On evenings when Ji Chen didn’t come to play chess, Song Qian Ji still sat quietly waiting for rain as usual.

The night was tranquil. Half the disciples were roasting meat outside the Poisonous Barrier Forest, while the other half chatted by the riverbank.

The vast Immortal Official’s Manor was empty, with only him inside.

Song Qian Ji breathed slowly as if in a special rhythm, his breath becoming one with the small courtyard and even the entire Immortal Official’s Manor.

A southern breeze arose among the flowers and leaves. Crimson roses climbed all over the bamboo trellis, and newly planted evening primroses had bloomed with yellow flowers, swaying gently in the moonlight.

They, too, were waiting.

The wind blew, leaves fell, and intricate flower shadows covered the ground. A layer of flowing fragrance rose, surrounding Song Qian Ji and flowing into his hanging wide sleeves.

He gazed quietly at the hazy moonlight.

The same moon shone over mountains and rivers everywhere.

Tens of thousands of miles away, the bright moon parted the light gauze, becoming clear and transparent. He Qingqing could even see the varying shadows on the silver disk.

“Senior Sister, let’s go,” someone said.

“Alright.” He Qingqing lightly lifted her skirt, passing by a pond where red lotuses bloomed in full. The water’s surface reflected her slender, graceful figure.

Seven or eight female cultivators in bright clothes with elaborate hairstyles walked together. She walked into the center, seemingly the most popular and indispensable, with others surrounding her like birds flocking to a phoenix.

But the people on either side conversed across her, their tones familiar and the atmosphere lively.

She wasn’t good at conversation and couldn’t join in, so she remained silent, looking down at the path.

“We’re here. Let’s play in this place.”

He Qingqing looked around.

This was the spirit stone mine of the Celestial Sound Sect. The outer disciples who mined during the day had already returned to rest.

Now it was desolate and gloomy without a single lantern. Black mining caves dotted the ground, like giant mouths waiting to devour people.

The wind couldn’t enter, and moonlight couldn’t penetrate.

She felt inexplicably anxious and lightly tugged the sleeve of the person beside her: “Junior Sister Bai E, what are we playing here?”

The female cultivator in a green robe covered her mouth and laughed, pointing to a woman in white across from them: “Senior Sister, you’ve got it wrong again! I’m Liao Hua, she is Bai E.”

All the women laughed together:

“I’m Qing Mei, she’s Zi Zhu. Do you recognize us, Senior Sister?”

“Over there are Jin Yun and Gui Zi. Have you remembered this time, Senior Sister?”

He Qingqing corrected herself somewhat awkwardly.

She had a very good memory. No matter how complicated a melody, she could remember it completely after hearing it once. No matter how profound a cultivation technique, she could memorize it after seeing it once.

In the past, whoever spoke ill of her, bullied her, or insulted her—that person’s face would be firmly engraved in her mind, unforgettable even if burned to ashes in her dreams.

But at Celestial Sound Sect, everyone she met smiled at her, saying they were “for her good” and wanted to “be friends” with her.

Like these people before her—they had similar hairstyles and appearances, all imitating Immortal Lady Miao Yan. Their smiles and greetings seemed as if they were carved from the same mold.

Occasionally there were needle-sharp glances hidden in cotton, subtle and fleeting, so quick they seemed like illusions.

So she didn’t know whose face she should remember.

Thinking carefully, besides her master’s appearance, she only remembered Miao Yan’s flawless countenance.

After everyone had finished laughing, Liao Hua finally said: “Let’s play hide-and-seek. We often play this. Do you know how Senior Sister?”

He Qingqing could only shake her head: “I don’t know.”

No one had ever played with her before.

The green-robed female cultivator eagerly took her hand: “It’s alright, we’ll teach you. You’ll learn it instantly! To play this, we first have to seal our spiritual energy. No one can use magical tools, otherwise, with cultivators’ keen senses, wouldn’t finding people at night be as easy as turning over one’s palm?”

He Qingqing nodded: “Alright.”

Liao Hua blindfolded herself, was guided to turn in a few circles, walked a few steps, and counted loudly.

Bai E held He Qingqing’s hand to hide, made a hushing gesture, and said softly: “Once hidden, you can’t move.”

Liao Hua opened her eyes after counting to fifty. She was experienced and without much effort caught them all one by one.

The female cultivators laughed and played around.

Hearing the bell-like laughter, He Qingqing thought, do normal girls usually play these games? Now I’ve played them too.

The novelty of playing childish games with girls her age made her eyes glimmer with joy.

“Senior Sister, it’s your turn.”

He Qingqing obediently had her spiritual energy sealed, was blindfolded, and was spun around by someone unknown. She counted while being led forward.

Suddenly the moonlight darkened as thick clouds gathered, and the wind moaned across the wilderness.

