Chapter 115 Thousand-feather Order

The old woman narrowed her turbid eyes and sized up Xiao Chen and the other two as they slowly drew near. She asked Mu Chengxue, "Little Xue, are they your friends?"

Yu Yifeng saluted her with a gentle smile. "Madam, I paid you a visit last year with A Xue. Don't you remember?" The old woman stared at him for a long time before nodding. "I'm old now. I can't remember very well."

Xiao Chen and Luo Shangyan promptly introduced themselves. The old woman appeared delighted and said, "It's windy here in the woods. Let's have a seat inside the house."

What greeted them after walking out of the forest of peach trees was a small village with a creek passing through it. Numerous married women were on the riverbank, drawing and transporting water home for cooking. There were also many children catching dragonflies by the field.

Their arrival turned quite a few heads. "Has Little Xue come home?"

Mu Chengxue greeted them one by one. Several children ran over and looked at Xiao Chen and the rest. One of them asked wide-eyed, "Sister Xue, are they your friends?"

Yu Yifeng chuckled and squatted down to carry the child. "Little thing, this Older Brother caught a dragonfly for you last year. Did you forget me already?"

The child grinned from ear to ear, revealing a set of tiny, white teeth. He scratched his head. "Hehe. I forgot."

After entering the house, the old woman swiftly lit the fire and began cooking. Mu Chengxue and Yu Yifeng went to help out in the kitchen. Xiao Chen and Luo Shangyan sat inside the house for a moment before going out. The small village enveloped in the radiance of sunshine was the picture of peace and tranquility. So, there was a place like this in the Violet Manor.

The child from earlier suddenly ran over to them and looked at them with a grin. "Hehe! Older Brother! Older Sister! Will you come and pick flowers with me?"

Xiao Chen squatted down and rubbed his hair. "It's getting dark. Shall we do it another day?" The child pointed to the other side of the village. "The flowers are really pretty, you know? They're so red and every flower has four petals."

Luo Shangyan laughed. "Come on. Play with the child a little!" She held the child's hand. "Let's go. I'll come and pick flowers with you."

Smiling, Xiao Chen shook his head and followed them. When they reached the other side of the village, they searched for a long time but saw no sign of the red flowers that the child mentioned. The child rubbed his head and his small face became colored with confusion. "I remember it's full of flowers here..."

Seeing that it was almost dark out, Xiao Chen said, "Oh well. The flowers will blossom again tomorrow. Let's go back."

After returning to the village, they saw that the old woman had finished preparing a table full of dishes. Though they weren't luxurious dishes, they carried the extraordinary taste of home. After the meal, Mu Chengxue prepared rooms for them to rest.

The night came and went. The next day, Xiao Chen walked out of the house and stretched himself while facing the sun. The child from yesterday ran over to him again and Xiao Chen smiled at him. "You're up so early as well?"

The child's large eyes blinked. "Older Brother, are you Sister Xue's friend?" Xiao Chen was stunned. Didn't he just tell him yesterday? Why did this child become such a stranger after just one night?

The child grinned and said, "Older Brother, many flowers have blossomed over there. They're really pretty, you know? They're so red and every flower has four petals. Let's go and pick them?" He pointed to the same spot by the village entrance.

Once again, Xiao Chen was shocked. What was wrong with this kid? Didn't they fail to find anything yesterday? Moreover, it felt as if the child had forgotten him overnight.

Right then, Mu Chengxue and the rest walked out of the house. She walked to the child and squatted down to rub his head. "That's enough. I'll pick flowers with you the next time I come back. Don't disturb this Older Brother anymore."

The four of them then took their leave. Excluding the forest of peach trees yesterday, Xiao Chen had the inexplicable feeling that something was off with this village. After climbing onto the Flying-cloud Stone and traveling for several miles, he turned around. However, he couldn't see the forest of peach trees and the village no matter how hard he looked.

It wasn't until noon that the Flying-cloud Stone reached the boundary of Qing Province. The province wasn't a city; rather, it was the collective name for adjacent cities. Southeast of the province was a mountain range that extended forever into the distance. One of the mountains was a lofty, majestic one that soared straight into the skies. It was the home to the Jade Qing Sect.

