Chapter 34: The Immortal Maiden

Because a disciple was brutally murdered in Shengjing, and the corpse bore a horrifying appearance, most outer-disciple students of the Heavenly Book Academy felt uneasy.

Especially since the Administration Hall had yet to uncover any results, all kinds of monstrous rumors spread wildly.

For Ji You, the most urgent matter now was to elevate his realm.

The realm had already begun to exude an invisible aura of turmoil; these attacks might merely be the beginning.

At present, strength alone was the best means of self-preservation.

Besides, that fool Kuangcheng was growing increasingly reckless.

It was now deep winter; all things withered, and occasional shards of snow drifted down from the sky, swirling gently.

Ji You arrived at the Enlightenment Ground and found several students still unaffected by the unrest, having devoted themselves to cultivation for days.

For instance, Du Zhu of the Condensation Peak Upper Stage, Yue Ze of the Condensation Peak Middle Stage, Zeng Pan’er, and others—all had once been close to Chu He.

To them, the Heavenly Book Academy was still the sacred sect of Daya; even if some petty villains caused trouble, they would inevitably be crushed to ashes.

Only when Ji You arrived did these students immersed in enlightenment finally react.

“He really came out unscathed…”

“Some say he struck three swords alone and saved seven people, including two inner-disciple seniors—is that true?”

“It must be true; people saw those two inner-disciple seniors bowing to him in thanks.”

The news of the battle on the western city’s front street had leaked out through underground channels and was now widely known, with a relatively complete account.

It’s said the Sword Trial Grove is now bustling beyond measure; students seeking martial cultivation now outnumber the bamboo in the Grove.

Some two-and-a-half-year trainees’ dormitories are closer to the Sword Trial Grove; it’s said that every evening, instructors on the mountain curse Ji You.

At this moment, Fang Ruoyao was also at the Enlightenment Ground.

She remained at the Awakening Initiation Stage, still struggling to harmonize with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Thus, she trained harder than most, and finally began to grasp a glimmer of understanding.

Yet this very diligence made her acutely aware that the gap between people could not be bridged by mere effort.

Watching Ji You sit cross-legged on the ground, adjusting his robes, she felt momentarily dazed.

She shared a dormitory with Lou Siyi and Sun Zhi, had heard the most detailed version of the tale, and even dreamed several times of the white-robed swordmaster switching swords with both hands and sweeping his sleeve to summon blades that saved the two inner-disciple seniors.

This morning, she accidentally overheard Lou Siyi secretly dispatching a maid into the city to search for a sword, intending to gift it to Ji You.

For some reason, her heart was heavy with disappointment.

In fact, many in the academy had already spread rumors that her status as his fiancée was false, since they had never spoken to each other.

“Ji You, could you take a walk with me before the hour of Hai?”

Fang Ruoyao summoned her courage and called out to him.

But just then, heavenly light descended; above the layered clouds, tiger roars and dragon roars echoed, and the light then sank into his crown, clearly entering the Heavenly Book.

Seeing this, Fang Ruoyao lowered her eyelids, while the others in the Enlightenment Ground wore complex expressions.

Entering the Enlightenment Ground and immediately drawing a response from the Heavenly Book—this was truly showy; each time it happened, it bred fresh envy.

At this moment, Ji You’s spiritual sense soared into the heavens, gradually entering the Void Mist as he followed the boundless starlight.

But before he could steady himself, a snow-white jade foot came flying toward him, “Pam!”—kicking him out.

In a blur, Ji You saw nothing clearly, only a woman in a red dress, coldly turned to the side, her face like frozen frost, clearly furious.

“?”

“Reward me right away? What’s going on?”

Ji You was forcibly ejected from his enlightenment state, bewildered.

He tried again, and again the delicate jade foot came flying at him, refusing to let him enter the Void Mountain.

Returning his spiritual sense, Ji You sat on the Enlightenment Ground, counted the days with his fingers, and thought: This isn’t one of those days!

Why is she so angry she won’t even let him return to his room?

Around him, the students stared blankly at the intermittent heavenly light in the sky, expressionless.

Only on the third attempt did Ji You enter the Void Mist again—this time, no jade foot met him; he succeeded in entering.

As the Void Mountain and the chaotic heavenly Dao became clear before him, he saw the red-dressed immortal maiden back on her black stone, her expression still icy, forbidding all approach.

Most striking was the deep purple, nearly black aura surrounding her, like flame, flickering constantly around her body.

“You… what is that on you?”

“The immortal maiden’s resentment.”

The woman gritted her teeth, her voice freezing to the bone.

She had assumed that though they had rarely spoken, their daily afternoon cultivation sessions were an unspoken agreement.

But who knew he vanished without a word for several days last time—and now again!

At first, she hadn’t cared, thinking: I’ve lived on this mountain for over a decade, cultivating alone—what difference could it make?

But then she noticed a pale purple mist gathering around her.

At first she thought she was suffering qi deviation, but later realized: since her spiritual sense entered the Void Mountain, certain emotional disturbances manifested as such auras around her spiritual perception.

On the first day, the color was faint; on the second, it deepened; finally, it began turning black.

At this moment, she seemed to understand: when that man stared at her feet, what were those drifting, golden-yellow wisps around him?

At that moment, Ji You noticed the aura around her suddenly shifted into a deeply sorrowful gray.

He stared for a long while, and faintly sensed what she resented: “On the day of Winter Solstice, I dined with fellow disciples; on the way back, I was ambushed. The battle drained too much of my spiritual sense—I slept for two days.”

“Did you get injured?”

“No injury.”

Ji You thought a moment and said: “The academy has been investigating this matter these past days; I’ve just returned from being questioned.”

“You’re a disciple of the Heavenly Book Academy,” the woman suddenly pointed at him.

She was indeed sharp-witted; she knew that among the Seven Immortal Sects, only the Heavenly Book Academy referred to itself as “the Academy.”

Ji You smiled slightly, looking at the haughty immortal maiden: “Then what’s your name, Immortal Maiden?”

The immortal maiden studied him for a long while: “Yan Shuyi.”

“Then I’ll begin cultivating—no more kicking me. Though foot Dao is still Dao…”

“Then what’s your name?”

“Ji… Bochang, meaning ‘gathering many strengths.’”

Yan Shuyi lifted her head, gazing at the yellow smoke billowing from his head, and narrowed her eyes slightly.

Ji You recognized the pre-kick expression and held his breath: “Yan Shuyi, you just promised not to kick me!”

“Rogue!”

“Damn it!”

Even after being kicked out of the “chat group” by the snow-white jade foot, Ji You remained puzzled.

She shouldn’t know the meaning of that word—until he noticed the thick yellow smoke rising from his own head…

(End of Chapter)