Chapter 52: The Invincible Dragon—A Delightful Tale (Yunzhu Side Story)

Yun Zhu was born into a prestigious family renowned for both alchemy and medicine. Her mother was a celebrated grandmaster of the alchemical arts, and her father was a benevolent medical cultivator. Consequently, from the moment she was born, Yun Zhu inherited exceptional alchemical talent from her parents, possessing the rare dual spiritual roots of fire and wood.

The circle of alchemists was not particularly large, especially among those of illustrious reputation. Even if they could not be called intimate, they were at least acquaintances who would exchange polite nods upon meeting. Thus, when Valley Master He Ming of the Returning Spring Valley decided to travel north and south to personally select her final closed-door disciple, Yun Zhu, leveraging her mother's connections, was fortunate enough to participate in the trials of the Western Realm. Ultimately, she stood out among thousands of alchemical disciples to become the last personal disciple accepted by Valley Master He Ming.

Before sending Yun Zhu into Returning Spring Valley, her mother harbored a minor yet persistent worry.

Yun Zhu was intelligent and quick-witted. Anything related to alchemy could be understood with a single hint, and her innate talent even surpassed that of her mother when she first entered the path. The only strange thing was that ever since she was a child, Yun Zhu loved lugging around a sword.

Whether it was a wooden sword made of peach wood or a heavy iron sword, whenever she occasionally strolled through the market to purchase necessary medicinal herbs, the half-grown girl—despite knowing nothing about martial arts—would insist on dragging her mother to visit the local weapon smithies.

Although alchemists held a high status in the world of cultivation and commanded universal respect, they suffered from one major drawback: their self-preservation abilities were far too weak. If a bitter dispute arose over the interests of aristocratic families, forcing a battle to the death, the alchemists on friendly terms with those families would inevitably be dragged into the fray and caught in the crossfire of swords and blades.

Therefore, Yun Zhu wanting to learn swordsmanship was a good thing.

Yun Zhu’s mother had practically invited every swordsman in the city to tutor her daughter. Yet, without exception, every single master who taught Yun Zhu would, within a month, politely advise her mother to have the child change her profession early on. They suggested she learn spells instead, become a sound cultivator, or perhaps a beast tamer—any of which would serve as an excellent means of self-preservation.

Yun Zhu simply had no affinity for the path of the sword. Several batches of swordsmen came to teach her swordsmanship, and every single one of them left in succession. It was not that they looked down on the girl; she was diligent and hardworking, but her talent for the sword was truly abysmal. Thus, they could not help but sigh with regret: why must a child with such breathtaking, peerless talent in alchemy force herself to endure the immense hardships of cultivating the sword?

Yun Zhu’s mother also urged her to give up the sword. Her hands were covered in calluses, and her knees and elbows were bruised purple within days. Dragging a body that felt as though its bones were about to shatter, the little girl still had to force herself to practice alchemy.

Why put herself through this?

Yet Yun Zhu refused to listen.

She declared, "If they are unwilling to teach me, then fine! This young lady cares nothing for their shoddy, half-baked swordsmanship. Someone else will come to teach me how to wield the sword in the future!"

Yun Zhu’s mother burst out laughing. "Have you taken a fancy to some young swordsman?"

Little Yun Zhu planted her hands on her hips, jutted her chin out stubbornly, and let out a defiant huff. "Of course not! Mother, you forgot—every single master you hired for me was a man!"

"My true master in the future will be a young lady!"

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Yun Zhu's mother asked, "And who might this young lady be? Where does she live, and what does she look like? Mother will formally invite her here for you."

The little person stood barely a meter thirty or forty, yet the imposing aura she conjured in that instant plummeted from three meters high to zero.

Yun Zhu scratched her head. "I... I can't remember..."

Frowning, she racked her brains for a long time before finally squeaking out, "I remember... she seemed to really like eating candy?"

Hearing this, Yun Zhu's mother was almost moved to tears by the little girl's wrinkled, aggrieved expression.

A swordsman who loved candy?

That description fit a child's whimsical imagination rather well.

Later, upon entering Returning Spring Valley, after finishing her alchemy practice and lectures, Yun Zhu would still take a sword and hack away in the open clearing.

