Chapter 51: Ascension

As she approached the boundary of the cave residence, a steward disciple was already waiting to open the restriction and invite her in. Upon entering, she found herself in a reception hall, where Daoist Lord Yuheng was seated at the head. He wore an ink-black robe of jade brocade, with a deep blue vortex-patterned jade belt at his waist, and his long, jet-black hair was tied with a matching blue band. His eyes, dark and clear, carried a chill, and his tall, refined figure exuded an air of striking elegance—truly a handsome and dashing presence.

The moment Lu Tanxian saw him, her heart betrayed her, pounding fiercely. Though she stood upright at a respectful distance, her head slightly bowed, revealing the graceful curve of her neck, and though she dared not let her spiritual sense stray before a Nascent Soul cultivator, she felt as if she could endlessly sketch his image in her mind. Just one look—just one—left her body trembling as if struck by a heavy hammer.

Regret welled up within her: she blamed Su Yunmo for ruining her prospects, preventing her from becoming Lord Yuheng's disciple as she wished; she blamed herself for seeking desperate remedies and attaching herself to Yuhan Mountain; and she wondered why she had played coy in the past two years instead of seeking him out sooner.

Caught in a storm of emotions, she bit her lower lip hard and forgot to salute. Fortunately, Lord Yuheng was not overly concerned with formalities. After waiting a moment without response, he spoke first: "Are you Lu Tanxian, the one who refined a Tier-Four Tulodan in the He Xi Secret Realm?"

Hearing his voice, Lu Tanxian realized she had yet to offer a proper greeting. Usually so cautious and composed, how was it that meeting him now left her so distracted? Could this truly be fate?

She raised her head to look at him, then bowed gracefully and said, "Disciple Lu Tanxian, as you say, once refined a Tier-Four Tulodan in the He Xi Secret Realm."

"Oh?" Though he had already heard of this, hearing it confirmed in person brought Lord Yuheng genuine delight. He was never one to take joy in external things, but his passion for alchemy was well known. To hear of a first-level Foundation Establishment disciple refining a Tier-Four Tulodan—surely such a person possessed unique insight into the Dao of alchemy.

He even rose to his feet and walked over to Lu Tanxian, his usually cool voice tinged with a rare hint of warmth. "Come with me."

When Lord Yuheng approached, Lu Tanxian could not help but feel a secret thrill. And when he invited her to join him in the inner chamber… she suppressed her joy, secretly clenched her hands in her sleeves, took a deep breath, and followed him with poise.

They walked along the corridor into a vast pill room, furnished with several pill furnaces and nothing else save a few meditation cushions. Lord Yuheng took a cushion and sat beside the finest furnace, motioning for her to do the same and adopting the posture of one ready for a long conversation.

Along the way, Lu Tanxian had already resolved to give her utmost to win his favor—even if she could not succeed at once, she wanted to be remembered. Only by standing at the pinnacle of the Dao together, sharing a dual cultivation partnership, could she justify her journey through this world. So she sat down with composure, and the two began an in-depth discussion of all aspects of alchemy.

This meeting left both parties unusually elated. For Lord Yuheng, he had found a rare talent for alchemy. In truth, having only a fire spiritual root was not ideal for alchemy; no matter how refined the fire, it tended toward excess, whereas the presence of a wood root could provide balance. The wood root afforded deep understanding of herbal properties, making purification and refinement easier, while the fire root offered precise control of heat—together, the perfect combination.

Lord Yuheng, obsessed with alchemy and innately cool in temperament, lacked a wood root but compensated with a delicate touch, so his initial purification and refinement were superior even to many with wood roots. Still, his pills inevitably bore a trace of harshness. That was why he was so delighted to find a prodigy with both wood and fire roots excelling at alchemy. Lanhe Daoist, who also possessed both roots, was skilled at alchemy too, but his interests lay more with herbal lore than the craft itself.

For Lu Tanxian, though unable to become Lord Yuheng's official disciple, this connection forged through alchemy might bring them together even more easily than a master-disciple romance. Thus, their conversation was lively and congenial. Lord Yuheng even proposed that she move to the main peak for easier discussions and gifted her a pill furnace and his personal notes on pill formation for her study.

Thus, though unacknowledged in name, they had formed a de facto master-disciple relationship. He had not taken her to meet the other peak masters to formalize her status, but who could remain unaware? Rumors swept through the sect, fueled by Lu Tanxian's beauty and speculation that Lord Yuheng intended to dual cultivate with her. After all, his main peak had never housed outsiders—not even his own nephew, Yuhan Mountain, who had been apprenticed elsewhere and lived on a side peak.

Yuhan Mountain, too, heard the news. His uncle, always so aloof, was suddenly showing special favor to Lu Tanxian? As for Lu Tanxian herself, she had nearly become Lin Yuansheng's dao companion, then seemed to favor Yuhan Mountain, and rumors abounded of ambiguous ties to other men. Would his naïve uncle…

Though speculation ran rampant, no one dared question Lord Yuheng directly. As for Lu Tanxian, since moving to the main peak, she rarely left her residence, declining all invitations except those essential for social etiquette, presenting herself as wholly devoted to her alchemical studies.

