Stone’s Fire, Dream’s Body, Part 1

On the sixth day of the winter month, heavy snow blanketed the mortal realm.
The heavens and earth resembled a jade pot, with white clouds piling like precious jade.
Yet, gazing skyward from the far northern lands, one could glimpse, amidst the towering snowstorm, a verdant mountain shadow flickering through the clouds, like a mirage.

“Mother! Look, there’s an immortal realm in the sky!”
“…”

In the bustling mortal market, a plainly dressed woman, tugged at her coat by a child, glanced hastily upward.

The wind and snow scattered the clouds, shattering the jade-like sky, revealing not a trace of celestial light, let alone an immortal realm.

The woman lowered her head, brushing off the child.
“Ever since the omen of the demonic seed’s world-ending calamity appeared, no immortal has ascended in the Qianyuan Realm for centuries. What immortal realm? You saw wrong.”

“No, I really saw it! The immortal realm had towering mountains and a long, long river…”
Before the child could finish, the mother pulled them away, vanishing into the snowstorm.

At that same moment.

Beyond the clouds—Qianmen, Fengtian Peak.
Emerald branches swayed, casting flecks of golden sunlight onto a wide bluestone platform.
On it stood a stone sundial with three interlocking rings, slowly turning with the sun’s shadow.
Beside the sundial, a young man wiped sweat from his brow.
“That was close, too close.”

Below the platform, a few disciples lounged loosely, one chuckling.
“Brother Liu, Elder Tian’s only been gone a few days with the Sect Leader to Fuyu Palace, and you nearly exposed our Qianmen’s mountain gate to the entire mortal world. If Elder Tian knew, he’d never trust you with the Sky Sundial again.”

“You lot made me nervous, and I slipped up. Have some mercy, brothers.”
Confirming the mountain gate was safely concealed within the Sky Sundial’s illusory array, Brother Liu cautiously descended the platform, rejoining the group.

His lofty demeanor vanished, replaced by itching curiosity, as if he’d just heard earth-shattering gossip.
“What you said earlier—is it true that Little Martial Aunt is about to emerge from seclusion?”

“…” A few paces away, a figure in redయ

System: red robes, hidden in the cool shade of branches, swayed in the wind, her dark hair lazily draped, her head tilting from a feigned nap to glance over.

“Could there be any falsehood in a message from the Alliance of Immortals?” The disciple who spoke, proud of his family’s ties to the Alliance, raised his chin smugly.

The others weren’t entirely convinced.
“The Alliance? Three hundred years ago, when Qianmen was at its peak, they didn’t even exist.”
“Exactly! Little Martial Aunt is a transcendent figure. Before her seclusion, a single sword of hers subdued the Demon Realm. Even our Sect Leader calls her Martial Aunt—how dare the Alliance presume to predict her actions?”
“If Little Martial Aunt hadn’t secluded herself for three hundred years, would Fuyu Palace even have a say in the Alliance today?”

One comment sparked a flood of grievances, and the boastful disciple looked sheepish.
“The Alliance elders wouldn’t dare speculate lightly… but have you forgotten? Before her seclusion, Little Martial Aunt sealed her sword, ‘Naihe,’ atop the Alliance’s Tianshan peak.”

Silence fell over the group.

Brother Liu’s expression shifted first.
“Could it be… the divine sword ‘Naihe’ showed a sign?”

“Exactly!”
The disciple’s voice rose, startling the others.
“Just one day ago, ‘Naihe’ erupted with spiritual light in the Tianshan array, piercing the clouds. Its cry echoed across the mountain for ten breaths, nearly breaking the array to fly eastward!”

The Qianmen disciples exchanged glances, their earlier skepticism fading.
“It’s said the divine sword ‘Naihe’ is untamable. If even it stirred, then…”
“Little Martial Aunt is truly emerging?”
“I thought all seven heroes of Qianmen would fall to the demonic seed’s calamity. Thank heavens Little Martial Aunt still guards our sect!”
“Fuyu Palace has been lording over everyone. In the secrets of the two realms, our Little Martial Aunt has always been the foremost slayer of the cultivation world. With her back, who in Fuyu Palace will dare act arrogantly?”
“…”

Their voices grew heated as they walked off.
The last disciple, hurrying to catch up, felt a sudden tug on his shoulder.

“Who’s that?”
Wu Tianya turned, ready to scold, but the words caught in his throat.

A red-robed girl leapt down from the tree.
Her long hair was loosely pinned with a simple wooden clasp, a pale blue ribbon woven through it, adorned with two tiny flowers at the end. Strands framed a fair, radiant face, her sparkling eyes smiling at him.
As she landed, her sleeves fluttered, and the golden bell bracelet on her wrist chimed crisply, its chain linked to a peculiar turtle shell on her middle finger.

Most striking was her forehead—a red butterfly-shaped mark, vivid and lively, as if ready to take flight with her every move.

Wu Tianya choked, his face flushing.
“Junior Sister… no, Senior Sister…”

“How may I address this brother?” Yun Yao called out cheerfully.

“Wu Tianya… as in ‘to the ends of the earth.’”

“Brother Wu, a pleasure.” Before he could respond, Yun Yao leaned closer.
“I overheard you all speaking of Qianmen’s Little Martial Aunt. How much do you know about her?”

“Of course!” Wu Tianya snapped to attention.
“Little Martial Aunt Yun Yao is my greatest idol. No one in the world knows more about her than me!”

