Episode 18

  It was the coldest winter, with ice forming outside, but for those who had attained enlightenment through their cultivation, they were naturally unaffected by the cold or heat. Jin Chan'er followed a group of people as they walked ahead. A road that could be traveled by four horses abreast wound its way from the western gate of the cultivators' market towards Iron Mirror Mountain. After turning over a hill, the road suddenly came to an end, with only a huge boulder standing in the way, and the rest was blocked by withered trees and dead grass. Valley Master arrived at this point without any hurry or panic, and with one hand, he pinched his fingers together, pointing his index finger, which shone with golden light, at the boulder. The boulder suddenly split open, revealing another wonderful world. Everyone entered through the opening. Suddenly, the scenery changed greatly, and inside was a forest, with trees of various colors planted within it. In the forest, there were small flowers of unknown varieties dotting about, as well as sparse grasses and shrubs, their green color fresh and vibrant, truly a spring scene! However, outside the hill, snow had accumulated and ice had formed, and the world was in the midst of winter, truly a great wonder! As they walked deeper, the trees, flowers, and grass grew denser, and the gentle breeze in the forest was warm like summer. By the mountain stream, small birds chirped softly, and animal tracks could be seen, with fresh flowers blooming, their fragrance wafting gently, making one's heart feel carefree and joyful. Later, the road suddenly stopped at a cliff. On top of the precipice stood a stele, with two lines of words written on it: "Summer arrives at Falling Cloud Peak, Autumn disappears at Iron Mirror Mountain".

  "Bai Xianzi, this peak is called Luoyun Peak, it is the main peak of Tiemirror Mountain, and also where the mountain gate of my Xuanyuan Sect is located."

  "Mountain Gate?"

  Jin Chan'er feigned surprise and asked, but in fact she had already sensed with her spiritual awareness that this was a protected formation array, and it was rare to find such a profound and mysterious one. However, its power was unstable, sometimes high and sometimes low.

  "This mountain gate is hidden in the ancient family's protective array of our sect, and it's normal that White Immortal can't see it! After all, this array is the enemy of our sect's cultivation, and we've been studying the array method for years, but to no avail!"

  That valley master's face turned red with anger.

  "The ancient family's martial arts skills are indeed not just a legendary reputation."

  Jin Chan'er said. This praise was indeed heartfelt.

  "Sister, send a message to the gate, we'll wait for the patrol elder to arrive, then come back and perform the ritual to bring in Bai Xianzi."

  Gu Shi said with a hint of apology to Jin Chan'er:

  "We disciples of the Mystic Array Sect all have array-entering artifacts, so we can enter and exit without worry. White Immortal needs to wait for just a moment."

  "It doesn't matter! I'll just wait here with Gu Yin for now."

  "Master brother, go in! If we wait for someone to come and ask at the door, I'm afraid there will be many twists and turns!"

  "But I'm afraid Master will get angry and scold me!"

  "Master, we've got a great opportunity! Don't hesitate, let's go in and talk about it later! If we let Golden Elder come here, humph! That old man with one tendon, I'm afraid..."

  "Alright, I'll take care of this."

  Then, Valley Master's hands formed a seal, and he muttered to himself. Suddenly, he raised his hand, and an object flew out of his hand and landed on the stone tablet. Jin Chan'er took a glance at it and saw that it was a jade pendant with a carved immortal figure emitting a faint golden glow. The immortal's eyebrows suddenly shot out a thick beam of golden light towards the stone tablet, and the tablet immediately emitted a bright glow. On the upper part of the tablet, between the characters "Summer" and "Autumn", a hole in the shape of a Taiji yin-yang fish appeared. Under the golden light, the yin-yang fish slowly rotated, with the black and white fish chasing each other and transforming into each other. As Valley Master's incantation became more urgent, the rotation of the two fish became faster and faster, and the hole grew larger and larger. Suddenly, Valley Master said:

  "Come on in!"

