Chapter 141: Parted for Many Years, Fellow Daoist Still Retains Your Former Air

The reputation and status of the Yuxu Palace within the Kunlun Mountains was no longer what it used to be. Although few had ever truly witnessed the immortal destiny of Primordial Beginning, the Master of Yuxu Palace, the Twelve Immortals of Yuxu enjoyed immense renown throughout the mountains.

After Nan Luo uttered those enigmatic words that sounded neither quite like poetry nor prose, they resonated with absolute clarity across the entire expanse of the Kunlun Mountains. The howling wind and lashing rain could not muffle them, and the pealing thunder only served to magnify their might.

The storm came swiftly and departed just as quickly. Before long, the mists and clouds had dispersed, and the heavens grew bright once more, revealing that the sun was only now beginning its descent toward the western horizon.

A wisp of cloud at the edge of the sky was dyed a brilliant crimson, and the rain-washed verdant mountains appeared remarkably fresh. White vapors rose softly among the wooded slopes, resembling a realm of immortals...

The original name of the mountain where the Yuxu Palace stood had long been forgotten; the mere mention of the Yuxu Palace in the Kunlun Mountains was enough to eclipse all else. At this moment, the Yuxu Palace was bathed in the red glow of the setting sun, radiating a faint, ethereal brilliance.

This was the second time Nan Luo had arrived before the gates of the Yuxu Palace. During his first visit, he had been forced to dismount and walk on foot, as his spiritual arts were completely suppressed from a great distance away. Even with Nan Luo's current level of cultivation, he could still feel the lingering weight of that suppression. However, he was no longer without a means to bypass it.

The moment he stepped within a radius of some ten miles from the foot of the mountain, his body paused slightly, as if a force of ten thousand junes were pressing down upon him... Instantly, a flash of five-colored mist flickered across his form, dissolving the oppression entirely. With a casual stride, he found himself standing right at the base of the mountain where the Yuxu Palace was located.

Looking upward, neat flights of stone steps stretched straight up into the clouds. They seemed to lead beyond the nine heavens, or perhaps straight to the shores of the Great Dao. Pausing before the ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine steps, Nan Luo felt as though each step he took was treading directly upon Beiling's body.

"Take her back and press her beneath the palace steps to reflect upon her sins. If she learns true repentance, she may regain her freedom a thousand years from now..." As he recalled what Qingqing had recounted of Guangcheng's words when Beiling was forcibly seized and dragged away... Nan Luo could not help but gaze closely at the steps, trying to discern which exact tier was crushing Beiling.

He still could not clearly define his own feelings toward Beiling. When they first met, he had thought her utterly demonic and prone to shifting her moods in an instant. Later, he came to view her as excessively bloodthirsty, much like a fiend. Yet, as they traversed the heavenly courts together, fought side by side in battles, and journeyed to the Falling Spirit Mountain—especially during the ten years Nan Luo was trapped within Falling Spirit Mountain—she had never once left the place. Knowing her temperament all too well, he could hardly fathom how she had managed to guard his physical body there for ten whole years...

From that moment on, Beiling's image in his heart had slowly transformed, becoming simultaneously hazy and exceptionally clear. Whenever the image grew vivid, it was most often accompanied by the sound of her splashing and bathing in the moonlit spiritual lake, her expression as she quietly sat on the jade bed combing his lifeless hair, or the care with which she arranged his robes. The hazy parts were invariably the memories of her slaughtering living beings in the past.

Sitting in silence for no reason, gazing tenderly at Nan Luo's physical form, unraveling his hair for no apparent reason to comb it anew and tie it into various knots; smoothing his garments, wiping his cheeks, all while the years slipped by in the blink of an eye—ten whole years... Ten years later, when Nan Luo awoke and learned that he would never be able to leave, upon hearing only that he had a master at the Yuxu Palace in the Kunlun Mountains, she had departed instantly, as if she had not even a moment to hear the rest of his words.

"Nan Luo of the human race, seeking an audience with Palace Master Primordial Beginning... Nan Luo of the human race... seeking an audience with Palace Master Primordial Beginning..." Nan Luo suddenly called out toward the misty, cloud-shrouded Yuxu Palace. His voice spread outward like the wind, piercing the clouds and echoing deeply within the palace.

When he first began to speak, Nan Luo had intended to declare his affiliation as a registered disciple of the Grand Pure Palace. Yet, when the words actually left his lips, what he shouted instead was simply Nan Luo of the human race. As for invoking his title as a stellar monarch of the heavenly court, he had not even considered mentioning it...

The Celestial Master of Profound Mystery had once claimed to be a dao-companion of this Primordial Beginning. But Nan Luo figured that since he had visited this place years ago, Primordial Beginning would surely recognize him. If his reception depended on honoring his master's prestige, there would be little need to announce himself at all.

