Chapter 91
Chapter 91
A New Disciple (2)
Granny Jin’s tone suddenly became solemn.
“Us cultivators fight to forge our own destinies. All things follow the law of nature; there are those who follow the will of the Heavens, and those who go against it; every path is different, and every path leads somewhere. There are only two words you have to remember, ‘fundamental nature’.”
Zheng Wan seemed to understand, but she only felt that the road ahead was smooth and level. Looking at the red sun that was gradually rising in the sky, she beamed like a flower.
“Granny doesn’t have any techniques for ice vital roots, but Gateway cultivators usually focus on the laying of their foundations. Great oaks grow from little acorns; the more solid the foundation, the less likely obstacles would arise in the future…”
Although Zheng Wan didn’t really get it, it didn’t prevent her from memorising every single word Granny Jin was saying. At the end, she heard her say the words, “Returning to the Origin Sutra”.
“The Way of Returning to the Origin, this is a treasure that Granny has kept preciously for ten thousand years, I wouldn’t give it to just anyone.”
Just as it was written in the books, “The immortal caresses my head, and my hair was knotted as I received longevity”1, Zheng Wan felt her spirit clear, and that there was something new in her mind. This feeling was extremely mysterious——
Flipping open the book in her mind, the first page stated, “The Way goes back to the Beginning, I shall go high and low in this search I’ve begun2.”
Inexplicably, tears started streaming down Zheng Wan’s face.
Having spent so much effort to deliberate and make careful calculations, she actually didn’t consider it to be suffering. Yet, she couldn’t seem to stop these tears for some reason; they rolled down one by one, shining brightly in the sunlight.
“I want to eat golden silk naan,” she said.
Granny Jin laughed. Not far away, the newly-titled Ji Wang looked on in a daze; his only thought was that this person that was bathed in the sunlight was truly more beautiful than he could have ever imagined.
Half a year later, Granny Jin finally found the realm gate.
And Zheng Wan cultivation in the Gateway stage had long since stabilised.
She had made preparations in advance, met with Eldest Princess and Princess Rong Yi to bid them farewell, then once again, returned to the Plum Gardens with her family in tow——
Granny Jin looked around for a while, and finally discovered that the realm gate was hidden under Lisi Springs.
The fact that the plum blossoms were always in bloom was also because of the trace of vital energy coming from beyond the realm gate.
“Wan’niang, do not deceive me.”
Zheng Wan took Father, Mother, and the missing-armed Ji Wang with her; the four of them stood around Lisi Springs, planning to throw themselves into the lake at midnight, when the realm gate was at its weakest.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness, don’t worry, Wan’niang will not leave you behind.”
Zheng Wan admitted to being vain, greedy, and bad-hearted, and the only good thing about her was that she would never go back on the deals she had made with others. Of course, if the other party went back on their word, she also wouldn’t care.
The Capital Guard and Palace guards around them had all been kept busy elsewhere.
The night was pitch-black; only cicadas could be heard. It was late autumn, and temperatures had already dropped, but it was still warm here. Hearing Zheng Wan say, “Jump”, the four held hands and jumped straight into the springs.
Just as Zheng Wan transmitted a pitifully small strand of vital energy, the springs, which had originally been quiet, began to bubble, forming a huge whirlpool.
In less than ten breaths, the four people in the lake were gone.
The wind was still and the night was thin; the canopy’s of the maples swayed, and everything was back to the way it was.
On the other side, Zheng Wan’s group of four were thrown in a heap onto yellow ground. The skirts that had just been soaked actually bore not a single water stain.
Zheng Zhai patted his robes and stood up. He gazed at the towering city walls not far away, as well as the two heavenly white marble columns. From time to time, cultivators clad in celestial robes, riding the wind, a sword, or a beast, made their landing, then headed one by one through the columns of white marble into the city.
Father Zheng’s eyes seemed to be reflecting beacons of light.
“This is truly, truly……”
He turned his head, and tears were actually flowing down the elder man’s cheeks. “Wanwan, I am but an ant, I truly didn’t know the breadth of the sun and the moon!”
Right at that moment, a stream of heavenly light suddenly rose up from the ground behind him, whistling towards the skies, and in a blink, disappeared from sight.
Just as Zheng Wan was finding this familiar, she saw a child suddenly spring up beside her. Without looking at the others, he rushed like a little calf.
“Little immortal, have you come to participate in our Zixia Sect’s new disciple selection?”
She opened her mouth, but before she could answer, another youth with delicate features wearing a white shirt appeared and toppled the other child over with a light shove. He rushed over to Zheng Wan.
“Little immortal, Zixia Sect is no good. If you come to my Yunshui Sect, I guarantee you’ll be able to enter the inner sect, and get to learn highly advanced techniques!”
Zheng Wan watched the two fight back and forth and asked curiously:
“New disciple selection? What’s that?”
“Huh? You don’t know? In two months’ time, the sect selections will commence. All the doors of the seven sects, three schools and two academies will be opened for the recruitment of new disciples!”
Footnote:
1 The immortal caresses my head, and my hair was knotted as I received longevity: A line from a poem, “经乱离后天恩流夜郎忆旧游书怀赠江夏韦太守良宰” by Tang Dynasty poet, Li Bai. It is actually an autobiographical lyric poem written after he was pardoned from exile, but this line is often taken out of context and used in Chinese celestial/ immortal genre popular media.