Against the backlight, the great doors of the Treasure Hall opened wide, and a black-haired young girl slowly emerged, her face still bearing a brilliant smile.
This kind of smile—the three elders who had lived for many years had seen it many times. Almost every disciple who obtained a life-bound magical artifact would show this kind of smile when they came out.
Brilliant, clean, pure, innocent of worldly affairs.
As time passed, some people perished, some died silently outside, and still others fought for the sect and died gloriously. The magical artifacts they had once used either perished together with their masters or were sealed within the Treasure Hall, waiting for the next master.
The magical artifacts in this Treasure Hall—some were forged by successive generations of Yunhua Sect’s master craftsmen, some were obtained from secret realms, and some belonged to… relics. From the sect’s founding to the present, the Yunhua Sect had accepted countless disciples and lost countless disciples. They could no longer remember the exact numbers. The only thing that could prove their existence were the jade tablets that had lost their glow in the wooden building behind Liyang Hall.
Compared to those jade tablets that had lost their luster, these disciples who had just established their Foundation were so vibrant—so vibrant that these old folks who had lived many years couldn’t help but wish they could have smooth lives and never encounter hardship.
“Kong Hou has obtained the magical artifact. Thank you, three Elders.” The young girl walked before the three elders, holding the magical artifact above her head with both hands. The artifact gleamed with radiant light in her hands.
“A fine treasure.” Elder Qiushuang praised. “Sound penetrates everywhere; almost no one can block it. But if you want to use it well, you need to cultivate even more diligently. With your current cultivation level, you can merely use it, but cannot use it well.”
“Go back and comprehend it thoroughly. Strive to achieve spiritual communion with it as soon as possible, making it an instinctive part of your body.” Elder Shujiu smiled. “We believe you can do your best.”
“Thank you, Elders. This junior will certainly redouble her efforts and not disappoint the Elders.” Gripping the Phoenix Head tightly, Kong Hou’s tender face radiated vigorous vitality.
“Youth is truly wonderful.” Qiushuang liked good-looking juniors, especially those with vitality. She took out an auspicious cloud jade hairpin and inserted it into Kong Hou’s hair. “This is a sword I refined, named Shuishuang. I’m giving it to you as a handy weapon. Consider it… a meeting gift from me.”
Having said this, without waiting for Kong Hou to express thanks, she flew away.
Guyu walked before Kong Hou and looked at the Phoenix-Head Kong Hou in her hands for a moment, then sighed: “The path of cultivation, though full of hardships and obstacles, remember you must not lose your Dao heart. You may be diligent and enterprising, but you must not be reckless or jealous. One wrong step and you’ll be beyond redemption.”
Kong Hou looked at Elder Guyu, not quite understanding why he would say such serious words, but she committed these words to memory. This was an elder of their sect; these words certainly wouldn’t harm her. “Kong Hou will remember.”
“Good.” Guyu nodded, turned to Wu Chuan and said, “Go back and tell your master that I will be entering seclusion for a period of time. Don’t send me messages unless it’s urgent.”
“Yes.” Wu Chuan cupped his hands in reply. “Please rest assured, Elder.”
She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but Kong Hou saw several parts emotion and helplessness in Elder Guyu’s eyes. But then she felt she had seen wrong. She was young; how could she discern what the elders were thinking?
After the elders left, she put away the Phoenix Head in her hands and hopped and skipped to her three senior martial brothers: “Senior Martial Brother Wu Chuan, Eldest Senior Martial Brother, Second Senior Martial Brother, I’ve kept you waiting for a long time.”
Cheng Yi smiled warmly. Tan Feng beside him said: “You really have good fortune. A precious sword personally refined by Elder Qiushuang is not something just anyone can obtain, yet she actually gave you one.”
Touching the auspicious cloud hairpin in her hair, Kong Hou smiled with squinted eyes: “Perhaps it’s because Elder Qiushuang and I are similar in one small aspect.”
“Where are you similar?”
“Relatively good-looking.”
Tan Feng: “…”
It was over. Junior Martial Sister had learned bad habits from Master.
After this pair of martial siblings had finished fooling around, Wu Chuan finally said: “Since Junior Martial Sister Kong Hou has already obtained her life-bound magical artifact, I will take my leave.”
