~~~

The One Hundred Frozen Peaks are a cold and inhospitable land where vegetation is scarce and dangerous Spirit Beasts dwell. This mountain range is home to some of the tallest mountains on the continent. The Divine Frozen Peak, in particular, reaches so far into the sky it pierces through the sea of clouds. Many are those who try to climb it. Few succeed. Only those who reach the top can witness how the sun paints the clouds gold and makes the ice glitter in the morning. A more perfect view cannot possibly exist.

This is the view Xiao Shuang wakes up to every morning.

This is the view from the Divine Frozen Palace, which stands miles above even the clouds.

As the disciple of one of the Five Fairies of the Divine Frozen Palace, Xiao Shuang enjoys several privileges her fellow disciples lack. Her room being in one of the uppermost rooms of the palace is one of them. The girl who was once kept locked away now looks on at the world from above.

Once she has finished marveling at the sight—for repetition has failed to make it any less breath-taking—Xiao Shuang bathes and puts on fresh, clean robes. Sky blue and black are the colors worn by the disciples of the Divine Frozen Palace, but it is not rare for disciples to wear all shades of blues, whites, and even greens. Official robes are only necessary for official occasions and when traveling to the outside world.

Still, Xiao Shuang always wears her official robes. It is only proper, even if her friends tease her for it.

The life of a disciple of the Divine Frozen Palace is a busy one. When they are not deep in cultivation, there are all sorts of tasks to be done. Sometimes, it is as simple as maintaining the palace. Other times, some senior sisters will take them to hunt Spirit Beasts around the mountains. Some hunts can last for several weeks. One time, Lady Bai set loose a Horned Snow Fox, a rare breed of Spirit Beast, in the mountains and made them compete to see who could hunt it down first.

Xiao Shuang tried her best but was ultimately defeated by a senior sister. It was a rare moment of frustration for her. The horns of the Horned Snow Fox were of interest to her. Unfortunately, Master Yue misinterpreted the nature of that interest. A mere week after that hunt, Master Yue gifted Xiao Shuang with several Horned Snow Foxes. The skulk of foxes now roams the palace grounds, much to the delight of several disciples.

Xiao Shuang did, however, win the ice shaping competition that took place just a month ago. She takes a lot of pride in that. Even Lady Dai praised her skill, something that is quite rare. Lady Dai may be pleasant and kind to everyone, but genuine praise from her is a rare fruit.

It helped that, unlike many who chose to create sculptures of one of the Five Fairies (and sometimes all five of them), Xiao Shuang chose to recreate the Xiao Sect’s compound from memory. She even included small statues of her family in it.

Xiao Nan’s statue caught the attention of a few of her senior sisters. While Xiao Shuang respects them greatly and considers them a great source of guidance, some of her senior sisters are perhaps a little too interested in… advanced pursuits. Just remembering some of the conversations she has been dragged into is enough to turn her cheeks rosy.

"Little Sister needs to know these sorts of things as well," they'll tell her when she tries to excuse herself. "She's married, isn't she? How will she confront her husband if she doesn't know about Dual Cultivation?"

Liu Jin.

Xiao Shuang's blush fades almost as soon as it appears. When she left Eastern Port City, she had known it could be decades until she saw everyone again. Saw him again.

Now, she knows she'll never see Eastern Port City again, only its ruins. All that remains of her former life are her brother and her husband.

Xiao Fang sends her letters every now and then to tell her of his adventures. She has no doubt he is embellishing things so as to not worry her. That is within his rights. Her brother has his own journey to worry about. She knows he will prevail over all manner of obstacles. Lady Dai has even reassured her that the disciple who now accompanies him will not let anything bad happen to him.

Of her husband, there is no word.

Even Song Daiyu—who has access to the Song family’s information network and regularly corresponds with Xiao Shuang—has yet to hear any news. It is as if Liu Jin vanished into thin air after giving her that letter.

The idea that he could have fallen in some unknown place is not even worth considering. Master Yue told him she’d see him again one day.

Her Master’s wisdom is rarely wrong.

A flutter of wings draws Xiao Shuang’s attention away from her moody thoughts. A beautiful owl made out of ice flies in through a window. The construct is one her Master favors to send messages. Lady Bai shapes her like an eagle, while Lady Dai prefers the hummingbird. Of the remaining two fairies, Xiao Shuang has yet to meet Lady Shao, and Lady Yu prefers not to use constructs.

Xiao Shuang holds out her hand, and the bird lands on it. The moment it makes contact with her skin, the message is transmitted to her through Qi.

Her Master summons her.

~~~

There are times when her Master will sneak into her room late at night. When that happens, Xiao Shuang knows she and her Master are off to some adventure. Master Yue will often throw her into the wilds without supplies or put her in all sorts of life-threatening situations to refine her Body of Extreme Yin. Her Master gets yelled at quite fiercely for such things, but that never stops her from doing them again.

Her Master's wisdom is profound and often inscrutable.

She merely sent a message this time. That means Xiao Shuang can head into the training room without needing to pack supplies first. It is just as well. She has yet to fully recover from their last adventure.

Lady Dai Jie is in the training room as well, standing next to her Master. Such a thing is not unusual. It has been explained to Xiao Shuang that her growth is of great importance to the Divine Frozen Palace. Though her Master is more than capable, it is important for her to experience other perspectives.

Xiao Shuang can read between the lines, but it would be improper to say it.

“Sit,” her master motions to the spot in front of her. Xiao Shuang does as ordered. The large white room feels empty with only three people in it. “I have summoned you here to introduce you to one of the most important concepts in your journey as a cultivator. Today, we talk of Dao.”

Dao.

