My Husband’s Ascension Ch 13
Chapter 13 Unexpectedly Shrewd
Zhao Zhao followed in step with the Kunwu disciples as they entered the Blessed Land of Langhuan.
Crossing the barrier, her vision dimmed for but an instant before suddenly expanding into boundless vastness.
Sunlight shone over snow, a desolate, far-reaching world stretched before them. Snowflakes fell endlessly from the heavens, yet in the distance the mountains blazed with red maples, painting a scene of late autumn in all its splendor.
“Why is this snow… not cold?”
Zhao Zhao raised her hand to catch a flake, expecting it to melt against her palm’s warmth, only to find it remained intact.
Shan Yu smiled as she explained, “That is because these are not true snowflakes. They are ice crystals, formed from the overly rich spiritual Qi within Langhuan. Water-aligned spiritual Qi takes on this form. Other elements manifest differently—if we come across them later, I’ll point them out to you.”
Everything in this blessed land was fresh and wondrous to Zhao Zhao, and hearing this, her eyes brightened as she nodded eagerly.
Seeing her so obedient and guileless, Shan Yu felt a pang of pity. She hesitated before saying words that edged beyond propriety, “In truth… it isn’t uncommon for disciples in the cultivation world to change sects. A sect influences a disciple’s future greatly. Hong Hong, do you truly intend to remain in Cloudculm Abode forever?”
Zhao Zhao blinked. “Of course!”
Her firm tone left Shan Yu puzzled.
“I mean no offense toward your sect. But objectively speaking, Cloudculm Abode is—”
Out of the corner of her eye, Zhao Zhao caught sight of a hem of snow-white robes, embroidered with drifting-cloud patterns. Suddenly, she broke into a radiant smile.
“Cloudculm Abode is bound to my late husband by countless threads of fate. I… cannot bear to part from it.”
Dao Lord Tianshu, passing behind them, faltered in his steps.
This was the second time he had heard the words “late husband” from her lips.
After a brief pause, he glanced in her direction.
The young woman seemed to have anticipated his gaze; rather than avoiding it, she lifted her face openly, smiling with disarming candor, showing not the least sign of guilt or evasion.
It lasted but an instant before the snow-robed Dao Lord shifted his eyes away, striding toward the center of the gathering.
“Hong Hong, you are too bold,” one of the nearby female disciples murmured, still shaken. “Dao Lord’s aura is so oppressive—yet you dared to look him straight in the eyes.”
Zhao Zhao only smiled, offering no reply.
Not far away, Dao Lord Tianshu stood amid the Kunwu disciples. He lifted his head, and the snow-crystals born of spiritual Qi descended upon the silk that covered his gaze, enhancing a beauty otherworldly, as though his bones were ice and his skin snow.
Then, he raised his hand. From his palm surged a torrent of golden spiritual power, rising like a pillar that pierced the clouds and stood astride heaven and earth.
Everyone lifted their heads toward the sky.
Only Zhao Zhao kept her gaze upon the Dao Lord, his robes billowing, her heart stirring with reflection.
Such unquestionable might… who knew how many more years it would take for Yao Ling to catch up to him?
“When you disperse, should danger arise, you may seek aid beneath this Tianshu Star.”
Across the skies of the entire Blessed Land of Langhuan, Dao Lord Tianshu had branded the mark of a star.
With his movements, the star overhead shifted as well. For the Kunwu disciples, seeing this Tianshu Star was like finding their pillar of support—should they reach their limits, they could come here for assistance.
Only—
“Never before have we enjoyed such treatment.”
“Indeed. Could this be the privilege of entering the secret realm alongside Dao Lord?”
“I’d rather believe that Dao Lord, knowing the Mount Ling sorcerers are inept in combat, deliberately provided them a safety net.”
“That makes sense. Lately, that Wu-Shaman from Mount Ling has been inseparable from Dao Lord.”