Su Yunmo, too, soon heard of Lu Tanxian's connection to Lord Yuheng. Since returning from the secret realm, Su Yunmo had fallen into a brooding obsession. That day, she had unwittingly entered the same gate as Lu Tanxian and might well have intended to kill her, but before she could act, the trial corridor had attacked them with terrifying force. In panic, she had used a defensive talisman given by her mother, Daoist Lady Miaozhen, and somehow she and Lu Tanxian had been transported out together. Others said it was because Hansu had inherited a legacy, but Su Yunmo was never convinced.

Tormented by guilt, her spirits had been low. She craved revenge but did not want to resort to disgraceful means like Lu Tanxian. All she had ever wanted was to defeat her fairly, to win with dignity. That one lapse of judgment had been inexplicably foiled by the trial array—was it just her ill fortune? Would she never be able to compete with her?

She brooded for a long time, until her beloved returned from an assignment and gradually helped her see reason. She had her own path to follow, as did Lu Tanxian—all roads could lead to the Dao. In her past life, she had obsessed over Lord Yuheng and walked one path; in this life, she had found her own love and was now unburdened by any ties to Lu Tanxian. What did it matter, she thought, what others did? Enlightened, Su Yunmo soon made great strides in her cultivation, her gloom lifting. Even upon hearing rumors of Lu Tanxian and Lord Yuheng being together, she merely remarked, "So it is, after all," and threw herself wholeheartedly into her own journey, radiating a new vitality. Her relationship with her lover, however, was becoming harder to conceal.

Time flowed on, swift as a stream. In the twenty-sixth year of confinement within the secret realm, Hansu had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment. Ever since she had come into contact with the core array that governed the realm, she had spent her days not only helping Huaiyin repair the disrupted formations but, more importantly, delving into her own cultivation. Though she had inherited countless array techniques, it was her first time studying a formation that could control an entire secret realm, and perhaps her last chance to observe one at such close range. She poured more than half her efforts into studying and mastering this grand array.

Huaiyin, delighted to have company at last, was not about to let her go. Shedding his former aloof and noble façade, he became clingy beyond measure, wanting to be with her every moment save when absorbing the essence of moonlight. He had little patience or talent for arrays, so he learned just the bare minimum before giving up. Yet he couldn't stand to see his newfound plaything so absorbed in study, so he schemed to teach her the demon world's body-forging arts.

Hansu was put through such torment that she was nearly unrecognizable, and only by occasionally soaking in the hot springs of the celestial palace did she manage to endure.

The results, however, were remarkable—her cultivation advanced at a tremendous rate. At just thirty-nine years old, she stood at the very threshold of forming her Golden Core. Yet Hansu was in no rush—forming a core within the secret realm, without the tempering of heavenly thunder, would result in a fragile Gold Core. Though she could now ask Huaiyin to help her unlock the array and leave, both had agreed to wait the remaining four years until the realm opened naturally. She had some small mysteries of the grand array left to unravel, and Huaiyin, upon leaving, would face a fifth-layer tribulation—without proper preparation, he risked instant demise.

After years together, they had developed a deep understanding. Huaiyin knew that leaving the array would mean a deadly trial; the closer the time drew, the harder he trained her. Gone was her earlier laziness—now, every day she solidified her foundation, carved array disks, and crafted puppets, preparing all manner of defenses for Huaiyin's coming tribulation.

The grand array had been completed two years earlier. Since then, she had focused on making high-level defensive disks and substitute puppets. Nearly all her materials were exhausted, so in recent days she had slowed her production, attending only to organization and inspection. With less than three days until the secret realm opened, Huaiyin—once anxious—seemed to have reverted to his original, elegant, and debonair self.

Hansu sat cross-legged in Huaiyin's cave, surrounded by assorted items, inspecting them one by one, fitting array disks and puppets with crystals, and arranging them in order.

After working for a while, she paused to stretch, her gaze unconsciously drifting to Huaiyin, who lounged languidly on his grand throne playing with crystals.

Over the years, Hansu had broken free every crystal in the cave except those of star-moon stone, which left Huaiyin a little glum. Yet for the sake of leaving, he had to tolerate her behavior. Still, unable to resist his nature, he had selected the brightest and most beautiful for himself, always keeping a pouch nearby to admire. The rest, Hansu had unceremoniously claimed—after all, Huaiyin had collected only the highest-energy varieties, perfect for her array disks and puppets.

Huaiyin loved all things splendid and glittering. He wore a robe of azure silk spun by the Kuanshui Jasper Silkworm of the secret realm, embroidered with dazzling patterns by the Jade Treasure Spider. Even lounging idly, his slender figure radiated effortless grace; his handsome face was as bright as the moon, his lips like red cherries, his skin like polished jade.

Soft light played over his face as he studied the crystals, and whether it was the glow or the gems themselves, his eyes seemed to brim with stars, dazzling and resplendent. His long, smooth neck, the occasional movement of his throat—all radiated a masculine allure. Without warning, Hansu's cheeks flushed, and her gaze, unable to help itself, drifted downward along his neck…

Author's note: I really do love beautiful men…