Book 6: Inquire Here

Chapter 173: Inquire Here (1)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

In the spring of the three hundred sixteenth year of the Xia Dynasty, demons ran rampant in the Mortal Realm, with wars breaking out everywhere and the dynasty in decline. People were weary of life, and the common folk struggled to survive. However, despite the perilous conditions, the pursuit of the path to immortality remained unbroken, and there was a steady stream of cultivators who sought to test their luck amidst the chaos and explore the road to immortal ascension.

In the dead of night, on a hillside, dry branches swayed in the chilly night breeze, resembling numerous charred, slender hands reaching out in the pale moonlight. The wild grass, like thin copper wires, trembled. It concealed around a hundred menacing individuals.

“What fine weather,” said the leader. His face was swollen and purplish as if bloated with water, one eye socket was smooth and sunken, and gave the impression of a charcoal drawing with one side inadvertently erased. His grotesque visage, coupled with the aura of brutality, was enough to silence crying infants in the night.

The others nearby murmured in agreement, “Indeed, fine weather. Perfect for keeping watch.”

The leader’s appearance was already fearsome enough, but as the wind rustled through the grass, the moonlight revealed his twenty or so followers, each missing limbs, noses, or ears; they resembled a terrifying painting of hungry ghosts. Upon closer inspection, the deformities were not the result of injuries, but rather inherent natural abnormalities.

As he squinted his right eye, Xu Tianhu scanned the surroundings but couldn’t discern anything unusual. He then ordered, “Sun Er, go and see if they’ve arrived. Don’t keep everyone waiting.”

As the head of the Evil Tiger Cave, Xu Tianhu was known for his treacherous nature, always ready to backstab and attack from behind. However, given his position of authority, he had to maintain a facade of composure and indifference in front of his chosen subordinates.

The scouts immediately complied with their leader’s command, as they snuck forward to a large rock ahead and cautiously peered into the distance. The terrain was peculiar, with towering cliffs on all sides and a depression in the middle, so that it resembled a vast pit, empty save for the darkness.

After he scouted around, Sun Er reported back, “Boss, nothing–” Before he could finish his sentence, a dark arrow came like lightning from afar, and accurately pierced Sun Er’s back from hundreds of yards away. With a muffled thud, Sun Er collapsed, and his purple blood stained his coarse hemp clothes, while the scent of blood filled the air.

Xu Tianhu was taken aback, his men equally shocked. Loud, arrogant laughter came from in  front of them, and within the dense forest emerged a group of figures clad in black, their scabbards coated in dust. In the forefront stood a burly man who loudly declared, “Long time no see, Xu Er. Zhang Chunfu of Calm Sand Range sends his regards!”

In such turbulent times, bandits and marauders thrived and formed vicious factions entrenched in the mountains, beyond the reach of the authorities. Within a hundred miles of Dongshan Village, four powerful bandit strongholds, including Xu Tianhu’s Evil Tiger Cave and Zhang Chunfu’s Calm Sand Range, terrorized the region.

Furious veins bulged on his temples as Xu Tianhu cursed Sun Er for his incompetence in failing to detect the ambush. If Sun Er died cleanly, that would be acceptable, but if he was still breathing, Xu Tianhu would gladly gouge out his eyes and savor them with wine.

“Ah, it’s you, Zhang,” Xu Tianhu remarked, as he dropped the pretense of concealment and stepped into the open. “Such a beautiful moon tonight. Are you here to enjoy the view?”

Simultaneously, he gestured behind his back to his men, preparing for a potential ambush.

Zhang Chunfu laughed heartily. His missing toes forced him to wear heavy iron shoes for mobility, and over time, he had honed his strength, so his laughter now resonated like the tide.

After a moment of laughter, his expression turned cold, and he threatened, “Xu Tianhu, if you have an ounce of courage, come forward and face my men. If I win, I won’t make things difficult for you. I’ll just chop off your hands and legs, gouge out your remaining eye, and spare your life. Do you think the treasures of Calm Sand Range are so easily plundered?”

