Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Human Sacrifice
The young man stood at the door, looking surprised as he asked, "What do you mean?"
"Iron Baldy is dead. If you go looking for Iron Baldy for protection, things will escalate, and the consequences will be severe."
"I don't believe you. How could you kill Iron Brother?" The young man said this and hurriedly left the courtyard. When he reached the dining hall and asked a few people, confirming that Iron Baldy was indeed dead, he became dejected, especially since I was right behind him.
"There's been a murder! Help!" the young man suddenly shouted, pointing at me as he told everyone, "He killed Iron Brother! It was him!"
"Are you mistaken?" I looked at the young man innocently, while others turned to him in surprise, noticing his pale face from fear. They then asked me, "Is this a new disciple?"
I replied, "To all my senior brothers, I am the new Yang Hao. He must be in shock from Iron Brother's death."
"I think so too. A-Liang, don’t always pick on newcomers. Iron Baldy was never a good person; his death is justifiable. This is what happens to evildoers. That Song Yuan from the mountain isn’t any better either; it would be best if both of them were gone."
Hearing others speak like this about Iron Baldy made the young man furious. I smiled at those people and then put my arm around the young man's shoulder as we returned to the Siheyuan.
Once inside the Siheyuan, I closed the door and looked at the young man. "Now that you know Iron Baldy is dead, are you satisfied? Go inside and wake them both up."
The young man nodded timidly and called the other two awake.
The one with his jaw wrapped in bandages glared at me with hostility upon seeing me. I slapped him hard; his body spun in the air before crashing into a pillar in the corridor. I stepped forward and stomped on his still-healing jaw again, causing him to scream in agony as his body convulsed from the pain.
The other young man tried to run but I grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. He swung his fist at my face, but I countered with a punch of my own. The sound of breaking bones echoed as he screamed and clutched his arm, stepping back while chanting an incantation. A ball of Dao Fire erupted from his mouth. Using my fireball technique to condense his flames into a sphere, I slapped my hand over his mouth.
He was immediately burned internally and collapsed to the ground, howling in pain.
At that moment, I heard hurried footsteps approaching from not far away. I tossed both of them into my room and shut the door just as someone pushed open the courtyard gate—it was that boy who had scolded me back in Song Yuan's Cave on Birch Mountain.
The boy looked at me with disdain and said, "Senior Song wants you to clean his Cave. He’s about to pack up and head to Azure Cloud Mountain’s ancestral grounds; he needs help."
"Even now he can't forget about me? This Song Yuan really doesn’t know what’s good for him. After being punished to reflect on his actions, he still hasn’t changed," I muttered to myself.
"How dare you, what do you think you are, even cursing Senior Song?" The young man shouted at me, pointing his finger.
"You scared me with your loud voice," I replied, quickly grabbing the back of his head and slamming it against the wall. He tried to resist but found himself as powerless as a chicken in my grip.
Having taken the Millennium Ointment from Medicine King's Cave, along with the Seven-Colored Elixir, I now possessed strength that made me feel like a servant myself. I was careful not to squeeze too hard when I held the young man, fearing I might crush his skull, and I was equally cautious when slamming him against the wall.
Lying on the ground, blood covering his face, he looked up at me and said, "You dare to hit me?"
I stepped on his knee, crushing the bone beneath my foot. He kicked at me with his other leg, but I swiftly crushed that one too before dragging him and throwing him into a room filled with filth.
Throughout it all, the young man did not dare to move. He knelt before me and pleaded, "Brother Yang Hao, I truly won't provoke you again. Please have mercy and spare me this time."
I said, "You can go complain to Senior Brother Song Qianqiu. He seems to be at Qianqiu Peak. You could also find the Grand Elder; the Sect Leader just returned from out of town this afternoon. Go tell him."
The young man bowed his head repeatedly, making a thudding sound against the ground as he swore various oaths.
I helped him up and said, "That's more like it. If you had been this obedient from the start..."
Trembling in fear of my sudden aggression, he immediately knelt down again, paralyzed by terror in front of someone who disregarded law and life entirely.
I instructed him, "Keep an eye on these three; don’t let them die or leave the courtyard. You’ll sleep in the hallway tonight. No one else can stay in any room except for me. After a few days when I kill Song Yuan and move into Birch Cave, you can move in there. Let me warn you again: watch your mouth."
Seeing him nod, I smiled at him. I had already grasped the situation within the Inner Sect. The elders hardly managed the Inner Sect Disciples, only enforcing a rule against killing fellow sect members while allowing everything else to run wild.
