Published at 27th of June 2020 4:47 am

Chapter 19

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Ling Xi swept over the eleven white-dressed women in front of her without a trace. They were lucid, elegant, refined and quick-witted. When she looked at the clouds under their feet, she was tongue-tied.

Donghua Mountain deserved to be the leader of the immortal world. Fairies that were able to cultivate an immortal body at such a young age and able to command clouds, at Cangjia, only senior sister Qing Lian could do it. However, at Donghua Mountain, such a cultivation was actually used as a maid to come pick her up and also…paid respect to her (LX)?

- In the book, the author used female immortals to describe them which I translated as fairies.

Ling Xi felt her legs went soft. She wasn’t worthy of such courtesy…

“Miss, please.” The leader of the women spoke once again.

Ling Xi quickly climbed on the cloud in front of her. Just as she was worried that she didn’t know how to control it, the cloud had risen by itself. In a blink of an eye, the ten women were behind her.

The last time that she climbed on a cloud was during the Sword Trial. At that time, she didn’t know how to drive a sword. Eldest senior brother sent her to the stand on a cloud. Things had changed with the passage of time. Now that she mounted a cloud again…eldest senior brother is no longer here.

Ling Xi’s nose itched slightly. She took a deep breath to suppress her emotions. Before today, her concept of Donghua Mountain was that there may be someone here able to save eldest senior brother, but just now, she had completely erased the word “may” from her mind.

She had read about Donghua Mountain’s high-tiered deity Donghua in books and senior brother had mentioned him before. She only knew that high-tiered deity Donghua is the leader of the immortal realm and is the eldest senior immortal in the entire immortal realm.

As to what extent his age was, Ling Xi also didn’t study that carefully. She only faintly remembered that it had been at least five thousand years ever since he gained fame in the immortal world.

A three-thousand-year-old deity was already very rare in the immortal world. When the deities reached two thousand years, many couldn’t bear it anymore and received the heaven’s calamity in order to ascend to become a god. Despite the turmoil of ten thousand years ago in the god realm and the rumors that the heaven’s gate had been closed, many deities were unwilling to accept that. They preferred to be scattered ashes and disperse into smoke instead of waiting bitterly in the immortal realm. Therefore, more than five-thousand-year-old high-tiered deity Donghua was indeed the elder of elders in the immortal realm.

In the past, Ling Xi had no concept of the cultivation years or how deep the cultivation was. When she read that high-tiered deity was more than five thousand years, she only felt curious whether he was bored for having lived more than five thousand years.

Only now did she realize that a year more of cultivation meant that there was one more percent possibility that eldest senior brother could be saved. Accumulating one by one percent, possibility would not be possibility anymore but would turn into certainty.

Thinking like this, Ling Xi became eager to meet high-tiered deity Donghua. She also secretly regretted that the silver mirror with the soul of eldest senior brother was at senior sister Qing Lian’s…

The speed of the cloud was a lot faster than swords. Ling Xi had been immersed in her own thoughts and didn’t pay attention to the scenery. Until when a gentle voice called her did she snap out of her thoughts.

“Miss, this way.”

Ling Xi raised her head and saw where she was. Her whole body froze on spot.

What you see was a sultry blue. Unlike the blue of the sky and unlike the blue of the sea. It was so blue that seeped to the bottom of one’s heart and into one’s blood.

If the lilac color and the lotus field of Cangjia Mountain’s Tianmai Peak was breathtaking, this endless blue sea of trees made Ling Xi forget to breath for a while. She only stared in daze at those leaves on the trees that also looked like petals. There were also small or large silver apertures on the treetops. It was as if water floated on a sea surface, moving up and down.

Ling Xi had never seen a tree that could be beautiful like this let alone those apertures that seemed to be alive.

“That is…” Ling Xi was stumped for words. She didn’t know whether the reason her mind wasn’t working was because she was shocked by the scenery in front of her.

“Blue jacaranda,” The leader of the women in white answered.

Blue jacaranda. Ling Xi searched in her brain. She seemed to have seen this type of trees in those books in eldest senior brother’s study. The leaves were the opposite of the purple-bluish flowers. It bloomed from later spring to early autumn. When the flowers bloom, the leaves would fall.

