Storm Brewing Over the Mountains, Part 1

Despite the Elder Council, led by Chu Tianchen, issuing strict orders to seal all news of Mu Hanyuan and Yun Yao within Qianmen, the events on Fengtian Peak spread in another form, quietly seeping into every corner of the immortal domain.

Various tales began circulating in mortal teahouses and taverns—versions of star-crossed lovers bound by past lives, secret histories of the aloof Daoist, and even forbidden master-disciple romances. Among them, the most popular and widely celebrated…

“This one!”
Ding Xiao whipped out a book from behind her, presenting it to Yun Yao’s desk like a treasure.

Yun Yao lazily lowered her eyelids, set down her teacup, and pinched the deep blue-covered book with two fingers, as if it were distasteful.

A line of black text on a white background stood out in the upper right corner.
Yun Yao glanced at it, raising a brow. “‘Once Saw Peach Blossoms Light the Jade Saddle’?”

“Exactly! Doesn’t the title perfectly match your unparalleled, world-dominating aura, Martial Uncle?”
Ding Xiao rubbed her hands excitedly, leaning over the desk. “This version’s the hottest in the mortal world! It even has illustrations by the most famous artist from the Southern Border!”

“The title’s decent enough. Let’s see about the content.”

Yun Yao had to admit the refined title piqued her curiosity. Setting her teacup aside, she placed the book on the desk, propped it open with one hand, and flipped through it casually.
The pages fluttered, landing on an illustrated page with vibrant red ink.

Sipping her tea, Yun Yao’s gaze drifted—
It followed the lifelike red skirt of the woman in the painting, down to the slender, elegant leg peeking from the hem, ending at a jade foot adorned with red polish. The artist’s skill was masterful, capturing the taut, graceful curve of her arch in a few strokes, poised delicately atop… a white-robed figure leaning against a stone, slightly disheveled…

“Pfft—cough, cough, cough!”

A spray of tea splattered the desk. Yun Yao choked, face flushed, coughing earth-shatteringly.

Ding Xiao, drenched in tea, blinked in confusion. “Martial Uncle?”

“What is this filth?!”
Yun Yao’s eyelids burned at the sight of the book. Without thinking, she grabbed it and hurled it out of sight.

Thud.

The offending book landed on the path outside the pavilion.

A丈 (about 3.3 meters) away, a white-robed figure crossing the wooded path paused. Under the stunned gaze of the red-robed woman in the pavilion, he bent down, his clean, slender fingers picking up the book.
Mu Hanyuan held it in his palm, dusting off the pages, his eyes skimming the open illustration before stopping.

After a few breaths, he closed the book and walked toward the pavilion.

Beside Yun Yao, Ding Xiao, oblivious to the approaching figure, prattled on. “This version’s unique. It says you, Martial Uncle, changed after three hundred years in seclusion, tormenting your once-pure disciple Lord Hanyuan, imprisoning him in your cave for endless days and nights of… mmph?!”

Yun Yao, horrified, clamped a hand over Ding Xiao’s mouth.

Her grip was so fierce Ding Xiao struggled, mumbling, “Mmph, mmph, mmph??”
But she froze, not just from Yun Yao’s deadly glare but because, in her peripheral vision, a white robe hem stepped into the pavilion.

Dead silence fell.

Ding Xiao: “…?”
Yun Yao: “…”

Mu Hanyuan neatly set the dusted book by the desk’s edge, near Yun Yao’s hand, then knelt on a cushion beside the table.

His lashes lowered, veiling his cold eyes. “Master, you might want to let go—she’s nearly suffocated.”

“…”

Yun Yao stiffly released her hand.
Ding Xiao gasped, then held her breath, inching back. “M-Martial Uncle, you two… chat. I, uh, just remembered today’s sect cleaning duties. I’ll… go first.”

Yun Yao reached to stop her, but Ding Xiao slipped away.

The red-robed woman froze, despairingly turning back.

It couldn’t get more embarrassing.
Yun Yao grabbed her teacup, pretending no one was there, gazing into the distance as she raised it—

Empty.

Yun Yao: “…”

In her expressionless numbness, Mu Hanyuan, no longer hiding it, let out a low chuckle.

Thud.
She set the teacup down.
At this point, she couldn’t lose face.

