novelraw Chapter 40 : Ascending the Heavenly Ladder
Chapter 40 : Ascending the Heavenly Ladder
Chapter 40: Ascending the Heavenly Ladder
The Jade Palace was located in the tallest peak among a range of continuous mountains.
Here, clouds and mist lingered, spiritual energy was abundant, and before entering the mountain, there was a small town.
To enter the Jade Palace, one had to climb the Heavenly Ladder from here, only then could one see the glazed mountain gate of the Jade Palace.
When the immortal boat arrived, night had already fallen.
Looking at the stretching mountains, Xia Lianxue said: “Young Master, let us rest at the foot of the mountain for one night.”
Entering the mountains at night was naturally somewhat dangerous, so it was better to rest here and only enter the mountain tomorrow.
Just the thought of soon returning to the mountain made Xia Lianxue’s heart feel tangled.
She was not even clear what she truly felt, so along the journey, she often stared blankly at Lu Changyuan—she discovered that looking at him calmed her heart.
Though night had fallen—
The town was brightly lit.
Upon entering, the first thing that came into view was a small tavern.
Brown wine jars were wrapped with crimson-red cloth, and the fragrance of wine was already drifting through the air.
Before the three of them even entered the tavern, someone came forward to greet them: “Are the three of you also here to seek entry into the Jade Palace? Do you need to buy some supporting items?”
Lu Changyuan glanced at Xia Lianxue, only to see she also found this strange.
That person explained: “Ascending the Immortal Mountain is extremely difficult. Not to mention that the Jade Palace is deep within the mountain range and one must beware of fierce beasts along the way—just climbing those ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine steps is extremely hard. If the three of you are going up the mountain, you can buy some ointments, fasting pills, and the like.”
Xia Lianxue understood, and lightly shook her head: “No need.”
This was also her first time in the town at the mountain’s foot, and she was unfamiliar with it.
Lu Changyuan could not help but ask curiously: “What’s with the mountain climbing?”
Xia Lianxue spoke softly: “The palace recruits disciples once every three years. At that time, the mountain gates are opened widely. But often, some seekers of immortality cannot wait three years, so the palace has another method.”
That was this Heavenly Ladder.
If a mortal had enough perseverance to cross the mountain range, then climb all ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, an immortal from the Jade Palace might come out and grant them a chance at being accepted as a disciple.
This gave rise to an industry—this town provided low-level supporting items for those seeking immortality.
Naturally, the three of them did not need such things.
Xia Lianxue seemed to think of something, then said: “Sometimes, disciples from the palace patrol the mountains and bring fainted mortals back to this town, but every year, there are always the unlucky ones who are eaten by tigers in the mountains.”
Seeking immortality was difficult.
Seeking the Great Dao was even harder.
Without talent, cultivation was the hardest of all.
Compared to other sects, the Jade Palace was considered rather gentle—most sects showed no regard for human feelings and treated mortals as mere grass.
Lu Changyuan smiled: “Let’s go, to the inn.”
The inn was not far from the tavern, with an oil lamp lit at the entrance.
On its signboard, crookedly written characters read “Welcoming Wind Inn.”
The innkeeper was behind the counter, abacus in hand: “Just a meal or staying the night?”
Lu Changyuan asked: “So late, can you still cook?”
“Yes, but it costs extra.”
“Then just lodging, three rooms.”
The innkeeper grunted an acknowledgment and handed a tag to Lu Changyuan: “Don’t wander around at night.”
The inn looked to have some years to it—upstairs, the creaking of the wood was clear, and even the tables in the hall bore sword and blade marks.
The three rooms were consecutive.
Lu Changyuan chose the leftmost, facing the street.
Opening the window, he could hear the wind outside.
Lu Changyuan yawned, placed Severed Thought by the window, and was about to sleep.
Unexpectedly, before long, there was a knock on the door.
“Young Master, are you asleep?”
“Asleep.”
“Then I’m coming in.”
The door was pushed open by Xia Lianxue.
She had removed her hairpin, letting her smooth hair fall in soft strands.
Her brows and eyes curved gently, as if her presence could soften time itself.
Lu Changyuan sighed: “Not sleeping at night—what can’t be said tomorrow?”
Xia Lianxue bit her lip.
Indeed, she could not sleep.
“I have some questions I wish to ask Young Master.”
