Xin Xiu changed into the new clothes made by Senior Sister Jin Se and immediately felt lighter all over. Although her previous long dress was beautiful, it was too cumbersome. Wearing pants was more convenient for everyday life. The soft trousers reached just above her ankles, and the top was a long-sleeved, round-necked shirt with a fitted waist. The style was simple, and paired with a pair of cloth shoes, she felt even more stylish riding her motorbike.
Based on the clothing designs Xin Xiu had provided, Senior Sister Jin Se had made some small modifications and decorations, ensuring that these clothes wouldn't look too different from most current attire.
Though simple in style, the clothes were vibrant in color, looking full of life and very characteristic of Shuling Mountain. With its mild climate and biodiversity, Shuling Mountain boasted a variety of flowers in the mountains, with astonishingly long blooming periods. Xin Xiu, being quite the aesthete, would change the flowers decorating her room daily, while Senior Sister Jin Se used various flowers and plants to dye fabrics and threads, producing these exquisite works of art.
Xin Xiu couldn't stay put on the quiet Secluded Bamboo Mountain. After completing her daily tasks, she would wander about, thus getting to know many senior brothers and sisters.
Even senior brothers and sisters she had never met before would come out to chat with her friendlily when she visited their territories, as long as they weren't in closed cultivation. Some would even invite her for a bite to eat, or to drink tea and chat. Through this, Xin Xiu got to know many interesting people.
Near Senior Sister Jin Se's mulberry garden, there was a flower bed where Senior Sister Miao Gu lived. Senior Sister Miao Gu and Senior Sister Jin Se had the same master, and both had a passion for beautiful things. Those colorful fabrics of Senior Sister Jin Se's were actually developed together with Senior Sister Miao Gu. This Senior Sister Miao Gu was quite something – she was essentially a beauty guru of the immortal cultivation world.
When Xin Xiu visited Senior Sister Miao Gu's flower bed, she discovered that Miao Gu had cultivated over a hundred different types of flowers and trees. Even for common azaleas, she had cultivated twenty-two different colors.
"Senior Sister, you're amazing!" Xin Xiu praised generously.
Any random senior brother or sister in Shuling Mountain was an extraordinary person. After all, when they liked something, they could dedicate decades to researching it. Even if they weren't masters in the path of immortal cultivation, they were all masters in their respective fields of interest.
What Xin Xiu loved most was that they all had their own pursuits and could enjoy the happiness within them, rather than being uniformly busy with leveling up. Being with such a group of people made her feel that even ordinary days were interesting.
"The color of this purple azalea is too intense; I don't like it that much. Speaking of purple azaleas, the most beautiful one is still the purple azalea tree on Elder Master Shentu's Secluded Bamboo Mountain. That's no ordinary azalea. Years ago, the founding ancestor achieved true immortality under that purple azalea tree. Because it was struck by purple lightning, the originally white azalea turned purple, and having been nourished by the founding ancestor's spiritual energy, it bloomed fully overnight and never withered again." Senior Sister Miao Gu, true to her love for flowers, spoke endlessly about them.
Hearing the longing in her voice, Xin Xiu thought about how she often plucked flowers from that purple azalea tree and couldn't help feeling a bit guilty.
The next time she came to play around the flower bed, she specially brought a few branches of purple azalea as a gift. Senior Sister Miao Gu accepted them with delight and ruffled her hair, asking, "You picked these so casually, won't Elder Master Shentu be angry with you?"
Xin Xiu replied, "He won't. Master never gets angry; he has a very good temper. Senior Sister, don't be fooled by appearances."
In fact, not just Senior Sister Miao Gu, many senior brothers and sisters were quite fearful of her master. Some were both respectful and afraid. Xin Xiu thought this problem was mainly because her master was too reclusive, and people didn't interact with him much, so naturally, they feared him.
Hearing her words, Senior Sister Miao Gu shook her head empathetically, looking as if there was some inside story. "You're still young, you don't understand. You think Elder Master has a good temper because he likes you and values you, but people are different."
Xin Xiu understood this principle; after all, she wasn't really a child. But from what she had seen, her master wasn't a terribly wicked person. From his considerate attitude towards Little Nine, a small child, when they first met, it was evident that such a master shouldn't be someone people would avoid at all costs.
The two chatted casually as they walked to Senior Sister Miao Gu's workshop.
Here, Xin Xiu saw all kinds of crafts – vividly preserved fresh flowers, perfumes with various fragrances, scented balls made from various fragrant flowers, and flower-based creams for applying to the body.
"Look, this rouge, after applying it, makes one's complexion look very good. Many senior sisters like it." Senior Sister Miao Gu casually applied some on her face.
Xin Xiu looked at everything, thinking, isn't this just a beauty guru's makeup room?
"Senior Sister, what's that over there?" she asked.
