The sun was setting, spilling golden light everywhere. Shang Shuangze, dressed in white with black hair and leading a magnificent white horse, was exceptionally eye-catching. Men and women, old and young, all turned to look at him as they passed.
Xia Yunzhao immediately smiled and stood up. He had just raised a hand to wave when several young thugs wandered over and surrounded Shang Shuangze.
The leader said something in a lazy, swaggering tone. The others called out a few times and stepped forward to take the horse.
Shang Shuangze released the reins and simply let them lead it away.
Xia Yunzhao could not suppress his curiosity at all. He ran a couple of steps across the roof, found an opening, jumped down, and landed in front of Shang Shuangze. “Fellow Daoist Shang, we meet again!”
Shang Shuangze gave a slight nod. “Fellow Daoist Xia.”
Xia Yunzhao did not beat around the bush. He asked directly, “Was that horse yours? It looked like an ordinary horse. Is it convenient to ride?” If it is, maybe I should get one too.
“It is indeed an ordinary horse.” Shang Shuangze did not speak loudly, yet his voice came through perfectly clearly amid the noisy crowd. “On my way to Qingxi City, I saved several mortals. They insisted on giving me this horse as thanks. I did not wish to accept it, but when I saw that they were about to knock their foreheads bloody from kowtowing, I had no choice but to keep it.” A trace of almost imperceptible helplessness colored his voice.
Xia Yunzhao understood after thinking for only a moment. Without the horse, Shang Shuangze could travel as quickly as he pleased. With it, he actually had to accommodate the horse’s speed. Of course he was helpless about it.
That family had probably thought the fine white horse was the best thing they could offer, never imagining that they were instead leaving their lifesaving benefactor with a bit of trouble. It was not as though Shang Shuangze could carry the horse on his back while traveling.
At the mental image of Shang Shuangze carrying a horse, Xia Yunzhao could not help laughing again. Shang Shuangze looked even more helpless.
Only after he finished laughing did Xia Yunzhao ask, “Then why did you give it to those thugs?”
Shang Shuangze replied calmly, “I did not give it to them. I was robbed.”
Xia Yunzhao suppressed another laugh. “Looked that way to me.” Then he asked curiously, “It’s not like you can’t beat them. Why obediently let yourself get robbed?”
Shang Shuangze said, “Mortals live scarcely a hundred years and endure all eight sufferings. They spend an entire lifetime striving simply to make their way through the world. It is already pitiful. I have no need of that object, so I may as well let them take it. There is no need to beat them as well.”
Xia Yunzhao had laughed enough. Now he straightened, standing tall as a bamboo stalk, and patted Shang Shuangze on the shoulder. “That’s where you’re wrong. Those thugs could bully you today, so naturally they’ll bully someone else tomorrow. If you have the ability to punish them but choose not to, what happens to the people who have no ability to resist them?”
“I know that to you, the words ‘ordinary mortals’ may represent the countless masses as a whole. But mortals are men and women, old and young, poor and rich. Every one of them has their own joys, anger, sorrows, and happiness. You can’t pour the pity you feel for all mortals onto one individual person.”
Xia Yunzhao tugged at the sleeve of the stunned Shang Shuangze and gestured. “Listen.”
Shang Shuangze instinctively turned an ear. The common people passing nearby were all looking at him sympathetically. Someone murmured, “Robbed by that gang from the north side again.”
“What a sin! Those thugs will get their retribution sooner or later…”
Xia Yunzhao whispered, “We’ve taken in so much spiritual energy from heaven and earth. We ought to be these people’s retribution.”
Shang Shuangze stood motionless amid the bustling street. At his ear were the warm breath and quiet voice of the Fellow Daoist he had only recently met; spiritual power surged through his meridians. Those words seemed to drag him down from the empty heights above the Nine Heavens and set both his feet firmly on the earth.
His master had told him to descend the mountain and look upon the people of the world. So this was what the people of the world truly were.
The bottleneck that had not shifted for so long began to loosen, and at last he slowly rose into the next minor realm.
Shang Shuangze opened his eyes and met Xia Yunzhao’s worried expression. Golden sunset light and Shang Shuangze’s own reflection shone in those beautiful eyes.