Lu Changyuan sat up, taking a seat on the round rosewood stool: “Go ahead, is it about cultivation problems?”
The immortal fairy shook her head.
Her delicate white neck swayed under the candlelight, casting a tempting orange glow.
“No, I’ve just been thinking about Young Master’s fiancée.”
Lu Changyuan chuckled: “What’s there to think about her for? I don’t even remember her anymore.”
Xia Lianxue bit her lip harder: “It’s just… I can’t help but care a little. Could you tell me your story, Young Master?”
Ever since learning that Lu Changyuan once had a fiancée—who had been sent away to cultivate by him, and thus could not remain at his side—her heart had been heavy and blocked.
“Want to know more about me?”
“Yes.” The fairy obediently said: “I want to know.”
She had indeed become much more honest.
If she wanted to know something, she asked!
Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes, straining to recall, but not much came to mind.
It was too long ago.
“Back then, I told her I would wait for her in the mortal world. When she succeeded, she could return for me and take me to the Feather… to the Immortal Palace to live a good life.”
Xia Lianxue’s emotions surged like waves, so tangled she could not make sense of them herself.
The fine light cast her long eyelashes in a golden glow, making her beauty all the more breathtaking.
Xia Lianxue whispered: “And later?”
“Later? After just a year, the Immortal Palace sent me a letter saying she had died. To compensate me, the immortals offered to find me more wives, but I refused.”
The cultivation world was like this—the greater one’s talent and pride, the more easily one died.
Silence spread in the candlelight.
Xia Lianxue said softly: “Young Master, there are many good girls in this world. There’s no need to dwell on the past.”
Lu Changyuan studied Xia Lianxue carefully, as though seeing her for the first time: “Why are you just like your senior sister? Qiu Yuehan also told me back then that there were plenty of fairies in the Jade Palace for me to choose from.”
These two sisters really were interesting—were they both trying to choose wives for him?
Xia Lianxue called out sweetly: “Young Master!”
She herself had not realized how soft and alluring that voice was.
Lu Changyuan looked at the round moon outside the window.
The moon was full, unlike the sorrows and partings of the mortal world: “By the way, what’s the name of your Jade Palace’s Palace Mistress?”
“We don’t know. We only know there is a Palace Mistress, but no one knows her name.”
“No one knows?”
“Mm, no one. Perhaps a few True Persons might know?”
This was indeed strange.
Lu Changyuan narrowed his eyes slightly: “Isn’t it written in the sect’s records?”
Xia Lianxue shook her head: “Within the palace is a long corridor with white jade statues and introductions of past Palace Mistresses, but only the current one is missing. Perhaps it’s because carving a statue for a living person is considered unlucky.”
Lu Changyuan remembered that Palace Mistress’s name was Feng Xianlong.
According to Xia Lianxue, Feng Xianlong had likely perished in that upheaval, and the current Palace Mistress had risen in the crisis, breaking through to Jade Radiance, and led the Jade Palace to endure for a hundred years.
Feng Xianlong’s few disciples… they seemed incapable of breaking through Jade Radiance.
So where exactly had this current Palace Mistress come from?
Lu Changyuan waved his hand: “Go back and sleep. Tomorrow, we return to the Jade Palace. I can just imagine how amusing True Person Han Yi’s expression will be.”
To see a fairy whose cultivation she herself had abolished return to the Dao Realm, even advancing further—would True Person Han Yi tremble in fear?
“Mm.”
So the fairy carefully closed the door.
Lu Changyuan gazed at the moon outside, poured himself a cup of cold tea.
The tea on the table was cold, and so bitter it turned his tongue pale.
“Wait and wait, until the eighteenth day of the twelfth month, then sweep away the old light dust.”
He had, in truth, been waiting for many years.
The year he became betrothed, he was twenty.
Daoist Chang’an had entered the immortal path at fifty.
He had waited for that nameless, faceless fiancée for thirty years, finally certain that this promised soft life could never be his.
Only then had he stepped onto the immortal path.
Later, when he proved the Dao of Jade Radiance, he even sent people to the Feather Moon Immortal Palace to search, and even beat up Feng Xianlong once.
Yet still, he gained nothing.
That person had likely died within some secret realm.
But with her talent—if she had not died, by now she should have become the Jade Palace’s Palace Mistress.