It has been over two years since the first case of Immortal Alliance disciples being drained of their spiritual energy occurred.
The Immortal Alliance, responsible for maintaining order in the mortal realm, took charge of the matter and began investigating after receiving the news. However, the situation was highly peculiar.
The victims had only lost their spiritual energy, with no physical injuries. Neither interrogations nor the use of spiritual tools to extract memories revealed any suspicious individuals involved. It was as if the disciples had simply gone to sleep and woken up the next day without their spiritual energy.
The perpetrator left no trace or clue, and since most of the victims were from minor sects, the investigation hit a dead end. After a prolonged period of fruitless searching, the matter was shelved.
Over the past six months, the number of affected disciples has increased, occasionally involving some well-known sects. Additionally, the Immortal Alliance has been subtly ostracized by various sects in the mortal realm. As a result, many have used this situation as an excuse to repeatedly demand answers from the Alliance.
Song Xiaohe was an inner disciple, so even if people came to cause trouble, it was the outer disciples who dealt with them, and it never reached her.
But she always went to watch the commotion, sneaking over to see what was happening.
On particularly fortunate occasions, she would catch a glimpse of Shen Xishan making an appearance.
Just seeing him from afar was enough to fill her heart with satisfaction.
After the commotion died down, Shen Xishan and his companions from prestigious families would return to the main peak of the Immortal Alliance, while Song Xiaohe would drag her master to the Hall of Healing Immortals to treat her tooth, and then return to Canghai Peak.
Life on Canghai Peak was always peaceful and slow. Most of the time, Song Xiaohe was alone on the back mountain, practicing tedious spells under a giant cherry blossom tree.
Sometimes, when she got bored, she would pull out a wooden sword and practice the sword techniques her master had taught her.
The wooden sword was made by Liang Tan himself. When she was young, she had clamored to learn swordsmanship, but ordinary swords were too sharp, and Song Xiaohe kept injuring herself. So Liang Tan made her a wooden sword.
She had been practicing the same few sword techniques for seven or eight years but had never mastered them. Swordplay just wasn’t her forte.
Her spellcasting wasn’t much better either. Every month, she barely scraped by in her assessments, often exhausting herself in the process.
After completing her assessment, Song Xiaohe would lie on a large rock, swinging her legs and munching on the chicken leg her master had rewarded her with, thinking to herself, "I was born to enjoy good food."
Five days after the elders' meeting, while fetching water at the front mountain, Song Xiaohe received some news.
Shen Xishan had left the Immortal Alliance.
He was accompanied by two Heaven-Rank Hunters, eight First-Rank Hunters, and several other disciples.
The involvement of three Heaven-Rank Hunters indicated that their mission was extremely perilous.
Song Xiaohe was so anxious that she abandoned her task of fetching water and rushed to find her master to ask about the situation.
"Why are you so panicked?" Liang Tan opened the window, letting the sweet scent of incense drift out of the study. Stroking his beard, he gazed out the window with a calculating expression. "Shen Xishan comes from a prominent family in Jiangnan and is a once-in-a-millennium prodigy. The Immortal Alliance would never truly put him in danger. This is likely just for show."
"For show?" Song Xiaohe pressed. "What kind of show?"
Song Xiaohe seemed to lack the kind of quick wit that allowed others to grasp things instantly. She often struggled to understand vague explanations.
Liang Tan was used to this and explained in detail, "Recently, disciples from various sects have been repeatedly targeted, and more sects are using this as an excuse to challenge the Immortal Alliance. Even if the Alliance can't find the root cause, they still need to go through the motions to appease the sects. Shen Xishan is just going out for a short while to make it look like they're taking action. He'll be back soon."
"Really?" Song Xiaohe asked.
"Of course," Liang Tan assured her confidently.
Song Xiaohe breathed a sigh of relief and squeezed next to the window, following her master's gaze. "Master, what are you looking at?"
Liang Tan replied, "Your mind seems to be deteriorating. I'm checking to see if you knocked your brain out while playing around and forgot to pick it back up."
Song Xiaohe laughed, "Then I'll go look for it too!"
With that, she ran off to the inner courtyard to play.
The cherry blossoms were always in bloom, and no matter the season, Song Xiaohe could swing on the swing under the blossoming tree.
On the first day of Shen Xishan's mission, Song Xiaohe buried a protective talisman in the soil beneath the tree. She clasped her hands together under the falling petals and silently wished for Shen Xishan's safe return.
