84: Chapter 85 The Song of Breaking Willow Branches

Start of Autumn.

At the northern border of Guli Circuit, there was a small town by the water.

In the town, there was a tavern. Its facade was not large, and a banner hung under the eaves. The three characters for "Autumn Water Wine" on the banner had faded from the wind.

Inside the tavern sat some traveling Cultivators, gathered in twos and threes around wooden tables, listening to an old man in gray singing a song at the front of the stage.

The old man held a broken sanxian, his eyes squinted, his back slightly hunched, looking like a wandering minstrel who had traveled to many places.

The old man chuckled with a "hehe" sound.

"Today, I will sing a classic tale from years past, titled 'The Tale of the Two Immortals of Breaking Willow'."

Someone in the tavern immediately became interested.

"Is it that old story about the Zhang Family of Yanque Circuit?"

"Indeed!" The old man in gray patted his sanxian and drawled, "It tells of a young Young Lord on Breaking Willow Mountain, gifted and jade-like, leading the Family at a young age, yet he happened to fall for a female Loose Cultivator surnamed Duan from outside the mountain."

"Everyone, tell me, with a Young Lord of a noble Family and a rootless female Cultivator, separated by the Milky Way in status, how could it possibly work out?"

Someone from the audience chimed in, "Naturally, it couldn't work!"

The old man in gray shook his head, the sound of the strings shifted, and he sang:

"Breaking Willow Mountain is bright, Young Master Zhang is jade-like and shining, the young leader suppresses all heroes."

"Meeting Lady Duan, a single blue lamp."

"The noble gates do not allow the mandarin duck alliance to be set, at night, he rolls up the Family seal and crosses the distant shore."

Jiang Yuhe sat in the furthest corner of the tavern.

Before her sat a cup of spiritual tea. The tea was light, with a few fine, crushed tea leaves floating on the rim.

She lowered her head, quietly listening to the music falling upon her ears.

After the Start of Autumn, the aftermath of the Jinglan Lake tournament had not yet completely dissipated.

What the various Families discussed most was the Xie Clan of Xiping Pass.

The Xie Clan had won.

That thirty-something-year-old female Cultivator from the Xie Clan, Xie Guanheng, had actually defeated Shen Zhaowei in a Late Stage Qi Refining match.

Others only said that Shen Zhaowei used his sword to face the enemy, but ultimately could not defeat the Xie Clan's method of balancing the Autumn Equinox.

But Jiang Yuhe knew that Shen Zhaowei had not used his full strength in that battle.

His Frost Shadow had not appeared.

That shadow body that had once threatened his life had never appeared on the water stage from beginning to end.

Perhaps his injuries had not yet healed, or perhaps the Shen Clan was intentionally hiding their skills.

But regardless, Xie Guanheng's victory was not based on luck.

She was already at the tenth level of Qi Refining, while Shen Zhaowei was only at the ninth.

Once the Autumn Command fell, the Qi on the water stage returned to equilibrium, and the sword light of Frost Shadow was deflected several times by her Autumn Ruler.

Shen Zhaowei's final sword strike failed to break the protective barrier in front of her, so he had no choice but to concede.

The music started again.

The old man in gray sang of the young Young Lord escaping in the night, his tone suddenly quickening:

"Midnight on the frosty shore, a lonely lamp reflects a shadow, Young Master Zhang abandons the seal and exits the heavy city."

"Lady Duan is startled, the horse hooves are light."

"Father and brother angrily summon the mountain gate order, the two head towards the moon."

"The mountain, it cannot block; the river, it can be crossed."

Someone in the tavern was listening intently, slapping the table and laughing, "What a Young Master Zhang! A Young Lord of a noble Family actually has such courage!"

Someone else scoffed, "If they hadn't become Immortals later, where would the classic tale come from? He would have been caught back by the Family long ago."

The old man in gray was not annoyed, just smiling as he continued to sing.

Jiang Yuhe lowered her eyes, her fingertips gently rubbing the teacup.

On that day at Jinglan Lake, after the Xie Clan defeated the Shen Clan, they competed with the Gu Clan for the final title.

The Gu Family had previously had a bye, then defeated the Lu Family, and after the Jiang Clan conceded, the Gu Clan naturally entered the final round.

In that battle, the various Families on the south side had all expected Young Master Gu Xingzhi to take the stage.

But he sat in his seat watching the match from start to finish, with a somewhat casual smile on his face, as if the outcome of this match had nothing to do with him.

In the final round, the Gu Clan sent out a ninth-level Qi Refining Cultivator.

In the first two rounds, the Gu and Xie Clans each won one.

When it came to the Late Stage round, Xie Guanheng took the stage again, still with her Autumn Ruler, still unhurried, forcing the Gu Clan's ninth-level Cultivator to retreat step by step.

The Gu Clan lost.

The sound of the strings in front of the stage lowered again.

The old man in gray sang of the two escaping, suffering endless pursuits and hardships, adding a touch of desolation to the song:

"Desolate temple, cold watch, thin shadows on the pass and river, sharing half a ladle of cold water to preserve their remaining lives."

