Mount Emei, one of the six major immortal sects in the Divine Continent, has long enjoyed a renowned reputation among the numerous sects and dynasties in the Divine Continent. It has thousands of inner disciples and an innumerable number of outer disciples. It has stood firm on the land of the Divine Continent for ten thousand years and is an unrivaled immortal abode, peerless throughout history.
In the vast expanse of the great land, ten towering and majestic peaks rise from the ground, forming a circular enclosure. They reach up to the heavens and pierce through the clouds. The peculiarity of these mountains is highly conspicuous. From the mid-section upwards of each mountain, it is covered with glistening snow, presenting the appearance of ten snow-capped mountains.
And from the mid-section downwards, it is uniformly a verdant and lush forest, completely unaffected by the snow-capped peaks, brimming with vitality. Seen from afar, with white above and green below, it resembles a mirage.
This is the territory of the immortal sect of Mount Emei.
At this moment, within the lofty and gigantic peak at the northernmost of the nine peaks, a blazing white rainbow cleaves through the sky and hurtles into the mid-section of a peak. Inside the white rainbow, Li Mingru, accompanied by the siblings Lin Xiaolu and Xiaoyuer, descends from the heavens and instantaneously lands in an antique and elegant courtyard. And scarcely had they touched the ground when Lin Xiaolu's clear and shrill cries of distress could be heard.
He was thoroughly terrified. Never in his short life had he been so frightened. During the flight, at the tender age of seven, he beheld countless rivers, seas, and exotic landscapes flitting past beneath his feet, so petrified was he that he almost wet his pants. All he could do was cover his sister's eyes the whole way and scream in horror throughout the journey.
Xiaoyuer, standing beside, glanced at her bawling brother and was somewhat puzzled as to why he was crying so piteously. She had been blindfolded by Lin Xiaolu the entire way and saw nothing, thus not feeling overly afraid.
Shortly after the three of them landed, a maiden in a plain goose-yellow dress with a somewhat chubby face emerged from the courtyard and scurried over to pay obeisance to Li Mingru.
After saluting Li Mingru, the maiden regarded Lin Xiaolu and Xiaoyuer with curiosity, a tinge of astonishment adorning her rosy cheeks:
"Master, you are truly remarkable. You have managed to recruit disciples in just half an hour."
Li Mingru nodded noncommittally and clasped his hands behind his back, saying, "Miaoxin, these two children will henceforth be your junior disciples. I entrust them to your care. Teach them well."
The maiden named Miaoxin beamed with delight upon hearing this and promptly declared in a loud voice, "Master, rest assured. Your disciple knows that the junior brother and sister must be excellent seedlings carefully selected by you. I will surely teach them earnestly and will never bring disgrace to the name of our Star-Picking Lineage."
Li Mingru flushed with embarrassment at the maiden's words, coughed awkwardly, and then glared at Lin Xiaolu, who was still wailing.
"Enough. Haven't you cried enough, Tyrant of Winter Melon Village?"
The boy, with trembling legs, whimpered intermittently for a while longer before finally stifling his sobs and asking tearfully, "Where am I?"
Li Mingru ignored him and simply said, "You two siblings will reside here from now on. Follow your senior sister and cultivate assiduously. Do not cause trouble. Otherwise, I will not show leniency."
With that, he prepared to report to his sect leader sister and then return to his cave abode to resume perusing his licentious tomes.
Once Li Mingru had turned and transformed into a white rainbow shooting into the sky, only the maiden with a chubby face and the two siblings remained in the antique and elegant courtyard. By this time, Lin Xiaolu had calmed down somewhat. He held his sister's hand and regarded the maiden before him.
The maiden also regarded them with curiosity, her bright and charming face filled with pleasant surprise. She smiled in a tone of coaxing a child and said, "Junior brother and sister, greetings. I am Li Miaoxin of the Star-Picking Lineage. From now on, I will be your senior sister. What are your names?"
