CHAPTER 05 - TURTLE
That cold voice made Ling Xi's entire body felt as if it had been struck by a cold draft, her mind also cleared up instantly. The black veil enveloping the sky gradually receded, stars resurfaced and overpowered the darkness. That pair of eyes also disappeared without a trace.
Ling Xi had never seen anything as strange as this before. She closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again.
The setting sun cast a red glow over the land. The air was filled with the chatter of birds and the fragrance of flowers.
That black rose remained as before, in full bloom, unfazed and in silence. It was as if nothing had ever happened here.
Ling Xi's heartbeat began to quicken. What was that just now? A flower with a pair of eyes? A flower that could talk? A yao? A muo?
Impossible, impossible... Qing Kui shixiong said before, this flower grew absorbing the energy of the sun and moon and the natural spiritual energies here. How can it possibly be a yao? Furthermore, Cang Jia Shan is not lacking in powerful individuals. If it really did happen to be something of the yao or muo sort, no need to mention others, Da Shixiong would be the first to uncover it!
If not a yao or a muo... then, a spirit?
All things between heaven and earth have a spirit. Once this spirit has been awakened, like humans, it will start to have it's own consciousness. The majority of awakened spirits, as their desire for comprehension grows, they will start to self-accumulate. When a spirit self-accumulates to a certain extent, it will eventually have a spiritual body that it could change as it pleased. Unfortunately this spiritual body is not a physical one. Supposedly if a spirit wanted to escape the boundaries of its original body and obtain a physical body, it would have to commit to cultivation, endure difficult trials, in the end it could simply come down to whether or not one had the natural gift. For spirits, this is perhaps as difficult as ascending to heaven.
This is why the majority of these awakened spirits would choose to rely on other means to advance their own spirit, for instance devouring other awakened spirits, abandoning the rare and troublesome righteous energy for evil energy that is much easier to come by and much easier to obtain. In this way, came the existence of the yao that mortals tell stories of.
However, it's not true that all yao choose to rely on evil means to nurture themselves. There are also those that wholeheartely rely on cultivation and have obtained a physical body, only the two are not easy to differentiate. Mortals have seen far too many evil spirits that their eyes have become disillusioned, forming a prejudice against 'yao'.
So according to Da Shixiong, Ling Xi recalled what he said last, even yao can be separated into good and evil.
In this case, what she saw happen to the rose just now was actually the awakening of a spirit!
Ling Xi happily held up the flower pot, her heart overtaken by giddyness.
Most cultivators possess a spirited object of their own, usually chosen personally after they have achieved their immortal body and then using cultivated energy to nurture it. In order to differentiate from the yao of the yao realm, they are referred to as xian spirits. Take Qing Kui shixiong for instance, he happens to have a very well-behaved wine jug. She heard that it was the year he achieved his immortal body, when he went to Cang Qu shishu's place to ask for wine to drink, as soon as that wine jug neared him, it stuck to him. No matter how far he tossed it, it would be back on his tail. He eventually gave up and just let it stay, helping it become a spirit. Likewise, Qing Lian shijie has a hairpin that could shape-shift, knows how to use xian spells, can sing such heavenly songs, and can even morph into Qing Lian shijie's appearance to prank Qing Kui shixiong.
However, even though their xian spirits can understand and obey words, can transform, despite having been nurtured for so many years, they still don't have the ability to speak.
This particular rose, since it had grown at the very summit of Cang Jia's main peak, seeing as it was able to speak as soon as it awakened, there's no doubting its spiritual power must be exceptional!
Among the zhangmen's four disciples, only Da Shixiong does not have a xian spirit lingering close. The possibility of her winning the Sword Trial and becoming the zhangmen's disciple is next to none. When gege returns, she will simply leave. It's inevitable that she will disappoint Da Shixiong and waste all of his heartfelt teachings these past years.
At this moment Ling Xi has already completely forgotten that her purpose for caring for the rose was so that she could have gege eat it when he returned. The only thought in her mind was that after the Sword Trial, if she gave this rare rose as a gift to Da Shixiong, Da Shixiong would definitely be a bit happier...
Although right now this rose only has a pair of eyes, if by that time it could have achieved a spiritual body, that would be even better!
As Ling Xi was thinking this, her eyes drifted over to the table and landed on the tonic Feng Shu had left her. Her eyes darkened with determination, picking up the bowl and emptying its contents all into the flower pot. Afterwards, she busied herself digging through boxes and pulling out drawers in search of those xian pills that she had tricked Qing Kui into giving her over the last two years and without any hesitation, poured it all in, whispering in a small voice “Little rose, little rose.. You really can't let me down now, I'm counting on you to comfort Da Shixiong!”
***
Ever since Ling Xi stepped foot on Tian Mai Peak three years ago, Qing Kui had been impatiently waiting for the Sword Trial. The sooner it happens the sooner she would leave Tian Mai Peak. Honestly, judging by that fragmented soul and that sluggish brain of hers, if any one of the seven zhanglao take her under their door, she would be considered incredibly lucky already. To ask for shifu to take her as disciple, that's surely crying for the moon.
Just now at the Cloud Pavillion, shifu had specifically stressed that his direct disciples, those few individuals who are personally taught behind his closed doors, are all candidates for the next zhangmen. Unless Ling Xi somehow comes out on top at this Sword Trial, otherwise there will be no consideration.
Da Shixiong, who had always stood up for Ling Xi did not say anything to refute, meaning that he had given his silent nod to what shifu had said.
Qing Kui reached for the wine jug sitting by his side, bringing it up for a gulp. If looking at it from this angle, Ling Xi's stay on Tian Mai Peak definitely looks impossible! This is worth celebrating! Qing Kui took another big gulp.
“Da Shixiong... since Ling Xi is this important to Da Shixiong, why not consider personally taking her as your own disciple?”
At this very moment, Qing Kui was lying on the roof of the Cloud Pavilion. Originally he had been napping, waiting to watch the sun set over Cang Jia Shan. Once he heard this distinctly familiar female voice, his eyes immediately flew open, bright like snow.
That voice, he could tell it was Qing Lian as soon as he heard it. Qing Lian is shifu's third disciple, entering the door eight hundred years after he did. She cultivates exclusively in the water element. Her face is pure like water, her figure flows like water, even her temperament is gentle like water. Two years ago she had gone to Shui Mai Peak to tutor water-division disciples in preparation to take in some new disciples at the Sword Trial. Ever since then, he had never seen her on Tian Mai Peak.
Qing Kui held his breath for safe measure, jutting his head out slightly just enough to see the somber expression on Qing Lian's face. However, he could only see Feng Shu's white robe being stirred up by the wind.
“That's not your concern.”
Feng Shu brushed past her and left. Qing Lian caught up to him, “These three years, Da Shixiong is the one personally teaching her anyways. What is the difference between being initiated under shixiong's name and being initiated under shifu's name then?”
“Of course there's a difference!” Qing Kui muttered to himself, “One is your disciple, one is your shimei. The relationship is completely different alright...”
“Da Shixiong, Qing Lian only wants to know, why do you look at Ling Xi differently?”
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