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“It’s nothing, merely some thoughts disturbing my peace.”
Xuanyuan Luoshui waved a hand, her voice tinged with a forced lightness.
“I had thought, Immortal, that you might have seen something impure.”
“There is nothing impure in this world that I cannot eradicate…”
“But tell me, from where do you hail?”
Zhuang Xun’s expression remained serene. ‘So, she’s starting to probe,’ he thought to himself.
“A nameless place, Mount Xukun.”
“Xukun…”
Xuanyuan Luoshui pondered carefully, yet no mountain named Xukun existed within her memories.
“Never mind. Do you still have family?”
Cultivators, unless they originated from a sect or a prominent family, often lived transient lives.
Many were rogue cultivators, wandering the world, making the four seas their home and finding companionship in the mortal dust and passing breezes.
As for their blood relatives and family members, the lifespan of cultivators was inherently long, while the requirements for mortals to embark on the path of cultivation were exceedingly stringent.
Not everyone could step onto this arduous path.
Consequently, most of their loved ones would have long since passed, leaving no one to seek.
Indeed, Zhuang Xun had been in this world for quite some time.
Since his arrival, the Heavenly Dao had personally forged a physical body for him, allowing him to adapt to the karmic cycles of all realms.
And now…
Perhaps ten thousand years had already passed.
However, it was precisely because of this passage of time that he had slowly let go of many things.
He had gradually begun to consider himself a part of this world.
Yet, some elements still lingered within his soul’s memory, influencing him constantly.
Thus, he could only be…
Similar, yet distinct.
“I achieved Foundation Establishment over a century ago. My family and old friends have long since returned to dust; now, I merely wander the mortal realm.”
“…”
“My apologies for bringing up your past.”
Xuanyuan Luoshui swept her sleeve, and a jade vial appeared on the table. “This is a Golden Spirit Pill, useful for assisting in Core Formation. Consider it an apology.”
‘It seems she hasn’t forgotten the principles of treating others that I once taught her,’ Zhuang Xun mused.
Zhuang Xun politely declined. “There’s no need. Core Formation holds no meaning for me anymore…”
“My only desire now is to journey across these magnificent lands during my lifetime.”
“…”
Upon hearing his words, Xuanyuan Luoshui felt a strange sensation, though she knew not why.
She always felt that this man was her master.
However, he pleaded ignorance to every question, and even his spiritual consciousness seemed unusual.
This prevented her from discerning his karmic destiny or observing any traces of his past lives.
Moreover, if not for the Heavenly Dao’s prohibitions, a cultivator with his mindset…
…would likely become another enigmatic and untrammeled immortal in the Azure Domain.
“Very well.”
‘It seems I’ll have to use *that* item to gauge his reaction,’ she thought.
Xuanyuan Luoshui swept her hand through the air, and an indistinct scroll slowly unfurled before them.
“One last question: what is the first thing you see in this painting?”
Within the scroll, a maiden appeared to be practicing sword forms amidst mountains and rivers, bathed in the light of the rising sun.
Birds soared nearby, and rugged rocks and dense thickets dotted the landscape.
Zhuang Xun glanced at it. ‘Wasn’t this the painting I idly sketched when I was her master, simply out of boredom?’ he wondered.
‘There’s nothing particularly special about it.’
However, if he *had* to state what he saw first…
“Immortal, isn’t this simply a painting of a maiden practicing her sword?”
“Are there no other distinctive features?”
“From my perspective, it truly possesses no unique characteristics.”
“Good.”
A faint smile touched Xuanyuan Luoshui’s lips beneath her black veil. A jade token materialized in her hand, which she then offered to Zhuang Xun.
“Guard this jade token carefully; do not lose it.”
“Should you encounter danger, produce it, and it will save your life.”
“To accept such a favor without cause would be improper.”
Zhuang Xun extended it back. His acute spiritual sense had already detected a divine consciousness residing within the jade token.
If he accepted it, his every word and action would be under her constant scrutiny.
Furthermore, it contained a tracking function.
It was clearly a surveillance artifact disguised with a life-saving ability.
“This Seat commands you to take it; take it. Why waste words?”
“…”
“If you refuse, this Seat will forcibly take you as my personal disciple, and you will no longer be permitted to wander the mortal world as you please.”
“Immortal, your actions are rather overbearing, wouldn’t you say?”
“What if they are overbearing?”
Xuanyuan Luoshui’s crimson eyes gleamed with a bloody light, and the threat in her words was undeniable.
“…”
“Very well, then I shall thank the Immortal first.”
This was the first time Zhuang Xun had ever been threatened by his own disciple, let alone pressured to become *her* disciple.
If others knew, they would surely die laughing.
Yet, in the cultivation world, such things were not uncommon.
After all, without sufficient strength, one held no right to speak.
Lineage and seniority were no different.
Seeing Zhuang Xun accept the jade token, Xuanyuan Luoshui waved her hand, signaling that he was free to leave.
“If you wish to join my sect, I can offer you a spot right now.”
“There’s no need.”
With those words, Zhuang Xun stepped through the door and departed, showing not a hint of reluctance.
“…”
“Alas…”
Xuanyuan Luoshui exhaled softly, resting her head on one hand, her eyes gently closed.
All the memories of the past resurfaced once more.
“Back then… Master was clearly superior…”
“But why, in the end…”
“Why did Master wish so desperately for death…?”
Once, she had used her full strength, piercing her beloved Master with a spear, ending his life.
Yet, throughout her subsequent cultivation, she had replayed that battle countless times in her mind.
Each time, the outcome was the same: her Master had been superior.
She had pondered it for a long time but could never understand why.
As for his final words, ‘The student surpasses the master’…
‘Perhaps they were merely words of comfort for her,’ she thought.
So…
She wanted to find him, to uncover the reason he had sought death so earnestly back then.
And…
Why he had left her alone…
To walk this cultivation path burdened with such lingering regret.
“Alas…”
“Whether you are him or not, I will continue searching.”
****
Not long after leaving the inn, Zhuang Xun continued to wander the streets.
He seemed entirely unbothered, strolling aimlessly, and incidentally, searching for the pink fox.
To him, Xuanyuan Luoshui’s appearance was merely an unexpected interlude that wouldn’t disturb his peace of mind.
After all, the past was gone; dwelling on it further would only lead to lingering sadness.
By chance, Zhuang Xun overheard a conversation between a theater troupe owner and an old man.
An elderly man, dressed in simple cloth, was questioning a middle-aged man in luxurious brocade robes.
“Boss, didn’t you usually finish up at Hai Shi [9-11 PM] before?”
“Why are you starting to dismantle the stage so early now?”
“Alas~”
The middle-aged man sighed, gazing at the stage being taken apart, his face filled with sorrow. He spoke with resignation: “There’s nothing for it. Recently, King Pingliang has been amassing a large number of troops in An’yang City, and no one knows his intentions…”
“The imperial court also seems unsure of what to do, planning to directly dispatch troops to suppress him…”
“They’re currently stationed just a hundred *li* outside Taiyang City…”
“It’s truly put everyone on edge…”
“Everyone fears that if a battle breaks out, the flames of war will spread here…”
“I have elders above me and children below; there are still people in my troupe who need to eat…”
“I can only move us to a more stable place for now.”
“Alas… indeed…”
The old man also sighed, then turned and walked away, seemingly filled with a mournful lament.
“Once the fires of war ignite, the battlefront will become volatile…”
“Then the land will fall into disarray, and the fate of the nation will be unpredictable…”
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