The light of the inter-province teleportation array slowly faded.
The sensation of weightlessness caused by the distortion of space gradually disappeared.
Jiang Qingwan opened her eyes.
The salty sea breeze was gone. In its place was the familiar mountain wind of Xuanzhou.
The air carried the fresh scents of pinewood and grass. As it brushed past the hem of her robes, it stirred within her a sense of peace she had not felt in a long time.
Mountain peaks stretched into the distance.
A sea of clouds coiled around their slopes, while the peaks of the Tianyuan Sect rose one after another through the clouds.
Farther away, the main peak towered above the heavens. The ancient sect gate stood at the highest point of the mountains, its blue-stone steps winding upward until they disappeared into the clouds.
Jiang Qingwan stood in the center of the teleportation array and did not move for a long time.
The sea of Cangzhou still seemed to murmur in her ears.
Only when the mountain wind stirred her robes once more did she truly realize it.
She was back.
Xie Bugui stood to one side, adjusting the slightly crooked sword strapped across his back.
“Junior Sister, we’ve arrived.”
Jiang Qingwan gazed toward the distant mountain gate.
She answered softly.
“Mm.”
“I’m home.”
Several figures were already waiting outside the teleportation array.
At the very front stood Lei Wanjun.
His hands were clasped behind his back, and his spine was ramrod straight. He still wore that stern, cold expression.
If not for the several Tianxing Peak disciples behind him, all of whom looked rather uneasy, one might have thought he had merely happened to be passing by.
Xie Bugui stepped out of the teleportation array and waved at him.
“Well, look at you, old geezer.”
“You actually came to welcome me in person?”
Lei Wanjun’s eyelid twitched.
Jiang Qingwan had already stepped forward and bowed.
“Disciple greets Master.”
Lei Wanjun’s tense expression eased slightly.
But when his gaze shifted and landed on Yun Zhuo behind her, clear surprise appeared on his face.
Yun Zhuo coughed lightly and turned his gaze toward a nearby mountain peak, as though the clouds there were especially fascinating.
Xie Bugui complained from the side, “Old geezer, I’m talking to you.”
Lei Wanjun turned to look at him and gave a cold laugh.
“Who are you?”
“This old man doesn’t know you.”
Xie Bugui: “…”
Lei Wanjun ignored him.
He turned his attention back to Jiang Qingwan.
The next moment, his usually solemn old face suddenly broke into an almost radiant smile.
“Good disciple!”
“Good disciple!”
He strode over to Jiang Qingwan and raised a hand, giving her head a hearty pat.
“Ahahaha!”
“The Taixu Champion!”
“As expected of my disciple!”
His laughter was so loud that the ears of the surrounding disciples began to ring.
Jiang Qingwan was slightly taken aback.
Lei Wanjun suddenly stopped laughing.
His gaze swept over her shoulders, arms, and the scabbard at her waist, as though checking whether she had suffered any serious injuries.
In the end, he said only one thing:
“Welcome back.”
Jiang Qingwan looked at him.
“Master, I’m sorry to have worried you.”
Xie Bugui stood behind them and let out a quiet sigh.
The difference in treatment between people truly was not something one should examine too closely.
Lei Wanjun had already turned and begun walking toward the mountain gate.
“It’s good that you’re back.”
“We’ll talk about the rest after we return.”
…
The news of Jiang Qingwan’s return soon spread throughout the Tianyuan Sect.
Before they had even reached the mountainside, hurried footsteps could be heard approaching from afar.
Su Qianqian was practically running down the mountain.
When she spotted Jiang Qingwan in the distance, her eyes lit up at once, and she quickened her pace.
“Qingwan!”
Jiang Qingwan had only just turned around when Su Qianqian threw herself straight into her arms.
Thud!
The impact forced Jiang Qingwan to take half a step backward.
“You’re finally back!”
Jiang Qingwan lowered her eyes and glanced at her.
“Let go first.”
“No.”
Jiang Qingwan raised a hand and gently patted her back.
“It’s over now.”
Only then did Su Qianqian let go.
Even so, she continued examining Jiang Qingwan from head to toe several times.
Before she could ask anything else, another set of footsteps came from the other side of the mountain path.
Jin Buhuan had arrived.
She was dressed especially lavishly today. With a folding fan in hand, she performed a solemn bow the moment she saw Jiang Qingwan.
“Ahem. I am Jin Buhuan. I respectfully welcome the Taixu Champion home in triumph.”
Jiang Qingwan gave her a look.
“Get to the point.”
Jin Buhuan immediately dropped her solemn expression.
