Previously, the various senior and elder masters had ridden celestial cranes or stepped on auspicious clouds, all in the traditional style of immortal cultivation. But her master, with his villainous face, black eyeliner, and black nail polish, was clearly on an unorthodox path, even choosing an unconventional mode of transportation.
She was swept up by her master, fluttering like a wind-blown plastic bag, out of Elder Master Han Fangzi's cave dwelling, and landed on a bamboo sedan chair. It was the kind you might see in Sichuan for tourists climbing mountains, made by local ethnic minorities to carry visitors. But this bamboo chair could ascend to the sky and fly, making it no ordinary sedan chair.
The bearers of the flying chair were monkeys. Looking at their golden fur, Xin Xiu suddenly realized, holy crap, these are golden snub-nosed monkeys! There were nationally protected first-class animals carrying my sedan chair, eight of them no less.
... Is this the legendary eight-bearer grand sedan chair?
Xin Xiu felt something was off, but the golden snub-nosed monkeys were in front, their golden fur swaying in the clouds, particularly dazzling in the sunlight. Her attention was drawn to their fur, and she couldn't control her hand, reaching out to stroke the monkey closest to her.
The monkey she touched turned its head and gave her a very displeased look.
Xin Xiu thought: I don't know if it's my imagination, but I feel like its expression was a bit fierce, as if warning me not to touch it again.
She had never been one to obey in this life, so she immediately called out to her master in the bamboo chair ahead, "Master! Can I pet these monkeys?"
Her master, with white hair and a white cape, but insisting on wearing a black fur collar around his neck, looked distinctly black and white, his silhouette resembling a giant panda, just missing two black ears.
Xin Xiu suddenly thought of a meme - panda taking off headphones.jpg
"Pfft~" As she was chuckling, she heard her master say a single word without turning his head: "Yes."
Xin Xiu boldly reached out to continue petting the golden snub-nosed monkey. The monkey seemed to have a bit of a temper, still reluctant, secretly glaring at her. While petting it, Xin Xiu tattled, "Master, it doesn't seem to want me to pet it. It's glaring at me!"
Shentu Yu in front turned his head and gave the sedan-bearing golden snub-nosed monkeys a look. That monkey immediately wilted, allowing Xin Xiu to pet it however she liked without reaction. Xin Xiu was just testing her master's response, and seeing that he seemed quite tolerant of her, she stopped teasing this monkey and moved to pet another.
After all, there were eight of them, so petting any one was the same. It was just a pity that although the golden snub-nosed monkeys' fur looked beautiful, it wasn't very thick, so petting them didn't give that satisfying feeling of being enveloped in fluff.
However, being able to pet golden snub-nosed monkeys after following this master, she was already starting to feel it was worth it. What's eyeliner and nail polish compared to this? She had gone through a heavy metal death rock phase back in the day, that dark gothic girl style that almost gave her dad high blood pressure. Even as she grew older, she hadn't completely settled down, so seeing her master's appearance actually gave her a sense of familiarity.
The two bamboo sedan chairs, one in front and one behind, passed through a sea of clouds. Xin Xiu's hands were petting the monkey while her eyes looked to the left.
To her immediate left, the cloud layer and sky were clearly demarcated. That thick layer of clouds above the surrounding mountains was like a lid. The mountains below were shaped like a blooming lotus, layered one after another. The outermost mountain range undulated and connected, like a bucket enclosing the inner mountains, with the heavy cloud layer above covering the exit.
Xin Xiu had never seen such a unique landscape before. When Elder Master Han Fangzi had taken them away earlier, they were in his sleeve and couldn't see anything. Now, seeing this scene, she couldn't help but guess that above that cloud layer was where they had been earlier in the clouds.
In other words, the earth dragon was beneath that cloud layer, among the heavy mountains?
The bamboo chair moved further and further away from those clouds and mountains, carrying them in another direction. Xin Xiu pulled back her head and continued to look at the surrounding scenery.
The mountains here weren't as peculiarly shaped as before, appearing quite normal.
The sky was azure blue, without thick cloud layers, but ethereal mists encircled the trees among the mountains. There were still clouds on distant peaks, like waterfalls cascading down from a mountaintop.
The flowing cloud vapors rolled like ocean waves over the treetops in the mountains, then quietly sank into the groves.
