The study companion's quarters were arranged in a wing of the inner disciples' courtyard residences: a modest single room separated from Gu Yanqing's courtyard by merely two flagstone alleyways.
The very day Lin Zhixue moved in, she tidied the room thoroughly, folding her bedding with crisp, sharp edges and hanging her Daoist robe by the head of the bed.
Xiaoyu circled the room, looking up one moment to gauge the light filtering through the window frame, and drawing in the drifting spiritual energy all around the next.
“Good lighting, and the flow of spiritual energy is much smoother, too.”
Pausing, it concluded, “It's far better than that dwelling down in the outer sect.”
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Gu Yanqing had just finished a routine of sword practice and had not yet wiped away his sweat when he heard a knock at the courtyard gate.
Three knocks, a pause, then three more. He already guessed who it was.
Holding his longsword, he stepped forward and pulled open the door.
Lin Zhixue stood outside, neatly dressed in her light gray outer disciple Daoist robe, her hair tied back meticulously.
Seeing him open the door, she asked straightforwardly, “Are we body tempering today?”
Gu Yanqing froze for a moment before realizing what she meant.
She still remembered the whipping incident back at the Gu manor; she had truly taken body tempering via whipping as part of her duty.
He waved his hand.
“Not for now. The medicinal herbs needed for body tempering are still at the Medicine Hall, and we're missing one main ingredient.”
“Without the medicinal bath, taking lashings alone yields little result.”
Lin Zhixue nodded gently without pressing further, shifting the conversation.
“Now that I am a study companion, what should I be doing?”
Gu Yanqing pondered for a moment. “We can go accept sect missions.”
“A study companion primarily assists with cultivation, but you can't just idle about all day either. Taking on some simple missions can earn contribution points and serve as practical experience.”
Lin Zhixue voiced her agreement, and the two headed to the Mission Hall together.
The Mission Hall did not separate inner and outer disciples; all disciples selected missions in the same main hall. Missions were divided into four tiers: Grade A, Grade B, Grade C, and Grade D.
Standing before the Grade C mission bulletin board, Lin Zhixue read through the requests one by one before reaching out to tear off a notice.
The mission required traveling to the outskirts of the Secluded Valley west of the sect to harvest ten stalks of Cold Dew Grass. It was classified as Grade C-Low, rewarding five contribution points and three spirit stones.
She handed the mission slip to Gu Yanqing for confirmation. Looking down at it, he suddenly fell silent.
Cold Dew Grass. Secluded Valley. Placed side by side, there was no way he wouldn't recognize them.
In the original novel, it was precisely while undertaking this mission that Lin Zhixue had stumbled upon an ancient cave abode.
The entrance to the cave abode lay hidden behind a waterfall deep within the Secluded Valley, cloaked by natural water mist and formations; ordinary cultivators could walk past it a thousand times without ever noticing.
That cave abode was where a senior sword cultivator known as “Hermit of the Cold Pool” had passed away. Inside, he had left behind the Guilan Sword, a relic of exceptionally high grade that perfectly suited a sword cultivator with a water spirit root.
Acquiring the Guilan Sword had been like adding wings to a tiger, laying the foundation for her meteoric rise in the Dao of the Sword.
“I've heard people mention this place before,” he said, handing the slip back while trying his best to sound casual.
“They said there's a waterfall deep inside the Secluded Valley, and behind it, a cave abode seems to be hidden. If you happen to pass by and see it, you might as well go in and have a look.”
Lin Zhixue took back the mission slip and glanced at him.
Heard someone mention it before, yet again.
She didn't press him, merely folding the mission slip and sliding it into her sleeve.
Xiaoyu drifted out of the Taixu Soul Jade, instantly intrigued upon hearing the words “cave abode.”
“Inconspicuous cave abodes out in the wild like that usually hide plenty of treasures!” it chattered excitedly, insisting on going in to check it out.
Leaving the sect, the two walked westward for roughly over a shichen, entering the territory of the Secluded Valley.
At the valley entrance stood a boundary stone half the height of a person, engraved with the characters “Secluded Valley.” Weathered by wind and rain, the script had grown somewhat indistinct, and the monument was overrun with vines and moss.
A thick fog hung within the valley, making it feel far deeper and more secluded than it seemed from outside. Towering, precipitous cliffs on both sides blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving only a sliver of hazy gray sky overhead.
The stream at the valley floor rushed and splashed, its sounds reverberating through the narrow ravine until they buzzed in one's ears.
Cold Dew Grass was not hard to find.
Nestled in the damp rock crevices along both banks of the stream, clusters of pale blue grass glowed faintly through the mist, their blades beaded with dense droplets of water, resembling a scatter of fallen stars from afar.
Crouching by the stream, Lin Zhixue harvested them stalk by stalk with deft efficiency. In less than half a shichen, she had gathered all ten stalks, casually tucking several extra into her storage bag as well.
She stood up, brushed the water droplets from her hands, and prepared to return.
Floating beside her shoulder, Xiaoyu pointed toward the depths of the valley, noting that the mist was even thicker over there.
Looking in the direction it indicated, Lin Zhixue indeed spotted a dense shroud of water mist further in. From within, a faint rumbling echoed—heavier and more muffled than the rush of the stream.
Following the stream upward for several hundred paces, she rounded a bend, and the view opened up before her.
A waterfall plunged down from a cliff dozens of zhang high with tremendous force, pounding into the deep pool below and throwing up a veil of mist that filled the air.
The mist refracted the sunlight into multiple tiers of pale rainbows, cloaking the entire cliff face in a hazy halo of light.
A waterfall.
Recalling Gu Yanqing's words, Lin Zhixue walked over and came to a halt before the waterfall.
The cool spray rushed against her face. Focusing her gaze, she peered through the heavy curtain of water and faintly discerned a hazy outline.
Behind the waterfall was not solid cliff; there was a narrow fissure, completely concealed by the veil of water.
Xiaoyu spotted it as well and immediately urged loudly in her ear, “There really is something! Go in, go in, go in!”
Lin Zhixue stepped through the curtain of water. The sheer force of the cascade was fiercer than she had anticipated; the bone-chilling torrent slammed against her back and shoulders, soaking her outer robe in an instant.
Shivering, she emerged dripping wet on the other side. Sure enough, behind the waterfall lay a narrow gap, just wide enough for a person to squeeze through sideways.
She walked a few paces inside. At the end of the narrow gap, a stone door was embedded in the rock wall. Carved into the lintel above was a wave-patterned formation diagram, in the center of which sat a fist-sized spirit pearl glowing with a faint blue sheen.
She reached out, and the moment her fingertips brushed the surface of the stone door, the formation diagram on the lintel blazed brightly.
A ripple of pale blue light spread from the wave diagram, coalescing into an arc of light in midair that slowly swept from her head down to her feet.
She sensed no malice whatsoever. As the arc swept over her, it felt as though a handful of cool mountain spring water had been poured over her from head to toe; the spiritual power within her body was gently stirred, bringing a pleasant sensation. Then, the door opened.
The stone door slid open silently to both sides, revealing a deep, shadowy passage within. Blue spiritual lights lit up sequentially along the rock walls, illuminating a flight of stone steps descending into the depths.
Lin Zhixue stood at the doorway and did not enter immediately.
She glanced back the way she came; beyond the water curtain, the faint silhouettes of valley trees and the pale daylight were hazily visible.
Xiaoyu was the first to drift into the doorway, hovering ahead and urging her incessantly.
Gathering her breath, she stepped over the threshold and followed the descending stone steps, walking deeper into the cave abode step by step.
Rate on N.U.
