It took Xia Yunzhao quite a while to persuade the crowd of townspeople to leave. By the time he was done, he had worked up a sweat and no longer felt cold at all.
When he turned around, Du Yan was still laughing behind him.
Xia Yunzhao bristled at once. “You’re still laughing! No sense of loyalty at all!”
Du Yan took a sip of wine. “They’ve been waiting for you for days and coming by to ask every day. Now that they’ve kowtowed to you, at least they can put the matter to rest.”
Xia Yunzhao thought back to the scene just now. There had been men and women, young and old, all looking at him with such gratitude that it seemed as though he had done something extraordinary.
He could not help sighing softly. “Ordinary people really are sincere.”
Then he asked, “If that’s the case, has the pill shop actually been doing pretty well? Did all the pills I left behind sell out?”
Du Yan said, “They sold out ages ago. Xu Ziyu is helping keep the place going now. He’d only do that for you. If it were anyone else’s shop, he wouldn’t even bother lifting an eyelid.”
Xia Yunzhao brightened. “Really? Then I definitely have to go take a look.”
Du Yan had not intended to move, but when he noticed Xia Yunzhao’s slightly pale complexion, he still got to his feet and went outside with him.
As soon as Xia Yunzhao stepped out, the first thing he saw was the curtain of the information shop. Come to think of it, the map they had bought there had been a great help on their trip to Xuanshuang City. They had run into a few unexpected incidents along the way, but the information marked on the map had never been wrong.
With that thought, he poked his head inside for a look.
Behind the counter, a beautiful woman he had never seen before threw him a flirtatious glance. “The customer has returned? Was your journey smooth?”
Xia Yunzhao smiled. “Very smooth. Thank you.”
With that, he turned and left.
The beautiful woman paused slightly, then lowered her head with a soft laugh and muttered something under her breath.
Xia Yunzhao and Du Yan arrived together at Fangcun Pavilion… Ah, no, it could not be called Fangcun Pavilion anymore. The location had not changed, but the Fangcun Pavilion signboard had already been taken down, and nothing new had been hung in its place, leaving the space bare.
A young attendant was greeting customers at the entrance. Seeing Xia Yunzhao and then Du Yan, he approached with a smile. “Lord Du, what brings you here today? Pill Master Xu only just arrived too. Is this lord visiting for the first time? Please, come in.”
Xia Yunzhao sighed. “You might not believe me when I say this, but I’m actually the proper lord of this place.”
The attendant froze. Du Yan introduced him on Xia Yunzhao’s behalf. “I only came to see someone off. This is your Lord Xiao Xia.” Then he turned back the way they had come, looking very much as though he intended to return to his wine.
The attendant finally reacted and hurriedly bowed. “So you’re the proprietor! This lowly one was blind and failed to recognize you. Please forgive me, my lord!”
Xia Yunzhao waved it off. Asking the attendant’s name as he went, he entered his own shop. Surprisingly, the furnishings had hardly changed. All the stately display shelves were still there, only the goods placed on them were different. The spaces that used to hold magical artifacts and materials were now filled with pills.
He looked around the shop, which was almost exactly as he remembered it, and found the whole thing rather surreal. Every time he had come here before, he had pinched pennies over every purchase. Now, with one turn of fortune, he had become the owner.
He just wondered what had happened to the Fang family’s former shopkeeper. Had the man died, or had he run away?
The fragrance of pills floated through the shop. Xia Yunzhao could immediately tell that some had been refined by him and some by Xu Ziyu. Except… the scent of Xu Ziyu’s pills seemed subtly different now.
He walked past the display shelves to the counter, where Xu Ziyu sat behind it flipping through a battered ancient book. Hearing someone approach, he could not even be bothered to look up.
Xia Yunzhao sidled over with a grin. “Why do I feel like something about you is different…” After examining him carefully for a moment, he exclaimed, “You became a Level-Three pill cultivator?”
Xu Ziyu looked up and said blandly, “I was stuck at Level Two for more than a hundred years. What is so surprising about advancing to Level Three?”
Xia Yunzhao was shocked all over again. “More than a hundred years?! How old are you this year?”
Xu Ziyu looked at him, then suddenly scoffed. “Brat.”