Few disciples in Returning Spring Valley practiced the sword or martial arts. Having practiced in secret for nearly seven or eight years, Yun Zhu now actually looked quite competent, carrying the genuine poise of a swordsman.

Every time she swept out a wave of sword qi in the clearing, the senior sisters watching from the sidelines would let out gasps of surprise. The melodious, playful laughter of the maidens was as light as swallows beating their wings in spring. With a crisp *clack*, Yun Zhu would sheathe her sword, and the girls would swarm around her in a flurry, teasing that Returning Spring Valley would rely on her for protection in the future.

Occasionally, however, an elder tending to the herb gardens would march over in fury, roaring at the top of their lungs, "Which wayward gust of wind blew a stray strand of spiritual energy here and chopped off all the newly sprouted shoots in the herb garden?!"

"Who was it?! Step forward right now!"

The girls fell silent in a tacit understanding, and someone even gently nudged Yun Zhu further into the crowd.

As spring faded and autumn arrived, Yun Zhu lost count of how many years she had spent in Returning Spring Valley. Aside from alchemy, her only hobby remained practicing the sword. As her cultivation steadily advanced, she would still occasionally fail to control her sword qi, accidentally shaving yet another herb patch bare.

The elder guarding the herb garden was utterly furious, leaving the darling prodigy of Returning Spring Valley with no choice but to droop her head and obediently serve as a laborer in the herb garden for a month to atone for her sins.

Yue Nianxin frequently sent her messages via the communication jade slip.

Chattering away in her messages, Yue Nianxin recounted the people and events she encountered at the Wuji Sect, asked how Yun Zhu was faring in Returning Spring Valley, and inquired if she was still practicing the sword. She mentioned that she had also met a young girl studying the sword within the Wuji Sect—someone whose talent for swordsmanship was exceptionally outstanding. If Yun Zhu ever had the chance to meet her, she would surely adore this girl who shared her obsession with the sword.

"Zhuzhu, you simply must meet her if you get the chance. I'll bet that ten-thousand-upper-grade-spirit-stone Dragon-Breaking Root with you: some of her minor sword-wielding habits are identical to yours!"

"Don't you find it strange, though? Clearly, one of you excels in swordsmanship while the other is completely clueless, yet how could your mind possibly synchronize with a sword genius? It's just too bizarre!"

Yun Zhu laughed and replied, "A clumsy bird must fly early, don't you understand? (Tap)"

Valley Master He Ming never once forbade Yun Zhu from practicing the sword.

On the contrary, whenever she occasionally caught the girl intently studying a sword manual during her breaks from alchemy, Yun Zhu would feel a chill down her spine upon noticing the Valley Master standing right behind her, frantically hiding the book behind her back in a fluster.

Valley Master He Ming smiled faintly. "What are you hiding for?"

"You have a gift for alchemy, but likewise, I know you share an unbreakable bond with the sword."

After hesitating for a long time and seeing no trace of anger on the Valley Master's face, Yun Zhu finally mustered the courage to speak. "Master, I wish to leave the valley and see the world outside."

Valley Master He Ming nodded, uttering a single word: "Good." She did not ask why.

Packing her sword and traveling bag, Yun Zhu left Returning Spring Valley the very next day.

She was a disciple devoid of any innate talent for the sword, but thanks to years of arduous practice combined with her formidable cultivation, as she roamed the pugilist world, the cultivators, women, and children she saved along the way all assumed she was a genuine, hardcore swordsman.

An innocent man treasures a jade ring, but his wealth is his crime. Because Yun Zhu was a swordsman at the Golden Core realm rather than a helpless alchemist, her journey was far smoother. No longer did anyone hound her relentlessly to refine pills, nor did she need to rely on anyone else to travel wherever she pleased.

Later on, Yun Zhu crossed paths with another young girl who was also traveling alone to temper herself through trials.

The companion beast of the Thousand-Gold Vine was extremely cunning. Just as Yun Zhu knocked it flat to the ground, who would have thought that defeat was merely a feint? This Thousand-Gold Vine, nearly flawless with thousands of years of quality, actually harbored a second companion beast lying in wait in the shadows.