Yun Yao adopted a brazen attitude, turning boldly. “What’s so funny?”

Mu Hanyuan lifted the teapot, filling her empty cup halfway, his voice tinged with faint amusement. “I thought Master was avoiding me these past days out of anger. I didn’t realize you were… reading these.”

Yun Yao: “?”
“???”
“I—”

“Good,” Mu Hanyuan smiled, meeting her eyes. “I trust Master.”

His expression screamed he didn’t believe a word.

After a long standoff, Yun Yao gave up, leaning back against the pavilion’s pillar with a hint of self-abandonment.
“My pristine reputation, ruined in a day.”

Mu Hanyuan’s eyes softened, as if unintentionally adding, “Before these tales spread, for three hundred years, rumors linked Master to the Red Dust Buddha, Jiushi Valley’s master, the East Sea Phoenix, the Northern Border Cicada… Your reputation wasn’t exactly pristine.”

“?”
Yun Yao turned her face. “I meant your reputation.”

Perhaps with a touch of retaliation, she stared at Mu Hanyuan’s refined, aloof face, then grabbed the book, flipping to the tea-spraying page and slamming it before him.

“Ding Xiao said this is the most popular tale in the mortal world.” Yun Yao leaned back, propping her chin, half-mocking, half-probing. “Lord Hanyuan, in many people’s eyes in Qianmen Realm, you’re now this pitiful figure, subject to humiliation.”

“…”

Mu Hanyuan lowered his gaze, studying the image of a white-robed figure pinned against a cliff by a red-robed woman’s foot.
After a pause, his brows furrowed slightly.

“Well? Doesn’t it feel uncomfortable?” Yun Yao softened her tone, coaxing. “Doesn’t it seem absurd, unbearable to look at?”

“No one else.”

Yun Yao froze mid-speech. “What?”

Mu Hanyuan regained his calm, as if the “filth” hadn’t disturbed him at all.

“It depicts Master. How could it be humiliation by someone else?”

Facing his serene demeanor, Yun Yao nearly laughed in exasperation. “Lord Hanyuan, is there a difference between humiliation by someone else and by me?”

“If it’s Master,” Mu Hanyuan glanced at the scandalous scene, his eyes darkening, like ink bleeding into snow, “it’s not humiliation. It’s Hanyuan’s willing choice.”

“…”
Yun Yao: “?”

Mu Hanyuan rose, as if to leave. “If Master doesn’t believe me, I could…”

“I believe, I believe!”
Yun Yao leapt up, retreating three steps, then fled the pavilion without looking back. “Calm down! I’m going to supervise Ding Xiao’s cleaning!”

“…”

Moments later, the cliff was empty.
Mu Hanyuan sighed, sitting back at the desk, picking up the book. “Little Golden Lotus, when will your mother stop avoiding me?”

The jade pin glowed, and Little Golden Lotus poked out, resting its head by the desk, peering at the book with Mu Hanyuan.
“Daddy, teasing.”

Mu Hanyuan’s fingers paused mid-page, looking down. “Hm?”

“Teasing Mother on purpose,” Little Golden Lotus repeated, head tilted.

“…”

Mu Hanyuan was silent, then chuckled softly.

“She said you’re born with spirit, understanding hearts. I didn’t believe it.” He tapped Little Golden Lotus’s head. “Don’t tell Mother.”

“Mm… mm!”

He flipped another page.
A new illustration appeared.

Mu Hanyuan paused. As Little Golden Lotus craned to see, he covered the book, closing it.

“Not this page.”

“?”
Little Golden Lotus looked up, confused.

But Mu Hanyuan had risen, casually stowing the book somewhere unknown.

His figure was poised, serene, stepping out of the pavilion.
Yet, at the edge of his cascading hair, a faint flush tinted his jade-like ear.

Before rumors of Qianmen’s Little Martial Uncle Ancestor Yun Yao, returning after three hundred years, could escalate, Qianmen announced a grand event on an auspicious day:
Sect Leader’s daughter Chen Jianxue and the champion of this immortal sect competition, Li Wuhuan, would become dao companions.
The ceremony was set for the end of the month at Qianmen’s gates.

Unlike earlier gossip, this was confirmed by the two prodigies themselves, undeniable, sparking a wave of excitement across the immortal domain.