Xia Yunzhao: “…”
He muttered, “Your mental age isn’t exactly mature either.” As he spoke, he took out a small porcelain bottle. “You’re already a Level-Three pill cultivator. Is this still useful to you?”
Xu Ziyu glanced over. The bottle contained Cold-Jade Ice Shavings. He had once asked Xia Yunzhao to keep an eye out for them, but when Xia Yunzhao later set off for the north, Xu Ziyu had not brought the matter up again. He knew the two of them were traveling north in search of spirit medicine and had not wanted to add to their burdens.
He had never expected Xia Yunzhao to remember even without being reminded and actually bring the Cold-Jade Ice Shavings back for him.
Warmth entered Xu Ziyu’s eyes. “How could it not be useful? If you’re giving it to me, then it’s mine!” He snatched up the bottle, then raised his head. “Pick whatever pills you want.”
The pills Xia Yunzhao had left behind were already sold out. Everything currently displayed on the shelves had been refined by Xu Ziyu to help draw customers to the shop.
Naturally Xia Yunzhao was not going to take any pills. While recuperating at Yanhuo Studio, he had asked Lu Shi and Tailor Huang to find someone who could buy the Cold-Jade Ice Shavings specifically as a gift for Xu Ziyu. He quietly leaned closer and lowered his voice. “Our pill shop has been open for so long. Has Wandan Hall really not done anything?”
Xu Ziyu said carelessly, “Do you think Du Yan and I are dead? He tried to send people over to cause trouble, but Du Yan beat them up and threw them out. If it were Wandan Hall’s headquarters, that would be one thing. A mere branch shop can’t make any waves.”
Xia Yunzhao nodded, then looked at Xu Ziyu again. Somehow, the disdain in Xu Ziyu’s voice whenever he mentioned Wandan Hall seemed especially blatant.
While he was still thinking about it, the attendant suddenly hurried in. “Proprietor, someone outside is looking for you.”
Xia Yunzhao had just opened his mouth to ask who when a shout came from outside. “I heard that the owner of this pill shop returned today. This one has business to discuss. Please come outside and meet me.”
Xia Yunzhao raised a brow. Well now. They had come all the way to his door yet refused to enter, choosing instead to shout from outside. Clearly they had not come with good intentions. That voice sounded faintly familiar too. Who was it?
Xu Ziyu’s temper flared instantly. He strode to the door and immediately launched into mockery. “And here I was wondering who it could be. So it’s Shopkeeper Zhao of Wandan Hall! What, have the pills in your shop finally stopped selling, so now you’ve decided to sell that old face of yours instead?”
Xia Yunzhao poked his head out from behind him and, sure enough, saw Shopkeeper Zhao’s old face turned livid with rage. But he had not come alone. He had brought an entire group.
Xia Yunzhao had never seen the three cultivators at the front, two men and one woman, but the way they looked down their noses at everyone was extremely familiar… One glance at their Daoist robes and he realized they were people from Yunjiangguan!
Then he looked behind them… people from the Si family! Right. The Si family was subordinate to Yunjiangguan. If Yunjiangguan had sent people to Qingxi City, it made sense that members of the Si family would accompany them.
Xia Yunzhao frowned. Why had people from Yunjiangguan come looking for him? And among the three of them, two were late-Foundation Establishment… while the man in the middle was actually early Golden Core!
The man made no attempt to restrain his pressure. The fluctuations of Golden Core spiritual power made it difficult for the surrounding cultivators to resist. Fortunately, Xia Yunzhao’s own cultivation method was unusual and he carried plenty of protective magical treasures, so the pressure did not affect him.
Xu Ziyu naturally felt it as well. As a veteran pill cultivator, he was hardly lacking in protective treasures. He straightened and stepped in front of Xia Yunzhao, sneering. “So these are the people of Yunjiangguan, famed for purity, nonaction, and freedom from worldly affairs. Seeing you today truly lives up to the reputation. Fellow Daoists, did you bring this old dog to our shop because you want to buy pills?”
One of the late-Foundation Establishment cultivators from Yunjiangguan said expressionlessly, “Insulting Yunjiangguan is an act of grave disrespect.”