Xin Xiu was uncharacteristically quiet, gazing intently at the rolling clouds for quite a while. This place truly didn't seem like the mortal world, but more like a realm of immortals.
They entered a lush green mountain forest. Amidst the verdant mountains, there was a very eye-catching patch of purple.
In the midst of the mountain's lush greenery, a tree of purple rhododendrons.
The sedan chair landed near that purple rhododendron tree. Xin Xiu jumped down from the chair and saw those golden snub-nosed monkeys disappear into the grove with the chairs in two or three bounds, especially the two she had petted, which ran as if escaping for their lives.
Xin Xiu looked at her hand in confusion, thinking: Is my fur-petting technique really that bad? I used to be shunned for petting other people's cats and dogs on the street, and now even monkeys dislike it.
When viewed from the sky, the purple rhododendron tree had seemed small, but now standing nearby, Xin Xiu realized it was actually a very large rhododendron that had grown into a big tree. The trunk was as thick as a washbasin, and the flowers bloomed densely in its crown.
Xin Xiu called out to her master in front, "Master, can I pick these flowers?"
Her cool master, like an emotionless repeating machine, told her: "Yes."
Xin Xiu jumped up to grab a branch, nimbly breaking off a large branch of flowers. She hugged it to her chest and caught up with her slow-walking master in front. Being considerate of his social anxiety, she kept a distance of three steps between them as they both walked at an old man's strolling pace into the bamboo path.
Mist drifted among the treetops here, the air was quite humid and a bit cold, colder than the World in a Basin. Xin Xiu finally understood why her master wore a furry cape. Living in a place like this, without some protective measures, one could easily develop rheumatoid arthritis.
Seeing her master move so slowly, could it be that he was actually troubled by this ailment?
No, no, no, he's an immortal cultivator after all, he shouldn't be defeated by such a minor illness. Master probably just likes to walk slowly because of his advanced age. You can't judge immortal cultivators by their appearance. Since so many people call him senior brother, he must be very old, just not sure exactly how old.
Most of this mountainous area was covered in bamboo, especially in the nearby mountain valleys and depressions where bamboo was particularly abundant. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that the residential buildings were constructed of bamboo.
However, this was the first time she had seen a six-story building made of bamboo. Could bamboo really support such a tall structure?
Of course it could, because this was a world of immortal cultivation where anything was possible. Xin Xiu answered her own question, then casually made small talk: "Master, there's so much bamboo here. Do you like bamboo?"
Shentu Yu: "Yes."
Oh? Xin Xiu looked at her master. Such a straightforward admission of liking something? It seems he really does like it a lot. Liking bamboo, such a refined hobby, it doesn't quite match his ultra-thick eyeliner.
Usually, Xin Xiu wasn't much of a chatterbox, but if she didn't speak up, her master wouldn't say anything either, making this place feel too quiet. She was used to the noisy chatter of several children in the World in a Basin, and the sudden silence felt a bit uncomfortable.
Not good, she was a perfectly fine young woman, she couldn't get used to feeling like a mother. Although right now she did have a bit of that relaxed feeling of a parent who had just sent all their children off to kindergarten.
"Master, is it just the two of us here?" Xin Xiu asked.
Shentu Yu: "Yes, you are my only disciple."
Xin Xiu: "Master, where will I stay?" She stepped onto the third bamboo step, casually pulling open a half-open door to peek inside.
"Here, you may choose as you like. I'll go and be right back." Shentu Yu seemed to have specifically brought her here in person. After saying this, he disappeared on the spot.
Xin Xiu didn't know where her master was going. Seeing that he was gone, she smiled at the air and said, "If you're letting me choose freely, then I won't hold back!"
With that, she excitedly rushed into the bamboo building with her rhododendron flowers, running up the stairs to the highest floor in one go. Sure enough, there was also a room on this floor. She looked around, found it satisfactory, and brazenly claimed the only room there. She put the rhododendron flowers in a vase, then ran to all four sides to look at the view.
The top floor indeed had a panoramic view. One side could see the crown of the large rhododendron tree they had passed earlier, another side overlooked the undulating bamboo tops, one side could see the courtyard below, and the last side had a view of a distant waterfall among the mountains.
