Chapter 30
C30 . Must Never Be Forgotten
Many court officials had other houses in the capital’s outskirts . There was nothing strange about the exterior of this mansion .
Extremely tall walls, plum trees with their branches sticking out, a tall spirit screen[1] decorated with cranes in flight .
Behind the spirit screen, there were no sheltered corridors going both ways . Instead, there were layers of false hills covered in moss and plants, which would take any normal person at least an hour to get out of . This was the only defence array in the mansion; its purpose was to stop those who barged in from the front doors .
As for those foolish thieves or murderers who scaled the walls to get in, there would be no trace of them left .
The mansion was full of demonic cultivators, right down to the old men who lit the cooking fires and the crippled men who fed the horses .
The cages hanging in the corridors contained vibrantly coloured birds that were resting with their wings drooped . Occasionally, when they raised their heads, one could see ferocity in their gazes . They were all demonic beasts with cultivation bases .
As the icy winds blew, the snowflakes scattered everywhere like willow seeds .
A large bird with blue feathers and white claws opened its eyes suddenly, looking at the corridor on the right—something seemed to have flashed by .
It wanted to take a closer look, but there were no traces to look at .
This was a gyrfalcon[2], whose eyesight at Golden Core-level could be as powerful as a Demigod-level cultivator’s . It was very sure that it had not been seeing things; there was indeed an intruder in the mansion . There had been no one so bold for the past few centuries, so this could be one of Grandmaster Huanjian’s foes .
The gyrfalcon folded its wings and tucked its head in, pretending to be asleep .
It was a beast cultivator and a gift to Grandmaster Huanjian from demonic cultivators who wanted to gain his favour, kept in the mansion for its owner’s amusement . When Grandmaster Huanjian was in a good mood, he would feed them a few pills, but they often had nothing to eat!!
Beast cultivators were bloodthirsty by nature . Even if they could go without food, not being able to eat flesh was practically abuse!
Fight, make a mess, even better if they turned the mansion upside-down—the gyrfalcon sat waiting expectantly .
It was a silent, snowy night .
Shi Feng made it safely through half the mansion and arrived at the rear court, where Grandmaster Huanjian resided alone . He did not leave behind a single trace, much less disturb the air currents even a little, in order to prevent the demonic cultivators indoors from noticing .
Infiltrating cultivators’ mansions was always the most troublesome . One could not stalk any maids responsible for delivering meals (cultivators did not need to eat) or knock someone unconscious and ask where the treasure room was (only Grandmaster Huanjian knew the location) . As for the servants in the rear court, Shi Feng did not need to look to guess that those were dummies .
Dummies were sustained by the spiritual energy provided by their masters . Although they were not very powerful, being discovered by them was as good as being discovered by the master .
The surface of the lake was frozen over . The plum blossoms were in full bloom .
A bright light shone from the pavilion in the centre of the lake onto the lake’s surface, illuminating the ice . The light made it feel as if someone was coming out to welcome him with a lantern in hand .
Shi Feng was not the least bit surprised .
Since Grandmaster Huanjian was not away, he was prepared to snatch it by force .
—if Grandmaster Huanjian did not even realise his house had been broken into, the title of Strongest Demonic Cultivator would just be for show .
A red figure darted out of the plum forest . A brief flash, and he was standing before the pavilion .
The green floor-length curtains remained still . The object casting the dazzling light was a golden cauldron studded with flood dragon pearls .
Legend had it that flood dragons were a menace in ancient time . Flood dragons could live for a thousand years, and if one split their bones, they could obtain twelve pearls as bright as stars .
This object alone was enough to stun most of the cultivation world into silence . They could not catch up with this level of wealth even if they rode flying swords .
With a flick of Shi Feng’s sleeve, the curtain rolled up, showing a folding screen set up inside the pavilion .
It was dark inside except for some candlelight behind the folding screen . The folding screen was made of paper, decorated with ink paintings of misty mountains .
A faint creak sounded, and two painted leather puppets rose up behind the paper screen, their hands and feet connected to stringed sticks . They remained close to the screen as they greeted each other with clasped hands, appearing lifelike under the candlelight .
There was no music, only the two figures beginning to converse .
“Old Man Mo of the eastern village found that an uninvited guest from the western village’s Zheng family came to visit him, do you think Old Man Mo will be happy?”
“Aiya, what’s there to be happy about? The Zheng family looks down on the Mo family but can’t do anything about the Mo family, neither of them are good people, and neither side is richer than the other! Coming here so late at night, they must be up to no good!”
The puppet on the left had a kind appearance . It threw its head back, laughing, “You don’t know, then . This time, the person from the Zheng family is someone everyone in the Zheng family is highly wary of . They accuse him of joining the Mo family . ”
The puppet on the right had a fierce appearance . It held its head in its arms .
