The Heavenly River Falls

"Who awakens first from the great dream? I know myself all my life."

[Outwardly aloof master x reborn, universally adored phoenix-like heroine x wooden-headed murderous junior disciple]

A love triangle full of self-sacrifice, plus a carefree, wuxia-style fantasy tale

*

Lianzhou opened and closed her eyes, and somehow returned to five hundred years earlier, back when she was still a drifter at the sect.

Looking at her fellow disciples, tuning their zithers and sipping tea across the mountainside, oblivious to the coming war between immortals and demons, she packed her things and resolutely switched over to the Sword Venerable next door.

When the sword cultivators first saw this gentle, fragile music cultivator holding a zither, they sneered. "Must be nice to have it so easy that she came here looking for hardship. Someone, beat her up and send her back to Qiwufeng!"

...Then they witnessed the music cultivator swinging her zither to kill someone (attempted).

*

The great battle arrived as expected. As the various immortal sects stood on the mountain peaks, ready for battle, they spotted a familiar zither-playing fairy sitting at the very back of the enemy ranks, seated in a phoenix carriage drawn by eight Tufeis.

...Had this woman really worked her way up to the inner circle?

The Sword Venerable drew his sword and pointed its cold gleam at his former beloved disciple, now a wicked traitor.

But his closed-door disciple stepped in front of him.

As the two faced off, everyone in the immortal sects who knew their history was stunned. "Traitorous disciple," "new love," "demoness"... gossip and accusations erupted all around them.

Seeing that no one could strike her for the moment, Lianzhou smiled faintly and set her jade fingers on the strings:

"Not going to make a move? Then I'll play first."

*

Lianzhou was the beloved disciple of Sword Venerable Huaixu of the White Deer Sect. Even after switching to sword cultivation, she was highly regarded by the music cultivators of Qiwufeng, and her friends were found throughout the land.

Yet in the year 484 of the Tianhua era, she betrayed her sect without a word and joined the demonic cult, becoming a demonic cultivator everyone loved to hate. With her zither music, she could stir people's hearts and help the forces of evil.

After that, when all was settled, she became no more than an echo beneath a storyteller's clapper, the fairy of the lotus pond in children's songs at the mouth of the alley.

[About the setting]

1. This is a world of cultivation with a strong sense of morality. Besides cultivating themselves, immortals draw some of their power from incense offerings, so everyone tries to be a good person.

2. If you've already become an immortal, there's no need to reproduce. All immortals have been sterilized.

3. Then why do they still fall in love? Because I said so.

Theme: Just messing with you