“By now, Jiang Daoyin’s name has spread across several provinces.”
“It isn’t just Xuanzhou anymore. People in both Cangzhou and Yunzhou are asking about Lord Ziwei, Jiang Qingwan.”
“If we take advantage of this momentum and launch a line of Lord Ziwei-inspired sword tassels, scabbards, and protective charms—”
Jiang Qingwan raised a hand and pressed it against the hilt of her sword.
Jin Buhuan’s tone changed instantly.
“Of course.”
“I merely feel that such vulgar trinkets are entirely unworthy of Jiang Daoyin’s status.”
“We can discuss this another time.”
Su Qianqian burst out laughing beside them.
Even Lei Wanjun wore a helpless expression.
“You lot are more troublesome than the next.”
Laughter and bickering, absent for so long, drifted through the sea of clouds along the mountain path.
…
That night.
Lei Wanjun ordered a welcoming banquet to be held on the main peak.
The banquet was not extravagant.
Everyone present was someone Jiang Qingwan knew well.
Lei Wanjun sat at the head of the table.
Yun Zhuo and Xie Bugui sat on either side of him.
Su Qianqian and Jin Buhuan sat close beside Jiang Qingwan.
There were also several sect disciples who had accompanied them to the Grand Void Mirror Sea.
The group spoke about what had happened during the grand ceremony.
Jiang Qingwan did not recount every detail. She merely mentioned Shui Hua, Tantai Jingyue, and what had happened at the end.
When they heard that the current Hairuo had burned away her complete divine essence and transformed herself into the new seal of the Sea Eye, the banquet gradually fell silent.
Lei Wanjun remained silent for a long while.
Then he raised his wine cup.
“She protected an entire province for several hundred years.”
“And at the very end, she exchanged her own destiny for the survival of all the people of Cangzhou.”
“That Hairuo deserves a toast.”
Everyone raised their cups together.
After they set them down, it took quite some time for the atmosphere at the table to warm again.
Su Qianqian placed a piece of spirit-beast meat in Jiang Qingwan’s bowl.
Jin Buhuan brought up the trade routes in Cangzhou once more.
For reasons unknown, Xie Bugui and Lei Wanjun began arguing.
Jiang Qingwan listened to the familiar voices around her, but her gaze suddenly came to a stop.
Someone was missing.
She turned to Su Qianqian.
“Where’s Fengqiu?”
Su Qianqian’s chopsticks paused.
She set them down.
“Junior Sister Bai ran into some trouble.”
“She’s been recuperating on Pill Peak all this time.”
Jiang Qingwan’s brows drew together slightly.
“What happened?”
Su Qianqian shook her head.
“I’m not entirely sure, either.”
“I heard that she accompanied the disciples of Pill Peak to several villages to treat the blood miasma. After she returned, her vital energy was damaged.”
“I went to see her.”
“She didn’t look seriously ill, but she’s been much quieter than before.”
Jiang Qingwan’s fingers rested lightly against the rim of her cup.
For some reason, a strange unease passed through her heart.
…
After the banquet ended, everyone gradually departed.
Jiang Qingwan did not immediately return to her residence.
Instead, she went alone to Pill Peak.
The night was already deep.
A faint medicinal fragrance still lingered over Pill Peak. The fires in several alchemy halls had yet to go out, and disciples carrying medicinal ingredients hurried past from time to time.
Jiang Qingwan asked several Pill Peak disciples where Bai Fengqiu was staying.
At the mention of her name, the disciples were clearly surprised.
Then one of them raised a hand and pointed toward a secluded courtyard halfway up the mountain.
“Junior Sister Bai is staying there.”
“Elder Yao Jun instructed her to rest and recuperate. Very few people have been allowed to disturb her.”
Jiang Qingwan nodded.
She followed the blue-stone steps upward.
The courtyard was very quiet.
The door was not closed, and no lamps had been lit inside.
Only an old tree swayed gently in the night wind. Its branches cast shadows over the window paper, resembling countless twisted hands.
Jiang Qingwan walked to the door of the room.
She raised her hand and gently pushed it open.
Inside, a small lamp sat beside the table, its flame dim.
Bai Fengqiu stood by the window.
Her back was to the door as she gazed out at the shadowy mountains and forests.
The evening breeze drifted in through the open window.
The pale hem of her robe stirred lightly in the wind.
The moment Jiang Qingwan stepped into the room, Bai Fengqiu heard her.
She slowly turned around.
Jiang Qingwan suddenly stopped.
Those were a pair of extraordinarily calm eyes.