She had never thought that blooming blue jacarandas were so beautiful…but what were those floating apertures?

“High-tiered deity has the hobby of collecting memories. Those apertures floating on the trees are the memories collected by high-tiered deity from all these years.” That woman answered Ling Xi’s question without asking.

It was just that the more one knows, the more curious one gets. Ling Xi’s attention immediately shifted from the beautiful trees to high-tiered deity Donghua. What does he collect memories for? Moreover, how can one collect memories?

Although, Ling Xi was curious, but she was embarrassed to ask. She quietly glanced at the ten women who had been following behind her and immediately moved on.

After getting on the mountain, Ling Xi didn’t mount the cloud again. The speed naturally slowed. It actually took half an hour to reach the end of the sea of jacaranda trees.

“This was specifically prepared for miss. Miss can rest here.”

The leader of the women moved her body. Ling Xi saw a small and unique attic. Without looking at it carefully, Ling Xi quickly asked, “Aren’t you taking me to see high-tiered deity Donghua?”

That woman smiled slightly. Her eyes were bright and moving. She said, “High-tiered deity hasn’t come out of the closed-door cultivation yet and can’t meet up with miss for the time being. However, high-tiered deity had calculated the time when miss would arrive at Donghua Mountain before. He ordered Hongluan to personally go pick miss up. Today, Hongluan was a moment to late. Asking miss to pardon Hongluan.”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing,” Ling Xi shook her head repeatedly.

“Before high-tiered deity come out of the closed-door cultivation, they are responsible for taking care of miss’s daily necessities. If miss has something miss wants, miss can just order them.” Hongluan moved her body a bit and swept over the ten women in white behind Ling Xi.

Cold sweat appeared on Ling Xi’s forehead. What qualifications and abilities did she have to order these fairies that had at least a few hundred years of cultivation and treat them as maids?

“High-tiered deity’s honored guest is also Hongluan’s ten stars honored guests. Miss doesn’t have to be so uneasy.” Hongluan seemed to be able to see through Ling Xi’s thoughts and comforted her.

- Hongluan star is the star of marriage and celebrations.

Ling Xi didn’t know whether she should laugh or cry and could only said, “I…I’m used to being alone. Don’t know whether…whether it is possible to let me stay alone here?”

“Without permission, I won’t wander around,” Ling Xi emphasized.

Hongluan laughed, “Hongluan doesn’t want to monitor miss. Miss can go wherever miss wants on this Donghua Mountain. Hongluan only thought that it would be a bit inconvenient to let miss stay alone here…but since miss doesn’t like it, Hongluan won’t let them stay.”

Ling Xi’s face got a bit red. In fact, she truly didn’t think about “monitor”. It was just that Ling Xi’s concept of refined and outstanding fairies was senior sister Qing Lian. If you let ten senior sisters Qing Lian be around her…Ling Xi felt that she would be more comfortable if it was her taking care of their daily necessities.

—

When Ling Xi arrived at the first peak of Donghua Mountain, it was already sunset. Not long after Hongluan left, the sky had already darkened. At night, the peculiar fragrance of the jacaranda was particularly pleasant. Ling Xi leaned on the lattice of the window and looked for a long time at the bright moon and stars. The “memories” on the jacaranda glowed slightly at night, making her suddenly remember that she had seen the children of the mortal realm blew bubbles. Those bubbles were very similar to these “memories”.

“Nan Zhi…,” Ling Xi lay on the bed. She had tossed and turned for a long time but still couldn’t fall asleep and called Nan Zhi.

The scent of Nan Zhi’s body had been covered by the fragrance of the jacarandas. Dressed in black and hidden in the night, Ling Xi’s eyes had to adapt for a long time before she saw him clearly. He leaned against the window and also seemed to be looking at the jacarandas outside of the window.

“Isn’t it beautiful?” Ling Xi asked him smilingly.

“You like it?” Nan Zhi turned around with no expression and asked her instead of answering.

