Chapter 51 Becoming a Disciple of the Moon Monarch

Qinglan watched as the mirror spirit changed form repeatedly, with storms rising and falling, and found it all rather peculiar.

She leaned in closer, but the mirror spirit suddenly lunged at her. Since it was only the size of a thumb, it could only grab onto the collar of Qinglan's chest and resumed its torrential weeping.

In an instant, its snot and tears were smeared all over Qinglan's clothes. Qinglan raised a brow slightly, appearing to endure it while unconsciously using her fingertip to gently stroke the dark shadow. The shadow, completely immersed in its grief, remained entirely oblivious. It wasn't until a long while later, when its tears had dried and it had cried to its heart's content, that it finally snapped back to reality, its entire body freezing up.

"Whoosh!"

Immediately afterward, the dark shadow bolted away like an arrow released from a string. The mirror spirit could hardly believe it—I actually cried in the arms of some brat?

She actually dared to touch my true dharma form?

A blush, invisible to anyone else, appeared on the mirror spirit's pitch-black little face, though it alone knew that it had actually rather enjoyed the girl's soothing.

No, I cannot be like this!

The mirror spirit vigorously shook its head like a rattle-drum, instantly regaining its sober and aloof demeanor. "Ahem."

Knowing that the other was about to speak, Qinglan composed herself and waited.

The mirror spirit waved its hand, causing the white mist to dissipate and letting the sunlight stream in. A warm and bright ray of light happened to land right upon it, making it shine with a golden luster, appearing both sacred and warm.

Mimicking the demeanor of the Third Elder, Yinhua, it crossed its arms over its chest and said solemnly, "You have passed my trial. Furthermore, you need not lose heart; my Array Sect is filled with mighty figures and brilliant talents. As for the matter of spiritual roots, someone will naturally be able to save you."

Someone can save you...

The mirror spirit's majestic voice echoed in the air. Qinglan looked at it and blinked, appearing somewhat dazed.

She lowered her gaze for a moment, then slowly raised it once more. Her eyes shimmered with shifting light as she drew a deep breath.

"Does that mean I have... passed the trial of the misty illusion?"

There was a trace of imperceptible trembling in her voice.

The mirror spirit's voice sounded once more, tinged with a hint of hauteur and unquestionable arrogance. It let out a cold snort, "Ordinarily, for showing disrespect to this seat, I should have cast you out of the mountain gates. However, considering everything you have been through and the hardships you endured to reach this place, this seat shall make an exception just this once and let you off, barely counting it as a pass."

After listening to the other's long rambling, Qinglan caught only the word "passed."

Waves of emotion surged within her heart—so it really was possible... So this trip to the Array Sect was not the end of all illusory dreams!

Though her expression remained calm, she could not entirely conceal her joy, finally looking every bit a seventeen-year-old maiden.

Seeing Qinglan looking so worldly-inexperienced, a flicker of disdain flashed through the mirror spirit's eyes, yet it was truly happy for her. It raised its voice, blending a teasing tone with earnestness: "Little girl, look around and see what kind of place this is. Dying here is not all that easy."

Its tone then leveled out: "A first-realm cultivator can live for three hundred years, a second-realm for five hundred, a third-realm for seven hundred, a fourth-realm for twelve hundred, and a fifth-realm cultivator can even live up to twenty-three hundred years. Your talent is decent, and your cultivation has been reasonably diligent; reaching the peak of the Soul-Enlightening Realm at seventeen is passable. The long, boundless path of longevity has only just begun."

The mirror spirit's figure gradually faded along with its voice, and the misty world before her began to collapse. The boundless white mist churned madly, towering and dense like an avalanche, suddenly rushing toward Qinglan.

"Whoosh!"

When she opened her eyes once more, she had already returned to the dense forest. The sky was dim, and a bright, pristine moon hung high, casting silver radiance that outlined the surrounding trees into an array of scattered, shadowy paintings.

Before her lay an empty clearing, where only a massive ancient black mirror stood. Beneath the mirror was a tranquil, azure-robed figure.

Qinglan was stunned—had she already passed?

The azure-robed woman also slowly opened her eyes, and the two met each other's gaze for the very first time.

***

The black mirror surface trembled for a moment, and the mirror spirit, which had already vanished, stealthily propped itself against the mirror frame. It furtively poked half its head out from the edge of the frame, its eyes flashing with mischievous light, as if preparing to watch a good show.

***

Their gazes intersected for the first time, a moment that felt as though it spanned the long river of time, colliding like an ancient torrent.

Qinglan gazed blankly at the woman before her, an inexplicable sense of familiarity and sorrow welling up in her heart. It felt as though they were old friends who had weathered vicissitudes and reunited after a long parting, or perhaps souls that had traversed countless samsara cycles and finally met at this very moment.

The woman took a light, lotus-like step forward, every movement possessing a unique rhythm. Qinglan stared fixedly at her; the woman's brows and eyes were like a tranquil lake, her countless strands of dark hair dancing lightly in the wind.