"Oh, those are dyes. You know Jin Se often asks me to help prepare dyes."
Xin Xiu: "Plant-based dyes, right? Can they dye hair?"
"Dye hair?" Senior Sister Miao Gu was taken aback. She had never thought of dyeing hair like fabric before.
Xin Xiu had just mentioned it casually, but the more she thought about it, the more feasible it seemed: "Yes, dyeing hair. Wouldn't Senior Sister Miao Gu find it interesting if we could dye hair in various colors? We all have black hair, is there any way to dye it silver-white like my master's, or other colors like red or yellow?"
"We can give it a try." Senior Sister Miao Gu was incredibly proactive and immediately began experimenting.
Xin Xiu became the first user of the immortal cultivation version of hair dye. When she returned with a head of silver-white hair matching her master's, a senior brother she met on the way examined her for a long time before hesitantly approaching to ask, "Junior Sister, your hair... Did you perhaps encounter a cultivation mishap? Do you need your Senior Brother to take you to see Master Yansha?"
Xin Xiu: "...No, Senior Brother, I'm fine. I'm perfectly alright."
When she encountered The Fifth, who was on his way to deliver some snacks to Uncle Master Jingchengzi, he was shocked and almost dropped his basket, urgently asking her, "Big Sis! What happened to you?! I saw you just fine a couple of days ago, how did you suddenly turn white-haired overnight? Are you injured? Are you feeling alright?!"
Xin Xiu: "...The Fifth, calm down. I'm really fine."
Finally back at Secluded Bamboo Mountain, before she could even call for her master, he appeared on his own. He showed a puzzled and slightly shocked expression, came forward to take her hand, checked if there was anything wrong with her body, and inquired, "What did you encounter when you went out today? How did all your hair turn white?"
Xin Xiu explained for the third time that nothing had happened to her; she had just dyed her hair.
Her master's expression relaxed, and Xin Xiu thought he was going to explode in anger like her own father had done before, after all, older people usually can't accept such "trendy" things. However, he didn't get angry, just became more confused and asked her, "Why would you dye your hair white when it was fine as it was? White hair is considered strange by everyone. Going out like this, you're bound to encounter trouble."
Xin Xiu smiled, pulled his hair next to hers for comparison, and casually said, "What's wrong with white hair? Look, now we have matching hair, master and disciple!"
Shentu Yu was shaken and showed a moved expression. He thought, how filial his disciple was! She didn't know that he had white hair because he was of the demon race, yet she dyed her hair white just to be like him!
Shentu Yu: "My disciple, you don't need to do this. You look better in your original appearance."
Xin Xiu: I see, Master can't really accept other colors either.
Xin Xiu had long passed her rebellious phase. She was just playing around and certainly didn't intend to frequently change her hair color in the future. So she agreed with a smile, "Alright, I'll listen to Master. I won't dye my hair anymore."
And so, today was another day of harmonious master-disciple relations.
The effectiveness of the hair dye was a bit beyond Xin Xiu's imagination. After more than half a month, the color still hadn't faded, but those who often saw her had gotten used to her white hair and gradually began to appreciate its cool factor. The Second, always one to follow trends, went and dyed his hair purple.
Xin Xiu thought: When you grow up and become a big shot in the future, you'll definitely regret this phase.
The Second's master, Senior Uncle Bo Luan, was even more outrageous. He dyed his hair a striking red fading into purple and paraded around with his two disciples, all of them flamboyantly eye-catching. Ever since they dyed their hair, every time Xin Xiu saw them appear, she couldn't help but hear the BGM of "Chaotic World Superstar" playing in her head.
Even when she encountered Senior Brother Cai Xing, she noticed a streak of low-key rebellious blue highlights at the back of his head.
In the midst of these peaceful days, something not so peaceful occurred.
Someone came to challenge Shentu Yu, wanting to compete with him in the art of artifact forging.
Xin Xiu returned to Secluded Bamboo Mountain to find a robust old man and a young man who clearly had years of blacksmithing experience standing at the foot of the mountain, blocked by an invisible barrier. Unable to enter Secluded Bamboo Mountain, the old man stood there shouting towards the front: "I've come here several times to challenge you, but you always avoid me. You don't deserve to be called the top artificer!"
"I've made breakthroughs recently and I'm confident I can beat you now. Master Shentu, are you afraid to face me in battle?"
The old man shouted loudly, but Secluded Bamboo Mountain remained silent, with no one giving him even the slightest response. Xin Xiu stopped on a nearby treetop and listened for a while, understanding that this old man was not from Shuling Mountain, but an outsider cultivator who also practiced artifact forging. For years, he had been overshadowed by her master, which left him very unhappy.
As luck would have it, he had recently made some breakthroughs, so he eagerly came to compare skills with her master. But her master ignored him and wouldn't let him enter, so now he refused to leave, standing there prepared to use provocation to draw someone out. She wondered if she should tell this old man that her master was probably working in the furnace at this time and couldn't hear anything from out here.
