Immortal Soaring Blade

Everyone, welcome to 2021!  2020 has been an absolutely horrid year for many people on many levels, and I think many (most? all?) of us are glad to leave it behind.  With that said, I wanted to give everyone a preview for some of the things that are coming up in the coming few months for Wuxiaworld.

Front-End Site Redesign - This one has been a long time coming!  Historically, we've focused more on incremental changes and feature build-out rather than overhauling the site itself, but for quite a few months now...

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Bai Qingqing and Zhao Jiuge took advantage of the remaining light from the sunset to enter deep into the mountain. The Mysterious Heaven Mountain Range was thousands of mountains connected together. When they left the peak they were on, the surroundings gradually became silent. 

Zhao Jiuge was in a depressed mood as he took the lead and didn’t say a word. He silently remembered the route he took and secretly calculated the distance in his heart. He thought that they would have to turn around on the second day at the latest even if they hadn’t found all the herbs, or else they would miss the deadline. While memorizing the road, he looked around, searching for the seven herbs in his memory.

Aside from the occasional sounds of birds and insects, there were only the sounds of footsteps on the fallen leaves. The surroundings were so quiet that it was a bit creepy.

“Hey, why are you walking so far and not saying a word like a blockhead?” Bai Qingqing was a few steps in front of him. She saw the scenery become stranger and stranger and more quiet. She felt uncomfortable, so she pouted and complained toward Zhao Jiuge with slight dissatisfaction.

Blockhead. When Zhao Jiuge heard that word, his movements stiffened for a while before he returned to normal and continued moving forward. How familiar that word was—it was uttered by that girl that was like a jade lotus. It was obvious that every time she said it, she was complaining about him being stupid, but every time he heard it, he felt warmth. Now that he had heard those words uttered by another girl, Zhao Jiuge entered a trance for a moment.

Things near and far,

Clear stream shallow and deep,

Moon high and bright,

Dao partners close and distant.

When Zhao Jiuge dreamed at night, he often imagined himself standing on a flying sword, holding his beloved person. However, that graceful figure beside him was always blurry. Perhaps this showed that his heart was not determined enough.

Thinking about this, Zhao Jiuge’s eyes became melancholy as he looked into the mountains. Everything was because of his own lack of strength. Due to his childhood, Zhao Jiuge was filled with confidence, but he was not blinded by it. He was not afraid of distance or anything else, only that time passed too slowly. The one thing he lacked the most was time.

When he met that noble and cold figure that was like a winter plum flower again, would she still remember him? Would she still look at him like he was an ant like before? This was not something he could accept. He secretly clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. Zhao Jiuge was in a trance and didn’t even notice.

Eh?

After walking for a while, Zhao Jiuge awakened from his trance and broke his train of thought as he noticed that something was wrong.

The footsteps behind him were gone!

Zhao Jiuge quickly looked back and saw that more than a few dozen meters back, Bai Qingqing was standing there with her hands on her waist. She had a stubborn pout on her face and was looking at him. She stubbornly stood there, motionless, and her beautiful eyes were filled with dissatisfaction.

Seeing that Bai Qingqing was fine and that it was just her young lady temper flaring up and he secretly felt relieved. He was startled just now and broke out in cold sweat, fearing that some accident had happened in this unfamiliar mountain.

Zhao Jiuge was already in a bad mood and was even a little irritable, so after seeing Bai Qingqing’s temper flare up, he even became a bit angry. He had a cold expression as he angrily shouted, “Why are you just standing there? Let’s hurry up!”

Bai Qinging had been pampered since childhood, and when she saw Zhao Jiuge finally stop, she felt a bit happy. However, when the first words Zhao Jiuge said were to berate her, she couldn’t help but stomp her feet and shout, “If you have the ability to leave me, then go on without me. We are a team now. I have been talking to you for a long time and you’ve been completely ignoring me. Do you even think of me as a teammate?”

Today, Bai Qingqing was also wearing a blue sword robe, and her hair was in a ponytail. The tight-fitting clothes outlined the curves of her figure. The 16 or 17-year-old Bai Qinging had already matured, and due to her tight fitting clothes, her chest trembled when she stomped her feet. Zhao Jiuge was accustomed to her alluring clothes, so today’s change in style had surprised him a little.

