Xiang Moyue arranged himself as though settling in for a long conversation and asked everyone, “Do you know what Yunjiangguan used to be?”
Yunjiangguan had a predecessor? Xia Yunzhao wondered.
Du Yan supplied three words: “Yufa Sect.”
Xiang Moyue smiled in a way that made people want to slap him. “As expected of an outstanding disciple of Qianyuan Sect. You certainly know your history.”
“Yufa Sect…” Xia Yunzhao murmured the name to himself. Why did it sound so familiar? His memory had always been good, and since he began cultivating, he could remember practically anything he saw. It did not take long for him to recall it. “Right! The demon-slaying battle at the Wangjin Sea!”
He had previously drawn a book called Record of Spoils from the Demon-Slaying Campaign. Its opening page mentioned how Wentian Sect had led the Seven Great Sects and Five Great Families into battle against demonic cultivators at the Wangjin Sea. Yufa Sect had been listed among those Seven Great Sects, alongside Wentian Sect and Qianyuan Sect.
“Yunjiangguan used to be Yufa Sect? Then how did it fall this far?” Xia Yunzhao asked. That was not an unfair question. Yunjiangguan might be considered formidable in the vicinity of Qingxi City, but compared with Qianyuan Sect and Wentian Sect, it was nothing impressive.
Back then, Qianyuan Sect and Yufa Sect had both been numbered among the Seven Great Sects. How could the fortunes of their descendants have diverged so sharply after a few thousand years?
“A dispute over their Dao lineages, of course,” Xiang Moyue said suggestively. “Yufa Sect claimed to command all the techniques under heaven, while Qianyuan Sect measured the veins of heaven and earth. How could the two not come into conflict?”
Understanding suddenly dawned on Xia Yunzhao. “So that’s what they meant by a dispute over Dao lineages!”
He had imagined arguments such as: Water-attributed cultivation methods are better because they are gentle and do not harm the body, versus Fire-attributed methods are better because they are explosive and deadly. And if you disagreed with me, that just proved you were an idiot. At the very least, he had expected a philosophical argument about whether the Heavenly Dao belonged to all living things or only to cultivators.
But Xiang Moyue’s explanation gave him a very different answer. When all was said and done, a dispute over Dao lineages was really a dispute over resources and interests.
In other words, the demonic cultivators had been driven away, and all the mighty cultivators were ready to divide up the spoils. They split the pie and split the pie until they started fighting over it.
Xia Yunzhao was speechless. “What sort of ‘Dao-lineage dispute’ is that…?” Whoever came up with that name was deliberately misleading me.
Xiang Moyue continued, “Qianyuan Sect and Yufa Sect fought for nearly a thousand years. In the end, Yufa Sect was beset by troubles both within and without. It suffered a crushing defeat. Many disciples were killed or injured. Wentian Sect intervened, so Qianyuan Sect stopped short of wiping them out. The surviving members of Yufa Sect handed over their inherited Dao techniques, ceased calling themselves disciples of that sect, crossed the Wangjin Sea, and relocated to the banks of the Yunxi River. There, they renamed themselves Yunjiangguan.”
Xia Yunzhao nodded. So that was what had happened. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “What did you mean by troubles both within and without?”
Xiang Moyue waved his fan delicately. “With Fellow Daoist Du present, it would be rather difficult for me to speak too plainly.”
Du Yan wanted to roll his eyes, but decided it would be undignified. “Yufa Sect had a traitor among its own ranks back then.”
Xia Yunzhao was puzzled. “What’s so difficult to say about that?”
Xiang Moyue said, “After that, many other sects that came into conflict with Qianyuan Sect were defeated in exactly the same way.”
Xia Yunzhao understood at once. Qianyuan Sect is excellent at buying off traitors.
The events of a thousand years ago were interesting enough, but everyone was more concerned with the present.
Xiang Moyue went on, “The Yufa Sect survivors have long since reached the ends of their lifespans and died, but Yunjiangguan’s fear of Qianyuan Sect is buried deep in its bones. You can’t expect much backbone from people who don’t even dare acknowledge where they came from, can you?”
Xia Yunzhao remembered his first encounter with Yunjiangguan’s members, dressed all in white and insufferably arrogant. So they were compensating for what they lacked? Was their haughtiness toward outsiders a way of making up for the total lack of dignity they had before Qianyuan Sect?