Sitting in her vehicle, Xin Xiu sighed. After staying in Shuling Mountain for so long, she had thought the cultivation world was truly free of competition and comparison. She should have known better - wherever there are people, there will be conflicts.
The old man had been talking for a while, panting and catching his breath. Suddenly, he changed his tone: "Since Master Shentu doesn't want to compete with me, fine. I hear Master Shentu has taken on a disciple. I've brought my disciple this time as well. This boy is the youngest of the Tufeng Clan. Let's have these two youngsters compete instead!"
It seemed he was determined to have a competition before he would leave.
Suddenly being brought into the conversation, Xin Xiu rode her motorcycle over and asked loudly, "Excuse me, respected elder, may I ask how old your disciple is?"
Both master and disciple were stunned by her appearance. Xin Xiu thought they must have been struck by her white hair. The young man, looking quite simple and honest, hesitated before answering, "Not yet a hundred years old, I'm eighty-one this year."
Xin Xiu clapped her hands together, "What a coincidence, I'm not even eighteen yet this year."
The old man didn't believe her: "With that head of white hair, you're not even eighteen? How is that possible?"
Xin Xiu thought: What's so impossible about that? Are young people not allowed to have white hair?
Well, in the cultivation world, there probably weren't people like her who dyed their hair white for fun. Here, white hair was either naturally impressive or artificially impressive. In any case, white hair generally looked impressive, like her master's.
Xin Xiu said, "My hair is dyed with a kind of plant juice. I really am not yet eighteen. Elder, do you really want this senior brother who could be my grandfather to compete with me?"
The old man, Tu Fenglao, the most skilled artificer of the Tufeng Clan, flushed red at her jibe, but still insisted on his opinion. He said gruffly, "Since you're Master Shentu's disciple, you must have extraordinary qualities. If your master won't compete, what's wrong with you competing? We've come from afar, is this how you treat guests?"
It seemed he wanted her to accept the challenge on behalf of her master, or perhaps he was trying to force her master to come out by putting her in a difficult position.
Xin Xiu asked, "Is a competition absolutely necessary?"
Tu Fenglao replied, "Absolutely necessary!"
Xin Xiu didn't get angry. She smiled and said, "If the elder insists on a competition, that's fine. However, I'm still young and haven't started learning artifact forging yet. I can't compete with you in artifact forging, unless we compete in something else."
Tu Fenglao asked, "What do you propose we compete in?"
Xin Xiu said, "Artifact forgers usually have gold and fire spiritual roots. I see this senior brother probably has them too. So why don't we compete in culinary skills?"
She added another lie, "Although this isn't what I'm best at, as the host, it wouldn't be right to take too much advantage of our guests. So let's settle on culinary skills."
Tu Fenglao looked at his disciple, then at her, and agreed without hesitation, "Fine, let's compete. If you lose, you'll let us enter Secluded Bamboo Mountain."
Xin Xiu said, "If I happen to win by luck, then the elder should stop disturbing my master. After all, my master is very busy."
Tu Fenglao was greatly irritated by her tone and said firmly, "If we lose, we'll leave immediately!" If his disciple, who was over eighty years old, couldn't beat this teenager, what face would he have to stay here any longer?
Tu Fenglao had originally imagined that they would immediately find a place to start a fire and cook, then quickly judge the results. With only the three of them present, he would naturally be the sole judge.
But he hadn't anticipated that this young girl would lead them to an open area in front of a thatched cottage, then call for friends. In a moment, dozens of people arrived one after another.
The master and disciple of the Tufeng Clan, suddenly surrounded by Shuling Mountain disciples, were left speechless.
"Big sis, I came as soon as I received your message about a gathering. My master said he wanted to eat too, so I brought him along," The Second had just arrived and only said one sentence before noticing two strangers staring at him. He asked curiously, "Who are they? Why do they keep staring at me?"
"They're looking at your non-mainstream hair color," Xin Xiu casually explained. "They're guests who came to visit. They complained about our lack of hospitality, so we're preparing a gathering to entertain them."
Meanwhile, Tu Fenglao couldn't hold back anymore and asked, "When will the competition begin?"
Xin Xiu replied, "Soon, soon. We're preparing the ingredients. If the elder isn't hungry, please wait a bit longer."
Tu Fenglao thought: What does this have to do with being hungry or not?
Xin Xiu then grabbed The Second as a helper: "Go make a banner. Have The Sixth write 'Shuling Mountain's First Culinary Competition' on it and hang it between those two trees over there."
The Second scratched his head: "Culinary Competition?"
Xin Xiu said, "Of course. We can't have me be the only cook every time we gather. This time, everyone who knows how to cook will participate. If each person makes a few dishes, it should be enough for everyone to eat."
