Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

This person donned a white robe and a silver hairpin in his hair. As he came in front of the cliff and saw the ever twirling fog, he hesitated and thought, “Chief Uncle-Master said I would have no obstructions coming. With this thick fog here, I will not be able to pass through with my current swords knowledge. Maybe I can just walk in to see what is really inside.”

This person was none other than Chen Jianmei’s disciple, Li Yuanliang, who had orders from his master to serve by the side of Shen Lian together with his apprentice juniors Yuan Xuefeng, Liu Weiyi, and Yu Yingfa.

The four were delighted to do so, as they would benefit a lot from their chief uncle-master who was so fluent in celestial skills.

Li Yuanliang was ordered by his chief uncle-master to deliver a letter to the owner of the valley. He was ever ordered to respond in specific words when he saw the owner. However, this fog made him hesitate. After all, Li Yuanliang was one of the sword celestials. If he could not determine the realness of this fog, he knew very well of its unpredictable danger. But chief uncle-master would not deceive him too, which was why he was in such a dilemma.

As he walked back and forth not knowing what to do, a green shadow flew down from the valley. Li Yuanliang saw unmistakably, that person had two pieces of tree leaves on it, as big as plantain leaves, so thin one could see through it very clearly. These two thin leaves extended from the back of the person, flashing like a pair of wings.

That person flew out of the valley and paused. As it saw Li Yuanliang, it shot down in front of Li Yuanliang and said, “It is under the Sacred Nun’s order that I escort you in. Follow me.”

That was when Li Yuanliang caught a clear view of this person’s appearance. Its face looked like it was painted with some kind of plant-based coloring. A greenish-yellow hue which masked what was really beneath it. It was wearing a headband braided with tree vines, and a bird’s feather pinned on its head. An unknown demonic power could be felt rippling around, and its body figure was clearly defined, a sign of large strength.

He asked, “Your sacred nun knew I was coming?”

The person snorted, “Our Sacred Nun knows all things in this world including the logic and laws of the heaven. It is not unusual that she could foresee your arrival.”

After Li Yuanliang heard this, he tried to hold back his laughter, as his chief uncle-master was very right about him not facing any obstruction. He could even foresee that this sacred nun would foresee him coming here.

However, as a disciple of the grand Qing Xuan clan, Li Yuanliang had to keep his composure. He showed no expression and said, “Let us move on then.”

The escort took a piece of vine from its body and threw it in front of Li Yuanliang, “Hold tight to this so you will not fall from the sky later.”

Li Yuanliang looked at the tree vine and held onto it tightly without saying a word.

After that, it moved its wings that looked like tree leaves and flew up forming a green shadow. As they flew into the valley, the thick layers of fog almost immediately dissipated. Li Yuanliang looked on carefully and saw that all this was the work of the tree leaves. However he did not know this fog was the violent miasma from the heaven and earth, and the leaves was one of the rare surviving plants in the valley, which was why it could repel the miasma.

Suddenly, it was all bright. Figures of clouds and pelicans were in sight. It was scenery of a celestial place. Li Yuanliang had not returned to the Qing Xuan sect, but according to Daoist Sanwen, most celestial places looked like this.

There was a hill in front that emerged from within the cloudy fog. A platform could be seen on its peak; next to it was a bamboo field. A lady donned in snowy white dress was holding a green bamboo flute, playing an ear-pleasing piece of music.

Li Yuanliang instantly recognized that this lady was the so-called sacred nun, the intended recipient of his letter.

He immediately formed himself into the flash of sword light and swooshed to appear in front of the lady.

The barbarian with the leafy wings panicked as he never thought that this fellow would come up and offend the sacred nun. He furiously waved his palm to give out a slap, but before he could take action, a formless soundwave was heard to stop him. It was the lady, “Xinba, stop.”

That man’s name was Xinba. He worshipped the lady like a god, so he moved aside while glaring at Li Yuanliang.

The lady stopped blowing her flute and looked at Li Yuanliang. She frowned and said, “There is a heavy presence of the devilish Qi on you. You are from the Asura Blood Sea. What do you want from me?”

As Li Yuanliang saw this lady, he subconsciously moved in front of her. He never expected to be so captivated and so offensive. To overcome this awkwardness, he took out a piece of silk cloth and said, “This letter is for you.”

The lady took over the cloth, with only one sentence written on it, “In the beginning, there were no stars.”

Her mind wandered off reminiscing momentarily before letting out a sigh, “You can go back and tell him, my name is ‘Yun’, and I do not have a family name.”

Li Yuanliang was surprised, “The author of this letter is my uncle-master. He said that if you answered that you do not have a family name, please do not let him see you, or else he will not show mercy.”

Yun remained unfazed and said, “You can tell him, we will meet sooner or later.”

In the eyes of Li Yuanliang, her beauty was so natural and pure. He could not help but be mesmerized by her. So he said, “It is better you do not go against my uncle-master. You do not know how powerful he is.”

Yun laughed, “Now is there anyone who does not know him? Of the Three Saints of the Netherworld, Qing Xuan is the best. Even Emperor Xia and Taiyi have to come after him. However I promised the Hierophant, as long as Xia kingdom is here, I will help even for just a day, even if it will destroy me.”

Li Yuanliang saw the determination in her eyes, the same determination he saw in his master’s eyes before, a determination no one can change.

He held his fists and said, “I shall return and complete my mission.”

However, before he could move his feet, he had to take the same route back, which meant he had to pass through the fog again.

Yun noticed and smiled, “Well well, let me send you out.”

Li Yuanliang felt awkward. Then, he saw Yun threw her long flute into the sky, which then inflated into a shining green light. He heard a gentle voice, “Get on.”

Li Yuanliang only felt his body floating. Gushes of air were flowing out of the pores of the flute, holding him, as it pierced through the miasma towards the outlet of the valley.

“You can help me to gift this bamboo flute to him. After all, I have not given him any gifts.”

Shen Lian was playing with the bamboo which was translucent like a piece of jade, which was emitting a sweet floral aroma. He told Li Yuanliang, “Actually, you are not required to do a chore as insignificant as posting letters. The reason I sent you is to let her know about your identity as an Asura, which is also a hint to her that I have the support of the Asura clan now.”

Shen Lian paused for a while, and continued with a sigh, “She should have understood my hint as well, yet she still gave such reply, which seems that she will cause me problems in the future. Judging from her years of training, she is still not good as me in terms of cultivation and mentality. However, there is a mysterious thing about voodoo which can turn impossible things possible. The hierophant must have something up her sleeves against me by training her. That was why I said that I will not show mercy the next time we meet.”