At sunrise, Song Xiaohe practiced her spells under the tree. At sunset, she swung on the swing, imagining where Shen Xishan might be, who he might meet, and what might be happening.
Shen Xishan was the Immortal Alliance's beloved prodigy. Although Song Xiaohe was also an inner disciple, she could only officially meet him once a year during the Alliance's grand ceremony.
He would wear the snow-white robe with golden patterns reserved for Heaven-Rank disciples, standing at the forefront of all the disciples.
Meanwhile, Song Xiaohe wore the standard inner disciple robe, standing at the very end, barely able to see Shen Xishan's distant silhouette.
He was always surrounded by many people, as if those richly dressed youths from noble families were the only ones who belonged in his world.
Others didn't even have the right to approach him.
But it didn't matter. Song Xiaohe secretly called Shen Xishan "Little Junior Brother" in places no one else could hear.
It made her feel as though she had a hidden connection with him that no one else knew about.
During the more than half a month that Shen Xishan was away on his mission, Song Xiaohe often found herself distracted, constantly wondering when her Little Junior Brother would return.
The consequence of her distraction was that, as the end-of-month assessment approached, her spellcasting was still not up to par, forcing her to stay up late to practice.
But after a long, exhausting night, the Immortal Alliance was turned upside down.
News of Shen Xishan's death spread through the Alliance at an astonishing speed, sending shockwaves through the community.
Shen Xishan, the sole heir of a prominent Jiangnan family, had been taken into the Immortal Alliance at the age of three and became the personal disciple of the Alliance's leader.
At just seventeen, his mastery of swordsmanship surpassed that of century-old sword cultivators. He was hailed as a genius by countless disciples and revered as the "Young Sword Immortal."
He was on the brink of ascension.
But now, a single mission had taken him away forever.
The rising star of the Immortal Alliance had quietly fallen.
No one could believe it, and Song Xiaohe was no exception.
With dark circles under her eyes from staying up all night, she tearfully went to her master to ask what had happened.
Liang Tan remained silent for a long time before letting out a deep sigh. Though he tried to hide his sorrow, Song Xiaohe could see it in his expression.
She cried, "Master, didn't you say Little Junior Brother was the Immortal Alliance's treasure? That the mission was just for show and he wouldn't be in danger?"
Liang Tan had anticipated her question. Early that morning, he had been busy gathering information but had only confirmed one thing: "They encountered some unforeseen accident during their mission. No one survived. In the Hall of Souls, Shen Xishan's life lamp has gone out. There's no chance he's alive."
The Hall of Souls held thousands of lamps, each lit with the blood of a disciple before they embarked on a mission. If the person died, the lamp would extinguish.
Song Xiaohe still couldn't believe it. She shook her head, her lips trembling. "No, that can't be. Little Junior Brother was so strong. How could he just die like that?"
Liang Tan often called her a foolish disciple, but he had no children of his own and had raised her since she was young. Seeing her so heartbroken, he couldn't help but feel for her.
He patted Song Xiaohe's head and said gently, "Xiaohe, the Immortal Alliance has only one purpose since its founding: to maintain order in the mortal realm. Although it holds an absolute position in the mortal world, the blood and sacrifices behind it far exceed what you can see. The Hunt Division is the most dangerous branch of the Alliance. Every mission they undertake carries the risk of death. This is just the way things are in the Immortal Alliance."
Liang Tan had never relented in his opposition to Song Xiaohe joining the Hunt Division because the work of a hunter was far too perilous.
"But Little Junior Brother was different," Song Xiaohe insisted. "Everyone said he would break through the celestial gates and ascend to immortality."
"Before ascending, all mortals must die. Over the millennia, how many so-called geniuses have met the same fate? They've all been buried in the annals of history, reduced to nameless dust," Liang Tan said as he wiped away Song Xiaohe's tears. "You and I will be no different."
A wrinkled hand gently patted Song Xiaohe's head, comforting her, "Those around you will gradually leave, and over time, you'll get used to it."
At just sixteen years old, Song Xiaohe couldn't grasp such profound truths, nor could she come to terms with Shen Xishan's sudden death.
She wiped away her tears and ran out of Canghai Peak, spending two days making her way around the Immortal Alliance to gather information.
Where had Shen Xishan gone? What mission had he been on? What dangers had he faced? And where were his remains?
