Before long, atop the main peak of the Sacred Sword Sect, the thick clouds roiled and churned like boiling waves against the jagged cliffs.
Countless spirit sparrows filled the sky, their wings flashing with flowing light as they circled the assembly.
A massive bronze ranking board hovered in midair, its surface pitted with the marks of age, yet its ancient and powerful characters gleamed with a faint gold luster beneath the afternoon sun.
At the very top, the words "Sacred Sword Sect Leng Yan" stood sharp and dazzling against the dark metal. Beneath them were the names of other powerhouses from the Jade Purity Sect and the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.
Chen Jinshu's name was carved clearly in fifth place, positioned right beside Zheng Shaosi in fourth.
"Xuanyin Sect, Chen Jinshu, fifth among the Golden Core stage!" the Sacred Sword Sect master announced, his deep voice rolling across the peak like thunder.
She drew a steady breath, her chest rising and falling, and stepped forward together with Senior Brother Zheng Shaosi to receive her due.
The Sacred Sword Sect master personally handed each of them a storage ring, the heavy bands glinting in the light.
The rings felt warm and smooth against her skin. When her divine sense swept inside the one she held, she found a vast, cavernous space within. Spirit stones were piled like small hills in the corners, bottles of pills rich with spiritual energy were neatly arranged on spectral shelves, and several radiant artifacts and talismans rested nearby.
Yet what truly caught her attention was a single treasure floating at the center of the interior space.
It was a flying shuttle.
Its body was a deep blue-green, sleek and flowing in design, as though it had been carved from a single block of jade infused with the essence of starlight. Rippling light drifted across its polished surface like water over a smooth stone.
Its front wasn't sharp like a common spear, but exquisitely forged into the head of an azure luan bird craning its neck in a long, silent cry. Its eyes seemed to hold distant stars within them, and every etched feather was vivid and lifelike, carrying an ancient and noble aura.
The tail of the craft resembled outspread luan feathers, light and graceful.
With just a touch of her divine sense, she could feel the vast wind spiritual power contained within the vessel, along with its astonishing potential speed.
"The Azure Luan Moon-Chasing Shuttle," the Sacred Sword Sect master said with a hint of pride, his gaze flicking briefly toward the beast-taming bracelet on her wrist.
That luan sparrow of hers had astonished him for quite some time during the trials.
To think there was still an ancient divine beast bloodline so pure as the Azure Luan remaining in the world.
A flying shuttle forged in imitation of its divine bearing was a perfect match for such a cultivator.
"A fourth-tier high-grade flying spirit treasure. It's refined from the essence of the Nine Heavens gale and infused with the divine resonance of Azure Luan feathers. It can cross a thousand miles in an instant. Use it well."
"Thank you, Sect Master," she replied, raising her hand in a respectful salute.
Her heart warmed as she gripped the ring. This treasure wasn't only incredibly fast, it resonated faintly with the Yin Mountain Sparrow's bloodline in her bracelet, as if it were meant specifically for her.
That night, at the Cold Abyss Peak residence, the air was cool and still.
After her senior brothers and sisters gathered briefly to celebrate and then departed for their own quarters, she watched their retreating figures for a long while. Only then did she take out the Moonchase Loom and place it on the low table.
Xiao Yin shifted into its small bird form and affectionately tapped the luan head of the shuttle with its beak, letting out a series of cheerful chirps. The shuttle's glow flickered in response to the bird's presence, as if it were alive.
"Do you like it?" she asked with a faint smile, her fingers brushing the bird's crest.
Xiao Yin nodded hard, the fine blue and red light in its tail feathers glowing brighter.
"All right. From now on, it's ours."
She smiled and carefully put the shuttle away back into her storage ring.
Next, she took out the ancient scroll her master had given her and slowly unrolled it across the tabletop.
The edges of the parchment were worn and yellowed, yet the ink remained clear and dark.
At the center of the map, a region in the Tianxuan Prefecture was circled in crimson cinnabar, labeled "Buried Sound Gorge." Beside it, small characters noted: ancient sound cultivator battlefield, suspected resting place of a fallen Nascent Soul sound cultivator.
…
At dawn the next day, the Xuanyin Sect's massive spirit ship hovered above the docks of the Yellow Sand Prefecture, its hull humming as it prepared to depart.
The wind swept up the desert sand, howling endlessly across the dunes.
"Junior Sister!" Dai Yuzhu's eyes were red as she rushed forward and hugged her tightly, her voice choking with emotion. "Ten years. You're going out there alone. You have got to come back safe."
