5 The Hairpin Goddess

A year has passed since Lu Yan enter the Wing Sect, he is now hit the 2nd level of Body Refining Stage. Which is the bare minimum for him to continue his apprenticeship. With the resources provided to them it is fairly easy to get into the 2nd level. Those few who fail is just not talented enough or not work hard enough. The sect won't waste further resources for them any longer. Lu Yan achieve it around three months ago, he maybe can do it faster if he works harder. However sometimes it is hard to push yourself more, especially when you know the deadline is still far away. Three months is a good safety line for him, so he never feels any pressure to achieve it.

After a year the outer sect member are allowed to leave the sect if they want to or just take a temporary leave to meet their families. Most new members using this opportunity to do just that. It will be harder for them next time and hard to leave when they are in the middle of cultivating.

Lu Yan however choose to stay at the sect, his hometown just simply too far. It can take months to travel there and back, not to mention the cost of doing so. Making it into the 2nd level doesn't mean anything either, he will still be considered fairly weak there. His plan is to make it into the 5th level before finally make a journey home. by then no one can think lightly of him anymore. Next, he will think about whether he want to come back and practice cultivation further. However, at that time Feng Yanlei might already ascend to the heaven and won't be here anymore.

While reaching the 2nd level is fairly easy for him, his greatest achievement is that he made no trouble in a whole year. That is something that surprisingly is hard to be done here. Some people just too sensitive, they are triggered by the slightest thing. With great power come great ego, the more powerful the people are the more sensitive they are.

Guo Feng doesn't need to be said, he makes a lot of trouble in such period of time. The kind of troubles that is Lu Yan can't ever imagine before and just keep getting more and more. He already so famous here at the sect or at least in the West Wing. The kind of fame that get Lu Yan sometimes amazed at how this guy still alive after offending that amount of people. The only thing that let him still not expelled are definitely his insane talent, since he already reaches the amazing 5th level Body Refining by now.

Lin Fang is the second crazy talent that come as new members. Obviously, she makes some fuss as well in the sect. Though considering she is a pretty girl with a strong family background, no one make it hard for her. Most people just get back when she makes them angry. The only person that dare to slap her back is none other than Guo Feng. Luckily most the time a teacher or senior member will stand between them to cool of the situation. Otherwise one of them is surely been death.

While both of them stay at the sect as well, it is not a matter for Lu Yan. He rarely talks with them anyway; his friends consist of other mediocre disciples that most of them are going home this time. One of them is Xiu Ling, which is somehow become one of his closest friends. Her family live not far from here, with a horse she can be back here in a month or so. However, this make Lu Yan completely alone as of now.

This however is a good thing for his cultivation. Without anyone to chat around he can finally focus on it. Since there is no mandatory class anymore Lu Yan has taken this time to actually goes into a closed-door meditation. He never done it before, though many people taught him it is the true way to make a progress to your breathing technique and thus your cultivation base. There is however no way he can do it at his cottage. This area while getting deserted by now still have a lot distraction for him. Loud sound of people practices their weapons and such can disturb his meditation.

The mountain however is vast, there is easy for him to find a secluded place to meditate. He knows many people doing this and already scouting a good place to meditate. There is a cliff that he visited before, that is rarely visited by other people. There is nothing there or anywhere close, except for a great view. That place also has a cover at its top, to protect him from rain. The perfect spot for him.

The catch surely it is not easy to reach that place, he had to climb quite far to a steep path. As Lu Yan does so he sees a bright light at one top of the peak there. He hesitated for a while, is there some senior member meditating there as well. To be able to emanated such light that person should have been at the Qi Absorption Stage at least. Even than he never saw this kind of light before. This aura just so powerful he can't fathom.

The most logical step he has to take now is to leave. If a senior member does meditate there, he better not disturbs them. However, if it is not, whatever object or person that can emanate such light surely not something he can handle anyway. However, that light is so odd, it ticks his curiosity. The ultimate seed for a trouble.

To keep heading into the cliff and meditate there is not a wise option, it is to close he might get noticed. Going somewhere else surely the best option, checking into the light is the worst he can choose. Yet Lu Yan curiosity get the better of him. Getting closer to the light he can see its source, a person definitely. A woman to be sure, a beautiful woman. From his distance there is supposed to be no way for him to see the woman face. However somehow, he can, even from where he stands he know that is a beautiful woman. Their distance felt blurred and the light is calling him. How it does that, Lu Yan has no idea. There is no sound and the light made no movement, but he knows it is calling him.

Fear glimpsed in his heart but quickly subdued by the light itself. It was like the light can control his feeling and it ordered his heart to feel relax so he does. A few steps from him yet he felt he already move to great distance. He can see the woman even more clearly and as he does something tells him that this woman is not a human. She is a Goddess instead.