Within the Inner Sect, Senior Brother Song Qianqiu had become an idol in everyone's eyes. When the Sect Leader was absent, even the Grand Elder allowed Song Qianqiu to handle sect affairs, clearly grooming him as a successor.
I first visited Outer Sect to see Li Lao. After chatting for a while and assuring him that everything was fine in the Inner Sect, he seemed relieved despite knowing about its chaotic state. I sensed that Li Lao was a master beyond reach for many within Azure Cloud Sect. He exuded an aura of effortless naturalness that left me curious about his true identity—something even many disciples, including Elder Jin and Elder Hong, were unaware of.
When I asked about Li Chang'an, an Inner Sect Disciple, no one seemed to know who he was. They informed me that among the seven elders of Azure Cloud Sect, there was no one named Li Chang'an.
It appeared that Li Lao was merely an old man guarding the Scripture Repository in the Outer Sect.
After that, I visited the Inner Sect's Scripture Repository. The Inner Sect Scripture Repository is open to all Outer Sect Disciples, filled with a variety of books, some of which can even be found in the secular world.
When I was in the Outer Sect, I had thoroughly memorized some of the Cultivation Methods using the insights from the Martial Dao Classic. However, when I tried to use the Martial Dao Classic's principles to glimpse shortcuts to Daoist Arts in the Inner Sect Scripture Repository, I found it quite challenging.
I returned a book titled Divine Fire Formula to the shelf and picked up another one called Taiyi Fumo Gong. These Cultivation Methods were located on the highest level of the Inner Sect Scripture Repository. It was noted that an average person would need eighty years to master them, while those with exceptional talent or innate gifts could achieve mastery in forty years. Upon completion, one could attain the Taiyi Dao Body, impervious to evil and demonic forces. No wonder these Daoist Sect books were covered in dust and went unnoticed.
Some ancient Daoist Sect Cultivation Methods had not actually been lost but required too much time to master. With human lifespans barely reaching a hundred years, even with Daoist longevity practices, one might only live a little over a hundred years. In a lifetime, mastering just one Cultivation Method could make someone a formidable expert. However, if progress was slow after ten years of consistent effort, few would be inclined to pursue it.
Thus, one of the fundamental conditions for a sect's longevity is that the Cultivation Methods passed down to disciples are simple and easy to learn, allowing quick mastery without requiring excessive time investment. The rest is merely a matter of practice making perfect; once one's cultivation level rises, they naturally become experts within the Daoist Sect.
Daoists tend to become more valuable as they age. The sect Elders are pillars that can ensure the sect's prosperity because their mastery of Cultivation Methods often allows them to single-handedly turn the tide and save the sect from dire straits.
Ultimately, I had to give up on those seemingly impressive but neglected Cultivation Methods and instead sought out some books on body techniques that suited my current needs. I had only learned the introductory concepts from the Martial Dao Classic; while I could grasp some low-level Cultivation Methods, high-level ones were beyond my reach.
Using the insights from the Martial Dao Classic, I absorbed knowledge from low-level body technique Dao Books on the surrounding shelves, committing various techniques for enhancing speed and concealing one's aura to memory. Afterward, I found a book about the Inner Sect's Alchemist's Chamber detailing some herbs that had been cultivated there. Among them, I noticed that the final main ingredient listed in the Taoist Sacred Body Forging Technique was Tai Sui.
In the Taoist Sacred Body Forging Technique, Blood Bodhi is used for purifying blood, Dragon's Essence Flower for forging marrow, while Tai Sui is a precious herb for strengthening muscles—king among herbs at a hundred years old and saintly at a thousand. This herbal book noted that there was an eight-hundred-year-old Tai Sui in the sect's Herb Garden. Tai Sui is a living herb that grows very slowly and is considered a spirit medicine for longevity; every three to five years, the sect might reluctantly part with a small amount for its Elders. Currently, I wasn't in a hurry to steal herbs from the Herb Garden; possessing various Elixirs meant that even a hint of their fragrance could attract deadly trouble. Securing a Cave where experts on the Dragon-Tiger List practiced seclusion was an urgent matter.
I spent all day in the Scripture Repository reading Dao Books until evening when it closed. Under the moonlight, I saw Song Yuan standing at the entrance. Upon seeing me return, he displayed a disdainful expression and said, "You finally dare to come back."
Comment 0 Comment Count