Recently, Calm Sand Range took a peculiar action on the official road, and captured a scholarly man and his servants. Despite being unarmed, the scholar dared to venture to Dongshan Village, chanting about “following the sun and moon” and “the harmony of yin and yang.” Zhang Chunfu, illiterate and impatient with scholarly gibberish, promptly killed him. However, upon searching the scholar’s belongings, they found two pieces of jade. They were pure as crystal and emitted a mysterious aura. When they were combined, they formed a map of the terrain. 

Ecstatic with the discovery, Zhang Chunfu was overjoyed. However, one morning, he awoke to find one piece of the jade was missing, clearly stolen by someone who had learned of its value. Infuriated, he organized his men to ambush anyone who dared to encroach upon his territory; and led to this confrontation with Xu Tianhu.

Aware of the misunderstanding between them, Xu Tianhu chuckled coldly. “Zhang, you couldn’t even protect your own belongings, yet you blame me? If, in the future, you can’t relieve yourself, or your delicate mistresses can’t bear children, will you blame me then?”

Enraged, Zhang Chunfu roared, “Xu Tianhu, enough with your words! Come and face your death!”

As soon as the words fell, arrows from both sides rained down like a storm, buzzing and tearing sounds, as they incessantly pierced the air. Xu Tianhu leaped onto his horse, brandishing a nine-ring broadsword ¹ , maneuvered left and right, and plunged in the direction of Calm Sand Range. The slope of the ravine was steep; the two sides clashed in an instant, and blood-soaked chaos erupted as battle cries echoed.

Xu Tianhu was born with great strength, and he wielded a heavy and sharp weapon, stained with the blood of countless innocents. Now, mounted on his horse, he swung his weapon fiercely. The sound of impacts reverberated amidst the chaos, as limbs flew in the air. His eyes were red with fury, and he indiscriminately slashed at anyone in his path. When he saw that from a distance, Zhang Chunfu couldn’t help but shout, “You bastard! Face me first!”

With a long spear in hand, Zhang Chunfu engaged Xu Tianhu. Sparks flew in the night sky. Moonlight reflected off two shining silver rings, and the clash of weapons rang out; deafening.

Although both were formidable fighters, their martial skills were unorthodox. Fighting on horseback demanded every ounce of strength and skill. Zhang Chunfu’s spear thrusts were forceful, while Xu Tianhu struggled to parry, and gradually lost ground. Sensing an opportunity, Xu Tianhu feigned a vulnerability.

Thinking Xu Tianhu was weakening, Zhang Chunfu aimed to dismount him first and then finish him off slowly. Suddenly, his spear changed trajectory, and swept horizontally. Xu Tianhu seized the moment and executed a swift maneuver on his horse. He dodged the spear and retaliated with a powerful swing of his nine-ring broadsword, slicing towards Zhang Chunfu’s arm.

Despite his skill in adapting to situations, Zhang Chunfu was caught off guard, and barely avoided the blow. However, his prized horse was instantly disemboweled, blood gushing forth as it collapsed, taking him down with it.

Initially shocked, then enraged, Zhang Chunfu bellowed and thrust his spear recklessly, impaling Xu Tianhu’s horse through the chest. The horse wailed in agony, its hooves thrashing wildly, as Xu Tianhu fell to the ground.

Both covered were in horse blood, as they continued their fierce battle on foot, one wielded his sword with ferocity, the other defended with his spear. The outcome of their struggle was uncertain, until a sharp whistle cut through the air and startled Xu Tianhu. He realized the danger and cried out in alarm. He knew he was trapped between a strong enemy and a hidden threat, unable to escape. He braced himself as an arrow pierced his shoulder.

Zhang Chunfu rejoiced, “Good!” He seized the opportunity, executed a swift move, deflected Xu Tianhu’s nine-ring broadsword with his spear and thrust it into the giant of a man and sent him crashing to the ground.

Injured and weakened, Xu Tianhu was powerless, his limbs severed, reduced to a pitiful wreck. Feigning weakness, he baited Zhang Chunfu, who leaned in to listen, only to have Xu Tianhu lunge forward, tearing off half of his ear with his teeth.