Ling Xi swallowed the “yes” that she was about to blurt out. She still remembered the first year at Xuwang Cliff, she was ecstatic about the lotus. Because she had answered with a “I like”, Nan Zhi picked them all and covered the whole hut with the lotuses.

“Do you still remember the recordings about jacarandas?” Ling Xi changed the subject. “I only remember the general description. The books seemed to have mentioned that every type of flower in the mortal realm represented an expression. The mortal realm called it flower expression. What was that of jacaranda?”

Nan Zhi looked out of the window once again. His side profile was even more neat and cold. “Waiting for love in despair.”

Ling Xi looked at his black hair that fluttered because of the breeze. She blinked and asked, “Then, what is love?”

“Don’t know,” Nan Zhi answered honestly and looked at Ling Xi again.

Generally, the things that Nan Zhi didn’t know were extremely simple and common sense that ordinary people would know. So, it was enough for him to ask Ling Xi for an answer.

Ling Xi saw him with an expression of waiting for an answer, she blinked innocently and said, “I also don’t know.”

Ling Xi was originally curled up on the bed and looked at Nan Zhi for a long time. Then, she remembered that she would be alone for few days anyway and Nan Zhi could come out any time. It will also be great to look at him tomorrow. She straightened her body and muttered, “Nan Zhi, I’m sleepy.”

Like many times in the past, the candle in the room went out. A warm furred and thick chest appeared next to her. Ling Xi laughed and hugged her big black bear.

This night, Ling Xi had a dream.

Inside the dream, she was still a child with a rumpled face, dark-skinned and thin. A person was squatting between the junction of two walls and watched the happy children blew bubbles on the street. She didn’t know what they were holding and why it would become colorful bubbles in the sunlight. She only felt that it was pretty and wanted to touch them. However, the moment she stood up, the group of children ran away as they were laughing, “We don’t play with fools and don’t play with sillies. You are the ugliest and the stupidest in the village!”

At that time, she wouldn’t be sad or broken-hearted. She looked bewildered at the group of kids that laughed at her and missed one person a bit.

It happened that that person approached her from not far away. He was holding two hot steamed buns in his hand and looked at her with smile.

“Big brother, they said again that I’m ugly and stupid.” Ling Xi grabbed his hand and tilted her head.

Big brother put a big bun in her mouth, smiled and lifted her up. “You are unhappy?”

Ling Xi happily nibbled on the bun and shook her head, “With big brother here, I will always be so happy.”

“What about when big brother is not here?” He asked with a smile.

“Will big brother not be here?” She frowned.

“Of course…not!” He pinched her nose.

The dream changed. Ling Xi had gotten taller. Big brother didn’t change much. He still held her little hand and the shadow of their backs were stretched by the sunset.

“Big brother, where are we going?”

“Go wherever we want.”

“But they will say that I’m a demoness.”

“Are you?”

“No.”

“Then, what are you worried about?”

After a brief silence, Ling Xi raised her small head slightly and asked, “Big brother, you will always be with me, right?”

“Wrong!”

“Ah…then, then where will you go?”

“You have to grow up and marry. When you reach a marriageable age, I will naturally dump you, the child-in-law!”

- Child-in-law is usually used as a derogatory term when a woman marries a second time and bring in her children of a past relationship. Here, he had to take care of her for being her big brother although he is not her parents.

“What is child-in-law?”

“You are a child-in-law!”

“What is grow up?”

“When you get taller…older…”

“What is marry?”

“…”

“What is marriageable age?”

“…”

“What is…hahaha, big brother, don’t tickle me. Hahaha…”

The sun sunk to the west and the red glow dimmed. The laughter of the two submerged in the night. The bright moon of the autumn had been covered by the dark clouds. The sharp wind swept away the dust. Big brother who was just laughing with Ling Xi fell on the ground in a sorry state. Blood flow out of her wrist, but she didn’t feel it. Both of her hands grabbed big brother’s cold hand tightly. Her bright eyes were full of panic.

The dark clouds in the night sky transformed into various forms. They laughed as they stared at the head who was not a person nor a monster.

“Eat her!”