Her beauty seemed to resonate with heaven and earth and harmonize with the Great Dao, defying definition by worldly standards.

Along her journey, Qinglan had witnessed many extraordinary figures: Muyu, renowned throughout the Eastern Territory for his wood-element spiritual arts, capable of commanding all flora with awe-inspiring prestige;

The purple-robed senior of Mingshan, who, even after her fall, could carve out a domain of soul power, allowing her lingering soul to persist within and impart Daoist teachings;

And the seemingly ordinary elder at the Array Sect's outer gate trial, who was actually unfathomable, with no one daring to act presumptuously before him.

Yet this azure-robed woman, despite wearing similarly plain attire, was completely different from them. It was an indescribable tranquility and detachment; she seemed neither a mortal of the dust nor a transcendent senior, but rather the very embodiment of the laws of heaven and earth. Every movement she made contained the order and rhythm of the Great Dao.

Qinglan was momentarily mesmerized. She did not know how much time had passed until the woman walked right up to her. Snapping back to her senses, she lowered her head in a light bow and said respectfully, "This disciple greets the senior of the Array Sect..."

The woman quietly looked at her with a half-smile, "How did you know I am a person of the Array Sect?"

"Uh..."

Qinglan was momentarily at a loss for words—how could someone who wasn't an Array Sect senior appear here?

"You have practiced the soul art of Dispelling Illusions, haven't you?"

The woman's calm question felt like a clap of thunder, causing Qinglan's expression to shift.

The woman's gaze was immensely profound, as though instantly piercing through all of Qinglan's secrets. "The one you carry is the highest-tier Glazed Moon Seed. Even in the most glorious era of the Dao of the Soul, a soul seed of this grade was priceless and impossible to find."

"Who is the person that bestowed this soul seed upon you?"

Every word the woman spoke, upon closer thought, was an intrusion into Qinglan's privacy, yet for some reason, she felt no aversion or resistance at all. "It was a purple-robed senior."

The woman lowered her gaze for a moment and let out a long sigh. "I suppose she did not tell you her name?"

"That's right..."

"How did you come to meet that senior?"

"I was guided by a Juju bird."

***

Hearing this, the woman remained silent for a long time. She looked at Qinglan and suddenly said, "Become my disciple."

"Ah?" Qinglan was stunned, not expecting the conversation to take such an abrupt turn.

"I am not an elder of the Array Sect, nor am I from Tiannan. Strictly speaking, like you, I come from Mingshan."

"Um... Ah?"

The woman said no more. Her gaze shifted toward the black mirror, giving Qinglan time to think and make her choice.

***

The mirror spirit felt a surge of pressure and wanted to hide back inside the mirror, but was stopped by the woman's gaze. For a moment, it could neither advance nor retreat, feeling utterly wronged.

Qinglan knitted her brows into a small knot, feeling that this was all a bit too rash. She slowly spat out a few words, "Um, my spiritual root has some issues. Perhaps... I won't be able to progress very far."

"No matter. What kind of issue?"

"I no longer have a spiritual root."

"Hm?"

Hearing this, the woman turned around, a single eyebrow arching slightly—she called this having some issues?

Understanding the implication behind her look, Qinglan suddenly felt somewhat embarrassed and continued, "My spiritual root was excavated."

The woman remained entirely calm. "Ah, it doesn't matter. I can cure it."

"Very well. Master is above, please accept this disciple's bow."

Qinglan neatly adjusted her collar and, making sure everything was proper and untarnished, slowly bent down, lowered her torso, and knelt on both knees to perform the master-paying ceremony.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Her forehead made light contact with the ground three times, yet she did not stand up even after kowtowing.

The woman stood opposite her, calmly accepting the three bows. She nodded, "With a little mirror sprite present to witness it, accepting a disciple into my Moon Sect can be considered properly done."

The mirror spirit wanted to leap out and refute her, but didn't dare, so it could only sway back and forth in place, brooding in anger.

As night fell low and the bright moon hung high, the surroundings were enveloped in a faint tranquility, instantly feeling isolated from the rest of the world, leaving only this pair of master and disciple.

The woman produced a wooden token, handed it to Qinglan, and slowly said, "Your friends are still waiting for you at the foot of the mountain. The mountain gate trials shall proceed as usual."

The first sentence was spoken to Qinglan, and the second to the mirror spirit.

Both nodded in acknowledgment. The woman continued, "I will wait for you at the Spirit Moon Pavilion. With this token, the elders of the Array Sect will send you there."

"As my disciple, you need not care too much about others, nor do you need to be overly cautious. I know what you did previously, and that was quite good. If anyone provokes you, simply kill them."

Hearing this, Qinglan was stunned—Master, are you really this fierce?

Without another word, the woman turned and slowly walked away. The white mist swayed, and her figure gradually vanished.

Suddenly recalling something important, Qinglan hurriedly called out, "Right, Master! I still don't know your honorific!"

An ethereal voice drifted back to her.

"Moon Sovereign, Lycoris."