To her dismay, none of these questions had answers. All that was known was that his soul lamp had extinguished, and all those who had gone out with him had lost contact. The Immortal Alliance had concluded that Shen Xishan and his companions were all dead.
Some peaks had even hung white banners, beginning to mourn Shen Xishan.
When Song Xiaohe saw this, she was furious. She secretly tore down the white banners, shredded them, and threw them into the river.
She was adamant that her junior brother was not dead.
Over the next few days, Song Xiaohe's eyes became swollen from crying, and her cultivation practice suffered. Unsurprisingly, she failed her monthly assessment.
The supervisors of the Immortal Alliance were notoriously strict, and since this was already the fourth time Song Xiaohe had failed her monthly assessment that year, she was punished by being sent to the outer sect for a month. She wouldn't be allowed to return until she passed her next assessment.
Already drowning in grief over Shen Xishan's death, being sent to the outer sect felt like adding insult to injury.
When she packed her small bag and bid farewell to her master, Liang Tan, her eyes were so swollen they looked like large walnuts, with only a slit left to see through.
Liang Tan sighed repeatedly, his heart heavy with concern. He handed her some of her favorite candies and said, "The rules of the Immortal Alliance are beyond my control. Focus on your training and return as soon as possible."
"I understand, Master," Song Xiaohe replied listlessly, clutching the candies as she made her way to the outer mountains.
The Immortal Alliance consisted of twelve peaks, seven of which were dedicated to training disciples, while the others were reserved for elders and the alliance leader. These were known as the "inner mountains."
Further out, the mountains stretched in layers, high and low, collectively referred to as the "outer mountains."
Song Xiaohe packed her belongings and headed to the outer mountains. As an inner sect disciple, the outer sect disciples didn't dare to bully her, so they assigned her a secluded residence and tasked her with sweeping leaves every day.
Back at Canghai Peak, her master had always used spells to keep the place spotless, so Song Xiaohe had never had to do such menial tasks.
As a result, her sweeping was haphazard, and every day when someone came to inspect, the ground was still covered in leaves. However, no one dared to trouble her, given her status as an inner sect disciple.
Her residence was near a waterfall, quiet and secluded, with no one to disturb her.
Song Xiaohe had already forgotten her master's advice. She had no heart for cultivation and spent her days either sweeping or lost in thought.
Ten days passed in the outer sect, and news from the inner sect reached her: Shen Xishan's death had been confirmed. The Immortal Alliance was preparing a grand funeral for him, and white banners were hung throughout the alliance. Everyone mourned the sudden loss of this young genius.
When Song Xiaohe heard the news, her heart felt as though it would split open. She swept the ground in a daze, overwhelmed by grief, and couldn't help but burst into loud sobs. "Junior brother... wuwu..."
Her hoarse voice, combined with her uncontrollable weeping, produced an unpleasant sound.
The piercing cries woke someone sleeping in a nearby tree. Frowning, the person, still with eyes closed, snapped off a branch and threw it, hitting Song Xiaohe squarely on the forehead. "You're so noisy," he said, his tone filled with irritation.
Song Xiaohe was stunned into silence by the hit, though a red mark appeared on her pale forehead. She was furious.
What outer sect disciple would dare treat her like this?
"Who do you think you are, hitting me like that?" she shouted angrily.
The person in the tree remained silent, as if ignoring her.
"Do you even know this is my territory? I've been sweeping here for half a month! If you want to sleep here, you should ask for my permission first! And you're just an outer sect disciple—you should be calling me 'senior sister'! But instead of showing respect, you dare to hit me!" Song Xiaohe stomped her feet in anger. "Are you deaf? I'm talking to you!"
Her incessant noise finally roused the person in the tree. It seemed that if he didn't respond, the scolding from below would never end.
With a flip, he jumped down.
He was a fair-skinned, handsome young man wearing the gray robes of an outer sect disciple. His long hair was tied up casually, and he was quite tall. Standing in front of Song Xiaohe, his presence was imposing.
"Shut up. You're really noisy."
Song Xiaohe tilted her head back to look at him, her confidence waning. She gripped her broom tightly, trying to appear composed, though her tear-filled eyes betrayed her. "Y-you... tell me your name! I'm going to report you to the Hall of Affairs and have the supervisor punish you!"
The young man calmly replied, "Shen Xishan."
The moment the name left his lips, Song Xiaohe reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. She jumped three feet in the air, her voice rising in pitch. "That's impossible! That's my junior brother's name!"
The young man raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall having a senior sister who cries like a pig."
