Chapter 21
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The next morning, a young man in white armor, with a face like jade, stood outside the Xuanji Hall, his brows furrowed deeply, seeming a bit haggard. He took a step forward and then retreated, took a few steps, and stopped again, as if hesitating to make a decision.
The disciple guarding the hall couldn’t help but ask, “What’s wrong, Senior Brother Wen?”
This person was indeed Wen Xiuyang. Upon hearing this, he sighed deeply and gritted his teeth, saying, “It’s nothing.” Then, with a stiff expression, he pushed open the door.
The morning light penetrated through the lush bamboo forest and the black jade carved windows, illuminating the two figures sitting opposite each other in the hall. Xu Shuangce always had an expressionless face and a straight posture. He wore an ivory white robe with black borders, embroidered with the golden emblem of the Cangyang Sect. The young man sitting opposite him was probably around sixteen or seventeen years old. His profile was transparent in the morning light as if emitting a faint glow. He was struggling to memorize his books, and he was Gong Wei.
Wen Xiuyang dared not raise his head and stood still, bowing respectfully. “Sect Master, I’m here for duty.”
Xu Shuangce didn’t even look at him, just waved his hand.
Gong Wei was about to get up from the cushion to bow to his senior brother, but he was stopped by Xu Shuangce. “Keep reciting.”
Wen Xiuyang lowered his gaze and retreated to the side of a stone pillar in the hall, only to hear Gong Wei say, “Oh,” and sit down to continue reciting his book.
Perhaps the sincere expectations of Sect Master Xu from yesterday had touched the heavens. The dull-witted disciple had studied hard all night and managed to memorize the first volume of the “Soul Fixation Technique” fairly well. Although there were mistakes and omissions during recitation, whenever Sect Master Xu frowned slightly, the observant disciple immediately corrected himself. After repeating this process about eighteen or nineteen times, he finally stumbled through to the end. However, the last two or three sentences were truly beyond his ability. It took him nearly half an hour to finish reciting them correctly.
Xu Shuangce said, “Although you can recite it, it’s still too unfamiliar.”
Gong Wei just wanted to buy some time and didn’t want to be casually thrown into the Cold Mountain Prison for three to five days by him. He immediately said, “Disciple dare not disappoint Master’s earnest teachings and expectations. Although I didn’t recite fluently just now, it was because I felt nervous upon seeing Master, so I lost focus. If I go back and study hard for another two days, I will definitely be able to recite the entire first volume fluently. Please judge, Master!”
Xu Shuangce frowned and asked, “Why are you nervous?”
Gong Wei solemnly replied, “It’s because of Master’s awe-inspiring presence.”
“But I am your Sect Master, not some intimidating figure.” Gong Wei immediately nodded, “Yes.”
“So when you see me, you should feel a sense of closeness, why would you be intimidated?”
“…”
Xu Shuangce said, “So it’s still because of your lack of diligence.” There was a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.
“…”
Gong Wei stood stiffly for a long time, unable to respond.
“— Master’s insight is as sharp as a torch, and I truly admire it!” After a long while, he took a deep breath and bowed deeply, saying with a heavy heart, “The reason why I recited poorly just now was indeed due to another difficult-to-mention reason!”
“Oh?” Xu Shuangce finally spoke after a moment of silence. “What reason?”
“Last night, I studied hard all night, solely focusing on not disappointing Sect Master’s diligent teachings and earnest expectations. As a result, I couldn’t eat or drink properly, and I didn’t even have a proper breakfast. I couldn’t recite the first volume fluently just now probably because I couldn’t bear the hunger in my stomach. I just need to go back and have lunch to ensure I can do it properly. Please judge, Sect Master!”
The hall fell silent.
“…”
Xu Shuangce stared at Gong Wei steadily, his expressionless face not changing. Gong Wei could even see his own reflection in his deep eyes. After a while, Xu Shuangce spoke, “Makes sense.”
If Wen Xiuyang was just afraid to speak earlier, his heart was now almost stopping in his chest.
Suddenly, Xu Shuangce reached out, performed a technique to summon something from afar, and immediately, a crimson light flashed in front of him, revealing four large and round peaches neatly arranged on a silver-blue porcelain plate!
With a light ding, he slowly placed the porcelain plate in front of Gong Wei.