All voice repeated this sentence: eat her and swallow her spiritual power.

“No, it’s the man next to her!”

“It’s him. He is the one who tried to attack us three days ago!”

“Godly spirit! His body is already death, but his spiritual power hasn’t scattered yet. Eat him!”

- Godly spirits are spirits from the heaven/ god realm. So, they are more powerful than immortal spirits.

“Eat him, eat him, eat him…”

Black shadows, terrible devilish monsters threw themselves in Ling Xi’s big brother direction while they strived to be the first and feared to be the last!

The scene suddenly went blank. All the voices disappeared. Ling Xi suddenly opened her eyes and happened to see the black Nan Zhi. She curled up in his arms and hugged him tightly.

The moonlight was just right and the stars were bright.

Only now did Ling Xi realize that it was just a dream. She sat up in trance. Nan Zhi shape-shifted back into a human form and stared at her.

“Don’t be afraid.” After a long moment, he said these three words.

Ling Xi’s eyes were already tearful and the tears had been rolling in her eyes. The moment Nan Zhi spoke, the tears fell down without stopping like a dike that had collapsed.

Nan Zhi raised his hand and wanted to wipe away her tears. However, he only had a human form. That hand passed through Ling Xi’s cheek. Nothing had been wiped off. His lips moved and he chanted a spell. He reached out once again to wipe away Ling Xi’s tears but still wiped off nothing.

Nan Zhi frowned and was more displeased.

“The body had already died…,” Ling Xi murmured as she gradually recovered her senses.

Many things had happened during the ten years she was a fool. Recently, the memories became more a more clearly to her mind. The dust of time that covered big brother’s every glance, smile, word and deed had been striped away and little by little it surfaced in her memories.

The dream of tonight made Ling Xi feel like an ice cellar.

What she had forgotten in the past, the hysterical laughter of those devilish monster, they were actually laughing at big brother…the human body had already died?

How…how could big brother die?”

“Godly spirit!” Ling Xi anxiously wanted to grab Nan Zhi’s hand, but she grabbed emptiness. She had long been used to this, but Nan Zhi’s brows furrowed tighter.

“Nan Zhi, what…what is godly spirit?” That devilish creature said that big brother is a godly spirit. She remembered that she had read about it in books, but couldn’t recall the recordings about godly spirit. “Nan Zhi, you remember, right? What is a godly spirit?”

“Who is a godly spirit?” Nan Zhi asked.

“Tell me first what a godly spirit is!” Ling Xi said anxiously.

Nan Zhi was expressionless again and became silent.

Ling Xi didn’t know what the matter with him was and wasn’t in the mood to have a dispute with him. She took out the purse of tail feathers, opened the purse and poured out everything inside of it.

The purse of tail feathers was similar to a storage bag and could shrink everything that was put inside. Ling Xi treasured it very much. On the journey, she put almost everything that could be used inside of it. She remembered that she had brought a few books before going down the mountain. At this moment, she didn’t have the patience to turn them over one by one. She poured everything and began to turn over a book the moment she saw it.

Godly spirit, godly spirit. If big brother was a godly spirit, then what is a godly spirit?

“Everything has spirits. Cultivating into an immortal could avoid the pain of reincarnation and ascend to a god. In the six realms, both human spirit and demon spirit are earth spirits. Gods are the lords of all things. They can’t be born or destroyed. The spirits of the gods in the god realm are the same as the gods. Those spirits who aren’t born and couldn’t be destroyed are godly spirits.”

Nan Zhi spoke about the godly spirits without emotion. The slightly calmed head of Ling Xi set off a storm again.

The body had died but the spiritual power hasn’t dispersed yet.

Those spirits who aren’t born and couldn’t be destroyed are godly spirits.

The two sentences hovered in her mind. The big brother who stayed at her side for ten years seemed…not as simple as an ordinary person?

“Nan Zhi, big brother might…” Ling Xi raised her head. There was no one else in the room aside from her shadow. Her words also came to an abrupt end.

Nan Zhi had disappeared. The lantern that he had made for her before going down the mountain had also disappeared.

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