"Hello, sister. My name is Lin Xiaoyu." Xiaoyuer replied in a clear and crisp voice, blinking her large eyes curiously at her, thinking that this sister before her was extremely beautiful, far more so than all the sisters in the village combined.
Li Miaoxin was almost melted by Xiaoyuer's adorable appearance and was overjoyed. She ruffled her round little head and then cast her beautiful eyes upon Lin Xiaolu.
"Junior brother, what is your name?"
Lin Xiaolu was no longer as frightened. He regarded the maiden, who was around fifteen or sixteen years old, tilted his head up, and snorted coolly, "Woman, you have no right to ask me questions!"
Li Miaoxin was taken aback at this, a brief expression of cute befuddlement on her face. Then she exclaimed, "Ah~ So cute." She then hugged Lin Xiaolu and gave him a vigorous rub, causing the boy to howl in protest.
"Haha." After getting acquainted with the two children, the maiden took one by each hand and cheerfully led them out of the courtyard.
Outside the courtyard, there were rows of lofty pavilions, a stone-paved path, and the fragrant aroma of flowers and plants, like a fairyland. This miraculous scene rather entranced the siblings, and their nervousness and apprehension were somewhat alleviated.
"Junior brother and sister, you must have had a tiring journey. Senior sister will first take you to the dining hall to have a meal and then take you to collect some living supplies."
At the mention of the word "meal", the eyes of the siblings immediately brightened a few degrees.
Lin Xiaolu, being led by Li Miaoxin, walked through the magnificent surroundings and thought that this place seemed rather nice.
Much better than the village, and there was food.
It was just that there seemed to be few people here. Although the environment was beautiful along the way, it was all empty and deserted, with not a soul in sight.
"Woman, why is there no one here?" He asked Li Miaoxin in a brash manner, voicing his doubts.
Li Miaoxin pursed her red lips and said with a smile, "Junior brother, you should call me senior sister."
Lin Xiaolu turned his small face away, indicating his unwillingness. Li Miaoxin then said with an affectionate tone, "If you don't call me senior sister, then I won't pay attention to you." With that, she mimicked the boy's gesture and haughtily turned her head.
This rather angered Lin Xiaolu. He wanted to break free from Li Miaoxin's hand, but try as he might, he could not.
Reluctantly, adhering to the principle of not suffering immediate losses, he finally snorted through his nose, "Senior sister."
"Hmm~" Li Miaoxin, who was leading him, then responded with a smile of delight, "We belong to the Star-Picking Lineage of Mount Emei. This entire Star-Picking Peak is ours.
But due to our master's indolence, he hides in his cave abode every day and does not come out. He also dislikes recruiting disciples. Moreover, the Star-Picking Lineage is rather special in itself. Thus, it has led to the fact that our entire Star-Picking Lineage has only two disciples. One is the senior brother who is currently in seclusion, and the second is senior sister me. Of course, now there are two more of you."
Lin Xiaolu curled his lips upon hearing this. It seemed that the leader they had recognized, he and his sister, was rather unreliable.
The storyteller in the village had said that when one ventures out, the most important thing is to follow the right person. It seemed that he would have to find a new leader for himself and his sister in the future.
He then asked, "What do my sister and I need to do here every day?"
"For the time being, nothing much." Li Miaoxin explained, "You two are still young. First, you will go to the sect's literacy hall to learn to read and write. Then you will learn some basic cultivation concepts. Occasionally, you will also need to do some odd jobs within your capabilities."
"Big sister, will we learn from you?" Xiaoyuer asked curiously, still in her red bellyband.
The maiden affectionately pinched Xiaoyuer's little face and said with a smile, "No."
"Learning to read and write and the basic cultivation concepts will be done in the sect together with the inner disciples of other lineages. Only when you reach the Qi Condensation Realm will senior sister teach you the skills of the Star-Picking Lineage."
"Understood." Lin Xiaolu nodded in a rather precocious manner, "It's similar to going to school in the village."
"Well~" Li Miaoxin thought for a moment and then nodded slowly, "Junior brother is right. The early stage is indeed similar to going to school."