Heaven’s Shadow

In the majestic Kunlun Mountains, with its rolling peaks, shadows persist even in broad daylight, and there are places where sunlight does not reach.

The Yi Tomb is such a place, seemingly forever shrouded in darkness.

When the dazzling spiritual light illuminated the mountains and the heavens, everyone was in awe. The light reached far and wide but did not fall upon the shadowed peak, unable to pierce through the darkness.

The corpse-watcher stood silently in the dark courtyard, looking up at the light in the sky and the faint images of dragons and tigers. These images, powerful and untamed, symbolized the greatest forces in the world.

After a long while, he turned and quietly walked back into the darkness, like a lingering ghost in the mortal realm.

※※※

The True Spiritual Light is a rare phenomenon in the cultivation world. Not only ordinary people but even many cultivators may never see it in their lifetime unless by sheer coincidence.

In the thatched cottage on the Feiyan Platform, although Lu Chen was gravely injured, Su Qingjun still helped him sit up, leaning against the windowsill to watch the extraordinary light in the sky.

Su Qingjun sat beside him, supporting him. Despite their vastly different statuses and strengths, both seemed calm about the situation. However, Su Qingjun couldn’t help feeling a surge of excitement when she saw the True Spiritual Light in the sky.

Even for someone as recognized as a genius as she is, the Nascent Soul realm remains a distant goal with a long journey ahead. Not to mention the infamous Great Life-and-Death Barrier, which is known for stalling even the most talented cultivators, leaving no certainty of success.

As her excitement subsided, Su Qingjun was surprised to find that Lu Chen’s demeanor remained unusually calm while watching the distant brilliance. For a servant disciple with such low cultivation, the scene before him might be unattainable, yet Lu Chen seemed oddly indifferent, as if he were an ordinary person unmoved by the spectacle.

“What’s wrong with you?” Su Qingjun asked, concerned and puzzled.

Lu Chen responded, “Hmm?”

Su Qingjun pointed to the light in the sky and asked, “It seems like you’re not very interested in the True Spiritual Light?”

Lu Chen paused and then smiled, sighing, “Miss, if you had as many injuries as I do right now, and the pain was unbearable, you’d be too distracted to care about other things.”

Su Qingjun realized this and sighed lightly, “I overlooked that.” She then helped Lu Chen lie back down and whispered, “You should rest well.”

Lu Chen’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he suddenly asked, “Were you serious about what you said outside earlier?”

Su Qingjun asked, “Which part?”

Lu Chen replied, “About loudly declaring to your master that you wanted to take me as your disciple.”

“Oh, you heard that?”

Lu Chen closed his eyes for a moment and said, “Your voice was quite loud.”

Su Qingjun smiled and said, “Yes, I was serious.”

Lu Chen sighed, “Can I refuse this?”

“What?” Su Qingjun was surprised, clearly taken aback by Lu Chen’s reaction.

Lu Chen didn’t answer immediately but looked at her calmly. After a moment, Su Qingjun frowned and asked, “Why?”

Lu Chen said, “Your master was unhappy earlier.”

Su Qingjun nodded and asked, “Are you afraid of him?”

Lu Chen responded, “Your master is a Nascent Soul True Immortal, and I’m just a servant disciple. Do you think I shouldn’t be afraid of him?”

Su Qingjun fell silent, and after a while, she softly said, “I only wanted to take on a disciple…”

“You’re in a different position,” Lu Chen interrupted her with a hint of helplessness. “Your talent is extraordinary, and everyone has high expectations for you, especially your master. He will not allow anything that might delay your cultivation. Plus, I’m older than you.”

Su Qingjun was taken aback and asked, “Do you care about that?”

Lu Chen smiled wryly, “You know I’m thick-skinned and don’t mind. But others do care. You’re a twenty-two-year-old young woman taking on a man much older than you as a disciple, and he has poor talent. What will others think?”

Su Qingjun snorted coldly, a trace of anger flashing across her face, but she did not speak further.

Lu Chen sighed and said, “Others will only think that you’ve been bewitched or that you’re young and naive, confused and misled. While nobody will cause you trouble, if you really take me as your disciple, I fear that the entire Kunlun Mountain will look down on me. In that case, do you think I’ll be able to live long?”