  A golden light suddenly flew out of the hole and wrapped up Jin Chen'er and several others, and Gu Shixiong shouted "Rise!" The golden light rose accordingly and flew back into the hole. This time, it took Jin Chen'er and the others inside. The golden light flashed for a moment, and Jin Chen'er's surroundings had changed greatly. Where was the cliff? Where was the stone tablet? There was only a small town with a radius of about ten miles. The houses, tiles, walls, and fences were all golden in color, and even the trees, flowers, grass, birds, and small animals were golden. Only the male and female cultivators wore different clothes and had colorful appearances. They landed more than ten feet away from the entrance, where a large gate was inscribed with four golden characters "Great Repair Hidden Place". Behind it stood a high building of over twenty feet tall, guarded by several cultivators. Those cultivators saw Gu Shixiong and Gu Yin bringing an unfamiliar female cultivator here, so they came forward to ask questions:

  "Huh? This fairy looks unfamiliar, I wonder where she's from? Brother Gu, have you forgotten our sect's new rule, which prohibits unknown cultivators from entering the formation?"

  That cultivator who had come to ask questions, with a tall and majestic appearance, had two divine axes inserted on his back, and a shocked expression on his face as he stared at Jin Chen'er. Gu Yin Miss saw the situation and walked forward to block in front of Jin Chen'er, saying:

  "Liu Shixiong, have you had enough?! This white-skinned sister is my guest, I want to take her to meet my father!"

  "Even so! Don't mention Master Door's blame, even if Elder Jin came, it wouldn't be easy to say!"

  Liu's elder brother's ears turned red and he said with embarrassment.

  "Liu Shidi, Bai Xianzi is a great opportunity for our Xuan Zhen Gate. You can let him go, I will explain to Master myself!"

  "This... is good! Since Master Gu has said so, then please!"

  Jin Chan'er and the others had walked a long way, but these few people were still staring at Jin Chan'er's back. Brother Liu suddenly felt embarrassed and coughed lightly, and everyone woke up. Then a cultivator said:

  "What a fairy-like nun with the surname Bai!"

  "Yes, it's called Bai Jiao Jiao!"

  "What a charming and lovely thing!"

  "Wow! It's too beautiful!"

  "Liu Shixiong, when you went out for training, have you ever seen such a beautiful female cultivator?"

  "I have been traveling for nearly a hundred years, and I can be considered as someone who has gone through the vicissitudes of life. When have I ever seen such a beautiful nun?! It's likely that there isn't anyone else in this mundane world, whether they are ordinary people or cultivators, who is as lovely as her!"

  "Really! Eldest brother, I used to think that only your wife and little sister were great beauties, but I never thought there would be such an extremely beautiful woman!"

  "Alright, go back to the gate tower and cultivate!"

  After passing the gate, they couldn't walk more than two miles before many buildings, halls, houses, and courtyards appeared. The number of people coming and going also increased. They were all shocked by the extraordinary beauty of this unfamiliar female cultivator, but except for exchanging greetings with her, no one asked about Jin Chanyan's origins! Continuing on for another mile or so, a small hill blocked their path. After crossing the hill, they suddenly found themselves in an area without any houses, trees, flowers, or grass - only a vast expanse of golden light stretching out before them, covering an area of five or six miles. Jin Chanyan secretly sensed that this was a spiritual place, and saw that the ground was flashing with spiritual energy, indicating that there was a powerful array of forbidden magic at work here. Jin Chanyan followed her companions as they moved left and right, sometimes even moving backwards, taking more than half an hour to cross this area. As soon as they entered the array, Jin Chanyan's heart began to feel uneasy! The golden prohibition on top of the array was covered by a mysterious divine power that descended from heaven, enveloping the surrounding space, but the powerful divine energy did not leak out at all - this was the most important thing! It meant that this array was almost perfect and its power unmatched. Jin Chanyan's heart was shocked:

  "Even the most powerful practitioners of the mundane realm have already grasped the mysteries of heaven and earth, and the profound mechanisms of all things! To think that such a small sect could be ranked among the top in this ancient continent's various schools and factions is laughable. Not to mention in this vast world where great schools and factions are as numerous as hairs on an ox! And yet, their array techniques have reached such heights! The path of cultivation is not something to be ridiculed by others for being small!"

