long. One step at a time.
The two bid farewell.
The Saint Lord walked toward a stone pillar at the edge of the terrace.
An ordinary, unremarkable stone pillar.
Save for two shallow grooves carved into the top—one high, one low.
Though battered by a thousand years of wind and rain, the marks remained unchanged.
Because, every once in a while, the Saint Lord would trace them again with her fingernail.
Today—
She stood with her back against the pillar.
As she had once done before.
Her gaze pierced through time, seeing before her a younger version of herself and the one she called Elder Martial Sister.
[Come back here next year, at the same time.]
[I’m sure I’ll be taller.]
[Of course.]
[I want to be as tall as you, Elder Martial Sister!]
She had grown taller.
But they never measured again.
Circumstances changed. Promises faded.
Her Elder Martial Sister was punished, sent to the forbidden lands for angering their master.
Then—
Her Elder Martial Sister began avoiding her.
Then—
They never saw each other again.
“Elder Martial Sister…”
Her eyes stung. Her nose ached.
If life were like a story, where one could reset and try again until the best ending was reached—
How wonderful that would be.
But reality had no do-overs.
She had allowed Ying Shi to leave because—
Ying Shi had dared to step out of the well.
Something she never did.
Because she had been too afraid.
And so—
For a thousand years.
For two thousand years.
Forever—
Chapter6 Reformat
She will always live with guilt towards her Elder Martial Sister.
…
The wind came from the west.
The leaves rustled.
Bai Lian gently swung her soft arm, and soon everything returned to normal.
Too scary!
Someone as harmless as her had almost gotten dragged into the “abyss” just now.
Thankfully, a voice in her heart had called out to her—
[Don’t go, it’s a dead end!]
She woke up just in time, narrowly avoiding disaster.
Now Bai Lian was scared.
Was the danger gone?
Of course not.
As long as Ying Shi remained, the danger would always be there.
Bai Lian was very self-aware.
Her abilities weren’t bad, but to ask her to teach Ying Shi? That would be a joke.
She had been cultivating for no more than six years.
Given her current level of knowledge, even teaching her Second Martial Sister and Fourth Martial Sister felt like an overreach.
The only one she could probably fool was her Fifth Martial Sister.
After all, Ling Xuan was clueless about cultivation. She would simply believe whatever Bai Lian said.
But if Ying Shi stayed by her side for too long, she would eventually see through the lie.
The “Immortal Emperor”—too “stupid” to be true!
In the past, even if she was exposed, Bai Lian could have simply brushed it off.
[I don’t care! I’ll just live a peaceful life with my avatars!]
But now, things were different.
Yue Wuyang’s presence made it impossible for Bai Lian to let her guard down.
If her true cultivation base was exposed, Yue Wuyang would undoubtedly act.
And if things went poorly, An Lan’s true identity might also be revealed.
That would be a catastrophe.
So Bai Lian absolutely could not allow Ying Shi to stay by her side.
There were other reasons, too.
For one, she was afraid her master would disapprove.
For another, she worried her Martial Sisters wouldn’t be happy about it.
After all… she was not alone anymore.