Zhang Chunfu howled in pain. Infuriated, he no longer sought answers. Instead, he turned his spear, intent on delivering a final blow, as he aimed for Xu Tianhu’s missing left eye. With a fierce thrust, his skull shattered, as blood and brains splattering the ground.

With his formidable opponent removed, Zhang Chunfu felt no joy. He paced around, deep in thought, when suddenly, another arrow whistled through the air, finding its mark in Zhang Chunfu’s throat.

As Zhang Chunfu gasped for breath, his men looked on in shock. Iron arrows continued to fly, each finding its target. Within moments, the skilled fighters of Calm Sand Range were all dead, their bodies littering the ground.

Struggling to breathe, Zhang Chunfu watched as four figures emerged from the forest, led by none other than Luo Shifeng, the leader of Flourishing Cloud Slope, one of the other four major strongholds in the region.

“Well done, well done!” Luo Shifeng applauded, his face brimming with satisfaction. “This is truly killing two birds with one stone. A perfect plan! Sun, you’ve done a great job!”

Beside him, a one-armed man bowed humbly, acknowledging the praise.

“How about it, Zhang?” Luo Shifeng limped over to the dying Zhang Chunfu, squatted down leisurely, reached into his clothes, and pulled out a small pouch. From it, he retrieved half of a translucent jade, and placed it in his palm. He then took out another half from his own pocket, and carefully joined them together. “My plan…could you ever have imagined breaking through it? I stole your jade, then had a spy inform Master Xu that you would be here seeking treasure under the full moon. Now you had a reason to fight. Of course, with your martial skills, if I brought too many men, you would have known of my presence. So, I only brought three trusted men and let the arrows do the rest. Tell me, wasn’t my plan bold and ingenious?”

Zhang Chunfu, on the brink of death, listened as Luo Shifeng explained, and his eyes bulged with rage. He was unable to utter a word, yet Luo Shifeng continued to boast, as if determined to make him understand. With the jade in his possession and his explanations complete, Luo Shifeng sighed with satisfaction, stood up and ignored the dying man.

“Let’s go,” Luo Shifeng said. “Let’s see what treasures this so-called opportunity holds.” As he took a few steps forward, he suddenly felt a cold breeze behind him. Though not skilled in martial arts, his instinct for danger was far stronger than the unfortunate duo’s. With a start, Luo Shifeng leaped forward, and narrowly avoided the blade. However his companion beside him, of similar height, was not as fortunate, his throat slit, as he instantly fell silent.

“Sun Si!” Luo Shifeng roared as the realization hit him like a bolt from the blue. “You…you did this on purpose, deliberately making me bring only a few men here, setting up an ambush…”

As he reflected on the strategy of the Oriole behind him ² , he became increasingly apprehensive. He called out repeatedly for his last trusted confidant, “Fourth Leader, your martial prowess is unmatched. Let’s join forces and capture this traitor!”

He called out several times, but there was no response. Luo Shifeng hurriedly turned around, only to see another person laughing sinisterly under the moonlight, as he slowly pulled a blood-drenched dagger out from behind the Fourth Leader.

The newcomer was missing an ear, but his pair of intact eyes gleamed coldly.

Sun Er cheerfully threw a sheepskin blood pouch from behind him as he ran to Sun Si’s side. “Big brother! I’ve completed all the tasks you assigned. Shall we call it a night?”

At that moment, the gloomy man finally revealed a twisted smirk on his face and muttered softly, “Let’s call it a night.”

A mournful cry, akin to a dying crow, echoed alone in the sky above the pit.

Sun Si, with a look of satisfaction, systematically pried open the stiff fingers of his former master, as he retrieved the jade tablets that still shone brightly in his hands. On that single night, three out of the four leaders of Dongshan Village perished there.

“Big brother, how do we get in?” Sun Er curiously asked. “This pit is empty. There’s nothing here.”

“Like this,” Sun Si said. He faced the pale moonlight, took out a water flask from his pocket and sprinkled some water on the jade tablets. An auspicious aura emerged, which immediately diffused the bloody and murderous atmosphere, and revealed faint patterns.

