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墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
The water cave I entered from the waterfall was pitch black, and I feared that the Serpent Cult members would poison the water or set traps if they found my body had not floated to the surface. Thus, I dared not swim out.
I opened all the medicine bottles in the cave's walls and cut the remaining Ointment into many pieces to store in those bottles. This white Ointment was remarkably effective for healing wounds, and I knew it would be useful in my journey through the Daoist World.
Aside from climbing to the top of the cave during my free time, I studied the medical texts left by Medicine King Senior. Most of those texts were incomplete; the cave was not a sealed space, and a thousand years had rendered them unable to be preserved intact. Although I couldn't learn any extraordinary medicinal recipes, I grasped some basic pharmacology and recognized several common herbs.
When we were being hunted, Wu He had given me something before we left—something like a scroll that Mr. Chang had given him. During my time in Medicine King's Cave, I opened it to find its contents were brief but contained the core teachings of Qingliang Temple.
This core content was precisely the Entry-Level Realm of Taoist Arts practiced at Qingliang Temple.
Qingliang Temple was not well-known in the Daoist World and had no renowned Cultivation Methods. Its only core teaching was this Entry-Level Realm of Taoist Arts. Old Priest Chang Xi had once shone brightly in the Daoist World with this method, and the current temple master, As the saying goes, held some status in the Daoist World as a friend of Yang Sanqian.
The Entry-Level Realm's teachings began with “The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name; nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth; named is the mother of all things.”
This opening passage was from the Tao Te Ching, which inevitably reminded me of the Martial Dao Classic. Although I had never read the Martial Dao Classic, I recalled that when Mr. Chang and Wu He went to kill Zhang Jianzi, Mr. Chang believed that Zhang Jianzi's counterattack against Wu was a technique learned from Qingliang Temple. Later, when Mr. Chang used that same move against Elder of the Divine Serpent Sect Si Tu Nan, Si Tu Nan suspected a close relationship between Mr. Chang and Zhang Jianzi, thinking that Zhang Jianzi had taught Mr. Chang that technique.
In reality, Zhang Jianzi and Mr. Chang did not know each other.
Thousands of years ago, during a summer retreat at Qingliang Mountain, Laozi Li Er preached to hundreds of listeners, among whom Ancestor Master of Qingliang Mountain learned some things.
In the following millennia, Daoist culture developed rapidly, and Daoist Sects rose to prominence. It has long been rumored that Laozi, as a founding figure of Daoism, created the Martial Dao Classic based on the Tao Te Ching.
It stands to reason that Qingliang Temple's core teachings passed down through generations should be related to the opening lines of the Martial Dao Classic.
However, I was not very familiar with the hierarchy within the Daoist World. During my time refining my body at Qingliang Temple, Mr. Chang and Wu He spoke little about it for fear that I would become distracted by impatience and did not teach me about the Entry-Level Realm.
Moreover, I could not cultivate Qi myself; it typically took decades for practitioners to acquire their skills. Having just begun refining my body, it was impossible for me to grasp everything at once. Therefore, I decided to keep this scroll—potentially containing foundational martial teachings—along with Medicine King's Human Pill until I could leave Medicine King's Cave.
After much effort climbing out from above Medicine King's Cave, I looked around at every blade of grass and tree below in a renewed sense of life. Never before had I wanted to live so desperately as I did at this moment.
The Serpent Cult members had killed Douding before my eyes while Mr. Chang and Wu Ye were missing. They had forced me to the bottom of Cold Pool—a dark dead end where I nearly lost my life. This grudge must be avenged.
I walked down the mountain toward the west and noticed that by the time I passed beneath the waterfall, the Serpent Cult members had already left.
Crossing over Yaowang Mountain to the west, one encounters the vast expanse of the Qinling Mountains.
There were no roads within the Qinling Mountains. With the Fish Intestine Sword in hand, I sometimes found myself blocked by thickets with no path ahead, forcing me to clear a way through the brambles.
Growing up in a mountain village, I often played in the woods with Huzi, which gave me an advantage in surviving in the wilderness.