“Whatever the reason, when we return and tell those who stayed behind, they’ll be green with envy!”
The Kunwu disciples broke into small groups and scattered. Shan Yu, too, turned toward Zhao Zhao, who still lingered in place.
“We should get going!”
Zhao Zhao cast one final glance back—at the veiled Wu-Shaman standing shoulder to shoulder with Dao Lord Tianshu.
The Dao Lord—an immortal figure, peerlessly handsome.
The Wu-Shaman—ethereal, otherworldly.
The two stood side by side were, indeed, a pair most well-matched.
“…Coming, coming!”
Zhao Zhao withdrew her gaze and turned to catch up with Shan Yu and the others.
—
Before setting out, Shan Yu’s group had already fixed upon their objectives.
First and foremost were materials for forging swords, such as Sunlit Blackiron (天照玄铁) and Kunlun Steel (昆仑钢). Next came certain heavenly treasures and earthly marvels found only within the Blessed Land of Langhuan.
Shan Yu even handed Zhao Zhao a copy of ‘The Langhuan Compendium’, a manual that every Kunwu disciple carried. It had been authored by the first cultivator ever to enter the Blessed Land of Langhuan and contained records of nearly all the wonders hidden within.
Zhao Zhao had no leisure to read it thoroughly, so she leafed through as they walked. At the preface stood the author’s words:
“…My sole regret upon this journey is that I failed to behold the Immortals’ Repository (仙人藏书). According to the strange beasts dwelling in the Blessed Land, this grotto-heaven once served as an Immortal trove of books, housing countless manuals and secret techniques—yet only one fated may glimpse it…”
She flipped through further: most entries were illustrations and notes on heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
Yet every so often, the author could not help but sigh in lament—
Exotic beasts of the East are all accounted for, yet the Immortals’ Repository remains unfound. Pity.
Spiritual plants of the West are all accounted for, yet the Immortals’ Repository remains unfound. Pity.
Zhao Zhao: …
We get it, it’s indeed a pity.
Zhao Zhao was still straining to commit the contents of ‘The Langhuan Compendium’ to memory when she failed to notice that their path had shifted from snowy ground to a moss-covered forest.
The mountain trail, slick with moss, gave way beneath her step. Her toe struck a stone, and she stumbled forward, landing hard.
The immortal walking ahead heard the sound at once and turned back.
“Hong Hong! Are you hurt?”
The others also halted in concern.
“…I’m fine, really…”
Zhao Zhao bit back the cry of pain that nearly escaped her lips, a pang of guilt stirring in her heart.
Within a blessed land one ought to tread with utmost care, making no rash commotion. Instead, she had caused needless trouble for everyone.
Before anyone could come to help, she hastily brushed the dirt from her robes and rose, pain held in check.
“It was my own carelessness just now. Please don’t delay on my account, let us continue forward—”
“Hm?”
Shan Yu’s sharp gaze caught at once on something beneath the stone that had tripped Zhao Zhao—a faint, dark-red leaf.
She stooped, turned the stone aside, and revealed a spiritual plant just as recorded in ‘The Langhuan Compendium’.
“It’s a Scarlet-tail Ginseng.” As the ginseng tried to wriggle free, Shan Yu’s hand darted out, seizing its leaf in one smooth motion. “Hong Hong, it seems your mishap turned to fortune.”
The young sword cultivator showed no reproach at her fall. Instead, she placed the Scarlet-tail Ginseng in Zhao Zhao’s hands.
Zhao Zhao blinked in surprise.
“This ginseng was discovered by you. How could I possibly—”
“It tripped you—clearly, it is fated to be yours.” Without leaving her room to refuse, Shan Yu pressed the herb into Zhao Zhao’s hand. “You Divine Farmer Dao cultivators can not treat thyself*. This Scarlet-tail Ginseng replenishes Qi and nourishes the blood—it suits you best.”