“Eh,” a surprised whisper suddenly came from the shadows, it was a girl’s voice. “I never expected that. I really didn’t!”

Sun Si’s expression changed drastically. He hadn’t expected there to be another ambush. He readied his poisoned arrows, and Sun Er brandished his dagger anxiously. “Who’s there? Show yourself!”

The sound of wind brushing through the treetops, followed by murmurs in the woods. Another gentle male voice sighed helplessly, “Junior sister, you’ve had enough fun watching. Why get involved in these petty struggles?”

The girl’s giggle was like silver bells that scattered across the quiet moonlit hills. “Senior brother, look at the jade in their hands. Though it lacks spiritual energy, it’s clearly a magical tool. Are they qualified to possess it? Why don’t we take it back and end this fun?”

Sun Si’s face immediately turned gray, while only one thought echoed in his mind: immortal cultivators! 

Ants were to ordinary people as ordinary people were to cultivators. Those seekers of immortality with great supernatural powers were not much different from real immortals. With the ability to turn stones into gold, move mountains and calm seas, the great power of cultivators was something they couldn’t contend with.

In a moment of realization, Sun Si made a decision. He respectfully said, “Fairy! We’ve been impolite, and unaware of your esteemed presence. Here. I offer these jade tablets to you. I hope you will accept them!”

Laughter continued in the forest, and as Sun Si looked up, a radiant white-clad girl appeared under the moonlight like a snow crane on a floating boat, or petals fluttering in the wind. Sun Si dared not look closely at her face, and felt blinded by the light.

“You’re quite obedient,” the girl said casually, as she brushed her fingers over the treetops, picked a dewdrop, and lazily flicked it. That thin, fragile dewdrop, like a flying sword, lightly “popped” in the air, hit Sun Er’s forehead squarely, and burst into a misty blood flower, then pierced through the back of his head, and scattered into a flurry of fragments.

Sun Si’s expression changed suddenly, as he screamed in agony, “Brother!”

He was terrified, and bowed down as much as possible. He hadn’t expected the incoming assailant to be so fierce, to snatch away the life of his dearest in the blink of an eye!

When she saw his grief-stricken appearance, the girl couldn’t help but chuckle. “Ah, seeing you enjoying your backstabbing moments earlier, did you also understand what affection means?”

Sun Si was filled with anger and despair, as he shouted hoarsely, “I’ll fight you to the end!”

With that, he utilized all his lifelong knowledge. Poisoned arrows rained like a swarm of bees. The girl didn’t even bother to dodge. Her spiritual energy swirled around her, sent out tendrils like flower stamens, and collided directly with the numerous arrows. Amidst the tinkling sound of shattering arrows, no matter how hard Sun Si tried, even using all his ancestral skills, he couldn’t even touch the air around her, let alone a single strand of her hair.

Only one arrow remained, as thin as a cow’s hair, as bright as a silver thread. It was a secret move passed down by Sun Si’s ancestors, to be used as a last resort. Taking advantage of the girl’s distraction, it swiftly pierced through her spiritual barrier, quickly striking her hand.

As the arrow tip touched her skin, it emitted a sound lighter than a flower blooming, and startled the girl. She reacted instinctively, and raised her hand as she instantly turned the arrow into powder.

In the moonlight, her arm emitted a faint starlight. It resembled jade yet not jade, silver yet not silver. It was a lifelike prosthetic.

“How dare you use ordinary iron against my hand!” The girl, slightly taken aback by the touch of Sun Si’s arrowhead, erupted in anger. Before she could take any real action, the young man who had spoken earlier sighed, and with that breath, Sun Si’s body dissipated into nothingness.

“Little Tang.” The young man’s tone carried a hint of reproach. “It’s one thing to fight mortals, but why did you let them provoke you? How will Master react when he sees you like this?”

“Ah…” The girl panicked, quickly straightening up and pleaded with the young man. “Senior Brother Yinian, I…I’m not proficient in my cultivation. I know I was wrong. Please don’t tell Master, I beg you…”

With a round face as petite as a cat’s eyes, Sun Yinian couldn’t help but soften his heart when he looked at her. “You.” He shook his head. ” Aren’t you going hurry up and pick up your precious possession?”