Now, my physical condition was only slightly better than that of an average person. I had no martial skills and was unfamiliar with Daoist Arts. When I spotted wild rabbits or squirrels along the way, I couldn't catch them; I could only forage for wild fruits to stave off hunger. If I encountered large wild beasts, my only option was to run. At times, when thirst became unbearable, I would drink dew from leaves or rush to streams in the mountains and drink deeply like a beast.
Once, while looking at my reflection in a stream, I noticed that my originally graying hair had started to grow back black due to the healing ointment from Medicine King's Cave. The wrinkles on my face had also diminished significantly.
My clothes were tattered beyond recognition, and my feet were covered with thick calluses, which I hesitated to remove for fear of being pierced by thorns if I encountered another thicket.
My legs had healed, but the wounds were not completely closed, causing me to walk with a slight limp.
One morning, as I woke up in a tree, I felt something crawling on me and saw a yellow python resting on my body, its tongue flicking against my nose.
Startled, I fell from the tree, tearing the skin on my leg. I had to use ointment again for treatment. Having learned about several healing herbs in Medicine King's Cave, I found some more wound-healing medicine and chewed it before applying it to my injuries.
I recognized that yellow python from my time in the mountains; it was called the Yellow Line Snake. It was venomous but did not bite humans. Its tongue secreted a toxin that could induce fainting; once someone was incapacitated, it would pierce their nostrils and drink their blood.
As I continued on and stopped by a stream to drink water, I barely recognized myself. A herd of spotted deer shared the stream with me; they did not flee even as I walked among them, merely parting to let me pass.
Half a month later, I finally spotted a village with smoke curling up into the sky.
In the distance, atop a towering mountain, there was an impressive structure that resembled a palace.
I couldn't believe that such an isolated and desolate place could have such architecture and that people could still live here.
As I entered one of the villages before me, I saw a group of villagers at the village entrance selling clothes. They wore ancient rough garments made of mulberry and hemp, while the clothes they were selling looked like modern attire but were of such poor quality that they seemed worse than ten-dollar items from street vendors—like discarded work uniforms from factory workers.
Back when I was in Futu Ridge, I already thought that traffic congestion and lack of economic development led to poverty. Although villagers there dressed simply, at least they were clean and tidy; unlike these people who appeared dirty.
It had taken me at least a month and a half to walk from Yaowang Mountain to here. I wondered where they had obtained these clothes since every household in the village exchanged rice and wheat for garments without ever seeing anyone pay with money.
When the villagers noticed me, they paused their activities to scrutinize me and asked where I had come from.
Their accents were thick and difficult to understand, and I could only grasp the general meaning. I said, "I come from beyond these mountains, having traveled for several months to reach here. May I ask where this place is? In the distance, is that the Daoist Sect's place of cultivation?"
Feeling a bit embarrassed at my ragged appearance, I was relieved that my pants still covered me; otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to show myself in public.
My words immediately caused everyone to lose interest, and they turned back to selecting clothes.
"Just look at him; he's either a criminal who fled into the mountains or someone foolishly hoping to join the Daoist Sect. Once he gets in there, he'll look down on us. If he can't get in, he just lingers around here—why should we bother with him?"
"Exactly. But judging by his appearance, he probably isn't here to join the Daoist Sect. A man in his thirties trying to get into the Daoist Sect? He might as well be picking dung for them."
I heard the crowd chattering away, leaving me momentarily dazed. However, my dry throat urged me to muster the courage to ask, "Could anyone spare a bit of water?"
I didn't want to mention any promises of future rewards; that would come off as too opportunistic. Yet even with my humble request, no one paid me any mind.
A wave of frustration washed over me, prompting a desire to leave. There were no electric utilities in these mountains, so there must be wells around. I could find one and draw some water for myself before heading further up the mountain.
"Hey there, you want some water?" Just as I was about to leave, an old woman's voice called out from behind me.
I turned around to see a slightly hunched old woman looking at me.
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