The strange phenomenon lasted only a moment before dissipating.
Stars twinkled in the sky, and the gate tower returned to normal, leaving only the damp moisture clinging to her body.
The initial clothing had no special effects and could not repel rain.
Su Tangxing wrung out the slightly heavy hem of her robe and pushed back the wet black hair sticking to her cheeks.
She raised her wrist and spoke to the large, plump carp above, informing it that she had already chosen a sect.
The carp rolled its eyes at her but showed no intention of leaving.
Guanlan Yuanjun said from the side, “Next time you meet Jiayue Yuanjun, just ask her to take it back.”
Su Tangxing nodded.
At that moment, a group of people approached from the distance.
Leading them was the Sect Leader of Xianju, followed by many elders and disciples.
The Sect Leader had a rather common appearance, nothing noteworthy.
Behind him was his eldest disciple, one of the male leads players needed to pursue in Leisurely Immortal Abode.
Lin Xiangqing.
This man possessed refined beauty—black hair, snow-white skin, light-colored eyes, and an ethereal, jade-like appearance.
However, due to an accident in his early years, his contracted Spirit Beast perished, and his Spiritual Platform was damaged, leaving him unable to cultivate further. He was a sickly beauty.
His cheeks were slightly thin and pale, and he coughed softly every few steps.
After the sudden downpour, the air had turned chilly. As he breathed it in, he turned his head to the side and coughed twice, his breath labored.
His eyelashes trembled lightly, and an unnatural flush spread across his cheeks.
The Sect Leader slowed his pace, looking at this disciple with concern. He placed a hand on his wrist, allowing Spiritual Qi to circulate through his body, helping him regulate his breath.
Guanlan Yuanjun stepped forward, “Senior Brother, this is the girl with the Omni-Spiritual Root I mentioned in my message. Her surname is Su.”
After she introduced her briefly to the group, the Sect Leader stroked his beard and praised, “Excellent, excellent! To attract such a phenomenon is truly unprecedented!”
The others echoed his sentiments and asked Su Tangxing whom she wished to choose as her Master.
The Sect Leader raised his hand, “There’s no rush—”
He paused mid-sentence, then after a moment, continued, “There’s no rush. It’s already late today, so let’s settle her in first.”
He spoke kindly to Su Tangxing, “How about staying in the disciple quarters on the west side for now? Once you’ve formally taken a Master, you can move in with them.”
Su Tangxing didn’t mind.
Shifting his gaze to Rong Ye, the Sect Leader asked, “And this is…”
Guanlan Yuanjun replied, “This is Rong Ye from Tongqi Mountain.”
“Oh?” The Sect Leader’s eyebrows twitched slightly in surprise.
Though to Su Tangxing, that surprise seemed somewhat feigned.
“Friend Rong Ye, how did you end up in this state?”
Rong Ye showed no expression but stepped forward and bowed, saying, “Rong Ye has come specifically to apologize.”
“What are you saying? When have you ever offended us?”
“On the first day of the first month, I had a dispute with a fox Demon Cultivator and accidentally shattered the statue of Ancestor Tianchuan. I have since repented.”
Rong Ye continued, “I beg Ancestor Tianchuan to lift the Calamity Curse.”
Tiankuang—a name she had never heard before. Su Tangxing only knew it as a festival.
She hadn’t heard of it in the game either.
Either it was an unimportant character or someone who would appear later in the story.
Perhaps it was the “surprise” Leisurely Immortal Abode had left for the players.
“So that’s what happened. However, this matter is not for us to decide.” The Sect Leader sighed with a smile, “It would be best if you personally asked the Ancestor to come forward and apologize.”
“I heard the Ancestor is in seclusion for cultivation. When can I ask him to come out?”
“That, we do not know. It’s inconvenient to disturb him during seclusion. If you wish to stay here, we can arrange guest quarters for you.”
Rong Ye pursed his lips, “…Then I’ll trouble you.”
Su Tangxing only half-understood but didn’t particularly care.
