At this moment, the little Bai Ze was sprawled on the ground, gnawing on a bone, looking reluctant and forlorn.

Bai Zixi stared at that bone and said calmly, "Bai Ze... gnawing on a bone?"

The Taixu Sect Master chuckled, a little helpless. "Mo Hua gave it that. After it finished, it still couldn’t bear to throw it away..."

Bai Zixi trembled, her whole body going rigid. She stared blankly. "Mo... Hua?"

The Taixu Sect Master nodded and said:

"Mo Hua, the Junior Brother of the previous generation in my Taixu Gate, Qianxue Formation Path Leader. He was an extremely kind, extremely clever Formation Master, with excellent talent as well. Strictly speaking, the fact that Taixu Gate holds its place today is all thanks to..."

As the Taixu Sect Master spoke, he suddenly sensed something amiss. Bai Zixi’s aura had undergone a clearly visible change, as if her state of mind had been shaken by something.

The Taixu Sect Master’s heart jolted. He turned his head, only to see that Bai Zixi had already withdrawn all her aura. Her expression and presence were the same as usual, showing no change at all.

The Taixu Sect Master frowned, then felt relieved.

"Must’ve been my imagination..."

The name Mo Hua only held special meaning for Taixu Gate.

But for Zixi, a Sixth garde Direct Lineage of the Bai Family, raised in front of the Old Matriarch, it didn’t mean anything...

Moreover, the two of them—their birth, Spiritual Root, aptitude, Bloodline, their very destinies—were entirely different, without the slightest overlap.

Even their "style" wasn’t the same.

Zixi was exquisitely beautiful, aloof, cold to the bone, possessing a kind of beauty that made people feel she was unreachable.

Mo Hua was gentle, easygoing, friendly, upright and kind at heart. He could get along with anyone; even the Exotic Beast Bai Ze could be treated by him as a "dog" to be fed...

The two of them simply weren’t the same kind of person.

They were also almost impossible to have any intersection.

The Taixu Sect Master continued to lead Zixi forward, walking the same route as before. The scenery around them hadn’t changed—every mountain and stone, each blade of grass and tree, every pavilion and tower—just as it had always been.

But this time, Zixi walked very slowly and looked very carefully.

For some reason, in her eyes, this originally unfamiliar scenery of Taixu Mountain suddenly became vivid, and carried a faint sense of familiarity.

All these years, her Junior Brother had been living here in these mountains, in these pavilions and towers—eating and sleeping, Cultivating, learning Spells, doing Formation Painting, sparring with his fellow Disciples, honing his Cultivation bit by bit, and little by little growing up...

Her originally indifferent heart was, for a moment, filled with warmth mingled with a sour ache.

"My... Junior Brother..."

Bai Zixi stood there dazed, lost in thought.

...

The negotiations between the Taoist Court and Qianxue were still ongoing, but after much tug-of-war, they were gradually reaching a resolution.

The Qianxue Four Talents would be sent to the Taoist Court.

The Taoist Court would be responsible for "reformation and guidance," so that they could recognize their mistakes, change, and once more serve the Taoist Court and the common people of the world.

This matter was thus finally decided.

Wanxiao City, Duanmu Mansion.

Inside an opulent boudoir of pale violet splendor, Duanmu Qing sat before her dressing table, weighed down by thoughts.

Beside her, an Elder of the Duanmu family with gentle features said softly:

"Miss, we set off today. In two months, you will arrive in Taoist State. The Old Ancestor has arranged everything. Once you get there, you don’t need to worry about anything else—just focus on Cultivation. After you condense your Bloodline Golden Core, then think about other matters..."

Duanmu Qing answered with a soft "mm," but whenever she closed her eyes, her mind filled with that breathtaking silhouette that haunted her soul—searing her heart, untouched by mortal dust.

"She..."

"Is mine..."

Duanmu Qing murmured under her breath. Then her previously listless gaze gradually hardened into stubbornness.

Her shattered Taoist Heart was being reforged by the desire in her heart.

Facing the mirror case, she wiped away the rouge, gathered up her long hair, pinned in a jade hairpin, and combed it into a clean, dashing topknot.

Then, she draped a young man’s Taoist Robe over her shoulders.

With features like carved jade and a graceful bearing, she looked like a refined and elegant noble young master in a turbid world.

