Ling Yu

First meet

Ling Yu, the descendant of the ancient mythical beast Roc and an immortal, was initially an egg gestated in the belly of the Roc. Later, the immortal died suddenly in the war between immortals and devils, causing the Roc to fall into a frenzy. While passing through the North Continent, the egg fell onto the peak of Xuan Tie Mountain. Nourished by the spiritual energy contained within Xuan Tie Mountain, the egg remained undamaged for thousands of years until it was discovered and brought back by Headmaster Yuanshi. Observing that the egg was extraordinary, Master Yuanshi raised it with great care, treating it as his own.

Later, Ling Yu broke out of her shell and took on a human form resembling her mother from her dreams. Ji Fangsheng has now promoted her as the master of the newly opened Lingxiao Cave, though she does not yet have any disciples under her tutelage.

The Roc

In the northern ocean there is a fish, named Kun. The scale of the Kun is so vast that no one knows how many thousands of miles it extends. It transforms into a bird, named Peng (Roc). The back of the Peng is so broad that no one knows how many thousands of miles it spans. When it rouses itself and flies, its wings are like clouds hanging down from the sky.

Back when the Three Continents were still known as the "Source Nine Provinces," the mythical beast Peng often soared between the heavenly pillars. In those days, the conflict between immortals and devils had not yet grown fierce, and there were still immortals who rode the wind, traversing the scenery of heaven and earth in the blink of an eye. One day, a newly enlightened cultivator named Changfeng was riding the wind to the northernmost edge of the Eight Desolations when he suddenly felt exhausted in mind and spirit. He found a small island in the water to rest, waking up only three days later. In his dream, Changfeng saw a woman standing in the water, frequently gazing at the endless sky and sighing. Upon waking, Changfeng did not understand the meaning of the dream, but felt his body and mind thoroughly cleansed, feeling as refreshed as if he had absorbed the Innate Qi. For several months thereafter, Changfeng often came to the island to meditate and enter the dream state to converse with the woman. He gradually learned that she was actually a descendant of the mythical beast Kun, who was stranded alone in the North Sea due to accidental contamination by demonic Qi, unable to transform into a Peng and follow her clan. When Changfeng woke up, he finally realized that the small island beneath him was the back of the Kun, and the scenery in the dream was the spiritual communion between the Kun and himself. To help the Kun transform into a Peng, Changfeng harvested spiritual herbs from the places with the most abundant spiritual energy in the Nine Provinces for her to consume. After several months, the Kun regained her clarity of mind, cleansed the demonic Qi, grew a pair of wings, and transformed into a Peng. Together with Changfeng on her wings, she roamed above the nine heavens, no longer seeking her clan.

Good times did not last. Over the years, spiritual energy in the world grew increasingly scarce while demonic Qi intensified, ultimately leading to the outbreak of the war between immortals and devils. Subsequently, the heavenly pillars collapsed, and the extremities of the Nine Provinces were the first to be occupied by demonic Qi. Knowing there was no longer a place to survive, the Peng wished to follow Changfeng to escape into another realm created by the immortals, but was blocked by them, who claimed that the immortal realms did not permit outsiders to enter, and mythical beasts were no exception. Furious, Changfeng drew his sword to force his way in, but was ultimately killed, outnumbered by the crowd. The Peng fell into a frenzy, destroyed the entrance to that realm, and fled all the way south, her whereabouts remaining unknown to the world.

Thousands of years later, Master Yuanshi of Guizhi Cave, the Headmaster of the Duan Xuan Sect, chanced upon a giant beast's egg on Xuan Tie Mountain and brought it to a hidden cave to raise it with care. Later, following the rebellion of Ji Fangli, Master Yuanshi passed away. A month later, the infant inside the egg gradually sensed this and broke out of the shell. Disciples of the sect rushed over and found an infant covered in feathers with wings, brimming with spiritual energy and capable of understanding human speech. A few months later, the infant was actually able to spontaneously transform into an adult human form, calling herself "Ling Yu" and stating it was the final gift left to her by her mother.

Feather Fall

It is said that while Ling Yu was still gestating in her mother's womb, she could actually commune spiritually with her mother, often transforming into a gentle breeze to enter the Peng's dreams. In those dreams, Changfeng and the Peng discussed the state of immortals and devils in the world, and Ling Yu listened silently, unnoticed by either parent. Hearing this, Ling Yu could never understand why such struggles existed in the human world, yet she committed all of it silently to memory.

After breaking her shell and transforming into human form, Ling Yu was eager to inquire about her parents' whereabouts. The sect members were astonished by her appearance but knew absolutely nothing about the ancient Kunpeng. When Ling Yu asked about her adoptive father, she learned that after a great battle, Master Yuanshi had been slain by Ji Fangli. Overcome with surging emotions, Ling Yu spread her wings and flew, intending to head to Life Death Cliff to seek vengeance. Hearing of this, Ji Fangsheng quickly stepped forward to stop her. After only a few rounds of fighting, Ji Fangsheng felt that this person was extraordinary—despite not having spent a single day in the Duan Xuan Sect, she was already well-versed in the sect's various cultivation methods, applying them to her wings with effects far beyond what ordinary fists and feet could achieve. Ling Yu stated that she had fallen onto Xuan Tie Mountain thousands of years ago, preserved through the ages by the mountain's spiritual energy. As for her Duan Xuan techniques, she had learned them by accidentally wandering into disciples' dreams while searching for her parents; over a thousand years, every single form and stance had long been memorized by heart, only lacking formal application due to her lack of worldly experience.

