Chapter 22: Feather Immortal
The carvings on the two grand bronze doors depicted contrasting moods.
The left door’s “Ten Thousand Household Lights” portrayed a vivid ancient city brimming with mortal life.
Gazing at it briefly, I felt my soul drawn in, walking a bustling street at dusk, surrounded by vendors’ calls and the clamor of daily life.
The right door’s “Yellow Springs Star River” exuded majestic grandeur, a river of dense stars, like the Milky Way but in somber yellow.
“Is this where the bronze ship’s owner lived? Are they truly gone?”
I sensed the garden’s celestial glow and mist might hold a spring or mystic treasure.
Water was scarce on the ship.
Golden Crow and Black Dragon blood were too dangerous to drink, not a real solution.
“Rustle!”
A gust of wind ca from nowhere as I ascended the stone steps.
With extraordinary strength, I was bold and continued upward.
At the top.
I peered through the two-finger-wide gap between the doors.
Beyond was a vast space, a black-and-white Tai Chi lake beneath a black stone screen.
At the lake’s center stood a chilling giant sword, forged from stark black and blood-red materials.
I reached out, channeling the scorching airflow from my right foot, trying to push the doors.
“Boom!”
Half a foot from the doors, a tidal force surged, hurling like a leaf, landing lightly below the steps.
“New master of the Tao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish, this door isn’t for you now. You bear the consequences, not create them. Go…”
A faint voice echoed, as if in my mind or from the doors.
“Who are you? What consequences?” I asked.
No response.
“Splash!”
The air trembled, a translucent curtain rising along the wall, enveloping the garden.
It lingered before fading.
A clear dismissal!
I retreated, staring at the massive doors, feeling the voice wasn’t from this ti, like an ancient speaking to the present.
A strange sensation.
Undoubtedly, the ship’s voyage and our fall into the microcosm were tied to the Tao Ancestor Tai Chi Fish.
Master, Master, you must’ve known sothing.
What terrible consequences does being the Chan Sect’s leader entail?
“Li Weiyi!”
Cai Yutong’s voice ca from behind.
“Senior Sister…”
I exhaled deeply, clearing my mind, turning… my smile froze, eyes wide, scanning her in disbelief.
This was Senior Sister Cai?
Cai Yutong wore Qi Shanshan’s white physician’s coat, reaching just below her waist, exposing her strikingly long, fair legs.
More striking.
Her skin was whiter than the coat, smooth and lustrous, like immortal jade, faintly glowing.
Her black hair cascaded, stark against her radiant skin.
Her eyes, as if washed by divine springs, were brighter, imbued with spirit.
Her lips, without gloss, were moist and ruby-red.
Already stunning, now…
It wasn’t just beauty— she seed immortalized.
Flawless, embodying worldly perfection, her presence turned the grim soul sea into a celestial realm.
I prided myself on resisting beauty, focused on martial arts. But Cai Yutong now shook deeply.
This wasn’t Senior Sister Cai.
This was Feather Immortal!
If we draped the bone demon’s red dress on her, wouldn’t she be an immortal descended?
“Staring at Yutong— you know she’s wearing nothing underneath?” Qi Shanshan, with Cai Yutong present, felt less fear of .
I quickly looked away, practicing the Jade Void Breathing Technique to steady my heartbeat, then offered my coat: “Wear mine first. Pants… need pants?”
Cai Yutong said, “If I wear your clothes and pants back, what will the team think?”
I realized she was right.
I looked at Qi Shanshan.
She said, “I could take off more, but then I’d only have…”
I clarified, “I ant, Dr. Qi, you could go to the bow’s cabins and grab so clothes.”
“Fine!”
Qi Shanshan didn’t dare complain, heading to the tower passage.
Seeing Cai Yutong shed her mortal shell through Golden Crow blood, gaining an immaculate body, Qi Shanshan, beauty-conscious, was envious.
But knowing she could drink it too, her jealousy faded.
If Zhao ng recovered, the future was promising.
Li Weiyi, you’re fierce now, but who’ll be on top later?
…
Cai Yutong seed unbothered by her lack of undergarnts, free of coy pretense: “She told everything! She… sensed a life-or-death crisis early, lacked security, and sought a way to survive.”
“Pleading for her?”
“She saved .”
I said, “Do you know what happened on the ship? Hearing it isn’t the sa as seeing it. You might not know Dr. Qi as well as you think!”
“She saved you too,” Cai Yutong said.
A sea breeze lifted the physician’s coat’s edges.
I averted my gaze, sighing, “Because she saved , I struggled more than ever to decide earlier… Senior Sister, wear my clothes. I suggest a hat and veil. Your appearance now could spark another riot.”
Her beauty was irresistible, tempting many to take risks.
A fem fatale, indeed.
“Fine, everyone should answer for their mistakes. You decide.”
Cai Yutong looked skyward: “The sky’s brightening— light’s coming from… the bow.”
It was ti for dawn.
But the soul sea had no day or night, only stars.
How was there light?
Not just light— clouds appeared.
“It’s dawn?”
I couldn’t believe it.
Ahead, light indeed erged.
Stars dimd and thinned, darkness receding.
Like morning breaking.
The inky sea now shimred with golden ripples. No souls swam, and clouds dotted the sky.
But the clouds were massive, low, golden.
“Great! The eerie souls are gone. I feel this world has land,” I said, beaming.
Recent events— external dangers, internal chaos— had been oppressive.
After nearly an hour, darkness and stars vanished.
The sea and sky glowed golden.
The view opened, refreshing.
But Qi Shanshan hadn’t returned with clothes.
“Sothing’s wrong— we can’t wait.”
Cai Yutong tied my clothes around her waist, heading to the tower passage.
I agreed— Qi Shanshan must be in trouble, or she’d be back. But what danger remained?
We reached the bow without seeing her.
Outside the dical shack, we t Qin Ke.
“Brother Weiyi, where were you? Everyone’s looking. Go to the bow outside the mist— a miracle’s happening!”
“Brother Weiyi?”
Cai Yutong glanced at .
She recalled Xu’s students, older than , were in grad school.
I asked, “Sister Qin, seen Dr. Qi?”
Hearing “Sister Qin,” Qin Ke paused, then said, “No, we thought she was with you last night.”
I and Cai Yutong exchanged looks.
Qi Shanshan couldn’t have fled out of guilt— where could she go?
I’d made it clear I wouldn’t expose her, giving her a chance to atone.
Qin Ke’s gaze shifted to Cai Yutong, unable to look away.
Especially with my clothes tied at her waist.
So they were together last night.
“Dr. Cai… you…”
Even Qin Ke, a woman, was stunned by Cai Yutong, then lowered her head, self-conscious, wanting to flee.
“I’ll check a mirror and change.”
Cai Yutong thought her beauty was excessive— what use was it for a researcher? Could it win a Priestley dal?
I stepped out of the mist to the bow.
Seeing Qin Ke’s “miracle,” my scalp tingled, breath held in shock.
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