Xia Yunzhao asked anxiously, “Fellow Daoist Shang, are you all right?”
Shang Shuangze slowly straightened and cupped his hands in a formal salute. “Many thanks, Fellow Daoist, for resolving my confusion.”
Xia Yunzhao had only said it casually. Being thanked so solemnly made him a little embarrassed. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I’ve just spent a long time around ordinary people, so I understand them better. If you asked me about cultivators instead, I wouldn’t know nearly as much as you.”
Shang Shuangze’s expression softened. “Fellow Daoist, you are very good as you are.”
Xia Yunzhao had always known his voice was pleasant. Hearing him say something like that made his face feel a little warm, so he said, “Come on. I heard those thugs live in the northern part of the city. I’ve been there, so I’ll lead the way and we’ll get the white horse back! Oh, right, I still don’t know—did you come to Qingxi City for something?”
Shang Shuangze said, “I still have not been able to find a pill cultivator to refine the Poison-Cleansing Spirit-Nourishing Pill. I heard there was a branch of Wandan Hall in Qingxi City, so I came to ask them to help me keep watch for one.”
Xia Yunzhao thought, Since when is Wandan Hall that helpful? Then he reconsidered… Shang Shuangze’s cultivation was high and he was a sword cultivator. A place like Wandan Hall, which treated people according to status, would probably be too busy flattering him to turn him away at the door the way they had Xia Yunzhao…
Before he finished the thought, Shang Shuangze said, “But before I could even enter, Wandan Hall’s shopkeeper refused me.”
Xia Yunzhao: …Fine. Wandan Hall’s famously terrible conduct really was consistent. Their characterization was rock-solid.
Fortunately, Shang Shuangze had previously said that he had already suppressed the poison in the villagers’ bodies, so they would be fine for the short term.
Neither of them was slow. In the time it took to exchange a few sentences, they reached the northern part of the city. By coincidence, the moment they turned into a narrow alley, they saw the large white horse tied inside a shabby courtyard, pawing irritably at the ground. The thugs’ laughter came from inside the house.
Before Xia Yunzhao could say anything, Shang Shuangze had already flashed into the room. Only half a startled cry sounded before the door burst outward and the thugs flew out one after another, landing on the ground and groaning.
By the time Xia Yunzhao arrived half a step later, Shang Shuangze was already standing in the courtyard with his hands behind his back.
Xia Yunzhao looked them over. Not bad, not bad. Shang Shuangze had controlled his strength perfectly. Every single man had one broken arm and one broken leg.
The leader still had some courage. Enduring the pain, he pointed at Shang Shuangze with an aggrieved, furious expression. “If you’re a cultivator, why didn’t you say so?! Would I have robbed you if I knew? Were you baiting me?!”
Xia Yunzhao laughed. “So if he weren’t a cultivator, robbing him would be fine? You prey on the weak and fear the strong, and somehow you think you’re in the right?”
The leader curled his lip. “A man owns what he does! If you want to kill someone, kill me and let my brothers go! I forced them into all of this!”
The other thugs were deeply moved and crawled around on the ground. “Boss, waaahhh…”
“I’m not leaving! I’ll die with Boss!”
Xia Yunzhao shook his head speechlessly. “Now you’re acting all loyal? Who said we were killing you?”
The leader froze. “You’re not killing us?”
“If we wanted you dead, you’d already be dead. Why would I waste words on you?” Xia Yunzhao crushed a piece of wall plaster he had just scraped loose, then swept his hand. A light breeze blew the gray dust evenly over all of them. “I’ve already put tracking powder on you. No matter where you run, I’ll find you. If you dare steal again, I’ll break your hands. If you dare rob people on the road, I’ll break your legs. If you dare bully women or children, I’ll send you straight to your next reincarnation. Remember that?”
The leader watched the gray powder drift down without daring to dodge and complained weakly, “We never bullied women or little kids anyway…” But he no longer dared shout back.
By the time Xia Yunzhao and Shang Shuangze led the white horse out, the sky had already darkened.