Most attention shifted from Yun Yao, and the domain buzzed with this new topic.

“Senior Sister Jianxue’s move is like sending charcoal in a snowstorm,” Ding Xiao said, teasing Little Golden Lotus while gesturing at Yun Yao, meditating. “A role model!”

Yun Yao opened her eyes, frowning. “Did you deliver my message to her a few days ago?”

“I did, but it’s no use,” Ding Xiao mumbled through a snack stolen from Little Golden Lotus. “The whole world thinks they’re perfect together. Senior Sister’s happy, the Sect Leader’s happy, and disciples inside and out agree they’re a match made in heaven. The Sect Leader even rushed back from the East Sea to prepare and host the ceremony.”

“…Fair enough.”

Yun Yao sighed, closing her eyes to resume cultivating. “Instead of meddling, I’d rather cultivate more. When your Fifth Martial Uncle returns, it’ll be time to deal with Fuyu Palace.”

At that, Ding Xiao perked up, dropping Little Golden Lotus and its snack to scoot closer. “Martial Uncle, is Fifth Martial Uncle really as dashing and unrestrained as the rumors say?”

Yun Yao smirked, eyes closed. “He hasn’t returned, and you’re already calling me ‘Martial Uncle’?”

“Come on, Martial Uncle…”

“You won’t hear praise for Mu Jiutian from me. Wait until he completes the Phoenix Clan’s rebirth ritual and returns from the East Sea. See for yourself,” Yun Yao said, gloating slightly. “Who knows if the Phoenix Clan’s leader will even let him leave.”

Ding Xiao pondered solemnly. “It sounds less like he’s there for treatment and more like a marriage alliance.”

“Once he returns and deals with Fuyu Palace’s sinners, he’ll be free. Arranging a marriage to the East Sea’s Phoenix Immortal Mountain—” Yun Yao smiled. “Not a bad choice.”

Ding Xiao: “…”
Poor Fifth Martial Uncle Ancestor.

Moments later, the array at Tianxuan Peak’s base stirred.

Yun Yao’s eyelids twitched, her cultivation breath faltering. She coughed lightly. “Is Mu Hanyuan back?”

“Hm? I’ll check.”
“…”

Soon, Ding Xiao returned from the cave entrance, holding a folded ceremonial robe and crown.

Meeting Yun Yao’s gaze, she grinned. “It’s not Senior Brother Hanyuan. It’s a disciple from Fengtian Peak, delivering the robe and crown for Senior Sister Jianxue’s dao companion ceremony in a few days.”

Yun Yao frowned, disinterested. “Leave it there.”

“Hm?” Ding Xiao set down the robe, leaning closer. “Why do I feel you’re a bit disappointed it’s not Hanyuan?”

Yun Yao rose slowly, stretching her wrist lazily. “Why do I feel my martial niece is getting bolder, disrespecting me more each day?”

“!”
Ding Xiao instantly dropped her playful demeanor, holding the robe solemnly. “Martial Uncle, shall I help you try on the robe to see if it fits?”

Yun Yao glanced over, thinking. “I won’t attend Chen Jianxue’s ceremony.”

“Huh? Why not?”

Yun Yao said lazily, “I’m afraid when Li Wuhuan offers me tea, I’ll splash it on him.”

Ding Xiao: “?”
“…”

Considering her Martial Uncle’s temperament and the notorious deeds recorded three hundred years ago—
It wasn’t impossible.

Imagining the scene, Ding Xiao shuddered, forcing a sincere smile. “No need to trouble you, Martial Uncle. I’ll inform the Sect Leader you’ll rest in your cave.”

“…”

Ding Xiao, holding the robe, turned to leave, but a voice drifted from behind.
“What’s Mu Hanyuan been up to?”

Catching the unspoken “Why haven’t I seen him in days?”, Ding Xiao, for her own safety, stifled a laugh, keeping her tone neutral. “Senior Brother Hanyuan’s been teaching new disciples lately.”

“Hm? Neglecting his own cultivation to teach?”

Yun Yao snorted inwardly.
No wonder he left Little Golden Lotus here.

