Xin Xiu felt that the flowing white clouds around her might not be ordinary clouds.
In modern times, anyone who has attended middle school knows that clouds and fog are essentially water vapor. From afar, they appear as white masses, but up close, if you try to grab them, you'll only end up with a damp hand. However, Xin Xiu had been walking through these clouds for a while now, stirring the white mist with her hands many times, yet she didn't feel even a hint of moisture on her body.
The circular white jade stones were enormous, one after another, leading to an unknown destination. Xin Xiu, walking at the front, parted the clouds, while the group of children following closely behind her curiously reached out to touch the rolling white clouds around them.
"So this is what clouds in the sky feel like."
"I can't really feel anything. I thought it would be soft like a fluffy blanket."
The chubby Seventh opened his mouth wide, stuck out his tongue to lick the air, and said foolishly, "I can't taste anything."
The Second crouched at the edge, reaching down to scoop at nothing, staring at the clouds in deep thought. "What's below this? Is it water?"
The Fourth young master, who knew him well and understood his personality, heard this and immediately became worried that he might jump down to see for himself. He quickly grabbed his arm and exclaimed, "Don't do anything rash! What if we're really in the sky and you jump down? You'll fall all the way to the bottom! We won't be able to piece you back together if you shatter into pieces!"
Xin Xiu stopped. "There's a fork in the road. Which way should we go?"
In front of them were several branching paths that looked identical.
After some discussion, not knowing which path to take, Xin Xiu simply picked up Little Ninth and placed him in front. "Little Ninth, you choose."
Over the past year, Xin Xiu had discovered that Little Ninth was undoubtedly the luckiest among the nine of them.
Little Ninth looked at his brothers and sisters, his innocent eyes wide open, and randomly pointed to the middle path.
"Alright then, let's take this one." They continued straight ahead, ignoring the other paths at intersections and just keeping to the straight line. After a while, they heard a voice. They instinctively softened their footsteps, feeling tension rising within them.
Xin Xiu caught sight of countless white jade pillars in the distance, their bases hidden in the clouds. The visible parts above the clouds varied in height, and atop each pillar sat a person.
The person sitting on the tallest pillar resembled a Buddha statue in a temple, immensely large with a bright aura surrounding them. In front of him were several slightly shorter jade pillars with smaller figures atop them, and behind were even more pillars with even smaller figures, either sitting or standing, like a cluster of stars surrounding the moon.
Compared to them, Xin Xiu and her companions appeared tiny, like the size difference between a normal person and a small cat.
Xin Xiu crouched in the clouds, secretly observing the scene in the distance, and lightly clapped her hands. Ah, she had been wondering why the white jade pavilion and the white jade path seemed so large. Now it made sense - although they had grown a bit after coming out of that big basin, they still hadn't returned to their normal size!
Moreover, was this scene before them what Sister Gui Xin had referred to as listening to the Senior Uncle's teachings? What a coincidence that they had stumbled upon this place!
The Third tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Sister, look, that's Senior Brother Cai Xing."
Xin Xiu looked in the direction the Third was pointing and indeed saw Senior Brother Cai Xing sitting on one of the lower pillars at the back. He was the senior brother responsible for guiding them and had interacted with them quite a few times.
Thinking about the expression this squinty-eyed senior brother would have when he discovered they were all missing, Xin Xiu couldn't help but feel amused. Her eyes twinkled as she whispered to the others.
After their hushed discussion, they used the cover of the clouds and their small size to their advantage, slowly creeping to the base of Cai Xing's pillar. The pillar wasn't very high. The Second lifted Xin Xiu up, allowing her to reach the edge of the pillar. She grabbed the edge and slowly climbed up.
Cai Xing's face was a picture of seriousness, but the hand behind his back was fiddling with a tortoise shell. Rather than listening to Senior Uncle Han Fangzi's teachings, he was more interested in studying his favored divination techniques. Especially today, he had been feeling uneasy for some unknown reason. His divinations had repeatedly shown that he would encounter some event, but Cai Xing's skills weren't advanced enough to determine the specifics, leaving him to anxiously fiddle with the tortoise shell, constantly calculating.
As he was calculating, he suddenly felt an itch on his hand.
Could it be some kind of insect? No, no, this cloud realm had no other living creatures besides them. How could he feel something touching his hand?
Cai Xing, like a student daydreaming in class, swiftly and skillfully turned his head slightly, his eyes glancing downward.
What he saw was a tiny Xin Xiu standing next to his hand, curiously touching his tortoise shell. Seeing him look her way, she tilted her head up with a bright smile and waved at him. Moreover, at the base of his pillar, the other little ones were still struggling to climb up.
Cai Xing: "?!"