“There’s such a thing?”
“Capable ones can earn money anywhere they go . This one from the Zheng family is a rare talent . ”
“Does Old Man Mo want him as a buddy?” the puppet said sketchily, covering its mouth . “If Old Man Mo’s happy, we’ll have good things . ”
The pavilion in the middle of the lake was rather empty . By right, it should have been Grandmaster Huanjian’s residence, but there was a strange shadow puppet play going on .
But Shi Feng did not mind . He continued to watch the play as he stood with hands behind his back .
The puppet slapped the ‘other person’ on the head, chiding, “Who says Old Man Mo is happy?”
“Eh, what about it?” The other puppet looked like it was trying to gain favour .
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“Old Man Mo’s been wanting to go into the city for a long time, he’s wanted to go in all his life!”
The puppet flicked its sleeves angrily . “Look what you’re saying, who doesn’t know that! Which person from the eastern and western villages doesn’t want to go into the city, it’s so nice in the city!”
“That’s right, the Mo family can’t get the entry passes into the city! The Zheng family person who’s come tonight has a very high chance of getting an entry pass, but guess what! He ran away to Black Depths Valley, where all the ruffians from the two villages live, and isn’t seeking improvement! Say, if Old Man Mo can’t go into the city, but he sees a Zheng family person who can go into the city but doesn’t want to go in, won’t he be especially angry?”
“Absolutely right!”
Shi Feng gave a light cough at the right moment .
This sound was like a woodblock being struck during the opera . The two leather puppets turned at the same time, as if they were staring at Shi Feng who stood beyond the folding screen .
Faced with this chilling sight, Shi Feng asked as calmly as ever, “May I know if you two have been in the city before?”
“Now the city allows people in but doesn’t allow people out, would we still be here if we went into the city?” a puppet replied furiously, its arm strings taut .
“That is right, we knew how nice it was in the city when the citizens came out in the past . These days, who knows if it truly is so pleasant in the city?” Shi Feng replied absentmindedly . “Besides, if I were Old Man Mo, I would only be even happier if I saw how others could not enter the city . Would he be happy if I obtained the entry pass and entered the city with ease?”
“…”
The two puppets paused, then lifted their hands .
“Please enter, esteemed guest . ”
Presently they slid down, leaving nothing but the flickering candlelight .
Shi Feng strode forward slowly . He had already seen that there were no tricks or traps in this pavilion . Defence formations and arrays were the Beixuan Sect’s specialty; if there was anything amiss, none of it would elude Shi Feng’s divine sense .
The only place his divine sense could not reach was behind the paper folding screen . Without a doubt, that was—
Shi Feng went around the folding screen . There were three steps below, just enough for the puppeteer to hide below, away from the light .
Ornately crafted leather puppets sat on the last step, their bamboo sticks and strings arranged neatly . Next to them sat a person wearing a black cloak and a fierce-spirit mask .
—of course, this was Grandmaster Huanjian .
Although Shi Feng had not expected this strongest demonic cultivator to be a lover of shadow puppetry .
No mystical abilities nor dummies were used . Like a mortal, he manipulated bamboo sticks with his fingers .
The Mo family meant the demonic cultivators, and the Zheng family meant the orthodox Dao . Entry passes and entering the city was a reference to immortal ascension . And it was quite the metaphor, saying that the ruffians of both villages lived in Black Depths Valley .
[TN: demonic = 魔道 Modao, orthodox = 正道 Zhengdao . Hence the surnames . ]
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“Shi Feng of the Beixuan Sect has come to visit with a most unreasonable request, Venerable Grandmaster . ”
“If I don’t agree, you are prepared to rob,” Grandmaster Huanjian added for Shi Feng, nodding .
His voice was slightly hoarse, a far cry from the voices of the two puppets .
Grandmaster Huanjian was the strongest demonic cultivator, but he rarely made an appearance . Just like how all of Shi Feng’s enemies were dead, no living person knew Grandmaster Huanjian’s secrets .
More accurately, every person who had faced Grandmaster Huanjian’s sword was dead .
—this demonic grandmaster had neither opponents nor friends .
“Shi Feng has nothing of value . At first I was willing to offer something to make up for your loss, Venerable Grandmaster, but I abandoned that idea after seeing the golden cauldron with its flood dragon pearls . ”
Since Grandmaster Huanjian was so wealthy, Shi Feng decided to skip the exchange route, going straight to robbing .
“So, you want something I will definitely not give you . ” Grandmaster Huanjian slowly rose from his cushion .
“You have a sword, Venerable Grandmaster . ”
“Clearly . ”
“I want the pearl affixed to the blade, the South Seas Ten-Millennium Clambeast Pearl . ”
Grandmaster Huanjian flinched . Clearly this request was beyond his expectations .