“Maybe it’s a bottleneck before Tribulation stage?” Ding Xiao mused, recalling the spectacle at the Immortal Alliance’s Tianshan. “That’s the final hurdle before immortality. Senior Brother Hanyuan can’t just leap over it like you did, crossing Tribulation stage as if it’s nothing, right?”

Yun Yao pondered. “A bottleneck, huh.”

“But since returning, disciples say Hanyuan… Senior Brother Hanyuan’s changed.”

Recalling the thunder punishment, Yun Yao frowned. “How so?”

“Compared to his former saintly, aloof demeanor, he’s more… human now.”

Yun Yao: “…?”
She laughed. “So in your eyes, your Senior Brother Hanyuan wasn’t human before?”

“Of course not,” Ding Xiao said confidently. “Before, despite his compassion, he was like a divine statue from a temple coming to life, strolling the mortal world without a trace of human warmth. Now, though…”

Ding Xiao grinned, slipping out. “It’s great! Disciples privately thank you, Martial Uncle Ancestor, for enlightening him!”

“?”

Yun Yao rose to discipline the audacious girl, but Ding Xiao had anticipated it and fled.

Without the chattering sparrow, the cave fell silent, save for Little Golden Lotus, hugging its feet, snoring with snot bubbles.

Yun Yao glanced over, chuckling, and sat back down. But closing her eyes, Ding Xiao’s words lingered.

She recalled Mu Hanyuan’s words at Tianshan’s peak.
[Master taught me to embrace the world’s joys and sorrows. Now that I feel them, would Master turn me back into cold stone?]

“…”

After a while, a soft sigh echoed in the dimly lit cave.

Let’s hope this is best for you.

Chen Jianxue and Li Wuhuan’s dao companion ceremony was a rare century-defining event for Qianmen, keeping the sect bustling for days without rest.

But the day before the ceremony, urgent news arrived from the East Sea’s Phoenix Immortal Mountain—
A letter from the old clan leader stated Mu Jiutian’s rebirth ritual had gone awry, the array destabilized, requiring at least two peak Unity-stage cultivators to stabilize it, summoning Chen Qingmu.

Chen Qingmu, receiving the letter, hurried to Tianxuan Peak to consult Yun Yao.

“Is it truly from the Phoenix Clan?” Yun Yao frowned at the floating golden text.

“Verified twice,” Chen Qingmu said anxiously. “Only a dozen know of Master’s ritual, and outside, only the Phoenix Clan’s elders.”

“Then the ritual really has gone wrong…”
Yun Yao’s face chilled, rising from her seat and heading out. “No time to waste. I’ll see Mu Hanyuan to settle some matters, then head to the East Sea.”

“I’ll go with you, Martial Uncle!”

“No need.” Yun Yao stopped him.

“But Master—”

“With me, a Tribulation-stage cultivator, there, am I not worth a hundred peak Unity-stage mediocrities?”
Yun Yao snapped, pausing at Chen Qingmu’s choked expression. “I didn’t mean you.”

Chen Qingmu: “…”

She added, “Tomorrow’s Li Wuhuan and Jianxue’s ceremony. You’re her father—how can you miss it?”

“…Alright.”
Chen Qingmu sighed. “Be careful, Martial Uncle. If they’re short-handed, please send word.”

“Mm.”

Yun Yao flashed outside, summoning her Naihe Sword. As she stepped onto it, she paused, turning back. “After I leave, activate the mountain protection array.”

Chen Qingmu blinked, then nodded. “Yes, Martial Uncle.”

“…”

From Qianmen to the East Sea’s Phoenix Immortal Mountain was thirty thousand miles.

Even with Yun Yao’s Tribulation-stage cultivation, it took nearly half a day to glimpse the mountain’s misty silhouette at sunrise.

Atop the immortal mountain, the Phoenix Clan’s old leader, with two elders, awaited her personally.

As an ancient demon clan, the Phoenix Clan was favored by heaven, blessed with long lives and innate power—newborns started at Nascent Soul stage, with prodigies like the current leader born at Void Refinement stage.
Such heaven-gifted talent, yet wasted on an arrogant, annoying figure.

Grumbling inwardly, Yun Yao descended from her sword, bowing. “Junior Yun Yao greets the Clan Leader.”

“So it’s Little Yun Yao! I hardly recognized you… Come, come.” The old leader pulled her along, chattering as they descended the mountain.