(TLN: This should be in reference to the idiom ‘医不自医’ implies that even skilled physicians, who can diagnose and cure others, often fail to treat their own illnesses effectively. This may be due to overthinking, caution, difficulty in self-diagnosis, or the physical and mental limitations imposed by illness.)
What Shan Yu said was true.
The Divine Farmer Dao was divided into the Dao of Medicine and the Dao of Agriculture, yet regardless of which branch, its practitioners could only rely on external herbs when injured. They could not apply their own arts upon themselves. This was one of the reasons why outsiders so often regarded Divine Farmer Dao cultivators as weak, dependent upon others.
Zhao Zhao was just about to accept the Scarlet-tail Ginseng when a sudden gust of wind sliced past her face—
“Careful!”
Shan Yu shoved her aside, and the other three at once unsheathed their swords, blades leveled at the cultivator who had struck from the shadows.
“Dao Lord has decreed—Kunwu disciples are forbidden to battle one another! Are you courting death?”
From the depths of the forest, three figures emerged slowly.
Their robes bore the insignia of Kunwu Sect.
…
“—So this is how Mount Ling shamans fight their battles?”
High above the dense forest, Dao Lord stood upon the cliff, his robes white as drifting snow. The wind howled around him, yet his eyes beneath snow-pale lashes were calm and fathomless, reflecting the few female cultivators below. The faint curve at his lips had thinned near to vanishing.
By contrast, the veiled Wu-Shaman’s smile bloomed like a flower. In fine spirits, she spoke leisurely, “Dao Lord jests. Mount Ling’s use of gu-arts* in battle—this is hardly your first time beholding it. What does surprise me, however, is that Kunwu disciples could so easily be seeded with gu and fall under my shamans’ control. That, I confess, I did not expect.”
(TLN: Gu (蛊) is a venom-based poison prepared by sealing several venomous creatures inside a closed container where they would fight and devour each other. The surviving creature contained the lethal poison which could be extracted. Different gu will have different ways to feed and use.)
Having spoken, she tilted her head slightly, seeking out Dao Lord Tianshu’s expression.
In truth, putting that coarse village woman in her place was only secondary. What rankled her most was Dao Lord Tianshu’s recent bearing toward Mount Ling.
The Mount Ling lineage was never famed for prowess in combat. Their territory bordered both ghost and demon realms, and so generation after generation they had chosen to aid the great sects of the cultivation world in exchange for protection.
At the same time, those great sects relied upon Mount Ling’s divinations to avoid disaster and find the surest path to ascension.
It ought to have been a bond of mutual benefit and trust.
Yet in this generation, Dao Lord Tianshu showed Mount Ling not the slightest respect.
If flattering Kunwu brought them little gain—
then let him be made to understand: Mount Ling is not so easily slighted.
“Indeed, the Kunwu disciples’ skills fall somewhat short.”
The Dao Lord, ethereal in bearing, betrayed none of the reaction the veiled Wu-Shaman hoped for. A faint smile still lingered at his lips, untroubled as drifting clouds, carrying not a trace of desire for victory.
It was as though her words and barbs had struck cotton, the veiled Wu-Shaman’s brief sense of satisfaction quickly curdled into vexation.
She refused to believe his heart was truly as still as a fathomless pond, untouched by even the faintest ripple.
“…How coincidental. That disciple from Cloudculm Abode is present as well.”
Her tone was light, almost idle, as though she had only just noticed.
Within the forest below, the two sides had already crossed swords. Both wielded Kunwu sword-arts. The three male cultivators on the opposite side were older, their cultivation deeper; but with Shan Yu’s party numbering four, they held a narrow advantage.
Yet with Zhao Zhao among them, they were forced to shield her at the center. The clash of sword light wove layers upon layers in the air. Their footing grew precarious, and amid the press of battle, Shan Yu even suffered a minor wound.
Seeing the woman pause to tend to her comrade's injury, the veiled Wu-Shaman arched a delicate brow.
