Although she couldn’t speak in her original form in front of Yu Qi, being able to cling to Ruan Lan’s body the entire time—without even having to walk—was a trade-off Feng Qi found quite acceptable upon reflection.
While replying to Ruan Lan, the Sect Leader of Misty Valley had also sent a transmission jade to the leader of the Lingyun Sect. Thus, when Ruan Lan and her companions arrived at the shores of the Ling Sea, Sect Leader Lin Qin was already there in person to welcome them.
Lin Qin, the leader of the Lingyun Sect, was a cultivator at the Soul Transformation stage. She was famous in the cultivation world for her gentle personality and kind heart. Her character had attracted many rogue cultivators who detested intrigue and deception; however, because of this same nature, the hierarchy within the Lingyun Sect was not particularly strict.
Lin Qin stood with two disciples by her side, though Liu Cheng was not among them. “Decades have passed in the blink of an eye. The last time I saw you, you were a mere newcomer who had just entered the sect. Now, your cultivation has almost caught up to mine.”
She looked Ruan Lan up and down, a flash of admiration in her eyes. “Your talent was always high, but to maintain such a steady state of mind is truly impressive. I find myself a bit envious of your Master for finding a disciple like you.”
“The Sect Leader overpraises me. The fellow brothers and sisters of the Lingyun Sect are the true dragons and phoenixes among men.” Ruan Lan’s tone was flat, ending the pleasantries with a single sentence to move directly to the main topic. “I wonder what the Sect Leader thinks of the matter my Master mentioned in the jade?”
Lin Qin knit her brows, looking somewhat perplexed. “If there truly is a Spirit-Gathering Array in Nanshan, then the Four Little Immortal Realms may very well be the reason for the weakening of spiritual energy in our world. However, I searched the Long Sea last night and found nothing.”
Ruan Lan said contemplatively, “Though it may be presumptuous, I would like to enter the Ling Sea to investigate personally. I hope the Sect Leader can grant us that convenience.”
“Of course.” Lin Qin’s voice was soft, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “However, the entrance to the Long Sea only reveals itself at night. Please follow me to the island to wait.”
As her voice fell, the two disciples behind her each produced a treasure and placed it in the water. The treasures slowly expanded, becoming two bamboo rafts. Lin Qin and her disciples took the one on the left, while Ruan Lan, Yu Qi, and the others boarded the other.
The Long Sea was approximately a hundred fathoms deep, yet the water was so crystal clear that one could see the reefs at the bottom. Feng Qi stood on Ruan Lan’s shoulder, her emerald eyes narrowing slightly as she stared blankly at Lin Qin’s figure ahead.
The character of Lin Qin was also something added spontaneously by this world; she wasn’t a character Feng Qi had written. Regarding the Lingyun Sect, Feng Qi hadn’t spent much ink on anyone other than Liu Cheng. Furthermore, as a setting that only appeared in the late stages of the story, the Ling Sea array was one of the last to be resolved. At that point in the original plot, Lin Qin had long been imprisoned by Liu Cheng, and the Lingyun Sect had been occupied by people from the Immortal Realm.
She wondered if the Lingyun Sect could escape its future fate now that the Ling Sea array was being exposed early. Although Lin Qin’s personality was perhaps too gentle, she seemed like a person who understood right from wrong. As long as Liu Cheng was prevented from causing further harm… the Lingyun Sect might preserve its foundation and become an ally for Ruan Lan later on.
Speaking of which, a chance really needed to be found to deal with Liu Cheng once and for all.
Feng Qi absentmindedly licked her paw, her mind busy calculating how to inconspicuously guide Ruan Lan into the array later.
The Lingyun Sect occupied several surrounding islands. The island where Lin Qin resided as Sect Leader was the one closest to the Long Sea entrance. The bamboo rafts docked at the central island. Lin Qin went ashore first, while her two disciples remained on the rafts.
“The hour is still early. I have a jar of Hundred-Flower Brew originally intended for your Master; I’ll let you all have a taste of it now.” With a wave of Lin Qin’s hand, a bamboo table and stools appeared out of thin air in the clearing.
Hundred-Flower Brew was fermented from medicinal herbs containing spiritual energy. In the past, it was a common spiritual wine used by major sects to entertain guests. Nowadays, however, few cultivators were willing to spare precious herbs for brewing.
Yu Qi and Ruan Lan had no interest in alcohol and only took a small taste before setting it down. In contrast, Ji Manqiu seemed quite interested, finishing one cup and immediately refilling it.
Feng Qi caught the sweet, floral scent of the wine in the air and couldn’t resist jumping down from Ruan Lan’s shoulder. She lowered her head to sniff the cup, tentatively extended her tongue for a lick, and then involuntarily shuddered, her tail standing straight up.
The taste of the Hundred-Flower Brew was decent, but it was saturated with spiritual energy. For a demon like her, a single sip felt as piercingly “refreshing” as a mouthful of mint-infused ice water. Feng Qi looked up at Ji Manqiu, who was drinking cup after cup with an unchanging expression, wondering if there was something wrong with her sense of taste.
“You cannot drink this.” Ruan Lan pushed the cup away from the black cat, then produced a small bowl from her storage stone. She placed a flower petal inside, filled it with fresh water, and set it before her.
Lin Qin watched the black cat obediently drinking water, then looked at Ruan Lan, whose features had softened considerably while facing the cat. She was quite surprised. Compared to the ethereal, detached Ruan Lan she had first met decades ago, the woman before her seemed to have been pulled down into the world of mortals.
