My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting

Two days later.0

A bolt of white light streaked across the skies of Silkfloss Province and plunged toward a dusty market town.0

Inside that flash rode a swordswoman with ice-cold eyes, Gu Xuejian.0

Her face looked placid enough, yet an unspoken urgency smoldered in her gaze. In her left hand she clutched a fingernail-sized shard of jade, faintly aglow. The nearer she flew to the town, the brighter it burned.0

The stone was called moon-twin jade.0

Split into two halves, each piece could sense the other. The moment one wearer took it off, the partner stone warned its twin with an ominous throb. And if the two halves met again, it replayed the final scene the other wearer had witnessed.0

Gu Xuejian carried one half. Her disciple, Ping'an, wore the other.0

Master and disciple knew each other's habits by heart. If Ping'an was traveling, the jade never left his person. If he was in a city, nightfall meant one of two things. That was either closed-door cultivation ormarital bliss.0

During the latter, the jade came off at around midnight, then slipped back at dawn or noon at the latest. That midnight flick-off had become Ping'an's signal that all was well.0

So when, a few nights ago, the stone duly separated at midnight, Gu Xuejian paid it no mind.0

But now two full days had passed and the jade had still not returned. Panic slammed into her like a battering ram.0

She dumped every other duty, shot into the clouds, and flew like a lioness whose cub had been stolen, collapsing a journey of days into a single, white-knuckled sprint.0

At last she arrived.0

From high above she eyed the signal's source. It was a derelict shrine with the roof half-caved in. No human presence. Still, she played it safe and unfurled her blood domain.0

Streams of scorching crimson burst from her sleeves like a volley of red swords, shredding the ruin to rubble. Amid the settling dust, the jade shard drifted upward and dropped neatly into her palm.0

No ambush. No danger. Only bewilderment.0

She pressed her own half of the moon twin Jade against Ping'an's, and a vision flared in her mind.0

Ping'an, inside the broken shrine, was speaking softly to the stone.0

"Master, if you're seeing this, I've already left with my wives and daughters. Third Mom, fourth Mom, and Aunt Yao came along with me too. I wanted to bring you too, but I know you'd refuse. I'm not running away from battle; there are other reasons.0

"All right, you're my master, and Dad says I can tell you this much. First of all, he's still alive. He's broken through fifth rank. My mom's alive as well, though I was told her health is failing. As a son, I should at least visit her.0

"But that's not all. You probably won't believe it, but the temple master—no, Qing Hancheng, has betrayed us and defected to the Lotus Cult. We know this for certain. And it may be only the tip of a very large, very ugly iceberg. You understand the implications better than I do.0

"Master, I don't want anything to happen to you…but my old man won't let me say more. Take care of yourself. We'll meet again."0

Ping'an faded, then Yao Jue stepped into view.0

"Big Sis, we slipped off without a proper goodbye because my man came for me. Of course I followed. Even if we'd told you ahead of time, you'd never have come along; that's just how you are. Don't worry about us. We're fine.You, on the other hand, are about to have one giant headache. Heheh."0

The image dissolved.0

Crack!Gu Xuejian separated the stones, heart pounding. Reason and emotion both screamed that Qing Hancheng could never be a traitor, yet the message was clear.0

Memory slammed into her: more than 10 years ago, her first foray into Gemhill County after reaching fourth rank. Deep within Little Ink Mountain, inside a cave in a crumbling cliff, a masked stranger had saved her life and, at parting, handed her a brocade pouch.0

"Before you leave the Holy Tree Temple again, open it. If you forget…disaster will follow."0

The very next time she set out from the Holy Tree Temple again, she'd ripped the pouch open. She found a blood-written note telling her to beware the Qing Hancheng.0

She'd been on guard for months; nothing happened. Eventually she laughed it off and forgot.0

Now that note lined up perfectly with her own disciple's warning, and her pupils tightened to pinpoints. The stranger had knownsomething, though not everything…only enough to plant a seed of caution.0

Perhapsthiswas the moment that caution was meant for.0

Gu Xuejian and Ping'an called themselves master and disciple, but their bond was as close as mother and son. She trusted his word absolutely, including the claim that his parents still lived and his certainty that Qing Hancheng was a traitor.0