“She’s more useful than I had imagined. Still… with her cultivation no higher than the fifth stage of Dawn of Heaven (伏天始), she can hardly serve any true purpose.”
Different Dao gave rise to different progressions of realm.
After establishing their foundation, a cultivator formally entered the immortal path. Those who trod the Divine Farmer Dao passed through four great realms: Dawn of Heaven, Blacknaped Oriole’s Cry (仓庚鸣), Heaven-Earth Reverence (天地肃), and Life Springs Forth (万物生).
Each realm was itself divided into twelve minor stages.
By such measure, Zhao Zhao’s cultivation was indeed not high—only at the fifth stage of Dawn of Heaven.
Yet given the brevity of her training, such attainment was nothing less than the mark of a prodigy.
Yet in the eyes of Dao Lord Tianshu, one who stood sovereign over the cultivation world, a practitioner of the Divine Farmer Dao was but fragile and powerless, and she, who had only just stepped onto the path of cultivation, all the more insignificant. Without the shelter of a formidable cultivator, she was no different from an ant.
…
Within the forest, Shan Yu, crossing swords with her fellow disciples, had already begun to sense something was amiss.
From the moment these men appeared, they had not spoken a word, nor heeded any plea. They struck only with single-minded ferocity, like puppets bound to an unseen will.
And with the Mount Ling shamans present in the same blessed land, the truth all but declared itself.
“…These disciples must have been bound by Mount Ling’s gu. Be careful—do not take their lives… Hong Hong! It’s dangerous outside, where are you going!”
Shan Yu’s warning had barely left her lips when the young woman, who had moments ago clung close at her back, suddenly darted forward.
All were taken aback.
Though they had known her for but half a day, all understood that this Cloudculm Abode disciple was no reckless troublemaker. Why then had she leapt ahead without so much as a word?
There was no time to ponder. The gu-controlled disciples had already shifted their attention to Zhao Zhao.
Leaving but one behind to entangle Shan Yu’s group, the other two rushed straight toward her.
…Just ahead!
…The thing marked in the 'The Langhuan Compendium' lay there!
Zhao Zhao dared not hesitate. With a wind control talisman upon her soles, her speed surged to its utmost.
If Shan Yu’s party were to remain locked in stalemate, they might not manage to subdue their foes without inflicting harm. She must do what little lay within her power—
“Hong Hong!”
Sword light hissed coldly through the air, driving straight for Zhao Zhao’s back. Shan Yu, powerless to intervene in time, could only cry out from behind in warning.
At that instant, Zhao Zhao summoned forth her Karmic Fire Lotus Parasol, infusing it with spiritual power. With a swift turn she raised it, intercepting the strike head-on!
As she had anticipated—one weapon, well-wielded, was more than enough. Just as with Li Feng on that day, her foes were caught unprepared and forced momentarily back.
Zhao Zhao knew the moment could not be wasted. Without pausing to think, she seized upon that brief reprieve and darted forward again, toward her chosen aim.
Overlooking the fray, Dao Lord Tianshu’s hand, loose at his side, shifted faintly.
Karmic Fire Lotus Parasol.
He remembered well—that divine artifact was previously seized by the Polaris Confucian Sect.
He had already received word that Shi Lanyan was secretly making her journey from Polaris toward Small Sword Pass. Could it be, then, that this Cloudculm Abode disciple was none other than Shi Lanyan in disguise?
No.
His gaze fixed on the slender figure darting toward the rise where spiritual plants grew thick, and in that instant he discarded the thought.
She was indeed a practitioner of the Divine Farmer Dao.
And moreover—
Far shrewder than he had previously anticipated.
…
By the time Zhao Zhao slipped into the tangled thicket upon the rise, the two enthralled cultivators she had held at bay with her Karmic Fire Lotus Parasol had already given chase.