Su Qingjun looked at Lu Chen deeply and said, “Your reaction is completely different from what I expected.”

Lu Chen asked, “Oh? What did you expect?”

Su Qingjun replied, “I thought when I told you about this, you’d jump three feet high with joy, be ecstatic and incredulous, then fall to your knees and beg me to be your master while clutching my feet and shouting ‘Master!'”

Lu Chen struggled to lift his hand and scratch his head, smiling, “It seems like that would have been the case.”

“Yes, I was ready to kick you away,” Su Qingjun said calmly.

Lu Chen’s lips curved into a smile. Looking at Su Qingjun’s beautiful face, he nodded slightly and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

※※※

In the end, Lu Chen did not become the disciple of Kunlun’s youngest genius, Su Qingjun. This coveted title, which all young disciples would envy, slipped away from him.

However, perhaps as compensation for the injuries Lu Chen had sustained and to better protect him from being targeted and framed by her family in the future, Su Qingjun insisted that Lu Chen be granted the status of an honorary disciple.

The title of honorary disciple is significantly different from that of an official direct disciple. It is generally seen as a gesture of goodwill. For example, if a highly accomplished cultivator owes a favor but it’s not enough to justify formally taking on a disciple, this is a middle-ground solution and title.

Typically, an honorary disciple does not receive the master’s teachings or inheritance. It’s more of a talking point to boast about, a pretext to save face in emergencies. Nevertheless, having this title means others cannot bully him freely. Otherwise, who knows if the master’s mood will be good or bad? If they offend a great cultivator, it would be disastrous.

Thus, this arrangement effectively serves as a protective charm from Su Qingjun, indirectly signaling to others that although this servant disciple is considered a failure, he is still an honorary disciple under Su Qingjun, and they should not mistreat him casually. Otherwise, Su Qingjun might become upset and take action.

As for this outcome, Real Person Mokugen had no objections. He had seen many honorary disciples and didn’t consider them true disciples. As long as it didn’t affect Su Qingjun’s cultivation and reputation, he was too lazy to meddle in the Su family’s affairs.

Nevertheless, with Su Qingjun’s current standing on Kunlun Mountain, the sudden addition of an honorary disciple, even one from a servant background, was quite sensational.

Ideally, this would have caused some trouble and gossip, but fortunately, the significant news of Dongfang Tao achieving the Nascent Soul realm quickly overshadowed all other matters, allowing both Su Qingjun and Lu Chen to breathe a sigh of relief.

After the True Spiritual Light appeared, it signified that Dongfang Tao had truly broken through the Great Life-and-Death Barrier and achieved the Nascent Soul realm. However, he did not immediately emerge from his retreat but continued to remain in seclusion for more than half a month.

Most people understood this. The Nascent Soul realm is exceptionally powerful, akin to a rebirth. After breaking through the Life-and-Death Barrier, the energy is unstable and the foundation fragile, which requires time to stabilize.

For cultivators, especially high-level ones, the safest place in the world is their own retreat.

After half a month, Dongfang Tao emerged from his seclusion. At that time, most of Kunlun’s Nascent Soul True Immortals and many Golden Core cultivators were present to offer congratulations. Even Tianlan True Lord, who was not on Kunlun Mountain, sent a congratulatory message through someone.

Among those who came to congratulate, the leader was naturally the Sect Master Xian Yue. At that time, the Three-Zhang Peak was filled with True Immortals and Golden Core cultivators, showcasing a rare display of high-level cultivators and revealing Kunlun’s profound and unmatched strength to the world once again.

After Dongfang Tao emerged from the cave, he looked radiant and full of spirit, with a look of triumph. He laughed three times towards the sky.

Nearby, Yi Xin had already excitedly run over and hugged him with joy. Dongfang Tao laughed heartily, nodded and smiled at Yan Luo who was beside him, and then walked briskly towards Xian Yue to express his gratitude, acknowledging that the sect had provided many spiritual materials and a stable cultivation environment.

As Dongfang Tao approached, ready to pay his respects, he suddenly froze. In the midst of the crowd of Nascent Soul True Immortals, Xian Yue stood at the forefront, smiling and nodding at him. But standing beside Xian Yue was someone else.

A girl who appeared to be just over ten years old stood beside Xian Yue, her expression as cold as the winter snow on the peaks, exuding a chilling aura.