CHAPTER 45: AZURE FEATHER SECT

Tian Lei stepped onto the narrow stone path leading back to his immortal cave, the spirit mountain breeze brushing past his robes. Mist clung to the cliffs like old spirits unwilling to depart, and the air carried the faint scent of pine and distant frost.

As he rounded the final bend, he slowed.

Someone was waiting at the entrance.

A young woman stood poised beside the gate, her robes white with pale silver trim, drifting like snowfall around her. Her aura was soft—crystalline, refined—like a winter blossom blooming alone at the edge of a glacier. Elegant, but not overwhelming.

Hm, he mused, no matter how many cultivators I see in this world, I still get caught off guard sometimes.

He sighed inwardly, eyes narrowing slightly.

Thanks to cultivation, ugliness has long since gone extinct. Even someone this beautiful—if she were in my past world, she’d be a legendary goddess. But here? Just another pretty face in a crowd of divine-level beauties.

As he approached the gate, he dusted off the light frost from his sleeves and came to a stop a few steps away.

"Do you need something?" he asked calmly, his tone neutral but not cold.

The woman turned and bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Senior Brother Tian Lei. I’m Meixue, direct disciple of Grand Elder Haiyun of Void Peak. My master has sent me to escort you—he would like to meet with you."

Tian Lei raised a brow, but nodded lightly. So, the old man finally grew impatient, he thought. Probably about the rest of the Void Arts.

"Understood," he said after a moment. "Lead the way."

She turned without further comment, her footsteps silent against the stone. As he followed, Tian Lei’s gaze remained steady—not on her, but on the road ahead.

As they moved along the narrow path flanked by icy ridges and ancient pines, Tian Lei broke the silence.

"You mentioned Void Peak..." he said calmly, hands tucked into his sleeves. "How many peaks does the Azure Feather Sect have? I was recently recruited, so I don’t know much about the structure."

Meixue blinked, mildly surprised. "You really don’t know anything about the sect?"

He shook his head. "I’ve only met two people so far. My Master—who also happens to be the Sect Master—and Grand Elder Haiyun, who basically abducted me into the sect. Everyone else is a mystery."

Meixue chuckled softly. "Then you’re either incredibly lucky... or incredibly special."

He said nothing, and she continued after a breath. "The Azure Feather Sect has nine main peaks—each focused on a different cultivation path or philosophy."

"Void Peak," she said, gesturing to herself, "specializes in spatial arts, void manipulation, and dimensional techniques. It’s one of the three upper peaks, meaning it answers directly to the Grand Elders."

Tian Lei nodded slowly. "What about the others?"

She glanced sideways at him, assessing whether he was truly interested. When she saw he was listening, she continued.

"Alchemy Peak handles pill refinement and spirit herb cultivation. It’s the backbone of our sect’s resource chain. Beast Spirit Peak handles spirit beast contracts, taming, and mutations. Sword Mist Peak—well, that one’s obvious."

Tian Lei raised a brow. "Sword Mist?"

"The cultivators there are sword fanatics. They speak in sword metaphors and probably dream in blade strikes," she said with a teasing smirk. "Then there’s Heaven Cloud Peak, which focuses on body refinement and physique cultivation. Earth Core Peak handles formations and forging. Spirit Rain Peak does healing and spirit-type techniques."

"That’s... seven," Tian Lei counted.

"Right. The last two are Sect Master Peak, where your master lives... and Skyfire Peak. It’s inactive—sealed off since the last Fire Cataclysm nearly burned half the mountain range."

Tian Lei’s brows furrowed. "Fire Cataclysm?"

She waved it off. "That’s a story for another time."

He smirked faintly. "I’ll hold you to that."

They walked a little further in companionable silence, the wind carrying faint echoes of distant bells and mountain birds.

Then, without warning, Meixue turned her head slightly, a teasing glint in her eyes. "You know, it’s kind of strange..."

Tian Lei raised an eyebrow. "What is?"

"You’re... weak," she said lightly, not as an insult, but more like someone observing a curious animal. "So how can you resist the charm of the Sect Master?"

Tian Lei blinked. "...What?"

She grinned. "Do you know a monk from the Ten Thousand Dharma Sect once came to visit Azure Feather? He took one look at the Sect Master... and abandoned the path of Buddhism. He descended the mountain that same day and fell into depravity."

He stopped walking for half a second, visibly stunned. "...That’s not a story you just drop on someone casually."

"I’m serious," she said, laughing behind her sleeve. "We still get marriage proposals disguised as cultivation requests. From other Sect’s sect leaders."

Tian Lei let out a dry cough. "Well... I have a special physique."

"Oh? What kind?" she asked, half-playful, half-genuinely curious.

"One that protects my heart from the nonsense of this world," he replied with a perfectly straight face.

Meixue snorted, unable to stop a soft laugh. She turned her head, hiding her smile with one hand. He didn’t see it, but for a moment, her shoulders shook ever so slightly.

As they neared the next bend in the path, Tian Lei tilted his head. "By the way... I thought Void-related techniques were extremely rare. How come our sect has an entire peak for it?"

Meixue’s expression sobered slightly as she nodded. "You’re right. Void techniques are rare—even forbidden in some sects due to their instability. But Grand Elder Haiyun... he’s different."

She paused before explaining. "In his youth, he discovered the legacy of a powerful cultivator—one said to have nearly torn open the walls between realms. That legacy contained the foundations of the Void Arts."

"And that’s how Void Peak started?" Tian Lei asked.

"Mm. At first, it was just him training alone. A personal peak—more like a trial ground. But after a few hundred years and a few disciples who didn’t explode, it was elevated to a proper peak and recognized by the Sect Master as one of the Nine Main Peaks."