Guanlan Yuanjun led her to the resting area, and she followed along.
The disciple quarters on the west side stretched out in a continuous row, and Su Tangxing was temporarily staying in the corner room.
With somewhat unskilled use of spiritual power, she opened the storage ring and found bedding inside.
This had been prepared by her foster mother—thoughtful and thorough. A chest each for spare clothes, hairpins and jewelry, and various fabrics, all in styles a young girl would like.
Guanlan Yuanjun left after dropping her off, but before going, she performed a cleaning technique, casually sweeping away the dust in the room.
Su Tangxing laid out the bedding, fetched water to wash up, and only then took out a mirror to carefully examine the face she had crafted.
She had spent nearly an hour meticulously carving and adjusting it, tweaking every parameter to her preferred values.
To see more clearly, she even took out a luminous pearl from her makeup box.
The Mu family ancestors had once been a prominent clan in the mortal realm. Though they had declined, they still had family assets and were not stingy about spending on their adopted daughter.
This luminous pearl, as large as a fist, was her twelfth birthday gift.
The game hadn’t delved much into these background details, but the real world was complete.
Under the soft glow of the luminous pearl, Su Tangxing saw her own face clearly.
It was delicate and beautiful enough, but not bright or lively. Instead, there was a hint of gloom and weariness between the brows.
—Perhaps it was the sudden online meeting that interrupted her during the face-crafting, infusing her adjustments with emotion.
…
Being new here, she didn’t sleep well that night.
She woke up early in the morning and, upon pushing the door open, saw someone standing in the distance outside.
The disciple robes of Leisurely Immortal Abode were mostly a vibrant spring green, and on Lin Xiangqing, they accentuated his tall, elegant figure like a green bamboo. He was holding a red-lacquered food box.
Seeing Su Tangxing come out, he approached, his eyes slightly curved. “Did you sleep well? I brought you some food. Since you’re still young, I’ll call you junior sister.”
“Junior Sister Su.” His voice was soft and gentle, yet his enunciation was clear, showing Su Tangxing ample goodwill.
There was a stone table outside. He set the food box on it, turned back, and smiled. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I brought a bit of everything. It’s mealtime now, and the dining hall is crowded and noisy—you might find it uncomfortable. But if you’d like to go, I’ll take you there.”
He had a gentle and considerate nature, something Su Tangxing naturally understood.
And she knew more than just that.
She had seen Lin Xiangqing’s personal CG animations in the game and knew he slept poorly at night, often waking up breathless with chest tightness.
Those few seconds of him with his long hair cascading down, clutching his chest, lips slightly parted as he gasped, had caused a small surge in the number of players joining Leisurely Immortal Abode.
She remembered a player comment below: “Orthodox cultivators are just no good—they even sleep wrapped up so tightly.”
Not like the disciples of Witch Mountain, who are much more open.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Su Tangxing sat down without glancing around, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat.
Lin Xiangqing didn’t stare at her; his smiling gaze fell elsewhere. Noticing the lush growth of the plants nearby, he plucked a few blades of grass and began weaving them in his hands.
When Su Tangxing finished eating and looked up, she saw his outstretched hand.
His palm was as fair as jade, with a grass-woven rabbit resting on it.
She paused, then accepted it.
“Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Lin Xiangqing smiled and stood up, tidied the food box, and carried it in his hand as he led Su Tangxing on a leisurely stroll outward.
“This is the residence for outer disciples. Our sect has few members, so it appears a bit spacious. However, because of this, the difference between inner and outer disciples isn’t as significant as in other sects.”
“Last time we recruited disciples, we only gained five junior brothers. This time, there’s only you. Master said there are truly too few people and asked the other junior brothers and sisters to go down the mountain to seek those with fate.”
The morning sun felt warm on the skin. Lin Xiangqing’s tone was gentle, occasionally reminding Su Tangxing to watch her step on the stairs, truly treating her like a thirteen-year-old girl.
Su Tangxing followed quietly, listening as she twirled the little rabbit in her hand.