Chapter 948: Master Chuiyue

Perfected Master Chase-Moon, known as Bairi, the legendary founder of the Laurel Immortal Palace, flourished during the chaotic transition from the twilight of the Great Yu to the dawn of the Great Xia. Lore painted her as a figure of ethereal grace and otherworldly beauty, a celestial maiden incarnate who held the hearts of countless heroes and champions of that bygone era in thrall.

Lu Yang wrenched his attention back from the depths of his memories, peering through the spiritual space at the little girl named Baiye—or rather, "Bairi"—who appeared no older than ten, barely taller than his own currently shrunken form.

Adorable she certainly was, but did she not seem light-years removed from a description like "of ethereal grace and otherworldly beauty"?

"Aren't you the Ancestral Laurel Tree? How did you suddenly become Perfected Master Chase-Moon?" the Immortal Fairy mused aloud, thoroughly bewildered. She had suspected all along that Baiye was more than just the tree's primordial spirit, and this revelation confirmed it.

Bairi started, visibly taken aback. "How could you possibly know about the Ancestral Laurel Tree?"

By all accounts, she had never breathed a word of this secret to a living soul.

"Tell me what is going on with this body of yours first," the Immortal Fairy countered, far too clever to offer answers freely; this was, after all, a matter of information exchange.

"If you can catch me, perhaps I will tell you," Bairi replied, the corners of her lips curling upward. This boy, Lu Yang, was proving to be quite fascinating—no wonder Baiye sought him out every single night to listen to his tales.

The moment the words left her lips, Bairi vanished into the swirling, boundless snowstorm, leaving no trace behind save for the endless, silent groves of laurel trees spanning in every direction.

Bairi’s cultivation was profoundly immense; even if Lu Yang were at the zenith of his original strength rather than trapped in this childish guise, catching so much as the hem of her sleeve would have been a fool's errand.

Regrettably for her, the person commanding the body at this moment was not Lu Yang.

"Fleeing right under my nose? I think not!" The Immortal Fairy’s competitive spirit flared. Through her brilliant powers of deduction, the culprit’s true identity had been unmasked, leaving only the final arrest to be executed.

Pumping her two small arms, the Immortal Fairy dashed forward, her gaze unwavering and her destination clear.

*Huff—puff—huff—puff—*

The Immortal Fairy’s breathing followed a meticulous, rhythmic cadence, seemingly infused with a strange, primordial power that filled Lu Yang with immense curiosity.

Legend held that in the most ancient of epochs, cultivators of the initial Qi Refining stage were known as Qi Practitioners, and the methods they mastered were called Breathing Techniques; by breathing in specific patterns, they could manifest all manner of profound and wondrous miracles.

As Lu Yang carefully monitored his physical condition, he was astonished to find that by employing this breathing technique, he could entirely prevent the freezing gale from rushing down his nose and throat.

What a truly magnificent breathing technique!

"He will never find me here," Bairi murmured, coming to a halt in a secluded corner of the Immortal Palace. The palace grounds were vast and sparsely populated to begin with, and this particular nook was so remote that no one had set foot in it for decades—it was an absolute sanctuary.

Dealing with Lu Yang was a delicate matter; there was no deep-seated enmity between them, and she had no reason to resort to lethal force.

Since she could not fight in earnest, fleeing was her only recourse.

"How exactly did he manage to track me down earlier?"

"Ah, of course. I hid near the Ancestral Tree just now, and he deduced that I shared a connection with it, so he merely went there to try his luck."

"What a troublesome brat. No wonder he has experienced so much at such a tender age."

Three hours later, a dreadfully familiar voice echoed through the crisp air.

"Found you! Don't you dare run!"

There came the Immortal Fairy, balancing atop a pair of makeshift skis fashioned from laurel wood, carrying a wicker basket laden with spiritual fruits upon her back. Whenever her arduous journey wore her down, she would munch on a fruit to replenish her stamina.

From the depths of the laurel forest to this desolate palace corner, the Immortal Fairy had skied for three uninterrupted hours.

Had it not been for the skis, the trek would have taken far longer.

