Chapter 40: Chaos Unleashed, The Cave of Insight

A gust of black wind swept through, carrying sand and stones as it descended from the mouth of the cavern. The grains of sand scraped against the walls as the wind surged within, alive with a will of its own—now darting east, now west—until finally it flung a flying centipede, no larger than a leaf, into the medicine cauldron.

Ji Ming landed in the cauldron, quelling the sinister wind and sweeping away all the poisonous food within. He then spat out two pearls, one large and one small, one jade-green and one pure white.

The white pearl was, of course, the precious eye—ever-changing and increasingly mystical. Ji Ming sensed an unseen connection to the precious eye; he felt that, once he refined it with the ritual of sacrifice, a great revelation awaited him. Perhaps, after its refinement, he would be able to wield the characters within the eye at will, no longer so passive as he was now.

In the contest for the Great Dao, a single misstep leads to ever more missteps. Though he carried the precious eye, should he rely on its power and drift through countless lifetimes, his pursuit of the Dao might eventually be worn away by the passage of ages.

The jade pearl he spat out was the Bone-Gathering Heart Pearl, now roughly forged, but yet untested on a person. With this magical pearl, Ji Ming could now sleep peacefully.

He returned to the cauldron, partly because refining treasures consumed his spirit and required a period of rest, and partly out of concern that he might miss the time to exchange food within the cauldron. Now that he possessed the magical pearl, he could roam the world unafraid.

Well, under the net of human laws, he could not roam freely yet; for now, he could only seek pleasure in the mountains. Moreover, here with Yu Xiao, he could learn the ways of human cultivation firsthand. With the magical pearl in hand, he no longer feared Yu Xiao discovering his strangeness.

He had barely begun to recuperate when Yu Xiao emerged from seclusion. Yu Xiao hurriedly brought Ji Ming and the Chisnake along, so anxious that he neglected even to check Ji Ming for anomalies, rushing straight toward the direction of Stonewhite Village.

It was Ji Ming's first time witnessing Yu Xiao so flustered. Usually, as a disciple of the Panhu sect and a witch’s protege, with remarkable abilities and cultivation, Yu Xiao was a figure of great renown around Hengshan, cultivating an air of authority and dignity. Yet now, that bearing seemed hollow and brittle—a most peculiar sight.

Within the medicine lodge, the other five disciples were already present, looking even more lost and despondent than Yu Xiao.

“Fear!” Ji Ming’s antennae caught the scent of it—a room thick with the tang of terror.

“Senior Brother Yu is here!” As Yu Xiao entered, everyone seemed to find their anchor, instinctively leaning toward him, seeking comfort.

“Senior Brother, have you received the news?”

“Yes!” Yu Xiao’s face was grave as water. “Is Master still in the village?”

“She is,” Mistress Zhang replied solemnly. “The mountain gate has repeatedly issued orders. Soon, Master will finish her instructions and rush to Guancai Cave to meet the enemy.”

Yu Xiao fixed his gaze on Mistress Zhang, as if seeking an outlet for his frustration. “The Daoists of Heshan and Heming have infiltrated Guancai Cave in Liling, intending to cut off the buffer route between Liling and Lanyin. Why has this news been so slow to reach us?”

Page (1/3)

Mistress Zhang did not take offense at Yu Xiao’s public reproach. He knew Yu Xiao was a man of ambition; in chaotic times, he could be a hidden dragon among the rough, but when facing the orthodox immortal sects, even a true dragon would be powerless.

“It’s not that she withheld it; she simply did not know,” the witch said, emerging with her basket, her expression seeming even older than before. “At the foot of Taiping Mountain, the Four Sorrowful Clouds Temple in Heshan, and Heming’s Crane Temple, acted with extreme secrecy and were shielded by underworld officials. Even I, an old woman, learned of this matter at the same time as you.”

She cast a disappointed look at Yu Xiao. He was gifted in unorthodox arts, serpentine and ruthless, but when it came to matters of life and death, he could not keep his composure. Of course, the witch knew she could not place too high an expectation on a first-stage cultivator.

Yu Xiao was already excellent; in Taiping Mountain, if he had met a compatible master, his achievements would have been far greater.