The mere word sends a chill through Xiao Shuang’s body. How can it not? Dao is one of the highest mysteries of cultivation. Disciples are not properly introduced to it until they have taken several steps in their journey towards divinity. Xiao Nan once told her there is no point in speaking of Dao to someone who is not at least in the Earth Realm. Even then, that may be too soon.

Xiao Nan, who had been at the peak of the Earth Realm, had not managed to reach his Dao despite all his staggering talent. Perhaps if he had…

No, there is no point thinking about it now.

“Master, am I ready for something like this?”

“Naturally,” her master says. “You are no common girl, Little Shuang. You possess a Body of Extreme Yin. That sets you apart from the masses, even in a place such as this.”

Xiao Shuang expected her to say that. Indeed, her master often thinks she is ready for anything. That is how many of her more challenging training sessions begin.

Seeing Lady Dai nod as well comes as a surprise.

“It is as Meng Yue says,” Lady Dai says. “In the first place, you must understand how a Dao is formed. The shape of a Dao depends on the cultivator. However, cultivators who take similar paths will arrive at similar answers. In the Divine Frozen Palace, we teach you of water and frost. The Dao you reach will more often than not be shaped by those paths. One disciple may reach the Dao of Ice while another may reach the Dao of Cold. Even if two people reach the Dao of Ice, that does not mean they will be the same. They may be similar but never the same. Words are ultimately a poor way to express a Dao.”

“By the way, my Dao is Stillness,” Master Yue says, puffing her chest and with a proud smile.

“Do not listen to her,” Lady Dai says with the most deadpan voice Xiao Shuang has ever heard from her. “On this matter, she lies as easily as she breathes. She led us to believe her Dao was Stillness for centuries.”

“It’s not my fault,” her Master pouts and glares at Lady Dai. “It wasn’t meant to be a lie at first, you know? I did think it was Stillness. I just didn’t really understand what my Dao was until much later.”

To take such a long time to understand herself.

Truly, her Master is profound.

“That would be why I am here,” Lady Dai says. “Make no mistake. Meng Yue’s mastery of her Dao is nothing short of astounding. However, the uniqueness of her experience makes her a poor teacher.”

The way her Master frowns but says nothing tells Xiao Shuang she agrees with Lady Dai’s words but cannot bring herself to say it.

“Let me give you another example,” Lady Dai continues. “Just as the Divine Frozen Palace practices Ice, the Eternal Flame Clan dedicates itself to Fire. Thus, it is not surprising for Fire-related Dao to emerge there. However, this can manifest in different ways. Heat. Burning. Wrath.”

“Wrath?”

“Fire is frequently linked to passion and anger, is it not?” Lady Dai asks her. “As evidenced by Meng Yue, whose Dao she will not name, the path a Dao can take can be circuitous and confusing.” Lady Dai frowns. “I believe one of the two brothers who lead the Eternal Flame Clan also has a mysterious Dao. Meng Yue, you should know this better than I.”

“You would need to ask that of Lianshi,” her Master says. She crosses her arms and looks away with a dark frown. “She was the one trapped with Feng Shang while I was left behind… with Feng Gui.”

Her Master says the name with such venom it surprises her. “Master?”

“He is a man who cannot satisfy a woman.”

“Meng Yue!” Lady Dai exclaims.

“He is!” Her Master affirms vehemently. “We had only fought for half an hour when he said there was no longer any purpose in us fighting! I had just been getting started! We had to wait for weeks, and I couldn’t convince him to go again no matter what! He was completely inconsiderate of my needs!”

“Be that as it may, you can’t just say it like that!” Lady Dai pinches the bridge of her nose and takes a deep breath. She looks away from her Master as if doing so would put all she has said out of her mind. Indeed, it seems to work. When she continues, she speaks as if no interruption had taken place. “Xiao Shuang, I have explained all of this so you can understand how a Dao is shaped. This process is one that can take years, decades, or even centuries. However, you have a Body of Extreme Yin. That means your nature has certain predispositions that make it easier for you to shape your Dao. Even more so because you have done your training here. The Divine Frozen Palace is a place of Ice and Cold. The Body of Extreme Yin responds well to such things, which further reinforces your nature.”

“You say things in such a boring way.” Master Yue shakes her head, drawing a glare from Lady Dai. “Little Shuang, there is no need to understand how a Dao is shaped.”

“There is!”

“What is truly important,” her Master continues as though Lady Dai had not interrupted, “is to understand what a Dao is. So I ask you, what is a Dao?”

“A Dao is a power manifested by a cultivator which is dependent on their nature.” Xiao Shuang’s face scrunches into a frown. Even as she speaks, she finds her words wanting. That is not it at all. “A Dao is… the manifestation of a cultivator’s nature.”

“Better,” Master Yue says proudly. “However, you miss the most important thing. A Dao is a weapon.”

Xiao Shuang blinks.

“A weapon?”

“Against Heaven. Against Earth. Against Man. A Dao is a cultivator’s weapon against eternity. A Dao is the spoon with which we dare try to empty the sea. The true beginning of a cultivator’s journey.”

It is perhaps easy to forget amid the many dangers her Master throws her into with a smile, but her Master is a cultivator who has climbed to peaks most can only dream of. When she speaks, she speaks with authority most people simply don’t have. Even Lady Dai, with all her accomplishments, might as well not be in the room when her Master speaks like this.

“Ultimately, a Dao is the truest expression of yourself wielded against everything that is not yourself. For many cultivators, it is an unreachable goal. For others, it is the end of the journey. For us, it is merely the beginning.”

“And you believe I can reach this, Master?”

“I know you can, Little Shuang. Are you ready to learn?”

“Yes, Master!”

~~~