“The clambeast pearl? I thought you came for the Secret Beixuan Treasure!”
This time, it was Shi Feng’s turn to be surprised . Suddenly, he smiled, saying, “You went to the northern wastelands and returned after a few days . For three whole months, there has been no news of the Secret Beixuan Treasure in the cultivation world, so it would seem this treasure is worthless . Otherwise, would Liang Qianshan not be spreading the news far and wide if you obtained the treasure?”
“Why wasn’t it Liang Qianshan who got the treasure?” Grandmaster Huanjian gave a long sigh . “I am much kinder than him, for I wouldn’t spread the news and cause so much trouble for the Great Snowy Mountain . I would only choose a nice day to take his head off his neck . ”
“Is there a possibility that Liang Qianshan obtained the treasure?” Shi Feng’s brows furrowed, his hands behind his back .
“Haha, nicely said,” Grandmaster Huanjian snickered . “With me around, why would small fries like him dare to try . ”
Having said that, he looked to Shi Feng, sighing once more, “After seeing you, I only wish the rumours in the cultivation world about you turning to the demonic Dao were true . The demonic Dao has declined, and it has not seen any talent for centuries . ”
Shi Feng did not reply .
Being at the Immortalisation stage himself, he knew that there were huge differences in cultivation base between Immortalisation-level cultivators .
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Liang Qianshan, the Divine Master of the Great Snowy Mountain, was only at the early stage of Immortalisation, while Shi Feng was at the middle stage . Before coming here, he believed that the strongest demonic cultivator, eight-hundred-year-old Grandmaster Huanjian, would be at the late-stage of Immortalisation, but his aura was far more powerful than the leader of the Juhe Sect, who was similarly late-stage Immortalisation . Among the people Shi Feng had met, he had only ever seen similar levels of indecipherable power in the Master of Black Depths Valley .
Grandmaster Huanjian suddenly added, “Why would you think the treasure is worth nothing? What if the news about the Secret Beixuan Treasure is fake again this time? Getting a fake treasure is nothing to boast about, of course Liang Qianshan wouldn’t talk about it . ”
“The legitimacy of the treasure is not a concern . Even if it was a fake treasure, he could spread the news that you obtained it, and it would suffice as long as everyone else believed that . ”
“Hahaha!”
Grandmaster Huanjian produced a red box, pushing it between them . An invisible force held the box up, suspending it in mid-air .
The box was made of a highly durable wood . During the ancient times, cultivators used it to build houses as it was impermeable to spiritual energy . Other than being durable and long-lasting, which made it suitable for storing things, it had no other use .
Shi Feng was in no hurry to receive the box .
“You did not know the whole truth, and I imagine you must have wanted the Secret Beixuan Treasure for yourself as well, Venerable Grandmaster . If the Beixuan Sect truly possessed such treasures, why would we have weakened to the point of being chased out of the central lands three millennia ago?”
Of course, there had been legitimate treasure .
Spoils from the Great Calamity Wars, cultivation practices from various sects, magic items, elixirs and pills…
“Like others, I had considered the possibility of a previous Beixuan sect leader dying suddenly before they were able to reveal the secret . In the end, not even the Beixuan Sect knew the whereabouts of the treasure, and it grew steadily weaker . ”
Shi Feng extended his hand slowly, taking hold of this box which had neither seals nor poison traps guarding it . His expression was frigid .
“Eventually, I thought that perhaps my forebears had already brought the treasure to where it was meant to be . ”
Moving his fingers caused the lid to open . Inside the box was a pile of jade tablets, some faintly glowing, some dulled and grey .
He picked up a random jade tablet . It read, in ancient script, “Our sect is withering, and our inheritances shall be entrusted to Beixuan . Disciples of Canglan, this favour must not be forgotten . –Final words of the Seventh Master of Canglan Island in the East Seas . ”
Below, one of the faintly glowing jade tablets read, “Our sect is finished, the divine order has cast calamity upon us; I am no mortal and thus am unable to remain in the mortal realm . I entrust my inheritance to Beixuan; my successors, this must never be forgotten . –Immortal Hansong, an ascended individual of the Kunlun Sect . ”
The Beixuan Sect kept these promises . They took a few thousand years to search for all the inheritors, leaving behind nothing but the jade tablets that recorded those initial promises and locking them in a box .
This was karma, and the favours owed by the immortals of various sects .
This was the Secret Beixuan Treasure .
—must never be forgotten; who would believe it after five thousand years even if these were produced? Who would believe it if these were the only things said to be left?
—this favour must not be forgotten; many years had passed and the world had changed . The Beixuan Sect still had Shi Feng, but the Kunlun Sect, Canglan Island, and all those other sects had long since become defunct .
The Secret Beixuan Treasure would forever remain buried .
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