Beyond the Divine States

Chapter 63 Greet the Master

This was the first time that Ning Xiaoling had arrived at the immortal mountain.

The moment she got out of the blue-and-white sedan, she felt the wind in this world was flowing like actual water, except that it was much lighter, just like a tender hand stroking her softly.

That was the wind brought by the flow of the rich spiritual power. When it swept across her body, it was like the spring breeze blowing the floral bells, causing a piece of beautiful and mysterious music pleasing to the ears and mind.

Ning Xiaoling raised her head gingerly and looked around.

The peak which only looked like a small sharp corner from below now appeared so incomparably spacious that the boundary couldn't be seen by one glance. Without the clouds, she would think that this place was an open and flat valley.

To her most surprise, countless stones were hanging on the top of the peak.

Those stones looked like diamond-shaped crystals, hanging above Tianku Peak like stars against the wind caused by the flow of the spiritual power.

In the center of the summit of Tianku Peak, the sword hall was in a square and magnificent structure.

In the precipitous mountain, the sword halls were built along the mountain slope. The main hall was situated on the flat ground while some of the side halls clung onto the cliffs. On the towering hill, several sword halls were almost perpendicular to the ground but they didn't look like collapsing at all, which were like the green pines growing from the rocks.

Ning Xiaoling looked around carefully and then settled her gaze at Ning Changjiu beside her. She found that Ning Changjiu was standing there calmly. His face was bathed in the sunlight and his white clothes were billowing in the wind. He seemed unswayed by the surroundings.

As Lu Jiajia arrived, the dozen disciples in white also stopped swinging their swords to greet her together.

Those who could make it to the sword peak for cultivation were the most talented in their generation.

Now, when they saw their deputy master came back with two new disciples, they still put on different looks respectively.

The assessment for the outer disciples to become the inner disciples was quite strict. Although there were rules and precedents for recruiting the inner disciples directly, such cases were still quite rare and unfair for those who worked hard at cultivating at the foot of the mountain.

Therefore, the gazes at them were part curious, part hostile.

Yazhu and Lu Jiajia were peers. The former one was the junior.

Now, Yazhu had reached the initial stage of the realm of Long Life, who could be regarded as the very top among the cultivators of Tianku Peak.

"I wonder which one you are going to take as the inner disciple and which one as the name-recorded disciple?"

Yazhu couldn't tell the capabilities of the two young people for now. She only felt that the girl looked adorable and nimble-witted while the young man appeared quite aloof and somewhat of an immortal despite his young age.

Lu Jiajia said, "This young girl is Ning Xiaoling and I will take her as my personal succeeding disciple. And this young man is Ning Changjiu, who shall be a name-recorded disciple."

Yazhu was slightly surprised. "Are they brother and sister?"

Lu Jiajia said, "Yes and no. They were bought by their previous master and adopted his family name together. Now that their master is dead, they have no one to rely on and I bring them here to cultivate in our sect temporarily."

Yazhu nodded and said, "They look like pleasing talents. I wonder whether there is anything special about Xiaoling to win you favor."

While speaking, she stared at Ning Xiaoling seemingly with a streak of bright aura, as if checking the latter's spiritual meridians through her sword eyes.

Ning Xiaoling noticed that this dashing woman was staring at her and thus, she couldn't help feeling nervous. "Emm... I..."

Lu Jiajia slightly patted her back and said, "She has an innate spirit whose grade is not low."

When she heard about the innate spirit, The corners of Yazhu's eyes just twitched with an uncoverable glint of surprise in her eyes. She said with a grin, "Where did you find such a good talent for cultivation? How could the envoys miss such a talent who has an innate spirit?"

Of course, the dozen disciples all have good hearing and vision. As they heard the words--innate spirit, they were astonished. As cultivators, they surely knew what it meant.

Lu Jiajia said with a smile, "These years, we've been seriously suppressed. Now, this is kind of a reward."

Ning Xiaoling swallowed and moved near Ning Changjiu timidly. On the contrary, Ning Changjiu didn't seem to listen to their conversation carefully. Looking at the sea of clouds outside the immortal peak, he seemed to be reminiscing something in a trance.

Yazhu said banteringly, "We must keep this a secret. If it is found by the people of Xuanri Peak, I'm afraid that they will come and take her away."