Only once Xiao Xia held the reins himself did he realize just how large a problem this horse was. The enormous creature could barely turn around inside the alley, and its temper was hardly gentle. It kicked out at the slightest provocation.
Xiao Xia patted the horse’s back. “This fellow is too much trouble. Neither of us can really ride it. Why don’t we sell it? If we find a buyer who loves horses, that wouldn’t be mistreating it.”
Shang Shuangze nodded. “I’ll trouble Fellow Daoist Xia to handle it. You may keep the spirit pearls from the sale as well.”
Xia Yunzhao was about to offer a few polite refusals, then thought better of wasting his breath. They did not need to fuss over something this small. So he said directly, “Then thanks!”
The white horse may or may not have understood them. It began kicking again, snorting as it planted itself stubbornly in place and refused to move.
The two cultivators genuinely could not do anything with it. They pushed and pulled, but the horse remained utterly motionless, and they could hardly hurt it.
While they were deadlocked, someone behind them asked, “Lord Xia?”
Xia Yunzhao turned and saw Zhong Kai. Right—Zhong Kai and his father lived in the northern part of the city. By coincidence, the white horse had stopped directly outside their home.
Zhong Kai ran over with his usual honest expression and saluted Xia Yunzhao, then Shang Shuangze as well. Seeing both men tugging on the reins, he laughed. “Animals are stubborn. You can’t drag them by force.”
He ran home, grabbed a handful of beans, fed them to the white horse, and rubbed its nose. When he pulled the reins again, the horse obediently followed him.
Zhong Kai asked, “Where are the two lords headed? I can lead it there for you.”
The two had not even decided where to sell the horse. Xia Yunzhao said, “Why don’t we keep it in your courtyard for now? I’ll ask around and see who wants to buy it. By the way, has your injury healed?”
Zhong Kai obediently led the horse toward his home and hurriedly answered, “With the medicine you left me, I recovered long ago. I can work again now. I’m at a dye workshop in the eastern part of the city. This white horse of yours is magnificent. If you want to sell it, you could ask around over there. There are lots of wealthy households in the east.”
He thought for a moment. “Why don’t I ask my employer? The ox that pulled carts for the dye workshop died of old age a few days ago. I don’t know whether the owner might want to buy a horse.”
Xia Yunzhao had not expected Zhong Kai to be so diligent that he had already found another job. “All right. Ask for me. If the sale goes through, I’ll give you a commission!”
Zhong Kai scratched the back of his head honestly. “You’re joking, my lord. How could I take your money?”
The group entered the courtyard. The large white horse was led away to eat fodder, and Xiao Xia saw Zhong Kai’s father, Old Zhong, worshipping before a painted portrait.
Old Zhong finished paying respects to the portrait, then saw his son bringing Xia Yunzhao home. He was so delighted that the gap in his front teeth showed. He insisted on keeping the two of them for a meal, or at the very least a cup of tea.
Curious, Xia Yunzhao asked, “Uncle, what were you worshipping just now? Is today some kind of festival?”
Old Zhong waved a hand. “No festival. My son recovered from his injury, found a new job, and even has a kind employer. I’m grateful, so I worshipped a deity to pray for peace and safety. As for what deity it is, I don’t know. This image was handed down by our ancestors.”
Xia Yunzhao was surprised. People worship a deity without even knowing which one? From the sound of it, their family has been doing this for several generations too. Interesting.
He turned to Shang Shuangze. Shang Shuangze thought for a moment and said, “I have only heard that those who attain the Dao through cultivation may ascend. I have never heard of gods existing in this world.”
After the two drank a cup of plain tea inside and came back out, the incense before the image had already burned away, its last wisp of blue smoke dispersing. Xiao Xia instinctively glanced at the portrait and froze—a simply dressed, short elderly man holding a walking staff. He blurted out, “Isn’t that the Land God?”
“The Land God?”
“Yes. He’s also called the God of the Land, one of the most common deities. Every village used to have a Land God temple.” Xia Yunzhao said, “Such a common divine image, and you didn’t recognize him, sir?”
“Well…” Old Zhong exchanged an embarrassed look with his son. “I won’t hide it from Lord Xia. This old man has never once heard the honored name of the Land God in all my years.”