On this summer night with wind sweeping the ground, it seemed rain would fall.

He Qingqing’s veil was blown up by the wind: “Eighteen, nineteen, twenty…”

She was led toward an abandoned mine shaft. For no reason, she felt anxious and stopped. But she continued counting.

Until she was violently pushed by a hand.

“Ah—”

Her scream echoed with the wind, lingering endlessly.

Everyone gathered around the cave entrance, looking down:

“Is this a shallow cave? Are you sure?”

“What does the depth matter? She fell by her carelessness. What does it have to do with us?”

“But…”

“If she wants to report this, does she have evidence? Even her master doesn’t come back to see her.” Liao Hua snorted lightly, “Becoming the head senior sister by luck, does she think she’s somebody? I willingly bow to Senior Sister Miao Yan, but why should I bow to her?”

The mine shaft twisted and turned, seemingly endless. He Qingqing couldn’t immediately break through her sealed meridians. She tried to grab onto the rock wall but crashed and bled. Finally, she could only curl up as tightly as possible, protecting the back of her head as she tumbled down.

The mine shaft, deep as an abyss, finally reached its bottom.

He Qingqing propped herself up with her elbows, only then noticing that the fingernails she used for playing the zither were broken, and all ten fingers were a bloody mess.

Her hair was disheveled, her white dress spotted with blood, her appearance haggard. But she hadn’t suffered internal injuries—after all, cultivators have tough bodies. Everything seemed like just a prank between female cultivators.

Her veil had long fallen off, revealing her ruined, ugly face.

Unexpectedly, she didn’t shed a single tear, her gaze cold.

She could finally remember those people’s faces clearly.

“Thump, thump, thump.”

He Qingqing’s ears twitched slightly, suddenly alert.

Darkness amplified every sound. Besides her own breathing, she heard something like a heartbeat or pulse echoing through the underground.

Turning her head, she suddenly saw a smooth, jade-green shadow emitting a phosphorescent glow from between the rock crevices.

Though startled, He Qingqing remained calm. She tapped her storage pouch and threw a dagger with force.

The “giant snake” accepted the injury without a sound, in silence.

He Qingqing approached and sighed slightly in relief: “It’s not a snake.”

The touch was smooth and warm like warm jade, with a faint phosphorescent glow.

She pulled out the dagger with all her might, and sap sprayed from the wound of the root.

Splashing on her face, it was surprisingly warm. Under the phosphorescent light, its color was as bright red as blood, yet it had no blood smell, only emitting a strange sweet fragrance.

Only then did He Qingqing recall records from ancient texts: At the edge of the continent stands a divine tree supporting the sky. Its root system extends deep underground, spreading throughout the entire continent.

This was the root of the Sky-Supporting Tree!

“What a fragrant smell.”

She took a deep breath, her eyes revealing intoxication, and placed her index finger, coated with the warm flowing sap, into her mouth.

Immediately, an intense, rich fragrance shot straight to the top of her skull, making her gulp it down ravenously.

The spiritual liquid turned into a warm current upon entering her mouth, gathering into a vortex in her elixir field, breaking through the sealed meridians all at once.

Her cultivation bottleneck loosened, showing signs of Foundation Establishment.

He Qingqing suddenly stood still. All her spiritual meridians were tense, almost about to burst from the rapidly expanding spiritual energy.

She awakened from her entranced state and dared not drink more, hastily taking out the jade bottles she usually used for storing pills.

By the time three bottles were filled, the wound on the Sky-Supporting Tree had already healed. Where the dagger had once deeply penetrated, only a faint mark remained.

“For something like you that stands tall between heaven and earth, supporting an entire realm, this injury doesn’t even count as a scratch, right? Let him be as strong as he wishes, it’s just like being tickled.” He Qingqing gently stroked the root of the Sky-Supporting Tree and said in a daze, “You’re amazing. Knives can’t even hurt you when they cut into your body. As long as you’re strong enough…”

“Thump, thump, thump.” The pulse of the Sky-Supporting Tree continued to beat.

The night was deep, with no moon in sight.

Fierce winds howled, foretelling an approaching mountain rain.

The dust from the mining area was swept up, hitting everyone in the face.

“This damn place is filthy! Let’s go soak in the hot springs on the back mountain, then come back to fish her out?”

“Come back? I think we can wait until tomorrow morning to find her.”

As soon as the words were spoken, their voices were scattered by the fierce wind, dampening their interest.

“Forget it, forget it, let’s all disperse.”

A servant girl ran against the wind to report: “Not good, Junior Sister Liao Hua, terrible news!”

Liao Hua impatiently scolded: “What are you panicking about?”

The servant girl’s face was filled with terror: “Elder… Elder Jiang Yun has returned!”