The water peaches had flawless skins, emitting a tempting fragrance, clearly indicating that they were not ordinary fruits – of course, they weren’t ordinary. Everyone in the world knew that the peach grove outside Sect Master Xu’s sleeping quarters never withered throughout the year, and it was widely known that it was cultivated after the beating of the Law Flower Immortal!
Gong Wei stared at the four peaches for a long time, moved to the point where he couldn’t even look directly at them, and said after a while, “Master, I am filled with trepidation, and I am speechless…”
Xu Shuangce said, “No need to say more. Eat.”
Gong Wei picked up a peach under the oppressive gaze, his hands trembling as he took a bite, feeling as if he were swallowing his own flesh and blood alive.
-But upon careful thought, there was indeed no difference, because if Xu Shuangce found out about his resurrection, he might end up worse than if he had swallowed his own flesh and blood. Boss Xu definitely had ten thousand ways to make him regret why he had come back to life.
He finished all four peaches, realizing that the fruits nurtured by his own blood were indeed even more delicious. Feeling even more regretful, he put down the peach pits and said, “Master, I…”
A piece of silver silk with the scent of sandalwood fell down and conveniently covered his damp fingers.
Xu Shuangce said, “Wipe them.”
Gong Wei held the silk as if holding a decree or oracle, and wiped his hands laboriously.
“Are you full now?”
If he wasn’t full, there were thousands of peaches waiting outside. Gong Wei was immediately touched. “I’m full.”
“Can you recite your books properly now?”
“…Yes!”
This time, Master’s sincere expectations not only touched the heavens but also moved his disciple. Gong Wei recited the entire first volume of the Soul Fixation Technique fluently and flawlessly, with only a few stumbles in between. It was as if the two hundred frogs in the lotus pond from last night had reappeared in the mortal world. When Gong Wei finished reciting the last word, Xu Shuangce finally uttered a sound:
“This time, it’s acceptable.”
More than just “acceptable,” for “Xiang Xiaoyuan,” it was simply an outstanding performance. Gong Wei recalled in his past life when he was taught to write by him, no matter how well he wrote later on, all he received was a cold “acceptable.” Couldn’t help but think that Boss Xu’s praise was still so stingy, he must be petty-minded.
He slightly widened his eyes and looked at Xu Shuangce, only to see Sect Master Xu ponder for a moment, as if hesitating about something.
“Never mind.” He finally said nothing more, just waved his hand and said, “Go play.”
A subtle sense of unease flashed through Gong Wei’s heart, but he couldn’t quite tell if it was disappointment as people say, so he just nodded and replied, “Yes,” then took a few steps back respectfully, and said, “Senior Brother, I’m leaving.” Then he turned around and briskly walked out of the hall.
The wind came from afar, carrying a few crimson peach petals, brushing past the towering Xuanji Hall like a fairyland.
The young man leaped lightly over the threshold, his hands behind his back, and the sleeves of his robe lifted a curve in the focused eyes of Xu Shuangce, then disappeared at the end of the white jade long steps.
The hall remained silent for a while. Wen Xiuyang stared at the ground beneath his feet, his whole body tense like a bow. Suddenly, he heard Xu Shuangce’s faint voice from the front:
“Xiuyang.”
“…Yes.”
“Do you seem to have something to say?”
The sound of the wind outside the hall had ceased at some point. Wen Xiuyang felt his throat constricted as if by invisible iron wires. After a long while, he heard his own hoarse voice saying, “…Reporting to the Sect Master, disciple has nothing to say.”
“Is that so?”
Every second felt endless. The fabric behind Wen Xiuyang was soaked with sweat bit by bit. After an unknown amount of time, Xu Shuangce’s voice rang out from above his head once again, slow and clear, word by word:
“Then I’ll grant you another jade pendant. Be careful next time and don’t break it again.”
The suffocating breath finally loosened from Wen Xiuyang’s throat, but fortunately, he covered it up with a knee “thud!” sound, and said with a trembling voice, “Thank you, Sect Master!”
?
Thud!
A stone skipped three times on the water, perfectly creating ripples.
Gong Wei was an honest person. If Xu Shuangce told him to go play, he would really go play – wasn’t going back to continue memorizing that dreadful Soul Fixation Technique worse?
Xuanji Hall was frighteningly large. He never had the chance to explore it properly in his past life. Only today did he realize that its inner hall was like a complex of buildings, with pavilions, towers, corridors, and halls; the successive heads of the Cangyang Sect rarely intervened in worldly affairs and spent most of their time on the mountaintop, probably always pondering architectural designs.