Xin Xiu caught a golden flash by the spring - it was a golden snub-nosed monkey, possibly one of the ones she had seen earlier. Birds occasionally took flight from the tree canopy, their melodious chirping echoing from indiscernible locations.
Xin Xiu explored the top floor thoroughly before making her way down, level by level.
Since her master hadn't mentioned any restrictions and told her to feel free, she opened every room to take a look, closely examining anything that piqued her interest. As she observed, she realized that although the bamboo building seemed ordinary, the rooms on all four floors were filled with various objects of unknown purpose. Weapons like swords and knives were understandable, as were musical instruments like zithers and flutes, but there were also many small boats, ribbons, plates, and other miscellaneous trinkets.
"What's this, Calabash Brothers?" Xin Xiu picked up a string of small gourds placed on a cabinet, then looked at the bamboo baskets, miniature houses, and tiny horse-drawn carriages nearby.
Her small head was filled with big questions.
Could this be... her master's collection? Or perhaps models he had made?
Xin Xiu thought: These must be figurines.
Her master was truly an enigmatic man. Although he wore eyeliner, painted his nails black, and dyed his hair, he was also socially anxious, a homebody, and made figurines - what a peculiar combination.
On the bottom floor, there was the largest room, which was spacious with a uniquely shaped stove in the center. Its purpose was unclear.
Meanwhile, the mysterious master Shentu Yu was visiting his junior fellow disciples.
Bai Fei, who had just settled her new disciple in her cave dwelling, sensed someone behind her. Recognizing the aura, she turned and bowed, saying, "Elder Brother Shentu, you really don't need to appear suddenly behind me next time."
Shentu Yu nodded slightly.
Bai Fei then asked, "What brings Elder Brother here?" This senior brother had barely visited her twice before, so his sudden proactive visit was quite surprising.
Shentu Yu raised his hand, and a white, luminous pearl flew out from his sleeve, landing in front of Bai Fei. She caught the pearl and was startled, "A Dao Transmission Pearl? Elder Brother Shentu, what is this for?"
Shentu Yu replied, "I am not human and don't know how to teach a disciple. When you instruct your new disciple, record it with this Dao Transmission Pearl, and I'll show it to my disciple."
Even Bai Fei was at a loss for words upon hearing this. She had never heard of using a Dao Transmission Pearl to teach disciples.
Typically, Dao Transmission Pearls were used to record one's lifetime of Dao techniques and insights, serving as a means to pass on one's personal cultivation. They would dissipate after one use and were difficult to craft, making them rare and valuable items. Using one to record basic immortal cultivation lessons for a young disciple seemed incredibly extravagant.
If it were anyone else, Bai Fei might have said more, but faced with this eccentric senior brother who was exceptionally skilled in artifact refining, she could only sigh and agree. After all, the Dao Transmission Pearls that were rare for others were something Shentu Yu could craft himself. If he was willing to use them this way, there wasn't much to say.
After leaving Bai Fei's cave dwelling, Shentu Yu visited several other junior fellow disciples, leaving Dao Transmission Pearls in the same manner, asking them to record their teachings for their disciples. Additionally, he sought out other fellow disciples with gold and fire spiritual roots, leaving them Dao Transmission Pearls and requesting them to lecture into the pearls.
The fellow disciples who were suddenly visited and entrusted with this task were left speechless.
Having completed his visitation task, Shentu Yu returned to his Secluded Bamboo Mountain, intending to rest. He had met too many people and spoken too much in one day, which was exhausting. It had been years since he had talked to people, and he had almost forgotten how to speak like a human.
However, upon entering his room, he found his disciple sprawled on the bed.
Human children all looked similar, but he remembered his own disciple's aura - the very lively one. His disciple was asleep, probably tired from all the talking she had done.
This was his room, but he had forgotten that there was only one bedroom in the building. Now that his little disciple had occupied it, he didn't mind letting her have it. He could rest elsewhere.
He quietly left and walked into the forest. By a spring in the bamboo grove stood an old tree, his favorite resting spot. Shentu Yu sat on one of the tree's branches, relaxing against the trunk.
The next moment, his form suddenly expanded, becoming large and round. The person on the branch disappeared, replaced by a fluffy giant panda.
The giant panda resting on the branch had snow-white and ink-black fur with clear boundaries. Its round, chubby paws rested on the branch, and its rotund body gently rose and fell with each breath.
