A Tale of Two Extremes

A new environment always requires some adaptation, but for now, Xia Jin clearly felt no rejection toward Youyun Peak. She frequently scanned the surrounding scenery along the way, appearing intensely curious.

This was a good sign.

Leading Xia Jin to his small cottage, Xu Jinghuai came to a halt.

Xia Jin also took notice of the cottage before her.

After all, throughout the entire mountain—despite the lush vegetation and beautiful waters—she had yet to see any other buildings.

Xia Jin had assumed the Immortal Master lived a life of oneness with nature, taking the sky as his blanket and the earth as his bed for the sake of enlightenment.

The appearance of this cottage could be said to have shattered Xia Jin’s previous fantasies.

“This is where this teacher resides.”

“If you have matters to seek me for on ordinary days, knock thrice on the door, and I shall appear.”

Xia Jin nodded obediently, indicating she understood.

Toward the end, as if remembering something, Xu Jinghuai added sternly: “Additionally, you must remember that regardless of any emergency, you are not to enter my house without knocking, especially at night.”

Xu Jinghuai’s solemn expression caused Xia Jin to become serious as well. She nodded her head heavily and replied.

“Jin’er understands.”

Xia Jin’s “good girl” demeanor left Xu Jinghuai very satisfied.

It truly was wonderful to have such a sensible and obedient disciple.

As expected, his eye for picking disciples wasn’t bad at all!

Having introduced his residence, Xu Jinghuai did not plan to take Xia Jin inside for a tour. After all, being a lazy shut-in, he knew exactly what “state” his room was in.

He glanced at Xia Jin out of the corner of his eye.

Xu Jinghuai mused that there was no rush to impart cultivation methods to Xia Jin just yet.

He would handle those three errands first.

“Come, disciple, take your teacher’s hand,” Xu Jinghuai said.

Though Xia Jin didn’t understand his intent, she followed instructions obediently and held onto Xu Jinghuai’s hand.

Xu Jinghuai spoke in a business-like tone: “Today is your first day joining the Wuling Immortal Sect, and henceforth you are a member of it. I shall take you on a tour of the sect; it will also be convenient for you to familiarize yourself with the path back to my Youyun Peak in the future.”

“In passing, I can also explain some matters regarding cultivation.”

“Mhm.”

Xia Jin nodded obediently once more.

Seeing that Xia Jin was ready, Xu Jinghuai wasted no more words. Operating his immortal power, he led Xia Jin as they stepped through the air.

Admittedly, it was a slight pity he wasn’t a sword cultivator; otherwise, taking his disciple on a flying sword right now would have been quite the flex.

However, that had the disadvantage of being too high-profile.

Xu Jinghuai was a man who championed minimalism and living as a low-key immortal; such things were fine to think about, but he would never actually put them into practice.

The upcoming arrangements were simple. Xu Jinghuai set the first destination as Forging Peak.

He hadn’t forgotten that his disciple currently had no house to live in; he needed to find Old He to borrow some people for construction.

Along the way, Xu Jinghuai leisurely gave Xia Jin a brief introduction to the Wuling Immortal Sect.

“There are seven major peaks in the Wuling Immortal Sect. Aside from our Youyun Peak, which is outside the standard establishment, the other six peaks each have their own responsibilities: Artifact Forging, Alchemy, Talismans, Formations, Sword Dao, and Law Enforcement.”

“The main peak, which oversees the sect’s law enforcement, is inhabited by our Sect Master, the Great Elder of Deliberation, and the Second Elder of Law Enforcement.”

“The main peak has the most complete facilities in the entire sect, such as training grounds, the Sutra Pavilion, the exchange market, the Hall of Law Enforcement, and the commission wall. However, those are a bit too far off for you, disciple. Many facilities require the expenditure of contribution points and Immortal Spirit Crystals, so before you reach the Golden Core stage, don’t worry about wandering over to the main peak.”

Xia Jin nodded: “Jin’er understands.”

“The remaining five peaks, as their names suggest, each specialize in a specific branch. While their mastery may not necessarily be the strongest in the Cangnan Realm, it is because of them that the Wuling Immortal Sect is well-rounded in all aspects.”

