Waiting for a Plum Tree to Blossom

[Blurb]

On her way home, Bai Yuanxiang came across a good-for-nothing from an immortal sect whose spiritual meridians were blocked. His name was Li Zishu. She reached out to help him, and somehow ended up unblocking his meridians, too.

For eighteen years, she'd lived like an ascetic. Representing the Guishan Bai clan at the Shengyun Grand Ceremony, she accidentally won ten matches in a row and revealed her spiritual root, shocking the entire cultivation world.

A Flower-Season Spiritual Root, whose spiritual power waxed and waned with the seasons, reaching its peak in summer and fading in winter.

The second person to possess one in a thousand years.

So people said, "A blessing has descended upon the cultivation world!"

Later, when Bai Yuanxiang learned the truth: ...Actually, I'm the reincarnation of the great demon from a thousand years ago.

Later still, she discovered that the world was even more broken than she'd imagined.

The person who gave her the most trouble was Li Zishu.

Ever since this sect leader's son was saved by her, he'd gone down a path of no return, sticking to her with relentless persistence.

She told him that she had no interest in love for her entire life, and would devote herself solely to the Dao.

*

After enduring every hardship imaginable, Li Zishu finally found the young woman who had once saved his life and helped open his spiritual meridians. He brought her back to Guishan, then simply refused to leave himself.

On the night before Bai Yuanxiang went into seclusion, she inexplicably sought out Li Zishu, thinking she should say goodbye. But the words on her lips turned into a kiss.

He felt that trading this one kiss for a lifetime was nowhere near enough.

Bai Yuanxiang: "..."

When she finally emerged from seclusion, the seasonal ebbs and flows of her Flower-Season Spiritual Root no longer affected her. Her cultivation had returned to its peak, and she unexpectedly glimpsed the true secret of her spiritual root.

No, she wasn't the reincarnation of a demon. She was...the reincarnation of a plum blossom spirit born beyond the Five Elements?

Everyone said that only one of the two realms could survive, but she alone could make spring bloom on both sides.

[Cool and resilient x roguish on the outside, gentle within]

* Both are sexually inexperienced, one-on-one romance. The main story has a serious tone, telling a tale about staying true to oneself. Classical immortal fantasy, written in plain language throughout, with a slow-burn romance and extensive original worldbuilding. Not a power fantasy about a dominant heroine. A serious coming-of-age story about growing stronger and battling monsters.

Theme: Keep your heart true, and let dead wood bloom again.