When Li Changshou brought Ling'e down before Baifan Hall, several hundred figures had already gathered. Young men and women in robes and long skirts laughed and talked freely; rarely was there an ill-favored face among them. The female qi-refiners were no fewer than the men, most fair of feature and slender of figure—yet a few stood out like stars before a full moon, and Blue Ling'e at Li Changshou's side was one such.
"Isn't that Ling'e of Xiaoqiong Peak? She's grown quite lovely, and they say her aptitude is no small thing—joined the sect ten years ago and already at the eighth level of Qi-Refining." "I've even heard a Grand Elder has thought of taking her in. We've no such fortune." "Who's that beside her?" "Oh, her senior brother. Xiaoqiong Peak has almost no one on it; this one isn't even ranked in the top three hundred. Not in this fellow's memory." "I remember—his dao name is Changshou?" "That dao name is... unprepossessing. Quite distinctive nevertheless." "Don't gossip about disciples of other peaks behind their backs! Mind your manners!"
The murmurs fell on Li Changshou as if he had not heard. A gentle smile played at his lips; without looking around, he led Blue Ling'e inside to register, then went to wait in an out-of-the-way corner.
The bells rang again and again as more young qi-refiners flew in from every peak. Today was the training assembly the Immortal Crossing Sect held every five years, meant to let disciples see the world and deepen their understanding of the Dao. Any formal disciple could sign up freely, with as many as twelve destinations to choose from.
The sect recruited on a cycle of two hundred years, one generation per span. Of this generation the fastest was said to have reached the sixth level of Return-to-Void, matching thousand-year-old hands who lacked the aptitude. Qi-Refining, Nascent Soul, Return-to-Void, Return to the Dao—these four great realms before becoming immortal decided a person's strength at ascension, the pace of cultivation after, and the ceiling of their immortal path.
For someone like Blue Ling'e—ten years in the sect, apprenticed to a master of no renown who had not even attained immortality—to reach the eighth level of Qi-Refining naturally drew no small attention.
The siblings stood three feet apart in the shade of a tree; most onlookers concluded they were not very close. Ling'e toyed with a sprig of willow, hesitating to speak. The first rule of their pact kept three feet of distance before others; the second forbade idle chat abroad.
"Senior brother, where are you going?" "Take a guess." "Still not telling me—you've made me ask for days." She huffed. "Well, wherever you go, I go. I'm keeping my eye on you." Li Changshou smiled placidly and, lips barely parting, spoke straight into her ear by voice transmission: "Junior sister, you're a fairly accomplished qi-refiner now. Learn to face some difficulties on your own." Blue Ling'e answered with righteous indignation: "On Master's orders, I'm watching you—so Senior Brother doesn't go out and make trouble and lose face for Xiaoqiong Peak!" He smiled faintly and said no more.
When the bell had rung six times, more than sixty cultivators filed out of Baifan Hall and took to the air. They differed in face and bearing—some white-haired and deeply wrinkled, others still like maidens of sixteen—though most looked mature and composed. These sixty-three members loosed their auras slightly, and silence fell before the hall, each figure wreathed in a wisp of immortal light: the immortals of the various peaks, charged with guarding the expedition.
Then came a crane's cry, and a red-crowned white crane descended bearing a lean old man. Faint auspicious clouds kept company at his back, two green lotuses floated around him, and though no aura leaked from him, he gave off a jeweled sage's solemn dignity. This was the vice sect master, the Exalted Zhong Yu—of Heavenly Immortal rank, among the top ten in the sect.
He delivered no long speech. Eyelids half lowered, he spoke, his voice echoing across the main peaks: "On this expedition, hold the sect's rules in mind, spread our renown, and do nothing that shames our name. There are twelve places to go. Lately demons have been ravaging several tribes along the East Sea coast—slay the demons, uphold the Dao, and shield our fellow folk. Elder Ge, begin."
With that he rode his crane away, and the disciples bowed together in farewell. An old man in the air stepped forward with cupped hands, then called clearly: "Those going to the East Sea coast to slay demons, to the far left! No lower than the sixth level of Qi-Refining! Reward is counted by the number of demons slain." Nearly half the disciples moved left, and that side grew crowded.
