Chapter Thirteen: Descending the Mountain

Page 1/3

At dawn, a ray of sunlight streamed through the window, filling the room, but the quiet comfort was soon broken by a persistent knocking on the door.

Jie Peiling rubbed his eyes, feeling utterly exhausted. Last night, he had been eager to practice talisman crafting, but the consequences had caught up with him—every movement now brought pain.

Dragging himself out of bed, he opened the door to find not Han Jiang, but Xu Yuanming, the instructor from yesterday’s lesson.

Jie Peiling’s weariness vanished instantly. He hadn’t yet destroyed the traces of last night’s talisman work. Just as he was about to speak, Xu Yuanming interrupted.

“Yesterday was theory; today is practice. We’re going down the mountain to visit the nearby town.”

Jie Peiling was stunned. He hadn’t left the mountain for years.

“Do you mean leaving Yingtian Daoist Temple?”

Xu Yuanming nodded, his gaze fixed entirely on him, ignoring everything else in the room.

“What if we get caught?”

Xu Yuanming smiled. “I’ll take full responsibility.”

Jie Peiling nodded. “Let me get ready.”

Xu Yuanming smiled quietly, closing his eyes and leaning against the wall.

His expression made Jie Peiling feel as if he knew everything. Hesitantly, he asked, “You already know?”

“Know what?”

“That thing I did in the room earlier?”

Xu Yuanming lifted his head and looked at him. “Oh? What is it? Don’t hesitate to tell me.”

Jie Peiling said, “I accidentally took Chen Shenqi’s token.”

Xu Yuanming sighed in disbelief. “He taught you the cultivation method for two years, and after meeting him, you took his inner disciple token? Originally, the elder who teaches but was demoted to a registered disciple because of his cultivation was already upset. And now you took his lifeline.”

Chen Shenqi was the elder’s real name, once one of the top geniuses of the inner sect’s Three Terraces. But for some unknown reason, he abruptly abandoned cultivation and spent his time indulging in pleasures within the temple. The head of the temple was furious and demoted him to a registered disciple elder, forever barred from advancing deeper into the temple.

Registered disciple elders were usually those without talent who could never enter the inner sect. But now, a former top inner sect genius—possibly a future temple head—had become a registered disciple elder.

Page 2/3

This token was his lifeline, a constant reminder of his past glory days.

Jie Peiling said, “He already has the elder’s token; this one I’ll keep for him.”

Xu Yuanming waved his hand. “Get your things ready. We don’t know how long this trip will take—could be days, weeks, or even longer. It’s unlikely we’ll return the same day.”

Jie Peiling nodded silently. He only needed to follow Xu Yuanming; the difference in their cultivation and status was vast. If Xu wanted to harm him, there would be no need for such subtlety.

Back inside, Jie Peiling packed away everything related to last night’s talisman crafting. When he saw the book "Yang Zu’s Sword Chronicles," he hesitated but decided to bring it along, having yet to study those two cultivation methods in depth.

The “Heavenly Escape Secret Seal Sword Technique” would allow him to choose a sword upon entering the Sixth Hall soon, but the “Celestial Golden Elixir Heart Method” was different. He feared it would absorb the faint red threads he had painstakingly cultivated, rendering his progress wasted.

After packing, Jie Peiling followed Xu Yuanming down the mountain.

Before they left, Xu Yuanming pointed his right hand lightly into the air.

“What's that?” Jie Peiling asked.

“Nothing. No time to waste. Let’s hurry down,” Xu replied.

After they left, the spiritual energy lingering from Jie Peiling’s talisman crafting was swiftly absorbed by a stronger force, dissipating naturally.

...

The Mao hour had passed, and the two had left Yingtian Daoist Temple.

They traveled two to three hundred miles, stopping in a nearby town for a hearty meal.

Xu Yuanming ate only a few strips of meat, filling up mostly on vegetables. Jie Peiling, however, finished a whole fish and half a chicken.

Though this meal was modest compared to the feast Han Jiang had treated him to the day before, it was still delicious to him.

Registered disciples often spoke of following the Way of Nature—any food was a blessing. They viewed grand feasts as unimportant, gradually developing a taste for lighter fare. Living almost freely on the mountain had its differences; wild animals like Jie Peiling were rare among disciples. Even searching the entire mountain, sightings were scarce. One couldn’t just sit under a tree waiting for an animal to stumble by.

In the afternoon, they resumed their journey. Jie Peiling asked Xu Yuanming where they were headed.

“Wherever fate takes us,” Xu replied. “We’ll stop wherever we must.”

After traveling hundreds of miles, they finally arrived beneath the walls of Yu’an Prefecture.

Outside the city gate stood soldiers. Travelers often slipped them a few extra coins, speeding their passage, but inspections remained thorough — only slightly quicker.

Page 3/3

Jie Peiling and Xu Yuanming stood beneath a pavilion outside the city, gazing long at the gate.

A difficult problem now presented itself: how to enter the city.

Jie Peiling turned to Xu Yuanming. “How do we get in?”

Xu Yuanming shook his head.

Jie Peiling’s lips twitched in frustration.

“You need official documents issued by the court to prove your identity.”

“Do you have any?” Jie asked.

“Even if I did, you don’t. We should have asked the elders for two tokens symbolizing our status before leaving.”

Jie sighed helplessly. “Wouldn’t that make it clear we left the mountain without permission?”

“You took Chen Shenqi’s inner disciple token, didn’t you? Just give it to me.”

“And what about me?”

“I forgot.”

Xu Yuanming was wholly devoted to the Dao. All his time and energy were either spent cultivating or on the path to cultivation. He paid little attention to mundane affairs.

“How did you manage before when you took others down?” Jie asked.

As dusk deepened and the view blurred, they circled to the most secluded part of Yu’an Prefecture’s city wall. Xu Yuanming grabbed the hem of Jie’s robe. In the next instant, a flash of sword light shimmered, and they vanished from sight.