  Jin Chan'er was thinking this way when she arrived at a small temple-like place. An ancient and simple great hall, with three large characters "Xuan Zhen Men" written on the golden plaque above the door. The hall wasn't high, about ten meters in size, square and round. As they entered the hall, a landscape painting hung from the ceiling of the main hall, with delicate brushstrokes and elegant style. There were mountains and rivers, as well as travelers singing along the way, laborers working in the fields. There was a young boy herding cows returning home late, and a scholar holding a book volume. Two old men played chess under a tree, while a woman played the zither on a boat. The golden fish swam freely in the water, unafraid of humans. Birds perched in the forest, searching for food with joyful eyes, their colors shining brightly in this scene. Jin Chan'er knew that this was also a place where the Land Immortals flew, similar to the mysterious realm of the imperial temple. Indeed, the ancient sound master's sister performed her magic, and a talisman flew out from her bag, transforming into a blue bird that flew straight into the painting. Before they could even take a breath, golden light burst forth from the painting, and a middle-aged cultivator flew out, sitting in a chair in the center of the hall. Gu Shi-xiong and Gu Shi-jie paid their respects and retreated to either side. The middle-aged cultivator only smiled at Jin Chan'er and said:

  "The young lady mentioned that Little Fairy has a Day and Month Thunder Pearl on her body, I wonder if it's true?"

  "Yes, senior! This humble girl dares not speak rashly!"

  "May I ask if it is possible to see you again?"

  "Yes, senior!"

  Jin Chan'er took out a golden box with a jade inlay from her bag, and the box was sealed with a mysterious symbol. Jin Chan'er lifted the symbol and opened the box, revealing an oval-shaped pearl that emitted soft light. The outside of the pearl flashed with lightning, and it turned out to be another Day-Month Thunder Pearl! Although it wasn't dazzling, the hall suddenly became bright, just like the daylight outside! Jin Chan'er handed the jade box to the stunned-looking Valley surname male cultivator, who then respectfully presented it to someone else. A middle-aged male cultivator in the room gazed at the Day-Month Thunder Pearl with burning eyes, his gaze fixed on it. He held the box in one hand and carefully took out the pearl with the other, examining it closely. After a long while, he finally looked up and said:

  "Little fairy, would you be willing to sell this item to me?"

  "Father, this white sister has traveled thousands of miles to learn the Way of Fa here!"

  "Oh!"

  That man glanced at Gu Yin, seemingly expressionless, but clearly using his eyes to stop Gu Yin's words. How could he deceive Jin Tian'er's discerning eye with his shallow cultivation?

  "But our family rules are strict and we don't accept people with unknown backgrounds!"

  "Hmm. Gu Qianbei, what does it take for someone's background to be considered clear?"

  "Only those who have been recommended by a protector-level or above cultivator within our sect and whose identity has been guaranteed may enter!"

  "It's going to be tough! As a lone traveling female cultivator, apart from Gu Shi Xiong and Gu Yin Shi Mei, I don't know even one other fellow practitioner of the Mystic Array Sect."

  "Master, this White Jiaojiao fairy friend is carrying a precious treasure. If others were to find out, it would be disastrous!"

  "This..."

  Na Guomen was taken aback for a moment.

  "I sincerely seek knowledge and have no other motives! If I can bow to a predecessor as a teacher, I am willing to offer all the hidden rosary beads to thank the teacher's kindness!"

  When she finished speaking, she took out two pearls again, held them in both hands, and knelt down to the ground to pay her respects. The master of the ancient gate was shocked and bewildered! What kind of person is this girl who has such precious treasures? After careful consideration, there must be something suspicious about it! So he scowled and shouted:

  "Bold girl! How dare you come to my Mystic Array Gate? What is your intention?"