Boom! A burst of spiritual energy struck without warning. The attacker showed no mercy whatsoever, as though he genuinely meant to take Xu Ziyu’s life.
Xia Yunzhao frowned. These people had arrived and immediately tried to suppress them with their pressure. Xu Ziyu had merely mocked them a few times, and they already wanted his life?!
He was about to block the attack when a jade ruler flew from nearby, drove into the ground, and dispersed the spiritual energy.
Xia Yunzhao looked up. It was Du Yan, who had not gone far after all.
The late-Foundation Establishment cultivator stared at the jade ruler in the ground and frowned slightly. “Heaven-Measuring Ruler? Qianyuan Sect’s Earth-Vein Office?”
Du Yan walked over slowly, pulled out the jade ruler, and stopped in front of the two of them. With his usual lack of enthusiasm, he said, “I heard long ago that Yunjiangguan was sending people to discuss important business. Since it is important business, there is no need to damage the peace over a few verbal quarrels.”
The cultivator looked displeased. He glanced at the Heaven-Measuring Ruler in Du Yan’s hand but did not act rashly. Instead he turned toward the Golden Core cultivator. Only after the latter gave a slight nod did he lift his chin. “We’ll spare you this once!”
With that, he raised a hand.
Xia Yunzhao felt a forceful gust rush toward his face. He lifted a hand and caught a brown medicine gourd packed full of medicinal pellets.
The cultivator continued looking down his nose at everyone. “These are Demon-Warding Spirit Pills. Recently, many major powers have sent word that traces of demonic qi have been discovered and demonic cultivators may be returning. If mortals take these pills, they can resist the invasion of demonic qi. I hear your shop is highly regarded among the mortals of Qingxi City, so you will see to it that the mortals here take these pills.”
Xia Yunzhao’s thoughts stirred. He had seen people invaded by demonic qi before. If these pills could ward off demonic qi, that ought to be a good thing… Yet for some reason, something felt wrong. Rather than agreeing immediately, he opened the stopper on the medicine gourd and sniffed carefully for a moment…
He exchanged a glance with Xu Ziyu, then looked up and asked, “Aside from resisting the invasion of demonic qi, do these pills cause mortals any other harm?”
The cultivator said impatiently, “They merely reduce the user’s lifespan by thirty years. Mortal lives are short anyway. What does losing thirty years matter? The sooner they reincarnate, the sooner they might find themselves in a better place next time. Why are you dragging your feet? Could it be that you do not wish to resist demonic cultivators?”
Thirty years of life… Xia Yunzhao smiled.
The passersby had already hurried away when they realized cultivators on the two sides were about to fight. Passersby could flee, but the shops lining the street could not.
The shopkeepers and attendants could only hurry to shut their doors and windows tight, praying they would not be caught in the crossfire. Yet one ear after another pressed close to the cracks in the windows, listening intently to what was happening outside.
When they heard “lose thirty years of life,” many of them did not dare make a sound, but inwardly they cursed. This cultivator knew perfectly well that mortal lives were short, so how could he casually demand thirty years from them? Other than children who had not yet grown up, who could say they would still be alive after having thirty years cut from their lifespan?
How generous of him. He could obviously slaughter all of Qingxi City, yet he’s still willing to give us a whole gourd of spirit pills!
One young attendant could not hold back. “Shopkeeper, L-Lord Xiao Xia won’t agree, right? Didn’t he give us pills before and help cure the plague?”
The shopkeeper shook his head gravely. He had seen more of the world than the young attendant and naturally understood that, to cultivators, mortals were different. A cultivator might casually save a mortal, much as someone might save a stray cat or dog. That did not mean the cultivator would be willing to pay a price to save them.
When he was young, the shopkeeper had traveled far and wide. He had seen plenty of cultivators slaughter mortals on a whim, but he truly had not seen many cultivators willing to save them.
The light in the young attendant’s eyes dimmed at once. He was still young, yet for the first time in his life he understood what people meant when they said mortals were no more than weeds.
Then he heard Xia Yunzhao say, “Mm. Thirty years really isn’t very long.”
