Immortal Road Worry-Free - Chapter 17:
Bai Yushuang studied the father and daughter in silence.
The scar on Zhong Wangchun’s cheek caught her eye it was faintly red,
a trace of poison that must have been passed to her while still in Lin Yao’s womb.
Bai Yushuang recalled an ancient venom known as
Burning Heart Crimson, a cruel toxin brewed from the
heart’s bl00d of a fire spirit beast mixed with the marrow of crimson flame vine.
Its nature was scorching and violent,
burning through meridians and organs, corrupting spiritual energy,
hindering advancement, and even shortening one’s lifespan.
It was not the hardest poison to treat,
but it was among the hardest to cleanse completely.
To purge it, one would need two rare ingredients:
Violet Spirit Snowgrass and Coldbud Flower.
Combined, they could be refined into a pill called Violet Spirit Frost Elixir.
But such plants grew only in lands steeped in spiritual frost
places far beyond the mortal realm.
When Bai Yushuang extended her spiritual sense into Wangchun’s dantian,
she found within it two spiritual roots, one green and one red.
The green glowed softly, the red shimmered like embers wood and fire.
Judging by their vitality, the wood root was purer than the fire root,
but to confirm it she would need a spiritual testing disk, which she did not have.
Little Chun, do you wish to cultivate? Bai Yushuang asked quietly.
Me? Can I really become a cultivator? Wangchun’s eyes widened,
her voice caught between disbelief and hope.
Zhong Tianzheng looked equally astonished.
My wife once told me that only those born with spiritual roots
can sense the flow of spiritual energy and walk the immortal path.
Are you saying… my daughter has one?
Bai Yushuang nodded. Wangchun carries the dual roots of fire and wood.
Her wood root is the stronger of the two.
I cannot tell the exact purity without proper tools, but it is there.
Father, did you hear that? Sister Bai says I have a spiritual root!
I can be like Mother—and like you,
Sister Bai—an immortal! Wangchun nearly leapt from her seat,
her joy bright as sunlight.
Bai Yushuang’s tone softened, but her words carried weight.
Cultivation is far more dangerous than you imagine.
Every step on this path is a struggle against heaven itself.
A single misstep can cost you your life.
I am not afraid, Sister. Truly, I’m not.
I want to heal people like Father and explore the world like Mother.
Wangchun’s eyes shone with fierce resolve.
Bai Yushuang regarded her for a long moment, then stood.
She released the technique that had veiled her presence.
Instantly, spiritual energy surged around her, vast and steady as mountains,
deep and endless as the sea.
My name is Bai Yushuang. I will not remain in this town.
I intend to travel across the mortal lands, to see its people and its stories.
I can leave behind manuals for drawing in spiritual energy and
cultivating in the early stages, or—you may come with me.
It was the first time father and daughter had seen Bai Yushuang’s true form.
Before, her concealed aura had dimmed her presence;
they had known she was beautiful, but now that the veil was gone,
she seemed almost unearthly. Her features were refined to perfection
eyes bright as stars upon snow, light glimmering in their depths;
her skin glowed like warm jade, her lips soft as petals.
Her beauty was not mortal charm but celestial grace
cool and distant as an orchid blooming in a hidden valley, untouched by dust.
They stood frozen, breathless.
I will give you one day to decide, Bai Yushuang said softly.
Tomorrow morning, I depart.
Her calm words broke their spell. The father and daughter exchanged a glance,
then spoke together without hesitation. Please take us with you!
Zhong Tianzheng stepped forward, urgency in his voice.
Bai girl, I was once a wandering physician.
I know these lands well. If you allow it, I will share everything I know.
Please, let us travel at your side.
Sister Bai, I’ll behave, I promise! I won’t cause any trouble.
Wangchun’s small hands clenched tightly.
She wanted to grow stronger to see beyond this tiny mountain,
to the vast world her parents once dreamed of.
In truth, Bai Yushuang had already planned to bring them.
Zhong Tianzheng’s experience across the mortal realm would spare her much trouble,
and she had learned all she could from this little town.
Training Wangchun would require time, and
it would be wiser to continue their journey together than to linger idly here.
At dawn, the three of them set out. Zhong Tianzheng and
his daughter packed their few belongings and followed
Bai Yushuang down the winding road that led out of the town.
The early morning wind was cool against their faces.
The sun rose slowly, painting the mountains in gold.
They walked along the official road that wound toward the great ranges ahead
Bai Yushuang at the front, Wangchun skipping lightly behind,
her eyes wide with wonder at every passing sight.
Zhong Tianzheng smiled as he watched his daughter, then turned to Bai Yushuang.
This town we left behind is called Liuchuan.
To the east lies the border touching the Eastern Sea.
Travel inland, and you reach the realm of Qiyun mountainous,
dense with forests and rich in herbs. Legends say that traces of immortals once lingered there,
and even now, old apothecaries tell tales of divine footprints.
He paused, then continued. South of Qiyun lies Hengchuan, a
land of rivers and lakes, famed for its scholars and academies.
To the west is Yanyang, a desert kingdom of burning sands.
Northward stretches Beichen, where endless grasslands
reach the horizon and the tribes worship the gods of stars and totems.
And at the center stands the Zhongyuan Empire, heart of the mortal world
seat of power, home of clans and heroes alike, a land both magnificent and perilous.
Bai Yushuang listened silently, her gaze fixed on the horizon.
For the first time in her long life, she was truly walking the world
not as an immortal looking down from the heavens,
but as a traveler beneath the same sky.