"Startled by the sword, walking in the rain."

"The hundred-story Profound Tower opens a secluded path, the twin purples rise together to illuminate the old name."

"Poverty, they have experienced; Immortality, they have also experienced."

As soon as the words "Profound Tower" came out, several Cultivators in the tavern slightly raised their heads.

Nowadays, many Cultivators had already sensed that the winds in the various Circuits had been wrong recently.

After the Jinglan Lake tournament, Liu Xuanhe of the Chengtian Sect distributed rewards on the spot.

Liu Xuanhe stood atop the Shuiyue Pavilion. As the jade scroll opened, the green light split into several strands, and the scrolls slowly descended from within.

Bronze scroll, Silver scroll, Gold scroll.

The Bronze scroll was given to Families like the Lu Clan of Hexi and the Han Clan of Hedong, who had entered the second round but performed unsatisfactorily.

The Lu Clan lost to the Jiang Clan and the Gu Clan, while the Han Clan lost to the Shen Clan in the first two rounds, and even Han Zhaoye did not get to take the stage.

The Silver scroll was given to the Jiang Clan of Baili Mountain and the Shen Clan of Jinglan Lake.

Although the Jiang Family did not compete for the top title, they defeated the Fang Clan of Hanquan and the Lu Clan of Hexi in succession, and that arrow from Jiang Yuhe made the various Families look on with surprise.

Although the Shen Clan lost to the Xie Clan, they first suppressed the Han Clan, then forced the Xie Clan to the final round; the foundation of the noble Family remained.

The Gold scroll was given to the Gu Clan.

As for the Xie Clan.

Liu Xuanhe promised in front of all the Families that one day, the Chengtian Sect would personally take away one Xie Clan descendant, bring them under the tutelage of a Peak Master, and make them a direct disciple candidate.

As soon as these words fell, in the seats of the Xie Clan of Xiping Pass, several Elders all stood up to salute.

The seven families on the west side had almost all lost in the first round, with only the Xie Clan remaining to hold up their reputation.

In the end, the Xie Clan had truly held out for a direct disciple quota.

The old man in gray sang to this point, where Young Master Zhang and Lady Duan in the song finally entered the Profound Tower, his voice suddenly rising:

"The Profound Tower lamps are cold, the Heavenly Gate is shrouded in mist, where the Book of Fate turns, the future is seen."

"The elixir fire burns bright, purple smoke arises."

"One morning together they knock on the realm of eternal life, the wind and snow of years past all become fame."

There was immediate cheering in the tavern.

"The two Immortals return together!"

"Now that is a classic tale!"

Jiang Yuhe picked up the teacup and took a sip.

The tea was a bit cold.

On Jinglan Lake, the Jiang Family's rewards were originally supposed to be bestowed as usual.

A portion of low-grade resources, a few bottles of Medicinal Pills, a batch of spiritual materials.

Plus a quota for an Inner Sect Disciple of the Chengtian Sect.

This quota was much better than the Lu Family's Outer Sect Disciple quota.

The Lu Clan received the Outer Sect, where they could enter the mountain to listen to lectures, but might not necessarily receive personal guidance from teachers; the Inner Sect quota the Jiang Family received was already considered an excellent result for an emerging Qi Refining Family.

Jiang Chengning was about to step forward to thank them for the reward.

But by the Shuiyue Pavilion, among the eleven Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Chengtian Sect, one person suddenly spoke.

That was a man wearing a water-blue Daoist robe. He did not look very old, his features were gentle, and his cuffs were embroidered with a pattern of fine rain gathering into a river.

Others called him Pei Tinglan.

This person came from the Pei Family's Dharma lineage of the Chengtian Sect, cultivating the path of Grain Rain and Water Convergence, and his Immortal Foundation was named the Duckweed Sect Order.

Duckweed grows with the Grain Rain, a hundred waters pay homage to the sect. Once this foundation is formed, ten thousand strands of spring rain can return to a single order, and streams and lakes can all temporarily obey his laws.

"Low-grade spiritual materials are of little use to her." He said it very calmly.

"Let's exchange it for a Magical Artifact."

Before Jiang Chengning could even speak, Lu Hanjin had already taken an item out of his Storage Pouch.

That was a deep cyan, nearly black, water-patterned magical robe. The surface of the robe was as thin as a cicada's wing, but inside flowed a layer of faint Pin Water energy, and the hem was embroidered with several mysterious patterns, winding like the yin veins of a water mansion.

A High Grade Qi Refining magical robe. Of the Pin Water attribute.

Lu Hanjin flicked his hand, and the magical robe turned into a stream of water light, landing in front of Jiang Yuhe.

"Take it."

Jiang Yuhe lowered her eyes to look at the magical robe.

She could feel the Pin Water energy within it, deep and restrained, indeed far superior to that batch of low-grade resources.

She tucked her sleeves and bowed.

"Thank you, Senior, for the treasure."

Lu Hanjin just nodded, seemingly having already put the matter behind him.