“Oh?”
Yun Yao smiled playfully.
“So, Brother Wu, what kind of person is she?”

“Little Martial Aunt? She’s the greatest genius of the Qianyuan Realm in a millennium. Five hundred years ago, guided by Master Taiyi, she became the youngest of Qianmen’s seven heroes. They say she was stern, unparalleled in majesty, decisive in battle…”

Wu Tianya’s boasts swirled around Yun Yao, carried by the verdant mountain breeze.

She listened to her own legendary biography while sifting through the fragmented memories of her body’s former owner.

—Indeed, she was Yun Yao.
But not that Yun Yao.

The true Yun Yao had succumbed to demonic possession during her seclusion a day ago, her soul extinguished.
This Yun Yao was a hapless minor immortal from the Celestial Realm’s Sky Palace, dozing over the timelines of three thousand worlds, perhaps dreaming, only to awaken in the Qianyuan Realm’s cultivation world.

If she were a carefree nobody, life might be amusing—but no, she was Qianmen’s most perilous figure, the Little Martial Aunt Yun Yao, of a once-glorious, now-fallen sect.

She knew this Yun Yao’s story.

Monitoring the timelines of worlds was tedious, so she’d collected their tales to pass the time.
This Yun Yao’s tale, tied by name, lingered in her memory.

In short, her first half of life could be summed up in eight words: peerless elegance, unrivaled in her era.

Her most famous feat was her final battle before seclusion—
Three hundred years ago, Yun Yao, alone with her sword, stormed the Demon Realm’s heart, reaching White Tiger City, one of its four great strongholds.
With ‘Naihe,’ she slew countless demons, staining the city’s eight-hundred-mile river red for three days.

That battle crushed the Demon Realm’s arrogance born of the demonic seed’s prophecy, earning her the top rank on the Qianyuan Realm’s slayer list.

Afterward, she brought back a boy, taken as her personal disciple, named Mu Hanyuan.
Soon after, she sealed her sword and entered seclusion for three hundred years.

If her story ended there, it would be a legend’s pinnacle.

But the tales told of her return—when she defiled her disciple, Mu Hanyuan, then the cultivation world’s “Moon in the Heavens,” using him as a cultivation cauldron… for half a year.

The details were so vile—torment, degradation, cruelty—that even celestial scripts sealed them behind immortal locks, unreadable by magic.

Yet, evil reaps its own end. Half a year later, “Yun Yao” met a sudden, mysterious death.

Yun Yao sighed, shaking her head.
“Tch, tch.”

“Little Martial Aunt’s unparalleled glory inspires awe—eh, Junior Sister, do you disagree?”

“Oh, no,” Yun Yao snapped out of her reverie.
“It’s just a pity such a remarkable figure hasn’t appeared in three hundred years.”

“Indeed, three hundred years is too long!”

“Does Brother Wu know any personal secrets about her, beyond her battle legends?”

“Personal… secrets?” Wu Tianya gave her an odd look.

Yun Yao blinked earnestly.
—Surely, she didn’t just emerge from seclusion and turn beastly? There must be some hidden history with Mu Hanyuan.

But her predecessor’s possessed soul left only fragmented memories, nothing about that.
She didn’t even know what to avoid.

“Oh.”
Wu Tianya hesitated, then whispered, “This is just hearsay, Junior Sister, take it lightly.”

Yun Yao nodded obediently.

“They say, despite her prowess, her romantic pursuits were ill-fated. She chased many young talents from various clans, but it never ended well, leaving grudges instead.”

Yun Yao’s smile froze.
“Chased… various clans?”

“Yes.” Wu Tianya replied casually.
“But that was centuries ago. Most of those she pursued have faded from the world.”

Yun Yao exhaled in relief but asked, “Who’s left?”
She’d avoid them all.

Wu Tianya flicked his sleeve, counting on his fingers.

“Just the three-thousand-year-old phoenix of the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Mountain, the Red Dust Buddha of Xiyu’s Fantian Temple, the Retired Emperor of the Southern Dynasty, the Cold Cicada Ancestor of Beiyuan’s Extreme Realm, and…”

“And—?”
Yun Yao nearly choked.
“Was she collecting trading cards?”

Wu Tianya folded his arms, stern.
“Junior Sister, how can you disrespect Little Martial Aunt? She must have had her reasons.”

Yun Yao: “…”

He added, “Besides, it’s just hearsay. Maybe they were the ones chasing her relentlessly.”

Yun Yao: “……”

On her first day out of seclusion, the sun shone brightly.

Leaning against a massive tree on Fengtian Peak, the five-hundred-year-old maiden sighed skyward.

After her possession, her cultivation had plummeted, her prowess a shadow of its former self, with no telling when it might recover—and her doom loomed within half a year.

No wonder the legendary Yun Yao died so inexplicably in the tales.

—Never mind her disciple, Mu Hanyuan, destined to become the world-destroying Demon Lord.
With so many enemies beyond the mountain, there wouldn’t be enough of her ashes to go around.

“I must escape.”
After much thought, Yun Yao resolved solemnly.
“Since ‘Naihe’s’ reaction was a fluke, everyone thinks I’m still in seclusion. I must flee before anyone realizes I’m Yun…”

“Master.”

A soft breeze brushed her ear.

Behind her, a clear, resonant voice silenced the mountain’s chattering cicadas.