Lu Jiajia smiled and then took a look at Ning Xiaoling.

Ning Xiaoling took the hint and then said eloquently, "I will follow Jiajia with all my heart. No one can take me away!"

Yazhu also laughed. She felt that this young girl was so cute and figured that Tianku Peak would become much more lively.

With a faint smile, she looked to the young man next to Ning Xiaoling.

The young man was quite good-looking with an aloof temperament, dressed in white. He should be rather eye-catching but after learning that Ning Xiaoling had her own innate spirit, of course she didn't put her focus on him.

"He is...Ning Changjiu? Changjiu as in Tian Chang Di Jiu (enduring as long as the sky and earth)?" Yazhu asked.

Ning Changjiu slightly came to his senses and looked at Yazhu, saying with a nod, "Changjiu as in Chang Shi Jiu Sheng (longevity)."

Yazhu was dazed and then said smilingly with a nod, "Cultivators should pursue longevity. Good name."

Lu Jiajia took a glance at him, clenching her hands in her sleeves, twiddling her fingers lightly. She looked aloof and calm but she was bothered about where to place the young man.

Lu Jiajia said, "After performing the ritual in the sword hall, I will arrange a quiet house for you at the foot of the mountain."

Ning Changjiu said with a nod, "Thank you, Miss Lu."

Ning Xiaoling said, "What about me?"

Lu Jiajia said, "As my personal succeeding disciple, I also hold high expectations for you. Of course, you will live in the mountain and cultivate with me."

Ning Xiaoling said with a frown, "Then I will have to part from Changjiu."

Lu Jiajia thought it would better that she could advise her fellow disciple to be an inner disciple too.

Of course, as the deputy peak master, she couldn't actually point it out in public. She smiled lightly and said with a soft tone, "You have to. I know you and Ning Changjiu have relied upon each other for life. You two are really close. However, this is the rule of the sect. Even I cannot do anything about it."

Ning Xiaoling said, "I won't be the inner disciple then. I'll stay with Changjiu at the foot of the mountain."

Yazhu was not too surprised about her reaction. Such similar things happened before but she knew that even if they were close now, as time passed by, the big gap between their talents was hard to cross. They were bound to drift apart on the road of cultivation.

That was the destined distance between a cultivator and an ordinary mortal.

Lu Jiajia said resignedly, "If the disciples at the foot of the mountain want to become inner disciples, they still need to pass the test. Xiaoling, in terms of your talent, it is only a matter of time. It will be a waste of time if you cultivate at the foot of the hill."

Ning Changjiu thought about it and then suddenly said, "I may as well move up to the mountain."

"No way."

Yazhu was slightly surprised to hear that. She was also a bit disgruntled about Ning Changjiu. In her eyes, this young man seemed aloof but actually, he was quite scheming. He was trying to cross the inner threshold with his fellow disciple as the stepping stone.

At the thought of that, Yazhu's good impression of him immediately became much worse.

However, to her astonishment, Lu Jiajia approved his request. "There are empty rooms in the mountain. If you are okay with that, I'm fine too. However, what the outer disciples learn is different from what the inner disciples learn. Given your current talent, you are not suitable to learn the same as the inner disciples."

Yazhu slightly nodded her head aside. In fact, she had secretly checked the young man's body. Apart from his good look, his constitution was really average.

Now that Lu Jiajia said so, she only felt that Ning Xiaoling was so extraordinary that she could make Lu Jiajia compromise like this.

Ning Changjiu nodded his head slightly. "I will take neither the class for the outer disciples nor the class for the inner disciples."

He said it so naturally and casually but his words contained different meanings to the people present.

Among the disciples who practiced swordsmanship, a young man wearing the sword clothes immediately frowned and spoke first, "If you don't attend either of the class, how can you cultivate?"

Another disciple echoed, "Since you are not talented, you should be more hard-working. How can you be so dejected? Master, you can't pamper him!"

A little girl stared at Ning Changjiu seriously and then ventured to say, "I think he is right. After all, he cannot understand the lesson. He had better not attend the class. No need to waste his time."

The disciple next to her sneered, "Lerou, enough with your false reasoning. The eldest fellow disciple of Shouxiao Peak provoked us verbally. And perhaps out of his good-looking appearance or what, you argued that he made a good point. This matter has still remained the laughingstock of the four peaks by now."