The Immortal Fairy’s machinations spanned eternity; she was even privy to the profound truth that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. To take the absolute shortest route to Bairi, she had skied relentlessly, overcoming every obstacle in her path, cutting straight through alchemy chambers, forging rooms, and hot springs alike.

Her movements were fluid, her skiing technique remarkably adept—unmistakably the mark of a seasoned veteran.

She had encountered numerous eyewitnesses along the way, though the palace disciples merely assumed Lu Yang was enjoying a leisurely day in the snow, entirely unaware that she was actively pursuing a fugitive.

"Wait a moment, Fairy... since when do you know how to ski?"

"Hmph, impressed? This Immortal foresaw today’s predicament back in the ancient era, practicing the art of skiing in a mortal vessel ahead of time," the Immortal Fairy boasted without a shred of shame.

"How on earth did you find me?!" Bairi cried, looking as though she had seen a ghost. Had she left behind some sort of scent that allowed Lu Yang to track her by smell? Or did merely listening to his stories leave a person permanently marked by his tracking arts?

Just as Bairi resolved to flee once more, her legs suddenly turned to jelly, all strength draining from her limbs.

Oh no. Night had fallen.

"Yawn... why did I end up in this place today?" "Bairi" sat on the snowy ground in a daze, staring at her surroundings with utter confusion. Was this not a forgotten corner of the palace? There was absolutely nothing fun to do here.

At that exact moment, she spotted the Immortal Fairy hurtling toward her on skis.

"Senior Brother Lu Yang!" "Bairi" waved enthusiastically toward the Immortal Fairy.

With a spectacular, sweeping turn, the Immortal Fairy skied to a halt, kicking up a wall of snow over a man's height before coming to a stop right in front of "Bairi."

"You are Baiye now, aren't you?"

"Senior Brother Lu Yang, you already know?" Baiye’s small mouth fell open in an expression of sheer astonishment.

The Immortal Fairy smiled triumphantly. Having witnessed the transformation from "Bairi" into "Baye" with her very own eyes, she finally understood the true nature of the mystery.

"Two souls sharing a single body. When yin and yang alternate at twilight, control of the vessel shifts between you. Am I correct?"

"Senior Brother Lu Yang, you know so much!" Baiye’s awe deepened; it felt as though Lu Yang possessed a grander understanding of the world than she ever could.

"Of course! Look at who I—who this person is!"

"Xiaoye, wait a moment. Let me speak with Lu Yang for a bit." Bairi temporarily reclaimed dominion over the physical form.

Bairi sighed softly. Since matters had escalated to this point, further concealment was entirely pointless; it would be far better to lay everything bare before Lu Yang, lest the persistent youth chase her to the ends of the earth.

"I truly cannot fathom how a brat like you could possibly know about the phenomenon of two souls sharing one body."

"Your deduction is correct. I am myself, and Xiaoye is herself. We merely share a single physical vessel. I command this body by day, and she inherits it by night."

"Xiaoye’s true form is the Ancestral Laurel Tree. Rooted deeply within the Great Snow Mountain, she is forbidden from leaving her domain or venturing beyond these frozen peaks, yet she has always yearned for the world outside."

"She would frequently eavesdrop on the palace disciples whenever they returned to recount their missions abroad. When she read of your exploits within Lan Ting's mission report, a deep longing to see you with her own eyes took root in her heart."

"Once the *Legends of the Ask the Dao Sect* circulated to the palace, Xiaoye’s desire to meet you became utterly overwhelming."

"As fortune would have it, you arrived. Every single night, she would steal away to your quarters to listen to your stories—and, naturally, I listened along as well."

"To be quite frank, I was rather reluctant to have you visit the palace. Before Xiaoye ever heard of you, she used to spend her time listening to my tales—stories of how I, alongside Jiang Ping'an and the Scholar Meng, fought to conquer the realm and forge the Great Xia empire."

"Yet the moment you appeared, Xiaoye’s devotion shifted entirely to you."

Bairi sighed once more, casting a gaze toward Lu Yang that held an indescribable, complex eccentricity. "Though I am loath to admit it, I must concede that your experiences over these past few years are indeed far more absurd than mine ever were."