Furthermore, the Celestial Master of Profound Mystery had only taken him on as a registered disciple, a designation meaning a student still undergoing probation, who was forbidden from acting in the capacity of a Grand Pure Palace disciple once away from the mountain. Moreover, the Celestial Master had explicitly stated that he would never elevate him to an inner-circle disciple. It was precisely this realization that had made Nan Luo abruptly bite back his intended declaration.

"The Yuxu Palace has sealed its gates for a millennium. Let whoever has come turn back..."

A solemn and impartial voice drifted down from the summit. Though it did not sound particularly loud, it traveled with crystalline clarity from the cloud-veiled Yuxu Palace all the way to the foot of the mountain... Nan Luo frowned deeply. The gates were sealed for a thousand years?

He muttered to himself in confusion, "What is the meaning of this? Why seal the mountain for a millennium? But what about Beiling? Is she truly to be pinned beneath those steps for a thousand years?" At this thought, he once again raised his voice and called out, "A friend of mine offended a disciple of your esteemed mountain and was dragged back to be pinned beneath these steps. Might I be granted a single meeting with her?" Until this very moment, Nan Luo still did not know the extent of Beiling's injuries; he only knew that during the ambush, she had been hurt so severely that even the strength to take flight had failed her... As for what would become of her pinned beneath these stone steps, he was entirely clueless, which was why he desperately wished to see her first before devising a countermeasure.

"Since your friend was pinned here, she must have committed deeds that violated the heavenly principles. If she feels true remorse a thousand years from now, she will naturally be released. Depart swiftly and cause no further commotion." The stern voice drifted down once more from the Yuxu Palace atop the cloud-shrouded peak, carrying a faint trace of growing impatience at Nan Luo's loud persistence.

"Everything my friend did was merely to save me. Can you not allow me just one look at her?" Nan Luo raised his head and called toward the summit...

"Hah, whether it was to save someone matters not. Even if it was to save you, does that grant her the right to slaughter living beings at will?"

"Since it was to save me, then all these sins should fall upon my shoulders. Release her, and let me take her place to endure the punishment!"

"What an absurdity! Can you bring those slaughtered souls back to life? Some deeds are utterly irreversible and cannot be substituted." The voice issuing from the clouds was laced with a faint undertone of mockery.

Hearing this, Nan Luo choked on his words, unable to reply immediately. Before he could speak, another voice drifted down from the clouds: "Senior Brother Guangcheng, why bother wasting breath on such a person? Since he would befriend the likes of that creature, he is clearly no man of high moral character himself... Coupled with his conduct in the heavenly court—verging on a habitual slaughterer—he retains not a shred of the demeanor expected of a Daoist disciple. No wonder Senior Uncle Profound Mystery refused to accept him as an inner disciple, and Master barred him from our gates as well! Back then, I foolishly felt a pang of pity for him; thinking back on it now, Master's discernment was truly peerless!"

When Nan Luo had come here years ago seeking instruction, the twelve immortals had already been well aware of him. Later, when he served as a stellar monarch in the heavenly court, they naturally kept themselves fully informed. The moment Nan Luo announced his name upon arrival, it had immediately provoked this barrage of commentary.

While Nan Luo realized he had been thoroughly investigated and understood by the inhabitants of the Yuxu Palace, he remained utterly ignorant about them. The only ones he knew of were Guangcheng, Huanglong, and the Daoist Yuding—though Yuding had not been mentioned at all just now, leaving Nan Luo to wonder if he had perhaps not returned.

Hearing someone address the speaker as Senior Brother Guangcheng, he instantly deduced that the person he had been conversing with was none other than Daoist Guangcheng, and a surge of anger flared within him. Just as he was about to retort, a figure emerged from the cloud-enveloped steps and began to descend.

It was a woman, wearing a daoist court robe with her hair dressed in a formal bun, clad in an apricot-yellow Taoist gown.

The apricot-yellow robe fluttered downward like a drifting yellow cloud. Looking closer, she possessed a pure and untainted visage, an oval face, and delicately curved brows. Her entire demeanor appeared exceptionally gentle, subtly tinged with a sacred aura.

Nan Luo was certain he had never laid eyes on her before, yet from her expression, it felt as though she had known him for a long time. He could not tell whether this was simply her natural disposition—treating everyone she met with the familiar warmth of an old acquaintance—or if there was some other reason behind it.

As he gazed in bewilderment at the woman floating down like a yellow cloud, before he could utter a word, she spoke first: "After all these years apart, Fellow Daoist's demeanor remains unchanged."

Her voice was soft, and her gaze held a blend of gentleness and familiar warmth. Confusion gripped Nan Luo even more tightly as he wondered who on earth she might be, for he was certain they had never met. Suddenly, a phrase flashed through his mind, and he inwardly thought with a start: "Could it be..."