"Seventh Senior Sister, don't worry. I will," she said, returning the hug and gently patting her back to soothe her.
Bu Yuanxiang stepped forward and pressed a warm jade formation disk into her hand. "The Lesser Sumeru Concealment Formation. It's an old formation relic that can hide your form and aura and obscure heavenly secrets. It might save your life at a critical moment. Be careful out there."
"Thank you, Third Senior Sister," she said seriously, accepting the disk with both hands. The weight of that concern settled deep in her chest.
Zheng Shaosi patted her shoulder, his steady gaze filled with care. "Demonic traces have been appearing often in the Tianxuan Prefecture lately. It's not like the sect environment. Be cautious in everything, and don't push yourself too hard. Ten years from now, I will be waiting in the Xuanyin Sect to spar with you again."
"Senior Brother's words are remembered," she replied with a smile and a nod.
Shui Huanmeng stepped forward last. Her dark purple robes didn't stir at all in the windblown sand, her presence grounding the space around her.
She said nothing, only looked at her disciple deeply. A thousand unspoken words lay within that steady gaze.
"Go," her master said calmly.
Chen Jinshu took a step back and bowed deeply to her master and all her senior brothers and sisters.
When she straightened her back, there was no hesitation left in her eyes.
With a turn of her wrist, the blue-green Moonchase Loom appeared in her palm, and she poured her spiritual energy into its core.
Weng!
A clear, lingering luan cry echoed as if it had come down from the Nine Heavens. Blue-green light burst forth from the craft, bathing the yellow sands in an azure glow.
The shuttle expanded instantly to three zhang in length. The delicate luan head lifted toward the sky, and its tail feathers drifted in the air like tassels of stardust.
In an instant, a vast and agile wind spiritual power swept outward, fluttering everyone's robes.
She flashed forward and stood beside the luan head on the prow.
Xiao Yub happily landed on her shoulder, gripping her collar carefully with its claws.
"I'm going."
With a thought, the Moonchase Loom let out a piercing cry that split clouds and stone alike, transforming into a streak of blue-green light that tore through the hazy sky and vanished toward the western horizon.
…
At the Yellow Sand Prefecture docks, people from the Thunder Sound Temple and the Scarlet Flame Sect watched the fleeting blue light, complex emotions flickering in their eyes.
"Senior Brother Wu Nian, that woman is far too arrogant. She only broke your heart demon illusion," You Nian said unhappily beside him, his brow furrowed.
"Enough," Wu Nian Zhēnrén snapped, a cold light flashing in his eyes as he looked at his junior brother. "Is this how you cultivate the heart?"
"I was wrong. Please forgive me, Senior Brother," You Nian said, his face turning pale as he hurriedly raised his hands in an apology.
Wu Nian Zhēnrén withdrew his gaze, letting it drift once more to that fading blue streak in the distant sky.
"In the end, it's just that I was weaker," he murmured to himself. "I only hope the benefactor's journey goes smoothly."
With that, he turned and entered the sect's cabin.
Not far away, Feng Qi Zhēnrén stared at that blue streak, the jealousy and resentment in her eyes no longer concealed.
That Moonchase Loom should have been hers. She had prepared for this battle for years, honing her skills for this very moment. She had even given away a Feng-clan spirit beast to a sect elder in exchange for the clan's secret art, the Li Fire Manifestation Technique.
Yet in the end, the prize still fell into someone else's hands. How could she remain calm?
"Martial Uncle Feng Qi, do you want that Moonchase Loom?" a Feng-clan disciple asked softly, his eyes lowered as he stepped to her side.
She didn't reply, only looked at him with a cold gaze meant for those beneath her.
The disciple grew even more respectful and continued, "There are rumors that the assassins of the Azure Sea Sect specialize in killing Zhēnrén. They strike without shadow or trace."
"How dare you!" Feng Qi Zhēnrén's eyes darkened instantly, as if a reverse scale had been touched. "You dare speak recklessly of a Zhēnrén. Are you tired of living?"
The disciple's face went deathly pale as he dropped to his knees, his body trembling violently against the deck.
Feng Qi Zhēnrén's lips curved slightly. With a lift of her hand, the disciple's tongue was torn out soundlessly.
"Men," she said coldly. "This one spoke recklessly of a Zhēnrén. Throw him off the spirit ship and let him fend for himself."
==
"青鸾逐月梭" : Azure Luan Moon-Chasing Shuttle
青鸾 (qīng luán)
逐月 (zhú yuè) Literal: "chases/pursues the moon"
And I will use Moonchase Loom when refer to this shuttle. "Loom" for phonetic similarity and weaving/metaphor of flight