Chapter Thirty-Three: The Sect Master Arrives

  The sun shines brightly, and from noon onwards, the petals fall between the leaves, illuminating the brick wall covered with vines. Outside the wall, flowers bloom in profusion, with lush green leaves clustering around large, fully bloomed flowers. The leaves are like the feathers of a phoenix in flight, and the flowers are like the crown of a peony, reflecting the sky and making it seem as if the whole city is ablaze with fire.

  "Crack, crack, crack, crack", the sound of chopping wood continued to come from under the tree. A tall and slender young man stood under the tree, with just a lift of his hand and a pull of the axe, the piles of wood blocks stacked in the corner of the wall were all cut into uniform thickness and length firewood, within half a cup of tea time, he had already chopped all the firewood needed for over ten days.

  A young man let out a sigh and stood by the wall, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. Suddenly, he heard the sound of children's laughter and playful shouts coming from behind the flower tree, getting closer and closer. After a moment, several boys and girls ran towards him, their faces filled with surprise and admiration, their heads tilted upwards. Above them, about ten feet in the air, two small, dirty feet were dangling proudly back and forth. Higher up, a boy with a tiger-like head and brain was sitting on a sword, riding it like a horse. The sword was crystal clear, reflecting the colors of the phoenix flower, with a hint of red glow flowing around it. A wooden knife-shaped pendant hung from the hilt, swaying back and forth in the wind, while colorful silk threads danced and fluttered beneath it, catching everyone's attention.

  The boy on the sword had his round face lifted up with two eyebrows raised high, almost flying into his temples. His excited appearance made people worry that he would fall flat on his face. But he didn't care at all and continued to shout with glee. The group of kids below looked up at him with envy, making the boy laugh with his eyes closed in joy. The children chased after the magic sword until it stopped in front of a young man. As the sword slowly descended, it gently placed the child on the ground. The moment the tiger's head touched the ground, it jumped onto Xuanyuan's leg again. The other five or six kids, with their big round eyes staring up at him, chimed in unison: "Big brother, fly one more circle!"

  Xuan Zhen faced the eager eyes, unable to utter a "no", and could only lightly shake his sleeves. The Chunshui sword hummed in protest, but the children's cheers drowned out the faint sound.

  Another boy had already eagerly climbed onto the sword, his small legs pedaling furiously. The Spring Water Sword groaned under the pressure, humming to a stop before slowly and laboriously floating back up about a foot. Xuan Zhen waved his hand again, and it reluctantly turned back in the direction of the children, shaking slightly as if to express its discontent. But to everyone's surprise, the boy on the sword was overjoyed, and the group of children on the ground clapped and laughed, chasing after him with gleeful shouts. They all thought it was great fun, and soon the sound of their laughter faded into the distance.

  Xuan Zhen was meditating under the tree, while thinking about his concerns. A few days ago, after inquiring about the birth date of that young girl, he had sent a message back to the Menpai using the Qiong flower secret technique. He thought that his master would respond soon, and at that time, he would explain everything to Yu'er and her father, just needing to clearly lay out the various benefits, thinking that those two people would not refuse. But unexpectedly, after nearly ten days, there was still no news from the northwest region.

  Was there something wrong with the transmission, and the letter didn't arrive at Kunlun Mountain? Or did Master have other plans? Xuan Zhen thought anxiously, another thing weighing on his mind. The matter of the mysterious girl in front of him couldn't be solved, and the journey to Nanjiang was even more uncertain. In this case, when could he recover his memories?

  Just as he was getting into the zone, a commotion started up again beside his ear. Xuan Zhen looked up to see scarlet flying everywhere, and it turned out that those kids had run back over.

  "Big brother, big brother, an old immortal is looking for you!" Tiger Head shouted.

  The little boy on the sword shook his head and shouted: "My mother said that all immortals are kind-hearted and benevolent, but that old man with a long beard is so fierce, how can he be an immortal?"

  "The little brother of the inn said it was an old immortal, and it's indeed an old immortal!" Hu Tou called out reluctantly.

  In the midst of the commotion, the group of children had already arrived in front of Xuán Zhèn. The little girl following behind Tóu Wěi pointed with her finger and looked up at Xuán Zhèn, saying: "It's 'Guests Like Clouds Coming' Wang Er Ge who asked us to bring him here, he's standing right at the entrance of the alley." 'Guests Like Clouds Coming' Inn was where Xuán Zhèn temporarily resided, not too far from this place. These children often played nearby and were very familiar with the shopkeeper, which is why they helped pass on the message.

  Xuan Zhen was taken aback, thinking to himself: Who could it be? Just as he took a step forward, he heard a stern voice coming from directly in front of him, "Xuan Zhen, aren't you going to come out?" Although the speaker wasn't in sight, his aura was powerful and his tone, though not particularly loud, was crystal clear.

  Those children didn't know the subtlety of this transmission technique, they looked up with their small heads and opened their mouths wide, looking around for the speaker's true face. Xuan Zhen, however, immediately recognized the person's voice, his whole body shook, and he exclaimed: "Master!" He rushed forward in a flash, the Spring Water Sword shook, and the child riding on it was lightly thrown to the ground, hastily following after him.