Seeing Senior Brother Cai Xing's face, usually adorned with a smile, now replaced with disbelief and shock, even his squinty eyes wide open, Xin Xiu almost died laughing.
Cai Xing never expected to see these little ones here. How on earth did they get here, and how did they get out? Shocked, he stumbled and fell off the pillar, drawing everyone's attention.
Han Fangzi, who was lecturing at the highest position, was the third disciple of LingZhao Immortal and had already cultivated to become a human immortal. He appeared to be a middle-aged man with a stern and solemn demeanor.
He seemed not to have noticed anything, but his eyebrow had twitched the moment Xin Xiu and the others had poked their heads out from the clouds.
Jing Chengzi was also present, sitting not far below Han Fangzi, looking every bit the immortal sage. Although his back was turned to the disciples behind him, when Cai Xing fell off the pillar in shock, he seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, grinning widely. Only when he caught Senior Brother Han Fangzi's meaningful glance did he stroke his beard, using his white whiskers to hide his smile, pretending to know nothing.
Han Fangzi stopped his lecture and with a raise of his finger, Cai Xing, who had fallen from the cloud realm, was pulled back with a "poof," landing back on his jade pillar.
As for the intruding Xin Xiu and her companions, Han Fangzi crooked his finger, and they floated gently over the jade pillars, past the senior brothers and sisters and the few senior uncles in front, coming to a stop before Han Fangzi.
Before Han Fangzi could speak, Cai Xing from the back rows nervously said, "Senior Uncle Han Fangzi, they are the mortals chosen by the Ancestor this time. They haven't even spent a full year in the World in a Basin. It's my fault for not watching them closely and letting them escape. It's all due to my negligence. I'll take them back right away!"
Jing Chengzi chuckled again, saying, "Why are you so nervous, Cai Xing? Although Senior Brother Han Fangzi is known for his strictness, he's quite lenient with children. Since these kids have already come out, it wouldn't be right to throw them back into the World in a Basin. In my opinion, why not just choose disciples now?"
Han Fangzi's voice was deep: "Junior Brother Jing Chengzi." Although his appearance looked much younger than Jing Chengzi, when he wore such a stern, admonishing expression, it didn't seem out of place at all.
Jing Chengzi knew that in an instant, he had already thoroughly grasped the situation. He lowered his eyelids and said nothing, not looking particularly concerned.
The children, now under the gaze of everyone and faced with the imposing, wrathful-looking senior uncle, felt somewhat uneasy. They unconsciously moved closer to their eldest sister, like a group of trembling chicks seeking shelter under a slightly fluffier chick.
Han Fangzi's stern expression softened slightly. "Since you're here, sit down and listen."
They were so small now that they didn't take up much space, so they sat directly at Han Fangzi's feet. Xin Xiu even felt the jade platform was too cold, so she led her younger brothers and sisters to sit on Han Fangzi's robe hem.
Below, the fellow disciples who seemed to be earnestly listening to the lecture occasionally stole glances at them, their eyes full of amusement.
"Little Xin Xiu is truly extraordinary, daring to sit on Senior Uncle Han Fangzi's robe!"
"This child will surely make waves in the future. Senior Brother admires her!"
Especially Senior Brother Cai Xing, who was like a restless monkey, unable to sit still on his pillar, his face full of worry. Although he could be a bit mischievous, he was genuinely concerned that the little ones might have upset Senior Uncle Han Fangzi with their wandering.
Today seemed to be truly full of misfortunes. Soon after Han Fangzi began speaking again, the surroundings suddenly started shaking violently. Xin Xiu was familiar with this earth-shaking scenario; she had experienced it before. This was nothing but an earthquake, wasn't it? She had been through several earthquakes and wasn't afraid at all.
Han Fangzi stood up and disappeared from the high platform, like a small glowing sun sinking into the sea of clouds below. Xin Xiu craned her neck, trying to see what was happening. Could one really go down there? She wondered what lay beneath.
A gentle female voice reached the children's ears: "Don't panic, this is just the 'earth dragon turning over.'"
Not far away, a goddess-like woman was leaning against a jade pillar, holding a jade vase in her hand. Xin Xiu had noticed her earlier because she was exceptionally beautiful, and the way she held the jade vase reminded Xin Xiu of the Goddess of Mercy from the TV dramas she watched as a child. She couldn't help but glance at the Seventh and Old Eighth beside her, thinking that if this divine woman had a pair of golden boy and jade girl attendants, she would look even more like the Goddess of Mercy.
So she couldn't resist saying, "Senior aunt, are you short of disciples? How about my younger brother and sister? They both have blessed faces and would be quite entertaining to have around." She pulled the confused Seventh and Old Eighth in front of her and asked amidst the shaking earth.