Five hundred years ago, the old leader was close with Yun Yao’s master, Taiyi Zhenren. As a mischievous child, Yun Yao often tugged his vibrant tail feathers when he visited Qianmen to drink tea with her master.
She’d earned plenty of scoldings from her master and Fourth Senior Brother, but the old leader never minded, chuckling as he held young Yun Yao on his knee, letting her watch him play chess with Taiyi.

Memories faded like clouds. Five hundred years passed in a blink.

In today’s Qianmen Realm, only the ancient Phoenix Clan leader outranked Yun Yao in seniority.

After brief pleasantries, the old leader led her to the clan’s forbidden grounds.

“This is our clan’s ancient immortal array, passed down for nearly ten thousand years. Our rebirth ritual is completed here. It’s been running smoothly, but at the final stage, the spiritual energy surged uncontrollably, nearly causing disaster—”
The old leader sighed in pain. “It almost harmed your senior brother. If it had, I’d have no face to meet your master in the afterlife!”

“Don’t blame yourself. It’s my senior brother and I who sought your clan’s help. Opening your forbidden grounds to heal his soul and body is already a great kindness.”

Yun Yao gazed at Mu Jiutian, unconscious in the array’s center, her heart anxious.
She turned to the old leader. “The letter said two peak Unity-stage cultivators are needed. Can I alone suffice?”

“This…”

“I entered Tribulation stage recently, and my cultivation is stable.”

“Then certainly. The array needs four cultivators at the cardinal positions. We’ve gathered our clan’s high-tier members, but we lack one at the northern position. If you take it, the array will be secure.”

“No time to waste. Please activate the array, Clan Leader.”

“Good, good.”
The old leader shakily approached the array’s foundational platform.

Guided by a Phoenix Clan disciple, Yun Yao took the northern position, learning to channel the sixteen sub-arrays, feeding spiritual energy into the main array alongside other high-tier phoenixes.

“Activate the array!!”

At the command, the sixteen sub-arrays at each cardinal position rose, linking vertically, merging into sixty-four sub-arrays to form the complete Four Symbols Array.
As it took shape, torrents of spiritual energy surged from all directions, flooding the array.

In Yun Yao’s divine sense, the demonic energy on Mu Jiutian was indeed being extracted bit by bit.

Her expression eased, and as she channeled energy, she turned to thank the old leader—only to meet his gaze: sorrowful, guilty, and anguished.

“…”
Yun Yao’s heart skipped a beat.

“Uncle?” She instinctively used the childhood name she’d called him.

“Don’t be afraid, Little Yun Yao. I won’t harm you or your senior brother,” the old leader sighed, leaning on the array’s platform, sitting shakily. “This ancient array mustn’t have its energy flow interrupted.”

Yun Yao’s pupils contracted, glancing at Mu Jiutian in the array’s center.

The old leader’s voice was mournful. “As long as you stay, keeping the energy flowing, your senior brother and my clan members will survive. After three days, when the array completes, he’ll be your Fifth Senior Brother again…”

“You deliberately lured me here?”
Betrayal and grievance overwhelmed Yun Yao, flashing back to the moment her master and senior siblings perished.
Yet she couldn’t believe it. “You and my master were confidants for a thousand years! Fuyu Palace commits atrocities, harbors dao-demon hybrids, and murders the innocent! How could you side with them?!”

“The Phoenix Clan, with its ancient legacy, would never ally with such scum!” the old leader rasped. “Nor would I risk my clan’s lives for them!”

“Then why?!”

He sighed heavily. “For our clan’s ten-thousand-year precept: the True Dragon’s will must not be defied.”

“—”
Yun Yao froze, turning back. “True Dragon… Yuyan?”

“Yes,” the old leader’s eyes reddened, almost snarling the name. “Yuyan. It’s not dead. It’s returned.”

“And now, it’s within your Qianmen!”

Thirty thousand miles away, at Qianmen.

Dawn was breaking, the sect aglow with lanterns.
Red decorations adorned the mountains, joyous laughter echoing as disciples with red lanterns wove through forests and streams toward Fengtian Peak…
Music filled the air, painting the scene with celebration.

Yet at the horizon, before sunrise, dark clouds gathered, heralding a coming storm.