Ji Ming was moved by what he heard. In the old temple, the underworld agent named Qu Lu had once revealed this matter to Lord Bonin. Furthermore, the old master had said, “Rogues have come from the west and north,” which fit perfectly with this great event.

This meant Ji Ming had learned the inside story earlier than the others.

Ji Ming vaguely realized that the mountain spirits and monsters had their own intelligence network, and that he could enter it, receive messages, and remain above suspicion.

This was important—very important. Ji Ming knew all too well the bitterness of being cut off from information; otherwise, he would not have remained hidden with Yu Xiao for so long.

To put it plainly, he had not yet escaped the ranks of “illiterate” cultivators; even with the precious eye, he had yet to fully master its rituals.

“Failure! I must strive harder!” Ji Ming thought.

“Master, our policy of appeasement has been implemented for a long time; the local people are used to our governance. Why does Taiping Mountain dare to provoke disaster?”

“The thirty-six sects of the world respect Taiping Mountain as one of the three great sects, the Celestial Orthodoxy, but the world does not consist solely of those three. Our unorthodox branches also possess great power.”

The disciples, one after another, voiced their opinions, as if to bolster their own courage, but to the witch, it was as laughable as ants discussing the vastness of heaven.

“Enough!” The witch, pressed for time and burdened with duties, wasted no moment on idle talk, directly instructing her disciples.

“Taiping Mountain’s actions are not impulsive, but a determined break from old policies. Do not harbor false hopes—if you encounter their Daoists, strike first.”

Her words drained the color from the disciples’ faces, shattering their illusions. Few had the courage to face those immortal sects that dominated five regions, producing endless sages and heroes; even a single breath from them was enough to make these disciples tremble.

Among them, only Yu Xiao and Mistress Zhang remained calm, carefully listening to the witch’s instructions.

“You need not worry too much. This battle will likely involve the two main branches of Taiping Mountain from Heshan and Heming.”

Page (2/3)

“As long as we do not deploy Realmen above the third stage, the duel’s limit will remain at the third stage,” Mistress Zhang said, her eyes full of concern as she looked to her master. “Three steps and six realms—you are still in the second stage, the Qi Refining Realm, your five energies unformed. Being called back so hastily…”

“Don’t worry,” the witch said, for once showing some warmth to her little disciple. In a room full of disciples, only Mistress Zhang cared for her situation. The unorthodox path was indeed cold-hearted, no lie.

“I have connections within the mountain gate—I won’t be used as cannon fodder. Besides, though my cultivation has not advanced much in recent years, I have gained many methods to protect myself. You, newly initiated, must be especially careful.”

She took Mistress Zhang’s hand and whispered a few private words.

“Master!” Yu Xiao pressed for more information. “With the battle at Guancai Cave, Taiping Mountain aims to cut off our retreat to Liling. The mountain gate dares not escalate the duel further, so they summon second-stage cultivators like you to participate. Does this mean they are abandoning us first-stage disciples?”

“Yu Xiao!” The witch’s voice was stern. “Are you shaking the morale?”

“I wouldn’t dare.”

“Rebellious!” The witch scolded coldly. “If the situation becomes untenable, you may retreat to Baldbrush Peak to seek Monk Dayou. Though he is not a Panhu disciple, he is well-connected and renowned among the independents. As fellow practitioners of the unorthodox path, he will not refuse you.”

With these words, the disciples finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was not that they lacked courage, but that their enemy was simply too formidable. The Celestial Orthodoxy, one of the three great sects, dominated the southeast, producing immortal sages; even their mere presence inspired awe and dread.

Each disciple sensed that their days as “local tigers” were coming to an end.

With Monk Dayou brought up as a “great protector,” the atmosphere in the lodge stabilized. Before leaving, the witch instructed Yu Xiao and the others to seal away the sect’s secret scriptures and toxic manuals.

These were the vital secrets of Panhu, not to be shared even with outsiders at the first or second stage—“Qi Nurturing” and “Qi Refining.”

Yu Xiao, for reasons unknown, felt the iron-backed centipede in his sleeve stir restlessly. The cause seemed to be related to the sealing of the secret scriptures, and the thought startled him.

“Master!” Yu Xiao stopped his master, who was preparing to leave for Guancai Cave, and whispered, “Do you possess any methods for insect sacrifice?”

Page (3/3)