As Yun Zhu reached out to forcefully pull the Thousand-Gold Vine from the Ruo'e tree, the two companion beasts launched a pincer attack from front and back. A sword-wielding maiden burst out from the bushes with a rustle, grabbed Yun Zhu's hand, poured spiritual energy into the sword to block the companion beast's blow, and dragged Yun Zhu away as they ran desperately for their lives without looking back.

She said her name was Su Jiaojiao.

Yun Zhu was stunned.

The little girl whom Yue Nianxin had repeatedly mentioned in her letters also bore this name.

They traveled together as companions, becoming trusted confidantes who could safely entrust their backs to one another. Often, in deserted valleys at night, while one slept, the other would lean against a tree trunk and keep watch until dawn.

Jiaojiao's sword-wielding movements bore a striking resemblance to someone.

Yet, as for who that person was, Yun Zhu truly could not remember. She only recalled a figure in white clothes as bright as moonlight, with a pair of phoenix eyes forever calm and serene. Though they took in everything in the universe, they never seemed to truly register a single thing within them.

Then one day, Yun Zhu said, "Jiaojiao, teach me how to sword."

Yun Zhu’s cultivation was higher than Su Jiaojiao’s, and she was older as well. Such a request slipping from Yun Zhu's lips suddenly made her heart feel lighter, as if a heavy stone had been shifted away, allowing her to finally float unhindered to the water's surface and draw a breath.

It also felt as though she had always wanted to say these exact words to Jiaojiao.

Jiaojiao readily agreed.

Stopping and going along their journey, they ventured into countless secret realms and explored numerous immortal abodes. Often, when the two decided to rest for a day at an inn, Su Jiaojiao would cuddle up against Yun Zhu's arm, rubbing against her with murmurs and spoiled cooing, before abruptly dropping a vague, random reflection: "Sister Zhuzhu, you are so much like an old friend of mine."

"There are so many sword-wielding cultivators in the Wuji Sect, yet only your posture when holding a sword is almost identical to hers."

An old friend?

Yun Zhu wore a bewildered expression.

Was that person... even considered an old friend?

Yet occasionally, Yun Zhu would see that maiden in her dreams, leaning down with slender finger bones covering her hand, manually bending Yun Zhu's fingers one by one into the correct position.

Quite unlike the swordsmen who had previously tried to teach her, her attitude was neither particularly warm nor cold, but carried a habitual, effortless composure.

"That old friend of yours... where is she now?"

After a moment of hesitation, Yun Zhu asked.

"Her?"

Su Jiaojiao said, "She has only ever appeared in my dreams."

"Is she a maiden who cradles a sword?"

"Yes."

"Her sword is unlike any other; the blade is an ice-forged sea-blue, sometimes erupting with pale blue flames, and furthermore..."

Yun Zhu paused. "She really likes eating berry-flavored medicinal pills."

"Yes! How did you know?"

Su Jiaojiao bounced up with excitement, looking at her with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation. "Have you seen her?"

"No."

Yun Zhu shook her head. "I've only ever seen her in my dreams."

Disappointment washed over Su Jiaojiao's face as she silently burrowed back beneath the covers, saying no more.

Though autumn was setting in, for cultivators, such a drop in temperature was hardly cold at all.

A rustling cool breeze swept past the windowsill, carrying several fiery red maple leaves that drifted lazily to land at Yun Zhu's feet.

Yun Zhu picked up a maple leaf and looked up out the window.

Wispy mists and hazes dyed the layered forests, and the sound of maple woods rustling across the mountains echoed. Following the swirling trajectory of the maple leaves, Yun Zhu knew precisely where the wind came from and where it was headed.

The wind left no trace behind; only the one gazing upon the mountains in this very moment knew it had passed.

Though the myriad things growing in response to the wind were silent, like the maple leaves torn from the treetop this season and blown onto Yun Zhu's windowsill, they would forever remember why they had fallen right here.

"We will meet her," Yun Zhu said.

"In the future, I will refine many, many medicinal pills, and you will learn even more swordsmanship. Even if we cannot find her here, once we venture to more distant places, we will surely find her."

"If one day, Jiaojiao, you happen to see her before I do—"

Yun Zhu pressed a bottle of Mind-Calming and Soul-Soothing Pills into Jiaojiao's palm, and thinking of something, a soft, involuntary smile touched her lips. "Please give this to her."

"And remember to tell me."