They held no warmth.
No ripples.
And even less of the familiar affection and closeness Bai Fengqiu had always shown her.
Jiang Qingwan’s brows gradually drew together.
For that brief instant, she felt as though Bai Fengqiu had completely become another person.
Yet the moment Bai Fengqiu saw who had come, the coldness in her eyes vanished.
So quickly that it seemed never to have appeared at all.
Surprise.
Delight.
And the familiar intimacy of the past all resurfaced together.
“Senior Sister?”
Jiang Qingwan did not answer immediately.
Bai Fengqiu, however, had already hurried forward.
As though she had not noticed Jiang Qingwan’s scrutiny, she gently embraced her.
“You’re finally back.”
“Congratulations.”
“Champion of the Grand Void Mirror Sea.”
Her voice was soft.
There was nothing different about it from before.
Only after a moment did Jiang Qingwan reply in a low voice:
“Mm.”
Bai Fengqiu released her.
A warm and genuine smile remained on her face.
Jiang Qingwan looked into her eyes.
They were dark and clear.
The coldness from that fleeting moment seemed to have truly been nothing more than an illusion caused by the depth of the night.
Jiang Qingwan was silent for a while, but in the end, she did not question her right away.
She merely asked:
“How have you been?”
Bai Fengqiu seemed somewhat puzzled.
“Me?”
Then she gave a soft laugh.
“I’m fine.”
“Elder of Pill Peak said that after I recuperate for a while longer, I’ll make a full recovery.”
Jiang Qingwan asked:
“Is there anywhere that feels uncomfortable?”
“No.”
Bai Fengqiu turned and poured her a cup of tea.
“It’s you I should be asking about, Senior Sister.”
“I heard you were injured again in Cangzhou.”
“Are you feeling better now?”
Jiang Qingwan accepted the tea.
“It’s nothing now.”
Bai Fengqiu sat down across from her.
The two of them sat on opposite sides of a small table, as though they had returned to the way things used to be.
Bai Fengqiu asked about the Grand Void Mirror Sea.
Jiang Qingwan chose a few lighter stories and told them to her.
Bai Fengqiu listened quietly.
From time to time, she smiled and responded with a few words, just as she had in the past.
Jiang Qingwan watched her.
The two of them talked for a long while.
Then, as the night outside deepened, Bai Fengqiu suddenly raised a hand and rubbed her brow.
“Senior Sister.”
“I’m getting a little sleepy.”
Jiang Qingwan immediately stood.
“Then get some rest.”
“I’ll come see you again in a few days.”
Bai Fengqiu nodded.
“All right.”
Jiang Qingwan left the room.
The courtyard gate gently closed behind her.
She followed the stone steps outside the courtyard downward.
Bai Fengqiu remained standing by the doorway, silently watching her departing figure.
The purple-robed figure moved very slowly.
Even after turning onto the mountain path, she did not look back.
Bai Fengqiu seemed to have been watching for a long time.
The evening breeze stirred the hem of her pale robe.
Those originally pitch-black eyes seemed to gradually take on a dark-red hue in the night.
She gazed deeply in the direction Jiang Qingwan had disappeared.
There was pain in her eyes.
Shame.
But more than anything else, reluctance to part.
The voice of the Myriad Lives Blood Eye echoed softly from the depths of her sea of consciousness.
“All right. We have to go.”
Bai Fengqiu bit her lip tightly and did not answer.
Her fingers slowly clenched.
Her nails dug deeply into her palm.
Only after a long while did Bai Fengqiu speak in a voice so soft that only she herself could hear:
“Goodbye…”
“Senior Sister.”
She turned around.
She did not pack many things.
She took only her sword and an old storage pouch.
Then she followed the long mountain path and walked alone down the mountain.
Before long, the night swallowed her figure.
…
The next day.
The bell of Tianyuan Sect’s main peak rang out across the mountains.
Dawn had only just pierced through the sea of clouds, yet the square at the main peak was already packed with disciples.
News of Jiang Qingwan’s return as the Champion of the Grand Void Mirror Sea had long since spread throughout Xuanzhou.
Today was both a celebration of her victory in the grand ceremony and the formal ceremony conferring her Daoyin title.
Tens of thousands of disciples had gathered in the square before the main peak.
The elders of every peak were present.
The Sect Master and Lei Wanjun stood upon the elevated platform.
Each time the ancient ritual bell rang, the protective sea of clouds around the entirety of Tianyuan Sect churned in response.
At the end of the long flight of steps, Jiang Qingwan walked upward one step at a time.