After all, it wasn't just Ping'an; Yao Jue, Cui Huayin, and Jing Shuixiang were with him. Too many eyes, too many oaths, to be false.0

"Li Yuan…" Gu Xuejian whispered, the name of Ping'an's father tasting like iron on her tongue.0

The storm was coming. And she, whether she wished it or not, stood squarely in its path.0

Gu Xuejian's mind flickered with the image of that man.0

A chill ran through her. Had she ever truly known Li Yuan? The frail white-haired weaponsmith might have been nothing more than a snakeskin shed, a dragon slipping back into the sea.1

She pictured him again, standing in the wind, Sun And Moon Aloft in his grip, three thousand silver strands whipping like a battle-scarred lion's mane. In that instant the memory darkened, tinged with secrecy and danger.0

Gu Xuejian tightened her hold on the demonic sword; the faint bond between weapon and weaponsmith was still there.0

"Li Yuan…what kind of man are you, really?"0

The question sparked genuine curiosity, then drew a wry smile.0

After all, the four people Li Yuan had spirited away were all fifth rank elders.0

Ping'an and Jing Shuixiang, in particular, counted among the Holy Tree Temple's top fighters, the strongest short of fourth rank.0

But if Qing Hancheng had betrayed the Holy Tree Temple, and if hidden dangers lurked beyond what Gu Xuejian could see, perhaps Li Yuan'sabductionwas actually a rescue. He was essentially smuggling out the last embers of the sect.0

Even if the Holy Tree Temple fell in the coming war, those four could rebuild it elsewhere.0

Ping'an practiced the Return-Willow Technique; Jing Shuixiang and Cui Huayin both cultivated the Cycle of Withering and Growth; and Yao Jue followed the Evergreen Art.0

Given time they could draw their own life chronicles, recruit disciples, and raise a new Holy Tree Temple on foreign soil.0

For a heartbeat, Gu Xuejian imagined leaving with them herself, then dismissed the notion.0

"When the sky is about to collapse, someone has to hold it up. Act where one must, refrain where one should; a shifting world must not shake the heart." She drew a deep breath, rose into the air, and laughed, bright and fearless.0

Her disciple, sworn little sister, and the man who forged her sword meant to depart in peace… So as a master, big sister, and a woman who had received a favor from that man, she would clear the path for them.6

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙0

Several days later.0

Shocking news shook the entirety of the Holy Tree Temple. Several elders had vanished into thin air.0

All accusatory fingers swung toward the Lotus Cult and even the Emperor himself.0

The spark? Allegedly, the spark was Gu Xuejian's moon twin jade.0

She claimed that the fragment showed a final vision containing the wordsLotus CultandtheEmperor, sounding like her direct disciple's cry for help.1

Threading past and present together, Gu Xuejian spun a convincing tale that the Emperor had been nursing a grudge against Li Yuan for many years for cuckolding him. So he had secretly abducted the Yin Consort, Cui Huayin, and the rest of Li Yuan's family out of spite.0

While this rumor spread, Gu Xuejian flew south alone, guided by an embedded spy. In one lightning raid, she toppled three Lotus Cult controlled towns, lured out two fifth rank martial artists, hacked them down to nothing but hearts in a box, and slipped back to Silkfloss Province before the smoke cleared.0

Her surprise assault came at the cost of several high level moles planted in the Lotus Cult, assets meant for a larger campaign.0

Gu Xuejian didn't regret it. Qing Hancheng also knew of these double agents. It was better to burn them herself than see them quietly snuffed.2

Back in Silkfloss Province, she sent word to the Lotus Cult that she would exchange the two fifth rank hearts back for the safe return of Ping'an, Yao Jue, and Jing Shuixiang. As for Cui Huayin, that was a matter between the Emperor and Yin Consort, so she would not interfere.0

The audacity of the move whipped public opinion into line. To everyone it now seemed obvious. The Emperor, furious over Li Yuan's theft of his consort, had conspired with the Lotus Cult.1

Additionally, with Zhu Ban's skyrocketing status, who else could have arranged the kidnappings?0

The whole affair unfolded so fast that both Lotus Cult and Emperor were left blinking.6