He asked again, “So they asked you to disrupt our journey just because they knew Brother Du was a disciple of Qianyuan Sect?”
“I told you, I was interested in you and decided to make a little money on the side,” Xiang Moyue replied helplessly. “If I had truly wanted to prevent you from reaching your destination, all I would have needed to do was tamper with that map.”
Xia Yunzhao’s mouth twitched. “We’re not idiots.” As though we wouldn’t notice if a map had been altered! Then again, even if they did notice, reaching their destination without a map would indeed be rather difficult.
Xiang Moyue offered another piece of information. “I hear Yunjiangguan has prepared a grand gift this time. If it can impress Qianyuan Sect, it might even become a subordinate force of Qianyuan Sect. If that happens, the balance of power in the region will change.”
Xia Yunzhao promptly asked, “What sort of gift?”
Xiang Moyue shook his head. “They’re keeping the matter very closely guarded. No one in the shop managed to learn what it is.”
Xia Yunzhao complained, “Why is it that whenever something is actually useful, you can’t find out anything about it?”
Xiang Moyue was just about to argue his case when Xia Yunzhao turned his head and gave an order to someone or other, “Make him some spirit-fruit soup at noon. He’s talked so much he ought to moisten his throat.”
Xiang Moyue promptly closed his mouth. Spirit-fruit soup? He had never tried it. As for the scolding, he could live with being scolded once. He sold information for a living and was hardly a stranger to being cursed at.
* * *
The remainder of their journey went even more smoothly. A living map was far more useful than a paper one.
No one ever saw Xiang Moyue contacting anyone, yet somehow he always knew what was happening. With him aboard, Cloudwater Ferry avoided several more troublesome cities.
They landed once to restock supplies. This stop was peaceful enough: everyone entered the city, replenished what they needed, stayed one night, and set out again.
They flew onward for another fifteen days.
When they passed through a layer of soft white clouds, the air suddenly became full of moisture, carrying a salty, briny scent.
Xia Yunzhao completed a few hand seals and finished refining his furnace of pills. He collected them at once, seized Shang Shuangze’s hand, and ran outside. “I can smell the sea!”
They had finally reached the Wangjin Sea!
Cloudwater Ferry seemed to sense its master’s eagerness. It burst through the clouds, trailing a pale ribbon of white behind it, and the view ahead suddenly opened into a vast expanse.
The ocean stretched toward the horizon like a mirror without end. Viewed from such a tremendous height, even the heaving waves looked insignificant, no more than faint ripples. It was a deep-black jewel, remote and mysterious, with an inexplicable power to draw the eye.
“Is that the Wangjin Sea?” Xia Yunzhao asked excitedly. “You can’t fly above it?”
Several people nodded together. Zhong Yundu explained, “The spiritual energy above the Wangjin Sea is chaotic. Flying magical artifacts can fall right out of the sky.”
Du Yan added, “And that’s not all. Chaotic spiritual energy can easily form spiritual-energy storms. But those storms only happen over the deep sea. They never appear near the shore…”
Before he had even finished speaking, right before everyone’s eyes, a white vortex abruptly appeared on the seaside city’s docks, exactly where they intended to go.
The vortex swelled with the wind, growing tenfold in an instant. It looked enormous even from the sky. Then, with a sudden whoosh, it swept across the docks, sending countless treasure ships and fishing boats flying and badly damaging the wharf.
In another blink, the vortex vanished.
Xia Yunzhao said, “…Was that the spiritual-energy storm that’s never supposed to happen near the shore?”
Du Yan: “…”
Xia Yunzhao looked to the others for confirmation.
Even Xiang Moyue looked bewildered. “Normally, spiritual-energy storms really don’t occur along the coast.”
Shang Shuangze asked, “Are you certain it was a spiritual-energy storm?”
Xiang Moyue said, “Hmm… Let me check.” With that, he closed his eyes.
No one knew how he intended to check. By imagining the answer? They left him to it and went back to discussing their options. “There are many cities along the Wangjin Sea. We chose Wangdu Cape because it was the most convenient. Should we make a detour and use another port?”
Xia Yunzhao replied, “Who’s to say the other ports won’t have the same spiritual-energy storm?”
Zhong Yundu said calmly, “I say we charge straight through. That vortex is far weaker than Cloudwater Ferry.”