The slope was overgrown with spiritual flora taller than a man, flourishing like wild grass in this aura-rich land. The young woman’s figure vanished amidst their towering stalks, hidden from sight—at least for the moment.
The veiled Wu-Shaman narrowed her eyes.
Was she a fool?
This was no child’s game of hide-and-seek. No matter how lush or tall these spiritual plants might grow, one sweep of the sword to raze them to the ground would surely flush her out.
The Wu-Shaman exchanged a glance with the shaman at her side.
At her signal, the latter began chanting under his breath, manipulating a Kunwu disciple below to tighten his grip on the sword and slash across the thicket—
Verdant blades burst apart like drifting willow fluff, carried aloft by the sword wind, scattering upward as though soaring to the Ninth Heavens.
Beneath the crimson parasol, the young woman lifted the edge ever so slightly.
Though their strength was worlds apart and she had no retreat left, not a trace of panic showed upon her face. On the contrary, there was a glimmer of eager excitement—her almond-shaped eyes shone bright, like those of a young beast about to pounce.
Atop the cliff, the two figures standing against the wind gazed down.
Within the dense growth, Shan Yu and the others, having subdued the disciple that had hindered them, were hurrying toward Zhao Zhao.
“Wait.”
Drawing closer, Shan Yu suddenly caught on to something. Narrowing her eyes, she looked toward the spiritual plants that had just been shredded into chaff by the sword wind.
“That’s…”
Five slender and fair fingers gently pressed against the earth.
In that instant—
The drifting grass-chaff, dense as willow fluff, froze midair as though locked in ice and snow. The veiled Wu-Shaman’s expression shifted sharply; she wanted to give the order to withdraw the two disciples at once.
But it was already too late—
The suspended chaff fell like a storm of pear-blossom rain, each shred, severed by the sword wind, carrying an edge unnaturally sharp.
The two cultivators turned in haste to ward it off, yet the fragments were soft and fine, not steel blades; the more they resisted, the more futile their efforts became. In the blink of an eye, their exposed skin was crisscrossed with shallow, countless cuts.
None fatal, of course.
But it was enough.
Because—
“…Mellowheart Grass (酥心草).”
At last recognizing it, the veiled Wu-Shaman spat the words through gritted teeth.
Mellowheart Grass.
True to its name, its sap could numb the body from head to toe; in greater measure, it could even paralyze the heart. A poison plant little seen in the cultivation world, yet with effects astounding.
And that practitioner of Divine Farmer Dao, a mere healer, had poured her spiritual power into the roots of the Mellowheart Grass, urging it to life. The sword-wind had shredded the stalks into fragments; yet as her power summoned them back into wholeness, every shard retraced its path in the air—an unseen cage.
At last, the two cultivators whose strength far outstripped her own were trapped within.
With a resounding crash, the gu-controlled disciples, puppets of Mount Ling’s sorcery, collapsed stiffly to the ground, their limbs deadened with numbness.
“Hong Hong!”
The four finally rushed over, voices brimming with delight—
“This was your idea?!”
“Brilliant! I’ve never seen a Divine Farmer practitioner wield spiritual power in this way!”
“You’re not hurt, are you? You nearly scared us to death just now.”
“You truly saved the day! Without you, subduing them without harm would have been near impossible!”
Zhao Zhao’s back was damp with cold sweat; she was still steeped in the perilous gamble of moments before.
She did not notice that above the vast expanse of sky, the Tianshu Star hung silently over her, gazing down.
At the cliff’s edge, white robes like snow whipped in the gale.
The eyes that looked her way were veiled by a silken band. The figure before him hazed, like mist, like smoke.
So yielding in semblance—
And yet… steadfast as bedrock, unshakable and indestructible.
TL Note: Wow, what a chapter. I left the Chinese characters by certain names because I’m still unsure of the translations (like if there are underlying cultural references and stuff). Hopefully most of them aren’t too important, but it’s good to have in case.
