The Immortal Alliance originally had seven major sects. Besides the five existing sects, there were also the destroyed Mingyue Manor and Yunxiu Manor.
The previous master of Yunxiu Manor was the renowned War God, Nan Wujiu. Nan Wujiu established his path through killing, and slaying countless demons and monsters throughout his life, earning the respect of all under heaven. However, Yunxiu Manor’s pride wasn’t just War God Nan Wujiu, but also Nan Xuyue, known as the divine child.
Humans are born with seven orifices, cultivate their bodies at three years old, and open the Yin and Yang orifices at seven. The Yang orifice is located at the Baihui acupoint on the top of the head, while the Yin orifice is at the navel. After opening the Yin and Yang orifices, they train their bodies until ten years old, then can participate in the selection of various sects to attempt opening the divine orifice. In the world, those who can open nine orifices are one in a hundred thousand. Those who can open the divine orifice are one in a million. The strongest innate talent in this world is being born with ten orifices, hailed as the reincarnation of a god.
In hundreds of years, only two people have achieved this. One was Xie Xuechen, and the other was Nan Xuyue.
Nan Xuyue was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, with a photographic memory, able to learn anything in just one attempt. At that time, Yunxiu Manor was at the bottom among the seven major sects, but everyone believed that Nan Xuyue was the hope for Yunxiu Manor’s rise.
Unfortunately, when Nan Xuyue was ten years old, Nan Wujiu, having made too many enemies, was revenged upon by demons and monsters who kidnapped Nan Xuyue. The ten-year-old Nan Xuyue endured endless torment before finally being rescued by Nan Wujiu. Sadly, though his life was saved, he became completely crippled. The demons used extremely vicious methods to destroy Nan Xuyue’s Yin and Yang orifices and divine orifice and used demonic chains to bind his right foot, making it impossible for his three orifices to recover, and even his right foot was difficult to regenerate due to the corrosion of demonic energy.
With three orifices destroyed, the once-envied heaven’s chosen one became an object of pity overnight. Nan Wujiu went mad with grief, his hair turning white, but it was all in vain. Years later, Nan Wujiu died of illness, leaving the young and inexperienced Nan Xuyue to support Yunxiu Manor alone. It was said that he remained that incredibly intelligent youth, mastering medicine, arrays, mechanisms, and even business, music, and mathematics. Yunxiu Manor did not decline because of this but instead grew stronger than before. However, a sect led by a master who couldn’t cultivate could not stand within the Immortal Alliance. Therefore, although today’s Yunxiu Manor is quite powerful, it’s only the largest secular sect, not counted among the five sects of the Immortal Alliance.
Mu Xuanling had naturally heard about Nan Wujiu and Nan Xuyue, and Yunxiu Manor wasn’t far from here. However, she never thought that Nan Xuyue, who had been harmed by demons and monsters, would be willing to help them.
“Young Master Nan, I’ve long admired your reputation,” Mu Xuanling stepped back again, pulling her black robe tighter around herself. She didn’t know why she was wary of a mortal. Although Nan Xuyue’s reputation was great, he was ultimately an ordinary person who couldn’t cultivate and couldn’t possibly pose any threat to her.
Nan Xuyue naturally noticed that Mu Xuanling’s caution towards him had only increased. He smiled indifferently and looked at A Bao on Mu Xuanling’s shoulder.
“A Bao, come here.”
He reached out his hand, and A Bao jumped into his palm in a flash. Xiu Xiu hurriedly approached, anxiously asking, “Young Master Nan, is A Bao alright?”
“Just a bit startled,” Nan Xuyue handed A Bao back to Xiu Xiu, then looked at Mu Xuanling, “May I ask how to address the lady?”
Mu Xuanling’s eyes flickered as she said, “My surname is Mu.”
Nan Xuyue asked, “As in ‘clear and bright as water and trees’?”
Mu Xuanling paused before replying, “As in ‘most longing at dawn and dusk’.”
“‘The moon is new at the end of the sky, most longing at dawn and dusk,'” Nan Xuyue’s voice was gentle and slow. This poem, recited by him, was most pleasing to the ear, yet it added a touch of melancholy.
“It’s rare to hear of someone with this surname. I suppose you chose it yourself,” Nan Xuyue said.
She didn’t know her parents; even her name was given by her master. People might not know, but the person before her certainly did, that Xuanling was a type of tree in the demon realm. This tree was entirely black, as hard as iron, yet it would bloom the whitest and most delicate flowers. The Xuanling flower petals were pure white, appearing soft but with the quality of jade, shaped like bells hanging on the branches. When a gentle breeze passed, they would make a clear, crisp ringing sound. The sound of Xuanling had the magical effect of enchanting souls and was often used to forge magical artifacts. The bone bell artifact on Mu Xuanling’s ankle was forged from Xuanling flowers.