For a woman, Duanmu Qing was tall and slender.

But once she donned men’s clothing, she appeared somewhat thin; her height was not far off from Mo Hua’s, and even her outline and figure bore a faint resemblance.

This identity she had once somewhat resisted was now finally, truly accepted by her.

"Let’s go," Duanmu Qing said.

"Yes, Miss."

"No," Duanmu Qing’s gaze turned cold. "From now on, address me as... ’Young Master.’"

...

Duanmu Qing set off for Taoist State.

Bai Zixi, on the other hand, was headed to Kun State.

Bai Zixi bid farewell to the Taixu Sect Master. In the end, she took one last look at Taixu Mountain, at the Disciple’s Residence of Taixu Mountain, at the grand Taoist Field, the Tao Cultivation chambers... and only then set off with a complicated mood.

The journey from Qian State to Kun State was long and required passing through many large and small state boundaries.

Below a Fourth-grade state boundary, flight by escape light was forbidden, and the Nine Heavens Gilded Carriage could not be used. They could only travel by Cloud Ferry.

The Bai Family had their own Cloud Ferry.

It was a large ship, white jade for its frame, luan feathers for its sails, not only exquisitely beautiful but also extremely fast.

Bai Zixi boarded the Cloud Ferry.

After a brief rest, the Bai Family’s Cloud Ferry tore through the sky, like a dragon of cloud weaving through the cloud veins, speeding straight ahead.

...

At this moment, within the cloud veins tens of thousands of li ahead.

An old, somewhat worn Cloud Ferry was drifting along at an unhurried pace.

Mo Hua lay on the deck and let out a sigh, muttering under his breath, "Why am I putting myself through this?"

The food was bad, the beds were bad, and the ship was slow.

To kill time, he’d even used up all the Formation Paper he normally used for Drawing Formation.

And along the way, there hadn’t been anything unusual.

Aside from the long, drawn-out boredom, the tedium, and the noise of the Cloud Ferry riding the wind, there was virtually no danger at all.

"Sometimes karma lies to you too..."

Mo Hua thought silently.

For the next ten days or so, Mo Hua lived like this.

Until the twelfth day—when they were about to reach the point where the cloud veins split and the Cloud Ferry had to change course—Mo Hua’s heart suddenly began pounding wildly for no reason, as if something he cared about deeply was about to happen.

Mo Hua didn’t quite understand why.

But the restlessness inside him only grew stronger; even seated meditation could not calm it.

Mo Hua frowned.

He pinched his fingers to calculate, his heart suddenly giving a hard thump. A thoughtful look crossed his face; then he stepped onto the deck and gazed toward the distant cloud veins.

He watched for a long, long time. Other than vast swaths of clouds, there was nothing.

Yet Mo Hua still stood there, unmoving.

Until noon, when the sun shone bright.

From afar came a sound like a dragon’s roar from a cloud flute, mixed with the howl of something cleaving the air. As the sea of clouds churned, an exquisite Cloud Ferry of white jade burst out of the clouds, its form revealed.

This Cloud Ferry was of extremely high Grade and astonishing speed, normally hard to see clearly.

But because ahead lay the node where the cloud veins split and courses were changed, even this Cloud Ferry, no matter how fast, had to pause here.

In that instant, Mo Hua clearly saw the Cloud Ferry’s appearance, and his pupils shook violently.

Then his Divine Sense swept out, his gaze falling on the top of the Cloud Ferry. On its deck stood a white-clad, hazy, almost illusory feminine figure.

And that figure saw Mo Hua as well.

Caught off guard by the sudden shock, their gazes met.

One pair of eyes clear and deep, the other like glass—illusory and beautiful—each reflecting the other’s figure.

A face like a painting, eyes like stars.

That was the Junior Brother who had grown up.

A beauty ethereal and peerless, beyond all measure.

That was the Senior Sister who had grown up.

The two of them, separated by the sea of clouds, looked at each other this once, and only this once.

Within the vast, uncertain Heavenly secret, there was only this brief instant where their karma intersected.

Then the sea of clouds surged, the cloud veins split, and the Cloud Ferries each set off again, carrying them toward their respective destinies.

The two of them, within the sea of clouds, drifted farther and farther apart.

Leaving only, in each other’s eyes, a silhouette that would be hard to forget...

(End of Qianxue Scroll)