However, considering the other side was still a girl, Zhao Jiuge couldn’t be too ill-tempered. His expression relaxed a bit and he walked back more than 10 meters toward Bai Qingqing. He pursed his lips and helplessly said, “Let’s go, we have to  hurry and look for the herbs.” After speaking, he looked at Bai Qingqing with a helpless expression, fearing that this young lady would pull some other trick and be unwilling to move.

Fortunately, Bai Qingqing nodded and finally stepped forward. Bai Qingqing was not an unreasonable person, she was just letting off a bit of her temper and was accustomed to people paying attention to her. Since Zhao Jiuge had taken a step back and given her an excuse to back down, she accepted it.

This time, the two of them moved forward side by side. The fresh, mountain air nourished their lungs and the flowers and plants swayed everywhere. Zhao Jiuge estimated that because they were on the edge, there shouldn’t be any spirit beasts. Even if there were any really powerful spirit beasts, they should have been cleaned up by the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect.

The two of them were silent for a long time before Bai Qingqing finally turned toward Zhao Jiuge and pretended to be casual. “It’s just a task, and there is no punishment if you fail. Do you really want to find the herbs that much? Why don’t you think about the fight with the youth with the scar in three days instead?” She watched Zhao Jiuge for his reaction.

“I want those 100 sect contributions. Only with sect contribution can I have my own flying sword. I had one before, but it was destroyed. Without sect contribution, I can’t buy items or spells. So I must find all the herbs and be in the top three in order to get those 100 sect contributions. I’ll accumulate them little by little. I don't believe I can’t gather enough!”

When talking about something he was interested in, Zhao Jiuge seemed to become a different person. His eyes burned with a different light than normal.

Seeing Zhao Jiuge’s child-like smile left an impression in Bai Qingqing’s eyes, and after listening for a bit, she seemed to understand something. With her superior family, she never had to worry about anything. As for magic treasures, when she left to join the sect, because her family was afraid she would get into something unexpected, they gave her a lot.

Perhaps due to the difference in environment, everyone had different thoughts. After a long silence, Bai Qingqing smiled sweetly. “For the sake of the team, Big Sister will help you, but do you have any plans for the fight in three days?”

Her slightly wrinkled brow gave off an indescribable sense of mischievous and cuteness. After speaking, Bai Qingqing looked at Zhao Jiuge with curiosity. Right now, she was less alluring and gave off the temperament of a young girl.

“What is there to plan? I only care about my sect contribution and my cultivation. As for others, I don’t care if they live or die. If they won’t accept that, then I’ll fight! I don’t want to cause any trouble, but I’m not easy to bully.”

He was wearing the same blue sword robe with his long, black hair tied by a piece of cloth. His youthful face was relaxed and his tone was domineering and confident. However, this confidence was not from arrogance. It has to be said that after reaching the Spirit Transformation Realm, either due to his cultivation or the Sanskrit Heart Sutra, Zhao Jiuge went through an earth-shattering change compared to back when he was in the village.

His thin body was now more sturdy, and as he had gotten older, he was taller. His temperament was ethereal and elegant, and his youthful face gave off a sense of maturity that didn’t match his age. Among the group of new disciples, he somewhat stood out from the crowd and attracted attention.

The clever Bai Qingqing didn’t linger on this topic for too long. She played with a few strands of hair that were hanging over her forehead. She spoke with a coquettish smile “If you win the fight in three days, I’ll give my 100 sect contributions to you.” Her tone was relaxed, as if she didn’t care about the 100 sect contributions at all.

Zhao Jiuge stared at her with a frown and was stunned. “You don’t want it? Besides, how do you know we will get the 100 sect contributions?”

“You have me here and you’re afraid we won’t be able to get the 100 sect contributions? You underestimate Big Sister too much.” Bai Qingqing first rolled her eyes and then covered her mouth to laugh. Although these herbs could only be found in the mountains here, this task was not enough for Bai Qingqing to take it seriously.

“Hehe, then I’ll wait and see just how powerful you are.” Zhao Jiuge looked at Bai Qingqing with disbelief on his face, but deep down, he was somewhat convinced. This alluring girl was too mysterious, and even the brilliant Mu Zijun and Bai Zimo were suppressed by her. He guessed that Bai Qingqing hadn’t revealed her trump card yet.