Lerou snapped, "Since you like attending the class so much, why did you ask me to help cover you up while you skipped the class to have a date with the sister fellow disciple of Xuanri Peak?"

"Lerou, you..." The young man was quite embarrassed.

Lu Jiajia pressed her hands down, suggesting them to quiet down.

Lu Jiajia looked at Ning Changjiu, saying, "I can approve of your request on one condition that you don't make trouble."

Ning Changjiu nodded his head. "I always know my place and behave well. You know me."

Lu Jiajia took a deep breath, saying, "Come with me to the hall and perform the ritual then."

...

...

In the depths of the sword hall, there were three sword monuments. They read the names of the three generations of grandmasters of the Oracle Sword Heavenly Sect and their inner disciples.

Before the three sword monuments, there was a big old and rusty sword, which was said to be the sword of the founding master of the mountain. However, no matter how sharp the sword was, it couldn't pass the test of time. Having been battered by wind and rain over the hundred years, it was already rusty.

Wearing the silver cap and the jade hairpin, Lu Jiajia, dressed in the white sword clothes, stood before the three stone monuments with one hand placed behind her back and the other hand holding the sword Minglan. She looked solemn and respectful.

"It has been four centuries only since the foundation of the Oracle Sword Heavenly Sect. There have been only three generations of sovereigns by now but every generation of the grandmasters were heroes who killed numerous demons," Lu Jiajia looked at the three monuments and said coldly, "So, in the future, no matter how talented or accomplished you are, you should stay awed all the time. Xiaoling, you should act so after making a pledge to the heavenly monuments. You mustn't get involved with the evils and demons. As a cultivator, you should defend Taoism."

Infected by the majestic sword intent given off by the rusty sword, Ning Xiaoling nodded her head heavily.

Ning Changjiu was reading a scroll of bamboo slips carefully.

What he was reading was the rules and regulations for the inner disciples, which Ning Xiaoling should learn. Because she couldn't read, Ning Changjiu read it for her.

Lu Jiajia saw that Ning Changjiu was immersed in reading the bamboo slips and then asked, "What about you? Understand?"

Ning Changjiu heard her and then said, "Yeah."

Lu Jiajia was somewhat angry about his perfunctory reply so she asked, "You are reading so carefully. What have you learned?"

Ning Changjiu thought carefully for a while and said.

"I think this rule is not good. The disciples in the mountain mustn't go down the mountain at will and the disciples down the mountain mustn't go up the mountain either. Only in the secular world do the people care about the strict hierarchy and the concepts of superiority and inferiority. Cultivators should be freer."

"This regulation doesn't make sense either. Why are the disciples not allowed to learn the inner mental method of the sect? If the disciple has his own hereditary mental method, why does he have to abandon that?"

"Besides, why does the disciple have to be punished for not cultivating assiduously? Cultivators are not performers. They don't need to work hard to earn dignity for the sect."

"Especially this one, the peak master can amend the rules and regulations at his discretion. Then what is the point of the previous rules and regulations..."

"Shut up!" Goaded beyond endurance, Lu Jiajia said with a cold face. "Those are the rules and regulations. I'm only showing them to you. It's not your turn to change them."

Ning Xiaoling was frightened by her fierce look. She hastened to fetch the bamboo slips from Ning Changjiu and returned them to Lu Jiajia, saying, "Thank you, Jiajia. Rest assured. I'll abide by the rules."

Lu Jiajia's face softened and then she said, "Actually, I permit you to stay in the mountain, which is already an exception. You must behave yourself. This is not the imperial city of the state of Zhao. And no trouble is allowed here."

Ning Changjiu nodded and said, "Miss Lu, please rest assured."

Lu Jiajia didn't respond to him anymore and only said, "Well, Xiaoling, come with me to perform the ritual of acknowledging me as the master. And you...go to the sword hall and ask for a tablet from the doorkeeper. Carve your name on the tablet and take it with you. You will be a name-recorded disciple then."

Ning Changjiu said, "Okay. From now on, I hope that you can take good care of Xiaoling then."

Lu Jiajia said, "You are a name-recorded disciple indeed, but I'm your master in name. You mustn't call my name outside, or you will bring the blame of others upon yourself."

Ning Changjiu said calmly, "Rest assured. I always respect my master."