“Senior Martial Brother Wu Chuan, today is the happy day when Junior Martial Sister obtained her artifact. To celebrate for her, let’s go have a drink.” Tan Feng walked over and put his arm around his shoulder. “Let’s go, let’s go.”
“No need, I…”
“Let’s go, let’s go. Let me tell you, my master hid several jugs of good wine buried underground. It would be too much of a waste not to drink them.” Without waiting for Wu Chuan to refuse, Tan Feng pulled him along. In any case, reasoning with the head disciple senior martial brother who always had a stern face was useless. It was better to just take direct action.
Cheng Yi and Kong Hou walked behind the two of them. Cheng Yi turned to look at Kong Hou: “Junior Martial Sister, your expression seems somewhat off?”
“Does it?” Kong Hou touched her face, feeling a bit embarrassed. “Did Eldest Senior Martial Brother see through me?”
Having raised his junior martial sister like half a daughter, how could he not notice something was off with her? “Don’t like the artifact you selected?”
A gentle breeze came, blowing Kong Hou’s hem. At only fourteen years old, she already possessed several parts of the unique beauty belonging to a woman: “It’s not that I don’t like it. I just feel that fate is somewhat impermanent.”
“On the day I was born, an envoy from a vassal state gave my Imperial Father a Phoenix-Head Kong Hou. Imperial Father was exceptionally delighted and immediately had musicians play it. He couldn’t even spare a glance to see Mother Empress giving birth, and even my name came from this.” Kong Hou sighed. “Later, Emperor Jing Hong rebelled. My Imperial Father was killed, Mother Empress committed suicide, and my name became a joke.”
She still remembered to this day that the consorts and children in Emperor Jing Hong’s palace often asked her if she was very skilled at playing the Kong Hou. Back then, besides smiling foolishly, she seemed to have no other choice.
She never expected that upon arriving in the Lingyou Realm, her life-bound magical artifact would still end up being a Phoenix-Head Kong Hou.
Cheng Yi quietly listened to Kong Hou talk about those past events. He didn’t try to console her, nor did he lecture her with grand principles. When they arrived at the entrance to Kong Hou’s cave dwelling, Cheng Yi finally said: “But you still chose it.”
“Mm.” Kong Hou smiled. “Escaping is useless. I have the courage to look forward to the future and the determination to face the past directly.”
Hearing this, Cheng Yi laughed softly. He knew it—Little Junior Martial Sister’s temperament was even better than his and Tan Feng’s combined. It was as if… she was naturally suited for the path of cultivation. She would walk farther than them and stand higher.
“Senior Martial Brother, starting from today, I plan to enter seclusion for a period of time.” Kong Hou performed a grand bow to Cheng Yi.
“Good.”
Cheng Yi stood outside the door, watching as Kong Hou’s cave dwelling door closed heavily. Turning around, he straightened his clothes and strode toward the entrance of Tan Feng’s cave dwelling, hoping Second Junior Martial Brother still had some conscience and had left him a few mouthfuls of wine.
Unable to walk out of the past—sometimes this could become a cultivator’s shackles. Physical restraints were frightening, but most frightening was mental self-imprisonment. Kong Hou knew that if she couldn’t see through those matters from the mortal realm, then she would never be able to become one with her life-bound magical artifact, and in the future would be even less able to unleash the artifact’s greatest power.
She resented her Imperial Father’s muddle-headed incompetence, grieved for Mother Empress’s suicide, and felt wronged because of others’ bullying. But all of this was caused by people, not by any object, and even less by some musical instrument.
All things in the world existed for their own reasons. They were not wrong; what was wrong were people who could not control their desires.
Spring departed and autumn came, cold came and summer went. Two years passed in a flash. On a certain early morning, a gentle Kong Hou melody resounded throughout Qiyue Peak, then spread from Qiyue Peak to beyond the peak.
“What is this sound?” On the Path to Seek Immortality, countless people looked around in all directions, seemingly searching for the direction from which the sound came. This melody was gentle and soothing. After listening to it, even their aching and sore legs seemed to feel several parts more comfortable.
The person who asked saw that other people were still desperately climbing upward and didn’t dare to delay, using both hands and feet to climb up.
Only by climbing up could one truly set foot on the Path to Seek Immortality.
Author has something to say: Yunhua Sect: It’s the once-a-decade recruitment season again. Candidates participating in recruitment, don’t be nervous—most of you can’t climb up anyway.