"This is the Teleportation Array." Xu Chang'an led Yun Qian to a platform and pressed his waist token on the floating disc.
"This is how you use it." Xu Chang'an briefly taught Yun Qian how to activate the Teleportation Array with the Jade Talisman: "You try it, there's no need for Spiritual Power, as long as you have the Jade Talisman, it's fine."
Xu Chang'an was like an old father teaching his young daughter how to use a device, meticulous in every detail.
Yun Qian was already used to it. She gently placed the Jade Talisman as Xu Chang'an instructed.
"Buzz..."
With a burst of colorful light, several rows of options appeared before Yun Qian's eyes, hundreds of lines long.
These were all teleportation points to the peaks or sects.
Yun Qian immediately spotted Muyu Peak where Xu Chang'an was, but unfortunately... apart from Celestial Bright Peak and some public areas, all other locations were dimmed.
"Miss Yun is new to the Chaoyun Sect; she doesn't have sufficient permissions yet." Xu Chang'an briefly explained, "Just go to Celestial Bright Peak."
Yun Qian reached out and lightly tapped the mark for Celestial Bright Peak.
After a moment of weightlessness, she and Xu Chang'an's figures disappeared from the spot.
On Celestial Bright Peak.
The sky was high and the clouds were mild, birds soared, and Yun Qian and Xu Chang'an's figures appeared on the Teleportation Array.
The moment they arrived, Xu Chang'an immediately asked, "Miss Yun, are you feeling unwell?"
His first time on the Teleportation Array left him feeling quite nauseous afterward.
"Unwell? No." Yun Qian shook her head.
"That's good." Xu Chang'an nodded. It was actually his first time at Celestial Bright Peak too. He looked into the distance, his gaze piercing through the dense forest, studying the terrain.
Without experiencing it firsthand, it's difficult to appreciate how steep it is here.
Looking as far as the eye can see, the mountain surface here had no curve, as if a sharp sword had cleaved it open smoothly, below was a bottomless abyss.
The surrounding mist didn't provide any sense of security; instead, it added a feeling of precariousness.
Xu Chang'an then realized that the abyss was not some natural hazard; it was formed by someone splitting a mountain in half with a single sword strike.
"...The environment... is not bad." Xu Chang'an coughed lightly, "We're on the first level of Celestial Bright Peak. The disciples here mostly come from the mundane world, either untrained or not yet Open Source practitioners."
Unlike the previously deserted White Jade Platform, people had noticed them from a distance here; there were numerous pavilions, and many disciples.
However, upon seeing the Steward Token hanging from Xu Chang'an's waist, their attention shifted back to their own tasks.
In fact, most Outer Disciples did not have the qualifications to become Stewards.
...
Xu Chang'an led Yun Qian into the large hall at the center of Celestial Bright Peak to find the steward.
A mountain of dossiers lay on a desk, while a middle-aged woman was reviewing them. Her thin lips and almond-shaped eyes gave her a severe and stern air.
Xu Chang'an met eyes with the middle-aged woman, her gaze briefly passing over the Muyu Peak Steward Token on his waist, and her expression softened significantly.
Muyu Peak's Inner Disciple from Three Officials Rock, she remembered him as being very capable and meticulous.
The middle-aged woman looked at Yun Qian beside Xu Chang'an, and asked, "What do you want?"
"Entry into the sect." Xu Chang'an said as he handed over the Jade Talisman given by Zhu Pingniang.
"Miss Zhu?" The middle-aged woman sounded a bit surprised and looked at Yun Qian anew, then reached out to tap the Jade Talisman. A panel appeared on the talisman, and she motioned writing in the air with her finger, a glow trailing the tip, and asked, "Name."
"Yun Qian." Xu Chang'an immediately replied, "Yun as in clouds, Qian as in depth."
The middle-aged woman frowned but still wrote Yun Qian's name, then asked, "How old?"
"Age?" Xu Chang'an and Yun Qian exchanged a glance. Then he replied hesitantly, "Twenty-five... no, twenty-four."
He actually didn't know Yun Qian's true age; every time he asked, she would brush him off.
To be honest, in the seven years on the island, he felt his wife only seemed to grow a year or two older... Xu Chang'an wasn't even sure whether it was because of a change in Yun Qian's aura.
However, age in cultivation is not particularly crucial. Unlike martial arts, it does not demand the earliest start possible, except for certain special techniques.
The middle-aged woman looked at Yun Qian with indifferent eyes, and upon catching Xu Chang'an's gaze said, "You are her Guide?" Her tone was rather unfriendly, "Yun Qian, right? I'm asking her, not you."
Xu Chang'an explained, "She is my wife, newly entered into Chaoyun... still not quite familiar with it here."
His demeanor was openly candid, with no intent to hide anything.
The middle-aged woman was taken aback, examining the handsome Xu Chang'an, her eyebrows pinching together, but finally, her expression softened. She said to Xu Chang'an, "To become an Immortal, one must shed worldly attachments, you should also understand this."
"We from Muyu Peak do not dwell on severing past ties," Xu Chang'an replied.
"Muyu Peak... indeed." The middle-aged woman nodded, saying no more.
She had no demands on the girl's character; Yun Qian's quietness was her own business, and the middle-aged woman wasn't interested in flattery.
Aside from cultivation, in status, she and Xu Chang'an were on equal footing, both being Outer Sect Stewards.
The middle-aged woman added a stroke to the document, saying, "Most of North Garden is still vacant, since she's your wife, I won't arrange a maid to guide her. You can support her yourself with more care."
"Thank you." Xu Chang'an gave a slight bow, then took the Jade Talisman and left with Yun Qian.
"..."
After Xu Chang'an left, the middle-aged woman watched Yun Qian's retreating figure, a trace of amazement in her eyes.
A remarkably beautiful girl.
Truth be told, in Chaoyun Sect, there are all sorts of people, and having Yun Qian's level of beauty wasn't necessarily a good thing. Some who don't follow the rules, to free their minds... might do anything.
Xu Chang'an, an Outer Sect Steward, yet having such a wife, might face quite a bit of trouble.
However, on second thought.
This was someone sent by Zhu Pingniang, everyone would have to show some respect.
When Zhu Pingniang sent Xu Chang'an to Muyu Peak back then, everyone had resisted, but he got through it unharmed, didn't lose any limbs.
Well.
Nonetheless, she would keep an eye on Yun Qian, to nip any trouble in the bud when possible.
That was also her duty.
...
"I've met Steward Qin several times; she's indeed quite a person." Xu Chang'an held Yun Qian's hand as they headed towards North Garden.
Yun Qian didn't join in on the topic; she was thinking about the way Xu Chang'an introduced her.
Yun as in clouds, Qian as in depth.
She preferred what Xu Chang'an said when he first learned to read: "Yun as in Cloud Rain, Qian as in stranding."
She currently did feel stranded, like a boat blown into a shallow riverbed by the wind, unable to sail forward.
"…"
As they approached the residential area, Yun Qian suddenly stopped. Looking at Xu Chang'an's questioning eyes, she asked earnestly, "Once we live here, how often can we meet?"
She still wanted to have a child.