He wandered around, and it took him half a day to reach the end of the building complex, beyond which lay a deep mountain ravine. A suspension bridge spanned the chasm, leading to the vast and uninhabited mountains on the other side. Just as Gong Wei was about to turn back, his footsteps suddenly paused.
In the distant pale blue mountains, there was a faint glimpse of a building with glazed tiles and silver eaves, surprisingly another structure.
Gong Wei had no idea that there was a palace hidden in such a remote mountain, and it was directly opposite Xu Shuangce’s residence, showing a subtle matching trend. His first reaction was that it might be the tomb of the previous heads of the sect. He was immediately curious, thinking that he only knew what kind of house Xu Shuangce lived in while alive, but hadn’t seen what kind of tomb he would sleep in after death. Seeing that there was no one around, he tiptoed onto the suspension bridge.
His steps were much lighter and faster than ordinary people’s. He hopped and skipped for half an hour before the scenery suddenly opened up before him. He saw a huge palace nestled in the withered forest, with flying eaves and drooping corners on three sides. The endless silver dome under the dim sky appeared even more silent and beautiful, yet there was a palpable sense of oppression.
The door of the hall was half open, as if no one had been there for a long time, and the surrounding mountains were so quiet that not even a bird’s cry could be heard.
Gong Wei stood with his hands behind his back, looking up at the palace, and a strange feeling suddenly surged in his heart.
This building didn’t seem like a tomb, but its style was too oppressive, as if the builder wanted to use it to suppress something tightly.
Which previous head of the sect built this hall?
What does he want to use it for?
He lightly ascended the steps, pushed open the door, and a gentle breeze swept into the hall, lifting layers of crimson veils, like countless peach blossoms blooming in an instant.
The spacious paulownia wood floor extended into the distance, with twelve screens made of huge whale bones dividing it, which were now wide open.
Gong Wei stopped in front of the screen door, looked around for a while, feeling that there was something out of place, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
The wide teakwood floor extended into the distance, ending with twelve folding screens made of huge whale bones, which were now wide open.
Gong Wei stopped in front of the folding screens, looking around for a while, feeling as if something was amiss, but unable to pinpoint what it was.
He had seen the bed where Xu Shuangce slept, spacious and square, hard and flat, just like its owner’s personality – strict and cold; but this inner room had a high bed, soft pillows, draped with light veils, and on the jade desk were pen holders and paper, various playthings were displayed on the antique shelf, rich in interest, completely different from Xu Shuangce’s style. On the ivory-white walls hung a set of twelve ancient paintings, depicting the legendary stories heard by everyone when disciples of the Xuanmen were initiated, “The Ghost Crown Prince Welcomes His Bride Painting”.
This set of paintings had obviously aged, the overall color had faded and turned yellow, and Gong Wei’s gaze fell on the eighth painting in the middle, and his eyelids suddenly twitched.
The painting depicted a small fox playing a suona, with an adorable and lively appearance, anyone who saw it would find it cute. But there were suddenly splashes of something in the lower corner of the painting, faint dots, which had faded into dark red with the passage of time.
That was a mouthful of blood coughed up.
Gong Wei stood there puzzled, and suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something else –
On the jade desk below the painting, there was a very familiar short dagger placed upright, the blade still emitting a faint blue light.
It was the dagger that failed to kill Xu Shuangce on the Ascension Platform sixteen years ago!
The Sect Master of the Immortalization realm was immune to all poisons, except for the “Secret Communication of Yin and Yang Chaos Great Mantra” created by the Ghost Gate, which recorded a method specifically for refining the Ninefold Yellow Spring Water, known as the Sacred Medicine of the Underworld, which was the only poison in the world that could seal the spirit veins with blood for Immortalization stage cultivators. The Ghost Gate had long been exterminated, and its forbidden techniques had been permanently sealed, but Gong Wei was someone who had transcribed all the scrolls with just a pen. When he failed to assassinate Xu Shuangce with this poison, the dagger disappeared without a trace. He had thought that it had long been permanently sealed away in the Immortal Alliance, but unexpectedly, he saw it again today.
Why was this most deadly blade here?
A chill rose from the bottom of his heart, Gong Wei stepped back half a step, suddenly looked around, and finally found where the anomaly lay.