Xia Yunzhao froze.
Old Zhong continued, “When I was young, my family had a little money, so I studied books for several years. I never saw any mention of the Land God there either. I’ve heard plenty of stories about cultivators moving mountains and overturning seas, but stories about gods are extremely rare.”
“Oh, I see.” Xia Yunzhao thought about it. People in this world could cultivate themselves. Perhaps precisely because of that, they had no need to place their spiritual hopes in gods.
The two emerged from the cramped, narrow alley. Night had already fallen outside, the stars were bright, and there was no moon tonight.
Shang Shuangze followed quietly behind him before saying, “One of my martial uncles in the sect has an extensive collection of books. If you want to ask about stories of gods, why don’t I write back and ask on your behalf?”
“No need.” Xia Yunzhao said, “It isn’t anything important. It might just be a coincidence. Whether there are gods in this world or not doesn’t stop us from cultivating or eating, does it?”
Shang Shuangze looked at him for a moment, then smiled too. Fellow Daoist Xia’s nature is so free and open. Very good.
＊
There was already Xiao Qing, the bottomless pit, at home, and now Xia Yunzhao himself had joined it. Their spirit-pearl consumption increased by the day. More than twenty thousand spirit pearls could not give him the slightest sense of security.
So, on the second morning after returning from the underground market, Xiao Xia plunged into Liancui Mountain again.
This time he brought the Spirit-Seeking Compass.
He had never used the compass since refining it and had no idea how effective it truly was.
The Spirit-Seeking Compass could search for spirit items within thirty li that were Level Two or below, including Level Two. The specific level it searched for could be adjusted.
How could Xia Yunzhao possibly restrain his hand? He immediately set it to the highest level: Level Two.
He waited with the corners of his mouth raised… Nothing.
Fine. Level-Two spirit items were rare. It was perfectly reasonable that there might not be any within thirty li.
Besides, the few Level-Two spirit items he had encountered before had all been places Shang Shuangze took him. With Xia Yunzhao’s current strength, going to those places on his own would still be somewhat dangerous.
He was only trying to make money right now. There was no need to take such a large risk.
So he obediently reset the Spirit-Seeking Compass to search for Level-One spirit items.
When it came to ways of earning money, Xiao Xia had plenty. He could even afford to be selective. In the end, he chose the same three old standbys: Water-Purifying Gourds, Dew-Condensing Pills, and Fasting Pills.
Water-Purifying Gourds required Thousand-Jointed Bamboo, Ironwood Charcoal, and Purified Sand. Dew-Condensing Pills primarily required Dew-Condensing Grass, while Fasting Pills required spirit rice, Huangjing, Spirit-Gathering Grass, and other ingredients.
These spirit items did not look especially high-level, but they grew across wide areas and could already sell for quite a few spirit pearls in their raw state. Other cultivators sought them too, which made finding them harder.
The Spirit-Seeking Compass lit up. Points appeared one after another on its surface, revealing the positions of spirit items like stars scattered across the sky.
Xiao Xia held Xiao Qing and gave it a shake. “Let’s go!”
A light rain had started again today, but rain this mild could no longer harm Xiao Xia even without spiritual energy protecting his body. He headed toward the nearest spirit item marked on the compass.
Grass rustled as something approached. Xia Yunzhao nimbly dodged, stepped aside, flew behind it, and lightly struck with his palm—
His mastery of the Hundred-Form Palm was now excellent. He no longer needed the broad, forceful movements he had used against the triangular-eyed cultivator. Instead, he transformed its fierce power into something light and agile, his palm wind sharp as a blade.
That force sliced into the other creature’s waist like a knife through tofu. The yellow figure offered no resistance and silently collapsed to the ground without moving again.
Xia Yunzhao immediately spotted the pair of bright yellow ears. “Not bad luck. A Yellow-Eared Civet.”
One Yellow-Eared Civet could sell for more than three hundred spirit pearls. Not a bad start.
Xiao Qing bounced twice in his arms. Its bronze lid ground against itself with an unhappy scrrrape.