Today, she had changed into the formal robes belonging to a Daoyin.
They were moon-white at the base.
Purple lightning patterns wound from the hem all the way up to her shoulders.
A sword hung at her waist.
A jade crown bound her hair.
As she walked, every disciple watched her.
Those gazes held admiration.
Envy.
And genuine recognition.
Once, she had been merely a disciple of Heavenly Punishment Peak.
Some had known that her talent was extraordinary, while others had questioned whether she was worthy of bearing the title of Daoyin.
But now, she had returned as the Champion of the Grand Void Mirror Sea.
She had personally severed every remaining doubt.
Jiang Qingwan stepped onto the final stone stair.
The Sect Master unfurled the Daoyin edict.
Golden characters emerged one by one from the scroll and floated above the sea of clouds.
“Disciple Jiang Qingwan of Tianyuan Sect.”
“At the Grand Void Myriad Phenomena Ceremony, she overcame the prodigies of three provinces and claimed the title of Champion of the Mirror Sea.”
“Afterward, when the Cangzhou Sea Eye stirred, she aided the Divine Palace in suppressing the tides. Her temperament, cultivation, and accomplishments are all sufficient to bear the position of Daoyin.”
“From this day onward.”
“She shall officially take her place as the Daoyin of Heavenly Punishment Peak.”
“Her title shall be—”
The Sect Master’s voice resounded across the mountain peaks.
“Lord Ziwei.”
The edict descended.
Lei Wanjun personally stepped forward.
In his hands, he held a purple-and-white jade token.
The front of the token was carved with the cloud insignia of Tianyuan.
On the back was a purple lightning sword mark that stretched across the sky.
It was the token symbolizing the identity of a Daoyin.
Jiang Qingwan accepted it with both hands.
Lei Wanjun looked at the disciple before him.
It seemed he had many things he wanted to say.
He wanted to tell her that the road she had traveled had not been easy.
He wanted to tell her that she had already done more than enough.
He also wanted to tell her that no matter where she went in the future, Heavenly Punishment Peak would always be her support.
But in the end, he merely raised his hand.
Just as he had done yesterday before the teleportation array, he gave Jiang Qingwan’s head a firm pat.
“Qingwan.”
“Keep moving forward.”
Jiang Qingwan tightened her grip around the jade token.
She bowed solemnly.
“This disciple understands.”
At the instant the investiture was completed, ten thousand spirit lamps on the main peak lit up simultaneously.
The bell’s tolls spread across the mountains.
A rain of flowers slowly descended from between the clouds.
The immortal cranes raised by the sect spread their wings and soared into the sky, flying in great flocks across the heavens.
The disciples of every peak drew their swords at once.
Clang—
Thousands of sword cries converged.
Like thunder, they pierced through the sea of clouds.
Su Qianqian stood at the very front of the crowd, cupping her hands around her mouth as she shouted louder than anyone else.
“Lord Ziwei!”
Jin Buhuan also raised his arm high.
“Lord Ziwei!”
Immediately afterward, the voices of thousands of disciples merged into a single tide.
“Lord Ziwei!”
“Lord Ziwei!”
“Lord Ziwei!”
Each cry rose higher than the last.
The waves of sound swept through the main peak and crossed the sea of clouds.
They spread throughout every mountain of Tianyuan Sect.
On this day,
all of Tianyuan Sect was immersed in a sea of joy.
Jiang Qingwan stood atop the elevated platform.
The mountain wind swept through her long hair.
Below her were countless smiling faces.
The voices continued to echo across the sea of clouds.
Yet she merely gazed into the distance in silence.
Every peak of Tianyuan Sect was reflected in her eyes.
Farther still lay the vast land of Xuanzhou.
There was Cangzhou, which she had just traversed.
And beyond the mountains and rivers lay even more realms she had yet to see.
Having come this far,
she had finally stood atop the heights she had once looked up to.
But only after truly arriving here did she realize that…
There were no answers to be found at the heights.
Only mountains farther still.
And a longer road ahead.
A sea of clouds churned and surged.
Heaven and earth stretched vast, as though without end...
Jiang Qingwan gently clasped the sword at her waist.
She did not know what she might encounter in the future.
Nor did she know where the sword in her hand would ultimately lead her.
But she would not be afraid.
The final cry of the mountain rang out across the surrounding peaks.
Jiang Qingwan stood against the wind, the faintest hint of a smile touching her lips.
The road ahead lay before her.
From here on, the mountains would stretch far and the rivers run long.
She would carry her sword and walk on.
—The End—