The late-Foundation Establishment cultivator’s expression eased slightly. These cultivators from a little backwater might be ignorant, but at least they understood what mattered…
The next instant, Xia Yunzhao raised a hand. Red flames appeared and burned the brimming medicine gourd to ash.
The cultivator flew into a rage. “You!”
Xia Yunzhao looked at him coldly and flung out a string of spiritual-power balls. “Since thirty years isn’t very long, let me see how many thirty-year chunks of lifespan this fellow Daoist has.”
The balls of spiritual power flew out and surrounded all three cultivators, along with Shopkeeper Zhao, who had seen the situation turn bad and was trying to slip away.
Du Yan rubbed his forehead. In the end, a fight had still broken out. Well, of course. If Xia Yunzhao could hear that thirty years of someone’s life would be taken and not get angry, he would not be Xia Yunzhao.
The other late-Foundation Establishment cultivator, a woman, was equally furious. “You actually dare attack Yunjiangguan? Do you have a death wish?!”
Xia Yunzhao looked up at the sky. “If you want to fight, then fight. Stop wasting words!” If I listened to you and poisoned the whole city, that would be the real death wish. You can even come up with a scheme this ruinous to your virtue. Does this cultivation world not have karma?
“Arrogant!” The female cultivator raised a hand. “Where is the Si family? Seize these insolent wretches!”
Du Yan sighed. His languid posture straightened as he moved in front of Xia Yunzhao. Quite a few members of the Si family had come today. If they truly started fighting, it was difficult to say which side would suffer.
The Si-family group behind them shifted, and Si Kongzhuo stepped out.
Xia Yunzhao cursed inwardly. Well, well, Si Kongzhuo. I never thought a thick-browed, big-eyed fellow like you would start helping a tiger do evil too! And after I saved your interpreter just yesterday.
No wonder that interpreter said the family head summoned Si Kongzhuo away yesterday. So he came back to play lackey!
Si Kongzhuo looked from one side to the other, then faced the three Yunjiangguan cultivators and said with characteristic bluntness, “I’m not fighting.”
The three Yunjiangguan cultivators: ?
Si Kongzhuo explained, “I only received the news yesterday. Fellow Daoist Xia saved members of my family and also eliminated a poison alchemist for us. I owe him a favor. Today is a good opportunity to repay it.”
The three Yunjiangguan cultivators: “…”
The male Foundation Establishment cultivator cursed furiously, “No one asked to hear about that! Is the Si family taking the lead in defying orders because you intend to break away from Yunjiangguan?!”
Without his interpreter, Si Kongzhuo spoke entirely according to whatever came into his head. “I only said I won’t fight. I didn’t say the other members of the Si family won’t fight. And I’m not taking the lead in defying orders. It’s just that your method of resisting demonic qi…” He thought for three breaths before finally giving his verdict. “Pretty lousy.”
For some inexplicable reason, everyone could practically see the words I should put this tactfully written across his face.
Every member of the Si family lowered their head. Their young master was already trying very hard.
Xia Yunzhao hastily clenched his jaw, thinking, No, laughing now would make him look terribly immature.
Si Kongzhuo had no idea why everyone had lowered their heads. He walked to Xia Yunzhao’s side and asked, “Need help?”
Xia Yunzhao made an immediate decision. “Yes. I can’t beat that Golden Core cultivator by myself.”
There were only three of them on this side, and Xu Ziyu’s combat ability could be ignored so long as he could protect himself. If the Si family did not fight, that left the three cultivators from Yunjiangguan. Even if Du Yan could handle both Foundation Establishment cultivators, Xia Yunzhao would still have to face the remaining Golden Core cultivator alone. Si Kongzhuo’s help would be more than welcome.
After hearing him out, Si Kongzhuo nodded and took out his magical artifact.
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators opposite them flushed red, then white with rage. “You would oppose Yunjiangguan for a group of ants?”
Before Xia Yunzhao and the others could answer, the Golden Core cultivator who had remained silent suddenly raised a hand. “Noisy.”
At his movement, everyone’s surroundings seemed to fall silent. Heavy pressure crushed the breath from their lungs, their ears swelling painfully as the spiritual power within their bodies abruptly stalled.