He raised his eyebrow and asked, “So, you don’t want those 100 sect contributions?”

“If you can win against the youth with the scar, I’ll give them to you.” Her face and heart were calm. Perhaps for the youths with no family background, 100 sect contributions was a lot, but Bai Qingqing was not lacking any of these things. 100 sect contributions was far from enough to buy any item that could catch her eye.

“Fine, it seems like you don’t care, so I won’t argue with you.” Zhao Jiuge was not a fool. He urgently needed to improve his strength now, and outside factors like there were also part of his strength. He would remember this favor, and once he was strong enough, he would return it.

Now it was Bai Qingqing’s turn to be stunned. Most men had a bit of a macho mentality, and back home, there was no shortage of descendents from well-off families courting her. It had always been other people giving gifts to her to get on her good side. If it was any other man, they would drag this discussion on and pretend they didn’t want it. She didn’t expect Zhao Jiuge to be different. He was really an interesting person.

Zhao Jiuge saw Bai Qingqing’s stunned expression and seemed to guess what she was thinking. At the same time, he rolled his eyes and the corner of his mouth curved up. He jokingly said, “What’s wrong? The fight is happening because of you. Even if I lie down, I will get shot. If I beat him, I deserve it.”

Looking at Zhao Jiuge’s joking expression, Bai Qingqing’s little princess temper flared up again. She deliberately put on a grin. “Then I’ll see how you will defeat that youth with the scar. His aura is about one step above you. Don’t lose and then come crying to ask Big Sister to help you.”

Zhao Jiuge looked at Bai Qingqing with contempt and didn’t say anything else. When she saw that Zhao Jiuge had been knocked down a peg, she smiled happily like a child.

Night had descended completely and shrouded the mountain in darkness.

The temperature deep in the mountains dropped sharply, and it became colder the deeper one went into the mountain. Occasional roars from spirit beasts could be heard and a cold mist gradually rose. However, the two of them were at the Spirit Transformation Realm, so they naturally didn’t fear this kind of temperature.

However, Bai Qingqing still nervously looked around, scared of something suddenly popping out in the night. Her right hand gripped Zhao Jiuge’s arm, and because she was afraid, she used too much force, so Zhao Jiuge felt a bit of pain.

Zhao Jiuge couldn’t help but find it funny. After all, even powerful women were still women—they had things they were afraid of. Although Zhao Jiuge was not very old, he was accustomed to his environment. Ever since he was young, he had gone hunting in the mountains alone and spent the night there, so there were even fewer reasons to be afraid now.

Although she was afraid, Bai Qingqing wouldn’t even admit it even if you beat her to death. After she grabbed Zhao Jiuge’s arm, she saw the smile that appeared on his face. With a voice filled with dissatisfaction, she asked, “What are you smiling about?” 

Zhao Jiuge’s expression suddenly changed as he looked to the right.

This action startled Bai Qingqing, and she shivered all over. Like an octopus, she hugged Zhao Jiuge and then looked toward where Zhao Jiuge was looking, thinking he had discovered something.

Zhao Jiuge was being hugged tightly by Bai Qingqing, and he had trouble breathing because her arm was wrapped tightly around his neck. It took him a long time to struggle free and regain his breath. “I seem to have found one of the herbs.”

Hearing this, Bai Qingqing let out a sigh of relief but still felt a bit scared. After she recovered, she smacked Zhao Jiuge. “Don’t you know that you can scare people to death? Don’t make a fuss over such a small matter.” Thinking about the embarrassing scene from before, her face turned red. Fortunately, it was late at night, so it wasn’t visible. 

Zhao Jiuge felt a bit wronged and thought, “I didn’t make a fuss, I only saw the herb. You were the one who was startled and made such a big scene, yet now you blame me.” Although he thought this in his heart, he didn’t dare to say it out loud, for fear of a beating and scolding from Bai Qingqing.

The two walked toward the location that gave off the spiritual light. When they got close, Zhao Jiuge’s eyes lit up and his face filled with joy. “It’s the White Dew Frost!”

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