After reaching the feet of the mountain, Xiao Chen looked up and saw white jade stairs that seemed to lead straight to the firmament. The sides of the stairs were adorned with pine and cypress. Many palaces atop islands hovered high above through the support of mystic arts. This place was countless times larger than the Teal Jade Sect. It looked just like a miniature Mystic Cyan Sect.

After climbing about a thousand steps, they found themselves still a considerable distance away from the mountain gate square. However, green clouds had gradually risen all around them. In the distance, green mountains overlapped to form a continuous range. Herons would flit across from time to time, leaving behind white feathers in their wake.

The quartet only made it up to the top of the stairs after approximately 15 minutes. When they looked up, they saw a memorial arch carved out of jade at the mountain gate with the words of "Jade Qing Sect" on it. The arch glistened under the sunlight.

Two young Taoists flanked the memorial arch. When they saw the quartet, they immediately said respectfully, "Senior Brother Yu." Yu Yifeng nodded at them. "Is Master inside the hall?"

The Taoist on the left replied, "Master has been waiting in the Harmonious Radiance Hall after finding out that Senior Brother Yu is returning today." He gestured for them to go in.

"Alright." Yu Yifeng nodded and addressed the one behind him. "Xiao Chen, let's enter the main hall first. Master is very kind so you don't have to be nervous later." Xiao Chen chuckled and followed him in.

The Jade Qing Sect covered a vast expanse of ground and boasted of countless halls and pavilions. Xiao Chen spotted two of the most magnificent halls. The one in the east was called the Harmonious Radiance Hall while the one in the west was the Similarly Mortal Hall. The two main halls were like reflections of each other and could be considered the throne hall of immortals.

Upon entering the Harmonious Radiance Hall, they saw an elderly man that emanated the air of an immortal seated at the central spot of the hall. Flanking him was two child Taoists, with one holding a horsetail whisk and the other holding an Eight Divinatory Trigram Sword. The elderly man sat upright and still. His eyes were limpid like a fairy and he subconsciously emitted a sense of magnificence. However, the beard under his chin was a little sparse.

Seated in a line on both sides of the hall were the Elders and young disciples of the Jade Qing Sect. Yu Yifeng speedily walked into the hall and bowed in greeting to the elderly man seated in the central spot. Then, he introduced Xiao Chen and Luo Shangyan behind him.

The elderly man was none other than the Sect Leader of Jade Qing Sect, Perfected Immortal Qing Chen. He wore a faint smile and nodded at them, not losing the manners of an elder. "So it's Changfeng's heir and Zi Xu's disciple. Please take a seat, you two." Then he addressed Mu Chengxue. "Ms. Mu, please take a seat too."

Xiao Chen, Luo Shangyan, and Mu Chengxue immediately returned the greetings and followed Yu Yifeng to sit down on the left of the hall. Yu Yifeng asked, "I'm curious as to the reason you summoned me back this time, Master."

With a faint nod, Perfected Immortal Qing Chen picked up a delicate feather from the table next to him. If one was observant, one would notice that the two words carved on the quill: "Thousand-feather."

"It's the Thousand-feather Order!" Yu Yifeng jumped to his feet.

Xiao Chen had never seen Yu Yifeng this solemn before. He asked in a quiet voice, "Senior Brother Yifeng, what's Thousand-feather Order?" Being in front of everyone, he naturally couldn't refer to Yu Yifeng as Brother Yifeng due to etiquette. Yu Yifeng turned his head and explained, "Junior Brother Xiao, you may not know this. There's a saying in Violet Manor that goes 'once a feather command is made, no one dares to disobey it'."

"Oh?" A sliver of confusion crept into Xiao Chen's mind. He wondered what kind of person had the ability to command all Cultivators' sects with a single feather.

"It belongs to a sect named Thousand Feathers Sect within the Ancient Immortal Clan," Yu Yifeng added.

"Thousand Feathers Sect!" Xiao Chen's expression changed as if he had thought of something. "Thousand Feathers Sect, Thousand Feathers Sect... Qianyu Nishang (T/N: "Qianyu" means Thousand Feathers")!"