—-The beams, screen doors, window mullions, and even the couches in the hall were all carved with subtle patterns, but upon closer inspection, they were not ordinary decorations, but forbidden spell diagrams. The density and depth of their power were unprecedented. Once all the forbidden spells were activated simultaneously, even Daluo Jinxin could be trapped to death here.
This hall was not a tomb, it was a huge prison!
“Who’s in the hall?!”
Suddenly, a questioning voice came from outside the window, Gong Wei turned his head to seek the source of the sound – there was someone here!
He hesitated for a moment, didn’t say anything, and took two steps back towards the wall. The voice outside the door didn’t hear an answer. When it spoke again, it became suddenly severe: “The formation below the mountain has been broken, has anyone entered the hall?”
“…”
“This is the sacred land of the sect, come out for me!”
Gong Wei felt suspicious, still standing still, but then saw a flash of sword light piercing through the window mullions, extremely swift and fierce, heading straight towards his face!
Gong Wei dodged back, but the sword light followed him like lightning, forcing him back several yards in an instant. The door of the hall was close behind him, Gong Wei’s brow twitched slightly, and he pinched the sword light with his two fingers. The poisonous snake-like edge seemed to suddenly lose its fangs between his fingers, and then he gave it a twist –
In that twist, the fierce edge vanished as if by magic, disappearing against his wrist.
With a bang, the door of the hall was pushed open, Gong Wei didn’t struggle, and directly rolled down the steps in front of the intruder.
“Who goes there?!”
Gong Wei had just fallen backward to the ground, and a sword tip was pointed at his nose.
The comer was a young man with a fierce expression, dressed in white armor, with a silver crown tied around his hair, dressed similarly to Wen Xiuyang, apparently also one of the eight hall guardians appointed by Xu Shuangce. He looked slightly younger than Wen Xiuyang, with a very handsome face, but his complexion was pale and gray, his neck and hands were bulging with blue-purple blood vessels, obviously still recovering from a heavy cold.
Gong Wei remembered who he was, his face changed suddenly as if by magic, excited and affectionate:
“Brother Ji!”
“…”
“Don’t you recognize me, Brother Ji?!”
“……………”
Wen Xiuyang’s youngest junior brother, known as the “Star of Prosperity” in the Xuanmen, the little geezer with one foot in the grave in which the Grand Elder personally pasted a note on his forehead in his previous life – Sheng Bo, who had just been released from the Cold Mountain Prison yesterday, completely unaware that he was just a chicken killed to show the monkey.
He stared blankly at Gong Wei for a moment, then asked in doubt, “Aren’t you the outer disciple named Xiang Xiaoyuan? What are you doing here?”
Realizing that he was not a bad person, Sheng Bo moved the glaring sword tip away by half an inch. Gong Wei took advantage of the gap to climb up, wiped his face with his hands, and suddenly became tearful: “Senior Brother, I got lost, I don’t know how, but after crossing a bridge, I came here, it’s so dark inside, I’m so scared, there’s no one here, I don’t know how to get out…”
Sheng Bo wasn’t easy to fool: “You got lost and ended up here?”
Gong Wei looked pitifully at him, “Senior Brother, please don’t tell the Sect Master, I really can’t memorize that book. The Sect Master said he would check it again at night, and if I can’t memorize it, I’ll be sent to Cold Mountain Prison, and I’ll… I’ll…”
The atmosphere froze for a while, and Sheng Bo couldn’t believe it: “You want to hide here?!”
Gong Wei covered his face, choked up: “Sniff.”
Sheng Bo’s temples twitched violently, and it took him a while to take a deep breath. Then, he burst out cursing heavily: “Nonsense! – It’s a great honor to have the Sect Master personally check your homework. How dare you try to hide and run around recklessly in such an important place of the sect! Do you know where this is?!”
Gong Wei froze in place.
He loosened his hand covering his face slightly, peeking at Sheng Bo with even more grievance through the gap, choking back tears: “I, I heard it’s the tomb of the former Sect Master…”
“Who said that? This is the forbidden place personally constructed by the former Sect Master twenty years ago. Besides the Sect Master, no one else has entered here!” Sheng Bo’s tone was extremely fierce: “For the past twenty years, everyone knows that anyone who intrudes into this hall will be punished regardless of the consequences!”
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