“Brother, could you try using your brain?” Xia Yunzhao looked at him in disbelief. “We haven’t even entered the Wangjin Sea and you already want Cloudwater Ferry to ram through things? It’s not your treasure ship, so of course it doesn’t hurt you to risk it!”
The corners of Zhong Yundu’s mouth lifted. Clearly, he had only been teasing him.
Just then, Xiang Moyue opened his eyes. “It wasn’t a spiritual-energy storm. A Cloud-Swallowing Whale has arrived in the coastal waters. For some reason, it’s lingering here and frequently blowing out vortices to hunt. People who want to cross the sea haven’t dared set sail lately. Wangdu Cape and the nearby port cities are all packed with stranded travelers.”
Xia Yunzhao looked at him curiously. “You can contact your people that easily?”
Xiang Moyue had clearly prepared an answer. He smiled slightly, just about to speak, when Xia Yunzhao continued, “Can you get someone to reserve a room for us? If the cities are so crowded, won’t all the inns be full?”
Xiang Moyue: “…Yes.” He found Xia Yunzhao increasingly fascinating. Learning that Xiang Moyue possessed such a discreet means of communication, all this fellow wanted was a room reservation? Wasn’t that a little too…
Xia Yunzhao relaxed immediately. They had no idea how long they would have to stay at Wangdu Cape. Somewhere to sleep was important. Then he asked, “Is a Cloud-Swallowing Whale an aquatic slaughter beast? I’ve never heard of one. What level is it? Wangdu Cape may be a small city, but plenty of cultivators pass through every day. Can’t anyone deal with it?”
Du Yan knew a little about the creatures. “It’s no surprise you haven’t heard of them. Cloud-Swallowing Whales aren’t slaughter beasts but spirit beasts. Sea-dwelling spirit beasts are different from those on land, though. They have little goodwill toward humans and sometimes even eat them. Cloud-Swallowing Whales are growth-type spirit beasts. Even when they first reach adulthood, they’re at least Level Four. Their bodies are enormous and they can turn invisible, so they’re exceptionally hard to deal with.”
So that was how it was. No wonder this whale had been able to lord over the area for so long.
Xia Yunzhao brought Cloudwater Ferry down, and the group entered the city.
Wangdu Cape had all the charm of a small seaside town. Salted fish and dried shellfish hung outside almost every home. The streets were full of little shops selling strange and exotic seashells, where many customers were clearly travelers from elsewhere.
Some shops specialized in selling fish and stood right beside ordinary butcher’s shops.
Xiang Moyue pointed ahead. “All the inns really are full, so I rented a small courtyard. It’s just up the road.”
“There’s no rush,” Xia Yunzhao replied. “Let’s go to the docks first.”
No one objected, and they followed him to the waterfront.
Half the sturdy dock had been torn apart by the vortex, but repairs were already underway. The people rebuilding it were cultivators dressed in gray-blue robes. They belonged to the Sea-Crossing Gang, the only cultivator faction in Wangdu Cape.
Xia Yunzhao watched them finish repairing the dock with remarkable speed, yet no boats departed. He took out a handful of spirit pearls, pressed them into the palm of a Sea-Crossing Gang disciple, and smiled. “Fellow Daoist, may I ask whether the docks can be used now?”
The disciple saw his cultivation and nearly jumped in fright. “Senior, the docks themselves are usable, but please don’t try to cross the sea right now!”
“Is the Cloud-Swallowing Whale still here?” Xia Yunzhao asked.
The disciple nodded frantically. “It is! That beast is cunning. It waits around the docks, and the moment anyone tries to cross the sea, it overturns their vessel and swallows everyone aboard. That’s a Level-Five spirit beast, as powerful as someone at the Soul Transformation stage!”
Xia Yunzhao was stunned. The whale’s cultivation was that high? “Do you know why it keeps lingering here?”
The disciple gave an awkward laugh. “How would I know? Senior, if you’re not in a hurry, you could search along the shore. Although the whale is watching the nearby cities, there must be somewhere it hasn’t noticed. You could slip out to sea from there. If you’ll excuse me!”
Watching the disciple’s retreating back, Xia Yunzhao exchanged a look with Shang Shuangze. He doesn’t know? Judging by that reaction, the Sea-Crossing Gang knew a great deal more than it was admitting.