Hammer in her left hand, sword in her right, the eldest sister is connected to both worlds.

Dao Xuanzi continued to observe the situation inside the Heavenly Ladder Illusion with the other sect leaders on the Xuanling Peak Square. Xu Qinghe went up and stood behind him.

He had just stood still when he received Dao Xuanzi's telepathic message.

The elderly man in white robes appeared calm and composed, sipping top-grade immortal tea from the back mountain of Qingyu Peak. His telepathic communication, however, was entirely different.

"I thought she was normal, but she pulled this stunt on me. What Golden Core cultivator has nothing better to do than meddle in the trials of mortals?"

"Don't follow her example!"

What was she doing when you came out?

Xu Qinghe couldn't help but laugh. She replied to Xuanzi, "Uncle-Master, everything is normal."

Dao Xuanzi thought to himself that it was better to have them locked up than to let them roam freely across the mountains. He was increasingly convinced that Ling Yuanzi and Xue Lan were there specifically to cause him trouble; they were his tribulations on his path to immortality.

Unseen by Dao Xuanzi, one of his two tribulations was recklessly cultivating a dream demon, preparing to use it when he returned to Luoxia Mountain.

Another one was in the capital of the Great Li Dynasty, located a thousand miles away from Xuanhuang Cave.

Inside the teahouse, the storyteller slammed his gavel on the table and opened and closed his folding fan.

"In the far south of the Great Shun Dynasty, the demon race was insatiable in its killing. In order to stop the demon race, humans, demons, immortals, and gods built a natural pass with Mount Luoxia as the boundary."

"More than ten thousand years. To block the enemy beyond the setting sun!"

Among the listeners were many who were concerned about the current situation. One of them, with a keen sense of smell, seized the opportunity to ask, "Sir, you haven't talked about the affairs of Luoxia Mountain for a long time. Is it possible that the demon race has launched another invasion?"

"Yes! Is it possible that the demons are plotting against our human race again?"

……

Before the storyteller could speak, a clear and unrestrained voice rang out: "As early as two years ago, the demon race began to invade Luoxia Mountain."

Everyone looked at the handsome young man, Xie Linghuan, who squinted like a fox.

He slowly rose and bowed to the crowd before him: "My name is Ling Huan, and I am from the capital of the Great Shun Dynasty. I have traveled a great distance to come here."

The surrounding diners were in an uproar. From the Great Shun Dynasty to the Great Li Dynasty, that spanned over 100,000 li (approximately 50,000 kilometers) across the territory. It also involved crossing the Luquan River, which ran through the entire lower borders of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties.

The storyteller looked at the young man with deep eyes.

Such a journey is truly a magnificent feat.

"Throughout my journey, I have traveled on celestial flying boats and traversed ordinary lands. Of all the countries I have seen, none have suffered as much as the Great Shun Dynasty, ravaged by demonic creatures..."

The young man's voice trembled with sobs as he said this, as if he could no longer continue.

The surrounding tea drinkers were all moved, and two of them even ordered several plates of pastries for Xie Linghuan.

"Who would willingly travel thousands of miles to leave their homeland if not forced by the demons?"

"The demons are truly despicable."

"The Great Shun Dynasty is more than 100,000 li away from our dynasty. What business is it of ours with the demon race!" A man stood up and made a wild statement.

"If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. If Luoxia Mountain is breached, the subsequent dynasties will likely not fare any better." Someone immediately stood up to refute him.

Inside the teahouse, people kept expressing their opinions on the situation in the southern region, each holding their own viewpoint, creating quite a lively scene.

After finishing the pastries, Xie Linghuan walked out of the teahouse through the back door and turned into a small alley.

Snow began to fall, and Xie Linghuan thought to himself, "This is truly a dynasty from the far north." Elsewhere, autumn was just beginning.

The first snow fell here.

Amidst the light, first snow, a man stood at the alley entrance waiting for him.

The man wore a long, wide-sleeved indigo robe, a matching square crown, and carried a landscape-themed folding fan. He was elegant and dignified.