The "Goddess of Mercy" was taken aback for a moment, then smiled kindly. Despite her youthful appearance, her smile was as benevolent as that of an old grandmother.
She said, "Child, aren't you afraid of this earth dragon turning over?"
Xin Xiu replied, "I know, this is an earthquake." Although she hadn't expected earthquakes in a place of immortal cultivation, it wasn't too hard to accept.
The Goddess sister smiled and waved her sleeves a couple of times. The clouds parted slightly, and Xin Xiu suddenly saw flashes of lightning in the cloud layer below. Amidst the purple electric light, a dragon's tail was clearly visible.
Xin Xiu: "...?"
Was that a dragon? There really were dragons? The "earth dragon turning over" they just mentioned wasn't referring to an earthquake, but to an actual dragon turning over below?!
She watched the thick, long dragon body entwined with lightning, occasionally revealing a section of its body between the clouds. The gleaming scales, the opening and closing of dragon claws, the angrily flaring whiskers, all appeared incredibly sharp and fierce. The intermittently visible moving form, even when seen from afar, was captivating in its majesty.
Seeing that even she was stunned, Jing Chengzi, who had run over at some point, said, "That's a wicked dragon that caused a bloody storm years ago. Your ancestral master subdued it and imprisoned it below. But its temperament isn't very good, and it often thrashes about, trying to break the seal. So every now and then, the mountains shake and the earth moves, causing a commotion. Everyone's used to it by now."
This was something Xin Xiu truly hadn't expected. Modern science had indeed limited her imagination.
With Han Fangzi going to handle the situation, the shaking stopped after a while. However, it seemed he was no longer in the mood to continue his lecture. With a sweep of his sleeve, he gathered up the nine children and rode away on a cloud.
Jing Chengzi hurried to catch up, shouting, "Senior brother Han Fangzi, wait a moment! Let me take back the disciples I've chosen, don't take them all away!"
The "Goddess" sister paused for a moment, then got up and followed as well.
As soon as the elders left, the other juniors immediately became lively. They had all visited their junior brothers and sisters in the World in a Basin and had discussed quite a bit in private. Now, seeing this development, they all gathered around Cai Xing to watch the excitement.
"Cai Xing, aren't you going to follow?"
"I wouldn't dare."
"Is Senior Uncle Han Fangzi going to send them back to the World in a Basin?"
Cai Xing rubbed his nose, "I don't think so. Senior Uncle isn't heading towards the Cloud Pavilion. I think he seems to be going towards his own cave dwelling."
"Could it be that Senior Uncle Han Fangzi is going to punish them? Senior Uncle has been in seclusion for so long, and his first lecture upon coming out was interrupted. He must be very angry."
"This is bad." Cai Xing was terrified by his senior brothers' discussion. He turned around to find his master. When disciples encounter problems they can't solve, of course they should find their master to solve them!
Meanwhile, Han Fangzi had swept the children into his sleeve and arrived at a stone cave on a mountaintop. Han Fangzi's cave dwelling was half built inside the mountain and half outside on the mountain wall, with many corridors connecting the pavilions. Vines wrapped around the railings, bearing fruits of various colors.
The children were placed in a pavilion. Han Fangzi beckoned, and a section of vine crawled in through the window, stopping by his hand. He picked a few fruits from it and placed them in front of Xin Xiu and the others, solemnly saying, "Eat."
Xin Xiu picked one up and ate it immediately.
"Ah!" "Ouch!"
The children who suddenly grew larger after eating the fruit were squeezed together. They had returned to their normal size, and were full of energy, with sharp hearing and clear vision, feeling better than ever before.
Han Fangzi frowned, "The reason new disciples need to stay in the World in a Basin for a year is not a test. You are of mortal birth, and may not be able to adapt to the spiritual energy of Shuling Mountain when you first arrive in the immortal realm. That's why you need to stay in the World in a Basin for a year to adapt. Sneaking out early is far too reckless."
Seeing him so serious, Xin Xiu felt a sense of familiarity. Her father often wore this expression when scolding her, so she almost reflexively put on an obedient expression, saying, "I know I was wrong, it won't happen again!"
Han Fangzi had never experienced the quality education of actively admitting mistakes without true repentance from mischievous children. Deceived by her active attitude of admitting fault, he nodded with some satisfaction, "Since you know you were wrong, that's good. Wait here for your respective masters to come and take you away."
The Third, seeing that the eldest wasn't afraid at all, also became unafraid and asked, "We... already have masters?"
Han Fangzi said seriously, "If no master comes to claim you, then stay here and help me clean my cave dwelling."