  Rushing out of the alley, a ray of sunlight hit his eyes, and Xuan Zhen narrowed his eyes to look ahead. Suddenly, he was nailed to the spot. An old man wearing a blue and white Taoist robe stood solemnly in the middle of the street, with a jade crown and long hair, his eyebrows furrowed with severity. Who else could it be but the Taiching True Man?

  People came and went on the street, bustling about, but when they approached this solemn old man, they unconsciously lowered their voices by eight degrees. Even the passing vehicles and pedestrians couldn't help but give way, preferring to take a detour rather than disturb him. Although Taiching True Man was standing in the midst of the mundane world, his demeanor was as calm and composed as it had been when he stood in the Jade Flower Palace, with no discernible difference.

  Unexpectedly, the master had come from afar to this small city! Xuan Zhen's mind turned slightly, guessing that his master was here for that yin girl, and he felt even more surprised. With a flick of his sleeve, he fell to the ground: "Disciple pays respects to Master!" In his heart, he secretly thought: That person with such extreme yin energy is indeed so important, the leader of our sect's identity must personally come to bring her back?

  Tai Qing Zhen Ren slightly nodded, and saw that his most satisfactory first disciple still didn't have a hint of a smile on his face. He only raised his hand, and Xuan Zhen felt a gentle force lift him up from under his knees, so he stood up with ease, and respectfully said: "Master, I once sent a message..."

  "No need to say more, I already know." Taiching Zhenren said, with the hand that had exerted force stroking his long beard, "Xuanzhen, you've done very well."

  Tai Qing was a strict and frugal person by nature, sparing with praise for others as well as himself. This single phrase "very good" was worth more than a thousand words, already an extremely great compliment. Xuan Zhen couldn't help but feel happy upon hearing it, at the same time his heart skipped a beat. Since his master had praised him, this Jade Maiden must indeed be the person that the Qiong Hua Sect was looking for.

  "Now that we've found the woman, let's take her back. You don't have to run around everywhere anymore." Taiching True Person took a slow and steady step forward, his body leaving behind a trail of residual shadows as he reached the entrance of the alley. The people on the street saw him and couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, thinking they had seen an immortal, with some idle bystanders stopping to point and whisper to each other from afar. Taiching True Person didn't even give these foolish commoners a glance, only gesturing for Xuanchen to lead the way forward.

  Xuan Zhen hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said: "Master, I've already written it in the letter. That Miss Yu'er's family is poor, her father..."

  "The master already has a plan, you don't have to worry." Taiching Zhenren furrowed his brow and said, seemingly thinking that Xuanshen was being overly cautious. With a flick of his wide sleeve, he revealed a white jade dusting brush in his sleeve, the snow-white tail of which automatically moved without any wind, directly wrapping around Xuanshen's wrist and tightly binding it.

  Xuan Zhen took a step forward, and suddenly felt a surge of spiritual energy coming from under his feet. He looked down to see that two small magical arrays had appeared on the ground, one under his own feet and the other under his master's. The arrays were filled with dozens of symbols that swirled and changed around his ankles, emitting a soft blue glow. Just as Xuan Zhen was about to ask what was happening, Tai Qing True Person said, "We mustn't delay, let's go." The symbols then fell back into the arrays, the blue light grew brighter, and the arrays began to slowly rotate.

  Suddenly, the wind whispers in my ear, and before my eyes, strange lights dance. But after a blink of an eye, the colorful glow that filled Master Zhēn's eyes finally came to a stop, transforming into a small courtyard with a cold gate. The wild winds rising from the center of the spell array swept away the neatly stacked bundles of firewood in the courtyard, and the broad-leaved vines on the brick wall were lifted up like layer upon layer of green waves.

  "Ah! You're... Lord Xuanzhen?"

  A girl in a simple dress rushed out of the house, startled by the scene before her eyes and took a step back. When she saw that one of the two people who suddenly appeared in the yard was familiar, she felt slightly relieved, but still stared at the person beside Xuanzhen with wide open beautiful eyes, with some surprise and uncertainty in her gaze.

  At this time, the footwork array had scattered its light and was gradually disappearing without a trace on the brown earth. The Taiching True Person maintained his dignity and did not speak to Yuer, but instead it was Xuanchen who respectfully introduced: "Miss Yu'er, this is my master, the Taiching True Person." As he spoke, he gave her a sideways glance.

  Yu'er was originally clever and suddenly understood, without thinking, she knelt down in front of Tai Qing Zhenren with a plop, looked up and said: "Zhenren, you are the master of Xuan Zhen Gongzi, I think you must be a godlike figure. Your divine powers are vast, you can definitely save my father, just ask you to show mercy, even if it means I have to give my life in exchange!"

  Tai Qing Zhen Ren silently gazed at her for a while, before slowly saying: "Good, indeed as Xuan Zhen said, she is a rare filial daughter." After a pause, he added: "We will go take a look at your father now."

  Yu'er listened and knew that her father's hemoptysis could be cured, so she immediately agreed with a smile, hastily got up from the ground, and didn't even bother to pat off the mud on her skirt. She led Taiching Zhenren into the house with great respect.

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