Chapter 1: Auspicious Sign Falls Upon Her Face

When the treasure dome of the Bone Identification Pavilion was blasted open, Nan Fuguang was on Chi Xue Peak catching rabbits.

A snow-white rabbit kicked its hind legs wildly as she held it by the scruff of its neck.

The Yun Tian Sect has three main peaks: Yun Tian Peak, Chi Xue Peak, and Hong Ri Peak.

Yun Tian Peak is centrally located and houses the sect’s main hall, the Bone Identification Pavilion, the artifact refinement room, and Qing Yun Cliff, where most sect activities are conducted.

To the left lies Hong Ri Peak, where the elders and visiting guests reside.

To the right is Chi Xue Peak, encircled by over ten spiritual mountains like stars around the moon. This peak is shrouded in ethereal mist year-round, making it difficult to glimpse its true form. At its summit stands Tao Pavilion, the residence of Yun Shang Xian Zun, Yan Ji’an.

Behind Tao Pavilion, partially obscured by it, lies the mysterious Star-Tracking Pavilion.

Though Chi Xue Peak is not the tallest, even from its slopes, one usually cannot see the Star-Tracking Pavilion’s glazed treasure cauldron.

Yet, at this moment, Nan Fuguang did not need to strain her neck to notice the tremors shaking Yun Tian Peak.

A fiery red light shot skyward from the broken treasure dome of the Bone Identification Pavilion, illuminating a withered branch of the Shatuo Rift Sky Tree that loomed over the heavens. Accompanied by the piercing cry of a phoenix, a blazing orb of fire spiraled upward within the spiritual light.

The spiritual energy of Yun Tian Peak surged suddenly, as if a supreme being had descended!

“?”

What’s going on?

Clutching the rabbit, Nan Fuguang tilted her head back to stare at the rising flames, thoroughly bewildered.

“Senior Sister Nannann!”

A breathless, lively voice called from behind. Nan Fuguang, relieved to lower her aching neck, turned around.

Behind her stood a girl about her age, wearing a light-colored training robe. Her double-looped hairstyle and soft bangs framed a youthful face, making her seem even younger.

“…Tao Tao, did you see that?” Nan Fuguang blinked in confusion, pointing toward the Bone Identification Pavilion.

Tao Tao nodded vigorously, cutting her off with excitement flashing in her eyes. “Senior Sister, the Xian Zun has returned!”

Huh?

Nan Fuguang’s mind went blank for a few seconds.

She temporarily put aside the fact that an essential sect structure had just exploded.

“Who came back?”

Tao Tao rolled her eyes. “The Xian Zun! Who else could it be?”

Nan Fuguang rolled her eyes even harder and declared firmly, “Impossible.”

“What’s impossible?”

“My master didn’t tell me he was returning today, so he’s not coming back today.”

With the rabbit still squirming in her arms, Nan Fuguang tilted her chin upward confidently, as if the world revolved around her.

…And her confidence wasn’t entirely unfounded.

Nan Fuguang was the senior disciple of the Yun Tian Sect, and her master was Yan Ji’an.

According to the “Shatuo Rift Sky Tree Chronicles”, the world was once an endless frozen wasteland, until a Divine Phoenix and True Dragon emerged beneath the sacred Shatuo Rift Sky Tree, dividing the cosmos into yin and yang.

However, the sacred tree was eventually corrupted, turning the Divine Phoenix and True Dragon against each other. After countless years of conflict and devastation, they united to uproot the tree and perished together as it withered.

On that day, civilization descended into a blood-red dusk, the Divine Phoenix became the sun, and the True Dragon became the moon and stars.

It is said that if the Divine Phoenix and True Dragon reappear, the world will be reborn from the dusk, purifying the Shatuo Rift Sky Tree and ushering the Three Realms into a new era.

Years later, Yan Ji’an appeared the True Dragon incarnate and the first sword cultivator since the tree’s decay. He became the guiding star of the cultivation world, a symbol of hope for the new age.

Yet, in the century since his arrival, no Divine Phoenix had emerged only Nan Fuguang, a disciple who, at best, shared the Phoenix’s gender.

Unless Yan Ji’an planned to self-destruct, the sect assumed Nan Fuguang was the destined substitute. Long ago, they inscribed their names together on the sect’s matchmaking tree behind the mountain.

Yan Ji’an never objected.
Nan Fuguang never protested.

Since then, Nan Fuguang had not been an ordinary disciple. Though her spiritual bones had yet to manifest, she was the sole beloved apprentice of the Xian Zun, his presumed future Dao partner, and the unofficial gauge of his mood.

She spent her days idly, teasing animals and wielding her master’s prestige to reign supreme within the sect.

The Yun Tian Sect turned a blind eye after all, if you wanted to know how many times the Xian Zun sneezed today, you asked Nan Fuguang first.

“But Senior Sister,” Tao Tao pressed, “the Xian Zun really has returned.”

She hesitated before adding, “He’s at the Bone Identification Pavilion, do you want to go see him?”

A brief, dead silence followed.

The rabbit, impatient, kicked her stomach hard, hard enough to sting.

Nan Fuguang released it back into the grass and dusted off her waist sash.

From Yun Tian Peak, the sounds of beast calls echoed continuously. The tremors from the Bone Identification Pavilion persisted, perhaps it was worth checking out.

“Let’s go,” she said lazily, casting a downward glance at Tao Tao. “Why wouldn’t we?”

She summoned her Yaoguang Sword and leaped onto it, motioning for Tao Tao to follow.

The sect forbade sword flight in non-designated areas, but who would dare punish Nan Fuguang?

Flying was faster than walking. When they arrived at the Pavilion’s ruins, only a small crowd had gathered.

“What happened?”

“I almost thought someone blew themselves up!”

“Could this be an auspicious sign? Is the Xian Zun accepting a new disciple?”

Nan Fuguang stood on tiptoe to see. Beyond the crowd, the once-pristine Bone Identification Pavilion lay in rubble.

Then, through the dust and fallen debris, a tall figure emerged, a man in a dark blue Daoist robe.

With his hair tied high, sharp features, and cold, bottomless eyes, there was no mistaking him, “Yan Ji’an, the Yun Shang Xian Zun.

And in his arms, cradled intimately, was a fragile, unconscious woman of breathtaking beauty.

For the first time, even Nan Fuguang was left speechless.