Later, Ji Fangsheng invited Ling Yu to formally join the Duan Xuan Sect and informed her of the situation across the Three Continents and the sect's vital duties over the past few centuries. Hearing this, Ling Yu became even more perplexed by the world's turmoils, stating only that she wished to make friends with humans and personally experience the changes of the mortal world. Consequently, Ling Yu frequently accompanied disciples on missions, using her abundant spiritual energy and unique techniques to aid their cultivation. Unbeknownst to her, because Ling Yu often used her wings as steps and the wind as her palms, the ordinary disciples found it impossible to emulate her. Moreover, since she was naive to the world and often spoke like a child, they viewed her as an anomaly. Within the sect, only Xiao Bu could transform spiritual smoke into wings and had learned a few pointers from Ling Yu, leading to frequent interactions between them. On the surface, Ling Yu did not mind the distance from others, simply telling herself that she had not yet mastered the sect's techniques and still needed diligent practice.

Lingxiao

On a night of the full moon, Ye Mingming suddenly broke out in a frenzy inside her cave and rushed to the peak of Xuan Tie Mountain to seek the moonbeams. From afar, she could faintly discern a figure lying beneath a giant tree, bathed in the moonbeams. Delighted, Mingming believed she had finally found a kindred spirit and hurried over. Upon reaching the tree, however, she found Ling Yu weeping while gazing at the moon. Astonished, Mingming stepped forward to ask, learning that Ling Yu had been ridiculed by her peers again during the day and had come out at midnight when no one was around to ease her mind. Having occasionally seen what looked like the silhouette of a flying Peng on the moon, she suspected it might be a trace of her mother but could not reach it, hence her solitary tears. Hearing this and recalling her own past, Mingming actually broke down into tears as well, her wailing even more sorrowful than Ling Yu's. Ling Yu quickly wiped her tears, pulled Mingming into her embrace, and gently patted her back with her wings until drowsiness overcame her, then used her wings as a blanket to help her fall asleep. The next day, when the other disciples learned of this, they finally realized that Ye Mingming also had moments of lucidity on full moon nights. From then on, Mingming's presence in Changuang Cave gradually grew sparse.

By this time, Ji Fangsheng had taken office as the Acting Headmaster, and he perceived the awkwardness of Ling Yu's status—she had only recently joined the sect, so the other disciples ought to regard her as a junior sister, yet her inner energy was profound, and her body inherently possessed the power of the Kunpeng, making it inappropriate to treat her as an ordinary disciple. Ultimately, it was Xiao Bu who came up with a plan—to carve out a brand-new cave within the Duan Xuan Sect, establishing Ling Yu as the cave master, specifically in charge of creating new techniques and teaching. In this way, it would both utilize Ling Yu's specialties and balance her identity. Upon learning of this, Ling Yu gladly accepted and named the cave "Lingxiao Cave"—stating that she wished to pass down the technique of riding the wind to soar into the skies to her fellow sect members to aid their cultivation. From then on, Ling Yu trained with the sect members by day, and by night she studied wind spirit arts, contemplating how to blend wind techniques into the Duan Xuan Sect's Qi Gong. Although most disciples still addressed her as junior sister, their words now carried a few measures of respect. Though there are no disciples yet under the tutelage of Lingxiao Cave, Ye Mingming and Xiao Bu often come to visit, so Ling Yu does not feel lonely; instead, she thoroughly enjoys it, often boasting to the other disciples.

Evaluate fellow daoist

About Xiao Bu: Xiao Bu uses the spirit smoke from her censers as her moves, which is actually somewhat similar to my wind techniques. However, lately, every time she comes to Lingxiao Cave, her spirit smoke gets blown all over the place by the wind. Hehe, next time I must remember to flap my wings more gently!

About Tu Kui: Junior Brother Tu Kui is fierce and fond of fighting. He often gets into conflicts with others and even injures people, which is not very good. Next time, I must persuade him to fight less.

About Ye Mingming: Mingming has days when she regains her clarity too, and lately the times when she can chat normally have been increasing. I really hope she can socialize more with others and not get trapped in her emotions without being able to get out. Making things hard for oneself is never a good thing, after all.

About Ji Fangsheng: Sect Leader Senior Brother actually truly cares about the sect and the disciples, I can feel it. However, he doesn't like to show his face, and when he does, he speaks very little, so he can't express many things. How about I speak on his behalf next time?

About Li Man: Everyone calls me Junior Sister Ling Yu, but only Xiao Man likes to call me Senior Sister. Why on earth is that? I can't figure it out... Oh well, anyway, I know he is a very good person. Next time he comes, I'll give him another feather pendant I made. I hope he can learn wind techniques soon!