Lin Qin and Ruan Lan’s Master were long-time friends. Although she had only met Ruan Lan once before, she occasionally heard updates about her. Ruan Lan had entered the cultivation world later in life than her peers, missing the “golden age” for starting cultivation, yet she had ultimately become the most outstanding of them all.
Beyond her high talent, her mental stability was something ordinary people couldn’t match—she was single-minded in her pursuit of the Dao. Lin Qin had always believed Ruan Lan was destined to ascend as an immortal. But seeing her today, she noticed a subtle shift in Ruan Lan’s state of mind. Though for now, she couldn’t tell if this change was for better or worse.
Time flew by, and the sky grew dark. The wind on the island became sharper than during the day. Lin Qin rose and walked to the shore, staring at the seawater for a moment. She produced a jade flute and held it to her lips. A melodious tune, blending with the sound of the wind, drifted into the distance. Before long, a tortoise as large as a small hill swam over slowly.
“The Long Sea looks shallow, but that is actually an illusion. However, the illusion has no effect on this tortoise; using it for transport will be more convenient.” Lin Qin patted the tortoise’s hard shell and stepped onto it first.
Once everyone was standing on the tortoise’s back, it swam out a short distance and slowly submerged. A natural barrier manifested around it, protecting Ruan Lan and the others.
“Since the trouble began with the Ling Sea, every successive Sect Leader of the Lingyun Sect has tried to find the cause,” Lin Qin sighed as she watched the familiar scenery. “But the Ling Sea has always remained like this, never showing any change.”
From the shore, it appeared only a hundred fathoms deep, but once submerged, they realized the depth far exceeded that. The light underwater gradually faded until they were plunged into total darkness. However, the darkness lasted only a moment before they were illuminated by a Crystal Palace suddenly appearing below.
The Crystal Palace sat on the seabed, dreamlike and ethereal as an immortal’s residence. While everyone’s attention was fixed on the palace, Feng Qi was looking toward the darkness on the other side, her gaze thoughtful.
“This is considered the most unusual place in the Long Sea,” Lin Qin pointed toward the Crystal Palace and said softly. “Shall we go take a look?”
Just as Ruan Lan was about to speak, she felt a coolness on her neck. She looked sideways to see the black cat pointing its small paw toward another direction, letting out soft, insistent meows.
Feng Qi can sense the aura of immortal stones and treasures… Ruan Lan remembered this and decided to check the place Feng Qi was pointing at first.
Everything outside the Crystal Palace was shrouded in darkness. Seeing Ruan Lan’s interest in the depths of that darkness, Lin Qin said, “There is nothing over there.” Nevertheless, she directed the tortoise to swim into the deep dark according to Ruan Lan’s direction.
However, after the tortoise had scouted the entire area, Ruan Lan found that it was indeed as Lin Qin had said—there was nothing there.
Yu Qi had no interest in the dark; she preferred to see the Crystal Palace. She suggested they split up. Ruan Lan had no objections and continued to search the darkness. Ji Manqiu and Yu Qi left for the Crystal Palace, while Lin Qin stayed behind.
“Do you feel there is something strange here?” Lin Qin asked, observing the surroundings carefully.
Ruan Lan gave an affirmative sound, not mentioning Feng Qi but taking the credit herself. “I feel the aura here is somewhat odd.”
Lin Qin nodded, not pressing for details.
Compared to the random teleportation array in Nanshan, the one in the Long Sea was more complex. The immortals who had secretly set up the Spirit-Gathering Arrays in the Four Little Immortal Realms naturally didn’t want the lower realm cultivators to find out. If it weren’t for the slight mercy of the immortal responsible for the Nanshan array, Nanshan wouldn’t have become a breakthrough point.
The Ling Sea array was protected by a hidden barrier; only by breaking the barrier would the entrance appear. This barrier was set by an immortal, which should have been impossible for a cultivator with a mortal body to breach.
But Ruan Lan was different. She now possessed the Qingyun Sword, a celestial blade famous even in the Immortal Realm. Using its sharp sword-qi, she could cut through the barrier.
Feng Qi jumped down from Ruan Lan’s shoulder. She sharpened her claws on the hard tortoise shell, then approached Ruan Lan with her tail held high. She let out a cry to get her attention, then raised her two front paws to mimic a human form, solemnly performing a set of sword techniques Ruan Lan had once taught her.
Lin Qin watched the black cat jumping around and shaking its paws in bewilderment. She asked worriedly, “What’s wrong with it?”
Ruan Lan was silent for a moment before bending down to scoop the black cat up. She said in a low voice, “It might just be playing by itself.”
Feng Qi: “…”
If I weren’t in my original form, would I have to resort to such hints? As the black cat curled into a ball on Ruan Lan’s shoulder, wondering if there was any other way to hint at her, Ruan Lan suddenly signaled Lin Qin to step back a few paces. A sword appeared in her hand.
It was not her usual light sword, but the Qingyun Sword.
Feng Qi’s eyes lit up, and she nuzzled Ruan Lan’s neck, feeling happy. She and Ruan Lan still shared a deep tacit understanding.
Holding the Qingyun Sword, Ruan Lan contemplated how to break the barrier. She looked curiously at the kitten acting spoiled against her neck, not quite understanding what had come over her, and could only raise her hand to pat the cat’s head soothingly.
The reason Ruan Lan had drawn the Qingyun Sword had nothing to do with Feng Qi’s “performance”—it was because she had deduced the existence of a hidden barrier herself. As for Feng Qi’s hints… she hadn’t understood them at all.