She is so perfect, no flaw in her face and body. Liu Fang and Feng Yanlei are the most beautiful girl he ever seen, there no flaw with them either. Liu Fang is feisty and Feng Yanlei is gentle, while this woman is cold. Besides that, she is just different, he just doesn't know how express it. Human has limit however, how can they describe a goddess with their language or mind.

However, it is not her appearance that make Lu Yan sure she is a goddess. Lu Yan has only met one Soul Core patriarch ever, but saw him twice. First when Patriarch Blue giving a brief which is said that he just come back from the heaven himself. That time Lu Yan can feel a different aura with him, an aura that taste like heaven. The second time he met him, the aura is gone or at least dimmed. He thought it was only because the shock is different when he first saw him. Yet today he knows it is not true. The goddess in front of him emanate a similar aura, just a lot stronger. It is so strong that it makes the aura that come with Patriarch Blue before felt like a drawing and this is the real deal. It is not only taste like a heaven, it is the heaven itself. How could he know before he ever set at the heaven? Lu Yan can't be sure. He just knows, there is something printed deep in his head that telling him it is.

Few steps later Lu Yan arrive in front of her. It is supposed to be impossible to cover such distance with just a few steps, but in front of this goddess the world has change. It is not what it meant to be anymore. The air is thicker, the time slower and the distance narrowed. The goddess shows no expression in her face, yet Lu Yan know that somehow the goddess is shocked a little bit seeing Lu Yan.

"You can see me?" it is the first thing that come out of her mouth. "Yes" Lu Yan never spoke it, but he knows the woman can hear him. Complete with the confused tone that supposed to come from his mouth. "Weird you are not supposed to, no one supposed to" as the goddess speak fear crept into his heart again. If he is not supposed to see her, is she going to kill him. Yet the aura around him didn't let him to feel afraid, only after a split second he get calmed again.

She examined Lu Yan for some time, looking at him from head to toe. While this happen, Lu Yan felt she is going inside his head and whole body searching for something. Creating some unpleasant feelings that he can't explain. However, there is no way he can resist it. While this process happens, he knows that the goddess in front of her is not able to find the answer she looking for. After a while she finally stop whatever she is doing.

"The question I asked none of us can answer. For yours, I am here looking for something that I can't either. Your appearance here is bizarre and somehow against the law of heaven. It is fate however that we met today. Before we part let me give you this souvenir." While saying that the goddess releases her hairpin and let her hair loose. This scenery is so beautiful for Lu Yan, but he can see some sadness in her eyes. It feels like she doesn't want to depart with that hairpin.

Lu Yan accept it anyway, his body moving on its own there is nothing he can do about it. As he receives it she again commented "I am supposed to depart with this hairpin anyway. As our fate intertwined at this very moment, I guess this hairpin want you to become its owner now. So, take it, it may mean nothing or it may be something important. Either way just keep that hairpin for now." After that words she starts to fly to the heaven. As she did the sky split open to let her pass and, in a moment, she has gone leaving Lu Yan gaping his mouth wide at the ground.

Lu Yan spend some time looking at the sky even there is nothing happen there anymore. He then takes a look the hairpin he got. It is real, the hairpin made by jade and look beautiful. However, there is nothing strange about it. He heard a lot about some magical items but never actually possess any. Since this is given by a goddess this surely is one of that. Maybe when he reaches the Qi Absorption Stage one day, he might be able to appraise and use this jade hairpin. If not than this jade hairpin he will just trade it for some fortune.

After the incident Lu Yan get back to the cliff he supposed to meditate at. He swallows a pill to help him cultivate. There is two type of cultivation potion given to the disciples, one is a pill and the other is a liquid elixir. While made by different ingredients and substance, it is mostly at are the same low-quality potion. Different people may have different effect according to their compatibility but for Lu Yan never felt the difference. He prefers pills though, as the elixir bottle may break if he drops it.

This low-quality potion is very effective for the 3rd level of Body Refining and under. Its effectivity gradually lower as they go into the higher stage. After the 5th level it is almost not effective anymore. Speaking off this for people like Guo Feng that able to break into the 5th level in a year, relying only this cheap potion is almost a miracle. Still however nobody believe he can break into the 6th level if he not joins the inner sect soon.

A few hours after Lu Yan start meditating he able to gone deep and feel an increase of his cultivation by some margin. If he can keep it like this it is not impossible for him to breakthrough to the 3rd level when he finishes the meditation. However, this deep focus only stays for a few hours, after that his mind reeling into chaos.

The reason is that relaxing spell from the goddess aura before has losing its effect. Lu Yan emotion that had been suppressed all the way before, got break out at once. His heart thumping like crazy from the fear he had for the goddess, as she is able to kill him with a blink of her eyes anyway. There is also a strange feeling he had for the goddess beauty, that he can't express. Both feelings combined with his sudden jump of cultivation power create a flood of emotion that can't be handled by his heart. This feeling come and go for a few days. No need to say his plan to a solemn meditate had crumbled into pieces by then.