Having been granted forgiveness and been teased by her senior brother, Meng Xiaotang quickly made a face, reached out and summoned the jade tablet to her palm.

“Hmm?” As she took it, she noticed something strange. From the outside, the jade seemed faint in spiritual energy, not enough to even qualify as the lowest-grade magical tool, so that it could only be considered a trinket casually kept by cultivators. However, as soon as it touched her skin, the jade seemed to whirl like a vortex in the sea, as it drew in her spiritual energy, then pulled on the celestial energy of the moon above, and then suddenly emitted a bright light, that shone into the center of the pit.

In an instant, the earth shook, and the land cracked. Sun Yinian sensed something amiss and quickly lifted his junior sister onto a cloud platform. Meng Xiaotang exclaimed, “Senior Brother, could this be a real opportunity?”

“Let’s see,” Sun Yinian said calmly. “If this is the key to a realm, the amount of spiritual energy needed to unlock it seems a bit lacking…It’s hard to say if it’s a stroke of luck.”

As they spoke, the commotion in the pit gradually subsided, to reveal a dark passage and what appeared to be stairs.

“I can’t sense any spiritual energy…” Meng Xiaotang shook the spiritual symbols in confusion. “It seems like an ordinary cave, doesn’t it?”

Now, Sun Yinian no longer felt there was any danger. It was possible that a king or general from the Mortal Realm, for the sake of peace in the afterlife, had someone trap the tomb, to prevent outsiders from entering. However, it was hard to know for sure.

“I want to go down and take a look!” Meng Xiaotang said eagerly. It was her first time descending the mountain, so she found everything curious.

Sun Yinian let go and followed.

The two left the clouds and landed, then calmly walked down the underground steps. Meng Xiaotang, lively and active, soon ran far ahead, as she shouted inside, “Wow! Senior brother, come and see! It’s very spacious here! Like a palace!”

With her childlike temperament, Sun Yinian found it amusing, though his face remained indifferent as he responded with a mild “Hmm.”

After a while, Meng Xiaotang fell silent, which caused Sun Yinian to feel a pang of worry. He called out, “Little Tang?”

“I’m here!” Meng Xiaotang replied. “I found a stone tablet.”

He navigated through the twists and turns of stone walls, then Sun Yinian walked over and found his junior sister holding a partially broken stone tablet with faded inscriptions.

“Young Master…Fuguang, son of the Eastern Swamp Sect…The epitaph mentions…virtuousness and kindness, gentle and refined, beautiful as a phoenix, embodying the essence of the seven stars, the brilliance of three generations…Loyalty and righteousness…What does all this mean?” Sun Yining pondered for a moment, then realized that a prince was buried here.

“This is the tomb of a prince,” he said softly. “He was a prince of a country called Eastern Swamp, and his father, Cheng Zong, personally wrote this epitaph to praise his noble virtues.”

Meng Xiaotang nodded as if she understood. “Ah…so it’s the tomb of a prince! Judging by the tombstone, he’s been dead for a long time, hasn’t he? Luckily he wasn’t discovered by those people just now, otherwise, it would have been disastrous for him!”

As she was about to put down the tombstone and stand up, her foot slipped, and the tombstone fell from her hands, shattering into a pile of dust.

“Oh my!” Meng Xiaotang exclaimed. “I’ve been practicing for so long, how could I still slip? I didn’t mean to!”

Looking ahead, Sun Yining’s pupils dilated slightly as he said softly, “I know you really didn’t mean to.”

Meng Xiaotang also noticed the faint light. She looked up and saw another barrier opening up, revealing a nearly transparent white jade coffin behind it.

— A pale-skinned, seemingly sleeping young man lay inside, his face thin and haggard, yet still exuding a magnificent and beautiful demeanor. He was dressed in plain white clothes, and because of his prone position, the clothes clung to his body, and clearly showed the terrifying hollow in his abdomen, as if his entire dantian had been emptied by an external force.