As expected of Yunjiangguan. This was only an early-Golden Core cultivator, yet his pressure was already so formidable!
The Golden Core cultivator’s eyes were indifferent. He made a casual grasping motion. “If you don’t want to do it, I’ll replace you with someone who does. Shopkeeper Zhao, his shop is yours.”
The Wandan Hall shopkeeper’s face lit up. “Yes! This lowly one will make certain every mortal in the city swallows a Demon-Warding Spirit Pill. Not a single one will be missed!”
That grasping motion was aimed directly at Xia Yunzhao. The Snow-Crane Spirit-Guarding Crown on his head lit on its own, and countless balls of spiritual power flew over to surround him. A rapid series of tiny crack-crack-crack explosions rang out.
The Golden Core cultivator frowned. He had failed to grab him!
Xia Yunzhao grinned. “My turn!”
His feet left the ground and he hurtled straight at the Golden Core cultivator without restraint. Both palms opened. The Hundred-Form Palm activated, and all the spiritual power in his body poured out in a violent rush. The palm strike landed squarely on his opponent!
The wind from the strike spilled outward in every direction, making the doors and windows of the surrounding buildings rattle without cease. It was hard to imagine: if even the wind carried that much force, how powerful had the palm strike itself been?
Xia Yunzhao’s spiritual power was unstable right now, and his meridians had not fully recovered. Yet precisely because they had not fully recovered, it was very easy for him to pour all the spiritual power in his body into a single strike.
That was actually extremely difficult. No matter how an ordinary cultivator attacked, they would always leave some spiritual power, even most of it, inside their body for protection.
Xia Yunzhao was different. The secret-realm core had ground his meridians until they were practically a sieve, leaking everywhere yet circulating at astonishing speed. That was exactly why he could neither cultivate nor refine pills right now: he could not control his strength properly and would use far too much force at the slightest mistake.
As a result, this palm strike was exceptionally powerful!
Even a Golden Core cultivator might not be able to unleash, in a single palm strike, the entire spiritual-power reserve of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. Xia Yunzhao had done exactly that.
The Golden Core cultivator had not taken him seriously at all and therefore had not dodged. By the time the strike was directly in front of him, it was too late. He took every bit of it head-on.
His entire body flew backward. He spun several times through the air before landing face-first.
For a moment, neither of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators reacted.
A short while later, the Golden Core cultivator began trembling all over. He floated up from the ground and turned around, dust cascading from his face. His complexion was iron-blue. “Good… very good! Very good indeed!”
He opened his mouth and spat out a small earth-yellow seal. The seal expanded in the wind, and within moments it was taller than the city gates, suspended above their heads. His eyes bloodshot and his expression twisted, he snarled, “Since you refuse to take the Demon-Warding Spirit Pills, there’s no need for Qingxi City to exist either!”
The ever-growing square seal reflected in Xia Yunzhao’s pupils. His heartbeat accelerated wildly as he cursed inwardly, Yunjiangguan, you fight dirty! Why does an early-Golden Core cultivator have a Level-Four magical treasure?!
* * *
After escorting Xia Yunzhao to Wanglai Pavilion, Shang Shuangze left the city, looking back every few steps. He sighed softly and hoped nothing would happen this time.
He took out a specially made jade tooth, poured spiritual power into it, and drew it through empty air. A slit opened in space, and milky-white mist poured out.
Shang Shuangze stepped through. After walking thirteen steps southeast, he saw a massive mountain of jade. At its summit, towering city gates were half hidden among white clouds, through which the three characters “Baiyujing” could faintly be seen.
Within the white clouds, an enormous fish tail flashed past, breathtakingly beautiful, like some creature out of myth.
Shang Shuangze glanced at the plaque, which had nearly sunk below the white clouds, and frowned slightly. In a flash, he passed through the gates.
Beyond them lay an immortal mountain of exquisite scenery, where birds rested at ease amid spiritual power of astonishing abundance. The dense mist halfway up the mountain was not formed from water vapor at all, but from spiritual power so plentiful that there was nowhere for it to dissipate.
If Xia Yunzhao came here, he would definitely be like a little mouse that had fallen into a rice jar.
At the thought of that scene, Shang Shuangze could not help curling the corners of his lips.