Xia Yunzhao skillfully made promises for later. “This is a Level-One slaughter beast. I have to sell it. If we run into a lowest-level one, I’ll let you eat it.”
Xiao Qing huffily stomped on him with all three bronze feet.
Xia Yunzhao reached the first spirit-item location as well and harvested three stalks of Qingling Grass.
Seeing the Qingling Grass reminded him that he had a formula that used it too: the artifact blueprint for Azure Cloud Shoes!
Azure Cloud Shoes had been the first artifact blueprint he ever drew. Unfortunately, he had tried making them only once and failed, instantly transforming Azure Cloud Shoes into Azure Cloud Cotton Slippers…
Azure Cloud Shoes were an excellent tool for increasing speed and did not require many materials. Why not gather the ingredients and try again? Whether he kept them for himself or sold them, either option would be good.
Thinking this, Xia Yunzhao continued toward the second spirit-item location. A cluster of Spirit-Gathering Grass grew there. This spirit herb had many uses; numerous pill recipes and artifact blueprints required it as an auxiliary material, so its price was quite good too.
Then came the third location, the fourth…
The morning slowly passed, and Xia Yunzhao’s storage pouch accumulated a good amount of spirit herbs and spirit ores. The space he had only just emptied yesterday was already showing signs of filling again.
The Spirit-Seeking Compass truly lived up to its claims. With it, he saved an enormous amount of time searching in the mountains, increasing his efficiency by more than twofold. And this was only a Level-One magical artifact. If he had a high-level Spirit-Seeking Compass, wouldn’t he be able to sweep up every spirit item in the entire Liancui Mountain Range in minutes?
Xiao Xia wiped away the sweat from his exertion, found a rock to sit on, and drank deeply from his Water-Purifying Gourd. He said to Xiao Qing, “Something’s wrong. The compendium says Thousand-Jointed Bamboo grows in clusters and isn’t hard to find. So why haven’t I found any after all this time? There was only that one lonely plant near our camp. What happened to ‘grows in clusters’? Isn’t bamboo supposed to spread quickly?”
Xiao Qing chewed the spirit herb in its mouth and gave a perfunctory little sway in consolation.
Xia Yunzhao remained puzzled. “Look at this terrain. Jagged rocks, shady and damp—it’s exactly the kind of place Thousand-Jointed Bamboo likes! The Spirit-Seeking Compass says there’s a spirit item here too! And look, there are bamboo leaves on the ground…”
He froze. Wait. Bamboo leaves on the ground?
He picked one up and inspected it carefully. Smooth, narrow, bright green… It was unmistakably a leaf from Thousand-Jointed Bamboo!
If a place was suitable for Thousand-Jointed Bamboo, had fallen Thousand-Jointed Bamboo leaves, and yet contained no Thousand-Jointed Bamboo at all, what did that mean?
Xia Yunzhao slowly stood, one hand reaching toward his storage pouch—
Clang!
A dark shadow lunged through the air and slammed straight into the Purple-Patterned Vinewood Shield!
In that single exchange, the purple pattern on the Vinewood Shield flashed once, instantly dimmed, and the entire shield cracked.
The Vinewood Shield had even blocked attacks from the triangular-eyed cultivator, yet it could not withstand one strike from this shadow.
Xia Yunzhao’s expression grew solemn. He discarded the shield, raised a hand, and the poisoned spiked club appeared in his grip.
The dark shadow flashed toward him again. Xia Yunzhao’s reactions were fast too. He swung the spiked club like a baseball bat and sent the shadow flying with one blow!
The dark shape spun through the air, struck a rock with a metallic crash, and fell. Only then did Xia Yunzhao clearly see what it was.
A hard-shelled beetle the size of a washbasin. Its carapace was extraordinarily tough and reflected a metallic sheen, but instead of the black common to insects, it was jade green, almost the same color as Thousand-Jointed Bamboo.
“Just as I thought…” Xia Yunzhao tightened his grip on the spiked club. “A Level-One slaughter beast—the Hard-Armored Bamboo Borer.”