“This is also why the Wuling Immortal Sect is ranked as the number one immortal sect, beyond just combat power.”

Xu Jinghuai pointed toward a mountain ahead, signaling for Xia Jin to look. “That mountain is Forging Peak, our first stop.”

Xia Jin looked in the direction he pointed.

It was a flat-topped peak slightly shorter than Youyun Peak, but the mist there was far thicker, making it look like the head of a hammer.

Numerous buildings were scattered halfway up the mountain; from Xia Jin’s current perspective, they looked like tiny black ants.

‘Mhm…’

‘It’s not as pretty as the Immortal Master’s Youyun Peak.’

Xia Jin silently gave Forging Peak her internal evaluation.

Xu Jinghuai intended to find Old He at the summit, as those living halfway down were merely disciples of Forging Peak.

Given Xu Jinghuai’s speed, they arrived at the summit in short order.

A massive tall tower came into view at the peak.

Xu Jinghuai knew that was the smelting tower where Old He usually forged artifacts.

Supposedly, a Lava Behemoth was also kept there.

Since forging most frequently required fire, they had captured a Lava Behemoth to ensure the fire-attribute spiritual energy at Forging Peak remained exceptionally dense year-round.

Xu Jinghuai glanced at Xia Jin beside him.

Having just reached the summit without even approaching the tower, sweat was already appearing on Xia Jin’s forehead. She pursed her pink lips, her small face flushed red.

Water and fire are incompatible. Xia Jin, possessing the Refined Water Spirit Immortal Body, naturally experienced a rejection reaction in a place with such dense fire elements.

Previously, while Xia Jin was gazing at Forging Peak from afar, Xu Jinghuai had already secretly channeled immortal power to wrap her in a heat-insulating shield.

But currently, it seemed insufficient, likely because Xia Jin lacked cultivation and still possessed a mortal body.

This wasn’t something that could be immunized simply by adding more layers of immortal power, so Xu Jinghuai fished a blue bracelet out of his storage ring and held it before Xia Jin.

“Disciple, put this on before we enter.”

Xia Jin, who was enduring the heat, suddenly felt a pleasant, cool sensation on her head.

She instinctively looked up and saw the bracelet emitting wisps of cold air.

“Yes… Immortal Master…”

The moment Xia Jin reached out to take it, her whole body shuddered, and she let out a shiver.

One moment she felt as if she were at the mouth of a volcano; the next, it was as if she had arrived in a world of ice and snow, her entire body enveloped in a biting chill.

It felt like a “Heaven of Ice and Fire”—the sensation was quite intense.

However, compared to the scorching heat, the chill was far less repulsive to Xia Jin.

Seeing his disciple looking much “better” than before, Xu Jinghuai felt more at ease and led her toward the interior of the tower.

Xu Jinghuai’s reputation within the Wuling Immortal Sect was almost equal to that of Sect Master Tian Qingning.

As long as one was a disciple of the sect, regardless of which peak they belonged to, they knew Youyun Immortal Venerable.

Though Youyun Immortal Venerable was usually elusive, his movements were the easiest to track among all the Peak Masters.

Basically, if you pulled aside any disciple of the Wuling Immortal Sect and asked, they would likely tell you directly: “Youyun Immortal Venerable? He’s definitely on Youyun Peak.”

Indeed, almost everyone in the sect except for the newly joined disciples knew that this Youyun Immortal Venerable rarely left his own mountain.

And once Youyun Immortal Venerable did come out, he was even easier to identify.

If you saw someone in the sky who neither used a tool nor rode a spirit beast, but simply floated by leisurely—that was most likely Youyun Immortal Venerable.

Thus, what should have been a very low-profile way of traveling had, over time, become his unique identifying trait.

The two Forging Peak disciples guarding the tower recognized Xu Jinghuai at a glance before he and Xia Jin had even reached the mountain.

At this moment, the two disciples bowed deeply toward the approaching Xu Jinghuai and Xia Jin. “We pay our respects to Youyun Immortal Venerable!”