“Miss Mu, the sun is getting stronger. Do you need to find a place to hide?” Nan Xuyue asked.
“No need, I must be on my way,” Mu Xuanling shook her head. Wearing the black robe and hiding in the tree’s shade had already eased her burning pain considerably. She looked at A Bao and tossed over the storage ring she had snatched back from Gao Qiumin, which Xiu Xiu caught.
“A Bao, this is your treasure. Sister has to go now.”
A Bao, perched on Xiu Xiu’s shoulder, looked at Mu Xuanling with somewhat reluctant black, round eyes.
“Sister, are you going to find brother?”
Mu Xuanling was silent for a moment, then nodded.
Xiu Xiu clutched the storage ring, suddenly mustering up the courage, and said, “Miss Mu, can A Bao go with you?”
Mu Xuanling looked at Xiu Xiu in surprise, “Go with me? Why?”
Xiu Xiu said, “Do you know that all things in the world have a treasure aura? Ordinary people can only see Yuan Power, but we Sniffing Treasure Mice can see treasure aura. The more powerful the treasure, the stronger the aura it emits. This is why magic arrays can block Yuan Power fluctuations but can’t block our perception of treasure aura.” Xiu Xiu said this, blushing a bit embarrassedly, “I see a very strong treasure aura on Miss Mu… You must have many valuable treasures.”
Mu Xuanling chuckled in surprise.
Xiu Xiu continued, “To improve our cultivation, we can only absorb treasure aura. These treasures I have were left to me by A Bao’s father, but their treasure aura has long been consumed. However, this doesn’t affect you. So… so… I’ll give you all these treasures, can you let A Bao cultivate among your treasures?”
Mu Xuanling finally understood her intention and said with mixed emotions, “It’s possible, but can you bear to be separated from your daughter? Besides, A Bao is a half-demon without a demon core. No matter how much she cultivates, she can’t take human form.”
Xiu Xiu said dejectedly, “I know, but I hope A Bao can learn more skills to protect herself in the future.”
A Bao raised her head, looking at Xiu Xiu in confusion.
“Mother, are you sending me away?”
Xiu Xiu stroked A Bao’s head, saying gently, “A Bao, go with this sister. She seems much more capable than a mother and can help you cultivate. Mother has something to do…”
A Bao suddenly had a moment of clarity and asked, “Is Mother going to find Father?”
Xiu Xiu nodded, saying sadly, “He’s been gone for three years. I don’t know if something happened to him. I need to go find him.”
Hearing this, Mu Xuanling felt a stir in her heart and asked, “What’s A Bao’s father’s name?”
Xiu Xiu said, “His name is Fu Cangli.”
Mu Xuanling remembered that A Bao had previously said her father was the richest cultivator in the world. Currently, the wealthiest in the Immortal Alliance was Bixiao Palace, which owned several ore veins, and the master of Bixiao Palace had the surname Fu.
Mu Xuanling looked at Nan Xuyue. Nan Xuyue seemed to see through her suspicion and smiled, saying, “There’s no disciple by that name in Bixiao Palace now.”
“He might be using an alias. People don’t use their real names when doing bad things,” Mu Xuanling muttered.
Nan Xuyue smiled and looked at Xiu Xiu, saying gently, “Xiu Xiu, you’re a rare and exotic beast. Don’t risk going to Bixiao Palace. I’ll help you inquire about this Fu Cangli. You should wait here. What if he comes back looking for you and can’t find anyone? Wouldn’t that be a missed opportunity?”
Xiu Xiu seemed to trust Nan Xuyue very much. She was already a bit confused, and hearing Nan Xuyue’s gentle persuasion, she immediately nodded repeatedly, fully accepting his words.
“Young Master Nan makes sense. I’ll wait here then. Thank you for helping me inquire about him.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” Nan Xuyue nodded with a smile.
“A-Bao, would you like to go with your sister?” Xiu Xiu asked A-Bao.
A-Bao hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.
She didn’t know why she was so fond of Mu Xuanling. She always felt that Sister Mu had an aura that strongly attracted her, making her reluctant to leave. Although she was also reluctant to part with her mother, she would follow her mother’s wishes to go with her sister.
A-Bao leaped from Xiu Xiu’s arms to Mu Xuanling’s shoulder, allowing Mu Xuanling to gently scratch her soft body.