He knew this insect only because he had recently wanted to make himself a better suit of armor. He had gone through the Compendium of Liancui Mountain Spirit Items several times and listed every spirit item that could improve defense. Among them, the hardest to obtain was the shell of a Hard-Armored Bamboo Borer. Supposedly, its defensive power was extraordinary; blades, axes, and fire could not harm it.
Having armor made from something like that would be extremely reassuring. Facing an enemy like that, however, was extremely worrying.
—Especially because these things lived in groups.
Rustle, rustle. Beetle claws scraped through the fallen leaves. One washbasin-sized beetle after another appeared and surrounded Xia Yunzhao.
Xia Yunzhao did not dare move rashly. He swept his peripheral vision around and immediately wanted to curse. No wonder every Thousand-Jointed Bamboo in the area had been stripped clean—these insects had eaten them all! He could see twelve or thirteen beetles within his field of vision alone!
Since Hard-Armored Bamboo Borers lived in groups, naturally they had a leader. The one that had ambushed Xia Yunzhao was the largest, making it the most likely candidate.
Xia Yunzhao certainly did not dare wait for them to complete the encirclement. He could not fly. Was he supposed to run out by stepping on the beetles? Before they could react, he raised the spiked club and charged!
He was extremely fast. The Hard-Armored Bamboo Borer’s large body restricted it on the ground, making its movements somewhat slower, so it took the blow head-on.
Clang!
The tremendous impact made Xia Yunzhao’s ears ring painfully. When he focused, however, he saw that the spiked club had only dented the hard shell in several places. It had not even broken through its defense.
Xia Yunzhao: …
He did not dare remain locked in combat and flashed backward. Sure enough, several beetles immediately pounced on the spot he had just occupied. Then some others spread their wings and flew directly at his face.
Xia Yunzhao instantly raised the spiked club and knocked away every giant beetle that came close.
Beetles flew chaotically through the air, and metallic clang-clang-clang sounds rang without end.
Xia Yunzhao enjoyed a full batting session. Then he checked the score: zero.
Good heavens, how can these things have such absurd defense?! The spiked club in his hands had been refined countless times by the triangular-eyed cultivator. Shang Shuangze had examined it and said it was almost a Level-Two magical artifact, yet it could not kill even one beetle!
Is this a beetle or a tortoise? Even a tortoise shell shouldn’t be this thick!
Another insect lunged through the air. Xia Yunzhao gritted his teeth and knocked it flying.
He looked anxious, but inwardly he became calmer by the moment. Panic was useless; finding a solution was what mattered. Xia Yunzhao coolly inventoried the cards in his hand: weapons, magical treasures, talismans, pills… Heaven never sealed off every road. He refused to believe he would die to a swarm of insects.
Only a few breaths passed while he thought. In the next instant, he made his decision, pinched a talisman between two fingers, and was about to fling it out when a clod of earth dropped from the sky.
He froze and instinctively looked up. On the jagged cliffside, a face and a human hand poked out of a very well-hidden cave. That hand had thrown the clod of earth.
He could see clearly that the clod had not been thrown at him. It had been thrown at the Hard-Armored Bamboo Borers.
Even Xia Yunzhao, who normally enjoyed fooling around plenty himself, nearly sputtered. Who is that? Are they messing around? These beetles’ shells are this hard—what are a few clods of dirt supposed to do? Are they helping me or mocking me?!
The head did not look very large and was rather fluffy. Is that a child? Why would a child be here?
Xiao Xia remained wary. While keeping part of his attention on the cave, he prepared to activate the talisman—only for that head to poke out again in the next instant and throw something else, this time carrying firelight… Was that a fireball?
The fireball was not large. It was almost extinguished halfway down, and by the time it struck the ground, only a few sparks remained. Yet those tiny flames made the giant beetles stir restlessly, instantly clearing a circle around the fire.
Xia Yunzhao froze. This is…
With several soft pat-pat sounds, more fireballs fell from above, and the swarm immediately opened several more gaps.
Xia Yunzhao smiled. Afraid of fire? If they’re afraid of fire, this is easy.
He instantly withdrew the talisman from his fingertips, curved one hand into a hollow tube like bamboo, raised it to his mouth, and blew—
Whoosh! Flames sprayed across the sky!