Chapter 34: The Three Immortal Maidens of the Martial World

“Whoosh!” Just as Lu Sheng was busy erasing traces by the pond, high above Blackstone Island, a giant eagle with a wingspan of several yards swooped down from the north with a piercing cry.

“Auntie, the black rocky mountain ahead is Blackstone Island. I visited it once on my way here,” said a little girl with purplish-red hair, about four feet tall, pointing at the island as she addressed the woman beside her. “That big oaf named Shi Qinhu was accepted by Hong Tao right here on this island!”

“Since you’ve been here before, let’s spend the night on this island,” the woman replied. Her voice was cool and clear, her face serene and unadorned, her gown the pale shade of moonlight—all these spoke volumes about her nature.

She was none other than Sikong Mingyue, the grandmaster of North Sea’s Bright Moon Island, revered as the Lady of the Bright Moon. Forty years ago, when she roamed the martial world, her breathtaking beauty earned her the title Bright Moon Fairy. Alongside Ning Qingyu of Azure Cloud Sect and Mei Xueyun of Snowpeak Sect, she was celebrated as one of the Three Fairies of the Martial World.

Though many decades had passed, time seemed to have left no mark upon her features. Instead, the profound cultivation she possessed only enhanced her ethereal grace, her presence as luminous and chilling as the moon itself. In her company, one could not help but feel humbled.

Next to Sikong Mingyue was the little girl with features resembling her own—the little princess of Thunder Gate Island in the South Sea, daughter of the revered Thunder Sovereign, and known in the martial world as Little Blaze: Lei Chier. Though she looked no older than eight or nine, she was in truth already fourteen. Having attained the rank of martial master at a tender age, her body and bones had been refined by mysterious energies, leaving her forever youthful in appearance.

In terms of strength, she already ranked sixty-eighth on the Heroes List—a prodigy, and the youngest to be so honored. Because her mother’s beauty closely resembled that of Sikong Mingyue, Lei Chier herself bore the same likeness as the grandmaster did in her youth, earning her special affection. So it was that Lei Chier called her “Auntie.”

Two months prior, upon learning that Sikong Mingyue had emerged from seclusion, Lei Chier traveled with Hong Tao’s fleet from Thunder Gate Island to Bright Moon Island to pay her respects, and had been kept on the island since. Only now was she being personally escorted home to Thunder Gate Island.

Perhaps because she was still so young, Lei Chier was especially lively. Hearing Sikong Mingyue’s decision, she clapped her hands and laughed with delight. “Wonderful! Wonderful!”

“The last time I was here, someone called Wan Gu Xiao summoned a swarm of snakes to attack Blackstone Fortress. Another man, Ma Buti, was chasing after him. Hong Tao ordered Ma Buti to drive Wan Gu Xiao away. I wonder if those two are still here after these two months?”

Over two months ago, Lei Chier and Hong Tao had sailed north from Thunder Gate Island to Bright Moon Island, arriving just as Wan Gu Xiao ambushed Lu Hai and incited a snake horde with his sonic arts to besiege Blackstone Fortress. If not for Hong Tao bringing out the Drunken Dragon Incense to stupefy all the serpents, Blackstone Fortress would surely have suffered grievous losses, if it survived at all. Ma Buti’s pursuit of Wan Gu Xiao had also played out before Lei Chier’s eyes.

Now, beholding Blackstone Island once more, Lei Chier chattered on to Sikong Mingyue.

“Blackstone Island—so it was here that Hong Tao accepted Shi Qinhu as his disciple?” asked Sikong Mingyue. She too had met Shi Qinhu before. While not blessed with innate talent, he was nonetheless an outstanding figure among ordinary men, worthy of being taken in by a martial grandmaster.

“That’s right!” Lei Chier replied. “Hong Tao said that Ma Buting and Ma Buti of the Xiliang Ma clan had occupied nearby Longsang Island. He suspected they harbored ill intentions. So he accepted a disciple on Blackstone Island to make future involvement more convenient!”

“Whoosh!” Just as Lu Sheng was busy erasing traces by the pond, high above Blackstone Island, a giant eagle with a wingspan of several yards swooped down from the north with a piercing cry.

“Auntie, the black rocky mountain ahead is Blackstone Island. I visited it once on my way here,” said the little girl with purplish-red hair, about four feet tall, pointing at the island as she addressed the woman beside her. “That big oaf named Shi Qinhu was accepted by Hong Tao right here on this island!”

“Since you’ve been here before, let’s spend the night on this island,” the woman replied. Her voice was cool and clear, her face serene and unadorned, her gown the pale shade of moonlight—all these spoke volumes about her nature.

She was none other than Sikong Mingyue, the grandmaster of North Sea’s Bright Moon Island, revered as the Lady of the Bright Moon. Forty years ago, when she roamed the martial world, her breathtaking beauty earned her the title Bright Moon Fairy. Alongside Ning Qingyu of Azure Cloud Sect and Mei Xueyun of Snowpeak Sect, she was celebrated as one of the Three Fairies of the Martial World.

Though many decades had passed, time seemed to have left no mark upon her features. Instead, the profound cultivation she possessed only enhanced her ethereal grace, her presence as luminous and chilling as the moon itself. In her company, one could not help but feel humbled.

Next to Sikong Mingyue was the little girl with features resembling her own—the little princess of Thunder Gate Island in the South Sea, daughter of the revered Thunder Sovereign, and known in the martial world as Little Blaze: Lei Chier. Though she looked no older than eight or nine, she was in truth already fourteen. Having attained the rank of martial master at a tender age, her body and bones had been refined by mysterious energies, leaving her forever youthful in appearance.

In terms of strength, she already ranked sixty-eighth on the Heroes List—a prodigy, and the youngest to be so honored. Because her mother’s beauty closely resembled that of Sikong Mingyue, Lei Chier herself bore the same likeness as the grandmaster did in her youth, earning her special affection. So it was that Lei Chier called her “Auntie.”

Two months prior, upon learning that Sikong Mingyue had emerged from seclusion, Lei Chier traveled with Hong Tao’s fleet from Thunder Gate Island to Bright Moon Island to pay her respects, and had been kept on the island since. Only now was she being personally escorted home to Thunder Gate Island.

Perhaps because she was still so young, Lei Chier was especially lively. Hearing Sikong Mingyue’s decision, she clapped her hands and laughed with delight. “Wonderful! Wonderful!”

“The last time I was here, someone called Wan Gu Xiao summoned a swarm of snakes to attack Blackstone Fortress. Another man, Ma Buti, was chasing after him. Hong Tao ordered Ma Buti to drive Wan Gu Xiao away. I wonder if those two are still here after these two months?”

Over two months ago, Lei Chier and Hong Tao had sailed north from Thunder Gate Island to Bright Moon Island, arriving just as Wan Gu Xiao ambushed Lu Hai and incited a snake horde with his sonic arts to besiege Blackstone Fortress. If not for Hong Tao bringing out the Drunken Dragon Incense to stupefy all the serpents, Blackstone Fortress would surely have suffered grievous losses, if it survived at all. Ma Buti’s pursuit of Wan Gu Xiao had also played out before Lei Chier’s eyes.

At this very moment...