It was none other than the storyteller in the teahouse.

Upon seeing the young man emerge, the storyteller bowed to him: "Ji Fangya of Bingdeng Academy greets Fellow Daoist Lingyuan."

Xie Linghuan returned the greeting: "I was unaware that the Imperial Preceptor also enjoyed storytelling in the marketplace."

Bingdeng Academy, one of the twelve schools, is rooted in the far north and is filled with people who are devoted to learning. Its vice-principal, Ji Fangya, serves as the national teacher of the Great Li Dynasty.

Ji Fangya looked at the young man in front of him and said, "Hundreds of years have passed in the blink of an eye. Have you come to collect those jars of wine, fellow Daoist?"

Xie Linghuan gave a bitter laugh: "Back then, I was young and impetuous. I heard that there was an extremely cold icy vein beneath the library of your Bingdeng Academy. You insisted on hiding a few jars of wine there, and you even got into a fight with your brother back then..."

The young man's voice stopped abruptly, then he changed the subject: "Get me one jar, and give the rest to my apprentice."

Ji Fangya stepped aside to greet him: "Please!"

The two rode the clouds and arrived at a high mountain behind Kyoto. The gate of Bingdeng Academy was located there, and the large characters on the plaque contained Taoist charm, flowing endlessly.

As they entered the gates of Bingdeng Academy, amidst the falling snow, disciples carrying books greeted them one after another, their demeanor elegant and upright, exuding the unique scholarly air of Bingdeng Academy.

Xie Linghuan suddenly spoke up: "You know, I've never liked your kind of pedantic attitude."

Ji Fangya led the way, saying, "Rules must be learned, and the classics must be read."

The two stopped in front of a magnificent library, and Ji Fangya pushed open the door and entered first.

The massive wooden door slowly opened in front of him, and Xie Linghuan saw a vast sea of ​​books and ancient scrolls floating inside the library, with golden characters appearing as they flowed.

"I have taken on several apprentices, and my eldest apprentice has a photographic memory."

"Sooner or later, I'll send her here so she can see the vast collection of books at your Bingdeng Academy."

Ji Fangya went to get him some wine. He heard this when he returned.

"You certainly know how to pass on your knowledge. I remember you were the one who lost a bet with my brother and said you would read all the books in here. Now you've become my disciple."

Xie Linghuan smiled and took the small wine jar from his hand; it was ice-cold to the touch.

This is wine from Luoxia Mountain in the Southern Region, which has been aged for hundreds of years in the icy veins of the far north.

In front of Ji Fangya, the young man broke the seal on the wine jar and took a big gulp.

A clear tear fell into the wine jar.

Both of them saw it, yet neither of them saw it.

The young man slowly spoke: "I'm the kind of person who often breaks his word. Anyway, no one's going to hold it against me!"

After speaking, the young man in white, carrying the broken sword on his back, walked towards the gate of the library. When Ji Fangya followed, he saw the young man looking at the snow-capped mountains behind Bingdeng Academy.

"The King of Li Dynasty has already decided to provide assistance to Da Shun in its war. You must also know about what happened at the Ascension Assembly," Ji Fangya said.

Xie Linghuan nodded: "I am aware of all of this. I will take my leave now."

As the young man in white turned around, Ji Fangya looked at his retreating figure and asked, "What's your name?"

"What's your apprentice's name?"

The young man in white answered loudly, "Her name is Xue Lan! Lan as in Lan'ai."

The figure of the young man in white was swallowed up by the increasingly fierce wind and snow. Ji Fangya stood still, his landscape folding fan opening and closing.

"Mountain mists and fog, indecisiveness. Unpredictable changes, fate uncertain."

A middle-aged scholar shouted into the vast snowstorm, "I am waiting for her to take over your legacy, waiting for her to read through this inexhaustible collection of books."

The surrounding wind and snow grew stronger, and countless swirling snowflakes were swept up by the cold wind into the pale gray sky.

All around was endless grayness and the sound of wind, as if the young man had never been there.