“Ever since you grew up, I hardly ever see you smile like that anymore.” A childish voice, somehow carrying the manner of an old man, sounded nearby.
Shang Shuangze raised his head and realized he had already arrived at the sect’s front hall.
Baiyujing’s front hall was not an open-air courtyard but an enormous palace. White-jade steps led upward to gates that never closed. Countless white pillars stood throughout the hall, supporting a vast domed ceiling.
Following those pillars downward, however, there was no floor to be seen. They extended straight into the depths below, vanishing into some unknown place. Thick mist concealed the view beneath them as well. Yet if one looked closely, the mist here was no longer pure white. Fine threads of gray had begun to stain it.
A child of five or six sat leaning against one of the pillars. Beside him floated a sword that looked almost like a toy.
When Shang Shuangze saw the child, he straightened his robes and bowed. “Martial Uncle Changming.”
“Good boy. Hurry and get up.” The child waved with a beaming smile, looking utterly benevolent. “Have you finished your travels?”
Shang Shuangze shook his head. “I only came back to get something. I’ll leave again shortly.”
Martial Uncle Changming nodded and pointed behind him. “Your master is fishing on Xianyun Peak. Go on.”
Shang Shuangze inclined his head in thanks and continued forward.
Every few pillars, someone with the appearance of a child sat cross-legged in meditation. Shang Shuangze bowed all along the way, calling one “Martial Uncle,” another “Senior Martial Uncle,” without pause.
Each of the children praised him for being well behaved. The whole scene seemed completely reversed and looked exceedingly strange, yet somehow felt warm.
Shang Shuangze left the front hall and headed directly for Xianyun Peak. Sure enough, beside a stone table on the summit sat an old man with a white beard, leisurely holding a fishing rod with no hook.
The fishing rod twitched. The old man flicked his wrist, and a playful little Flowing-Cloud Whale came flying up.
The old man caught the little fish and stroked it twice. Suddenly, an enormous tail emerged from the clouds, slapped him across the face, and swept the little whale away.
Chuckling, the old man rubbed his cheek and went right back to fishing.
Shang Shuangze: “…”
He walked forward and bowed. “Master.”
Yue Shanfeng turned to look. “Well, look who’s back.” The next second his brows drew together. His figure blurred, and he appeared directly in front of Shang Shuangze. Catching Shang’s wrist, he checked his pulse for a moment, then said speechlessly, “I thought you’d gone down the mountain and suffered qi deviation. What are you doing, reversing your cultivation method for fun because you had nothing better to do?”
Shang Shuangze gave an affirmative sound. “Running it normally makes me cold.”
Yue Shanfeng stared at him, at a loss for words. “You didn’t complain about the cold when you practiced with me at three years old. You grow all the way up and suddenly start feeling cold?”
Shang Shuangze did not argue about it. He bowed again. “Master, I returned this time because I would like to ask you to bestow the Nine-Turn Nascent-Soul Condensing Dew on me in advance.”
Yue Shanfeng asked in confusion, “The Nine-Turn Nascent-Soul Condensing Dew is one of our sect’s supreme treasures. It can help a cultivator at Great Completion of Golden Core shatter the core and form a Nascent Soul, and it can stabilize the newly formed Nascent Soul afterward. You are my disciple, so naturally there will be a portion for you when the time comes for your Nascent Soul breakthrough. But you are only at mid-Golden Core now and still far from Nascent Soul. What do you want this immortal dew for?”
Shang Shuangze answered respectfully, “It is not for me. It is for a friend. He accidentally swallowed a secret-realm core. The core expands his meridians every day, and the pain is difficult to bear. This disciple wishes to use the Nine-Turn Nascent-Soul Condensing Dew to ease his pain.”
Yue Shanfeng: “…”
He stared at his disciple for a long while. “Do you know how many Golden Core and Nascent Soul cultivators would fight themselves bloody if word of this immortal dew got out? And you want to use it as anesthetic powder?! What kind of friend is this? Unless he’s your Dao companion, I refuse!”
Shang Shuangze looked at him.
Yue Shanfeng: ?
Yue Shanfeng: !
Yue Shanfeng: “…”