This was the custom of every training assembly: of the twelve places, one was always relatively low in difficulty and danger while offering generous reward.
Blue Ling'e turned to stare at her brother and saw his legs, sure enough, did not move. So he truly was not out for some benefit... "Junior sister, your cultivation is still shallow—follow the crowd," he sent, and she pouted but stayed where she stood. "Those going to the southeastern border of the Central Shenzhou, wait on the right—no lower than the eighth level of Qi-Refining!" This time only a few dozen moved, every one cleanly in the Nascent Soul realm.
And so, with each call, disciple after disciple stepped forward. When Elder Ge announced "minimum of the second level of Nascent Soul," Blue Ling'e stared at her brother, eyes full of reproach—for that was exactly her true cultivation. "Senior brother, where exactly are you going?" He only smiled.
Soon only twenty-three remained unmoving, with but two places yet unannounced. Apart from the pair in the corner, these were almost all the "seeds of immortality" the peaks were nurturing, ranked near the top. Elder Ge glanced at her, then called: "Those going to Linyun Island in the East Sea, enter the hall—no lower than the ninth level of Nascent Soul!" Seventeen of the twenty-odd moved at once, each loosing an aura, without exception at the second or third level of Return-to-Void. Gasps rose, and they flew swiftly inside.
Then only six remained, and the crowd's gaze converged on a girl in a fiery crimson robe, a wide-bladed sword across her back. She stood with eyes shut, still as a transcendent immortal, as if great characters floated around her—keep thy distance, stranger. She was among the most renowned of this generation: a face of national beauty, flawless figure, and staggering aptitude—already at the fourth level of Return-to-Void though she had joined the sect a mere sixty years past, earning early adoption into the main lineage of Potian Peak. 'Youqin Xuanya is going north too? Not a bad thing.' Li Changshou wore a faint smile. To travel with so watched-over an "attention magnet" would do nicely to keep him unnoticed.
Blue Ling'e at his side sniffed and caught something in the air, her gaze shuttling between her brother's smile and that crimson-clad girl... There was definitely something going on. A murmur rose again: "Senior Sister Xuanya is gathering herbs in the north?"—"Then Senior Brother Yuan Qing will go north too."—"Mind your tongues; don't offend those two prodigies of Potian Peak."
Elder Ge frowned at the siblings, shook his head, and called: "Those going to the Myriad-Miasma Treasure Forest in the southeast of the northern continent, enter the hall. This place is fiercely dangerous—disciples are often wounded or killed. Minimum of the ninth level of Nascent Soul!"
The crimson-robed girl opened her limpid phoenix eyes, pressed her toes on the ground, and drifted into the hall under a trail of gazes. Close behind came a refined, courteous young man who loosed an aura of the fifth level of Return-to-Void, his gaze never leaving that crimson figure—naturally, Senior Brother Yuan Qing. Li Changshou set off at the same moment, and because the pair had drawn everyone's attention, no one noticed him, which was a comfort.
But two steps on, without reason, he shuddered—a pair of reproachful eyes shadowing him. "Senior brother, why suddenly the northern continent?" Feeling only a cold wind at his back, he stopped. "To gather herbs, naturally." "Senior brother—" "Blue Ling'e of Xiaoqiong Peak." A call fell from the air: it was Elder Ge, asking, "Are you still taking part in this expedition?" "I am." She looked up, crimson rising to her cheeks as gazes fell on her, but recovered her poise at once. "I've troubled you, Elder. My cultivation is still shallow; I'd hesitated. I've decided to go to the East Sea coast with the senior brothers and sisters." Elder Ge nodded kindly. "Hurry back into formation, then." "Yes." She breathed a private sigh of relief—and when she turned, her brother was already gone. "Really now, why must he go somewhere so dangerous?" She puffed her cheeks and grumbled, "Won't even say a word to take care of himself... watch yourself, you rotten senior brother!" Yet the moment she turned away she wore her usual expression and walked toward the crowd, where handsome talents came up smiling to meet her.
Inside the hall, a dozen gazes settled on Li Changshou in his corner, uncertain who he was. He quietly loosed his aura... the ninth level of Nascent Soul, barely passing the line, competent for the current generation.