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墨書 Inktalez
By the banks of a great river in the outskirts of Jiangnan, surrounded by waist-high wild grass, Five leaped over, panting heavily. "Haozi, what are you doing here? What's past is past."
I replied, "It's nothing to do with you. I'm just feeling a bit down; I don't mean to blame anyone. Back in my hometown, whenever I felt bad, I would go to the riverbank and throw stones."
I picked up a stone and tossed it into the river. The stone skimmed across the surface seven or eight times before finally sinking.
"Anyone can do that," Five said, his playful spirit ignited as he picked up a stone.
I said, "Without using Dao Qi, with your clumsy hands, it would be hard for you to even get three skips."
Five was undeterred. He threw his stone towards the river's surface, and with two light splashes, it fell into the water.
"Only two?" He gathered a handful of stones and challenged me. I hurled my stone with all my might; it skimmed across the water's surface without stopping for dozens of skips.
"You're telling me you didn't use Dao Qi?" Five exclaimed in surprise.
"Who?" I frowned, suddenly feeling as if someone was watching me from behind.
I threw a stone towards the sound coming from behind me with a swift motion, but there was no one there.
Five turned around and asked in confusion, "Is someone there?"
I jumped up and landed on the tips of the wild grass, yet there was no sign of movement around the thicket.
I pulled a Crane from my pocket and blew a breath towards it. In response, nearby Insect Spirits flew over. The Crane flapped its wings and soared forward, landing ten zhang away. I flicked my fingertip, sending a stone flying through the spot where the Crane had been, but there was no one there.
"Impossible. The Crane clearly sensed that person was right there; how could they be gone?" I thought to myself.
I summoned the Frostblade from my Qi Sea and swept it in a circle. The wild grass within a hundred zhang radius was uprooted, and the entire area was flattened by my strike.
"Are you crazy?" Wu asked.
A shadow drifted through the scattered wild grass. I swung my sword, frost energy trailing behind me, but the shadow suddenly vanished. Sensing something unusual behind me, I too disappeared from my original spot.
"Eh?" A surprised voice came from behind as the shadow looked around, unable to see where I was.
I descended quietly. The Frostblade danced, creating a dazzling bloom of sword light. As the frost energy spread out, the shadow shivered slightly and suddenly thrust out a palm. A powerful Vital Energy bent my Frostblade, forcing me to retreat.
The shadow stabilized its form, raising its index finger between its eyes and chanting, "Yin Yang Wuji, Borrowing the Universe Technique!"
A Taiji Light Diagram expanded from its hand, with rings of light radiating outward from all directions. I wielded the Frostblade, unleashing cold air to disperse several of the light rings, while the remaining ones surrounded me completely. The shadow smiled and pointed to the ground, saying, "Seal!"
Suddenly, eight sealing talismans appeared around me, each imbued with strong talismanic power. They snapped shut with force as I pushed against them with both palms, channeling Righteous Qi.
"Eh? You can even use Wudang's Righteous Qi? Who exactly are you?" the shadow inquired.
Meanwhile, Wu stood by with an exasperated expression and said, "Where have you been all these years? You don’t come back to see me, and now you show up acting all mysterious and fighting with my brother?"
The black mist surrounding the shadow dissipated, revealing an old man dressed in a black robe, his hair gray. With a smile on his face, he said, "My dear disciple, seeing that you've gained some weight reassures me. It seems you're living quite well."
"Cut the nonsense and hurry up and release Haozi. What are you pretending for?" Wu said irritably.
From within the old man's seal, I remarked, "So this is the renowned Ghost Elder. I've heard so much about you, and seeing you today truly lives up to the reputation."
Ghost Elder chuckled and said, "You're too modest, brother. I just took a deep breath, and you noticed it right away. So I sincerely tested you; with your cultivation level, you must have no rivals among your peers, right?"
I replied, "I do have that confidence among those of the same rank, but among my peers, I think not. The eldest disciple of Emei Sect, Rain Master Luo, is the true number one among us."
"Rain Master Luo, that girl from Arched Eyebrows?" Ghost Elder stroked his beard in confusion. "By the way, who are you?"
"He is Brother Yang's son, Yang Hao, my best Buddy," Wu said.
Ghost Elder gasped in surprise. "The son of Divine Hero? What's going on?"
Wu explained, "Three years ago when you went to Qilian Mountain to investigate the clues about the Book of Life and Death, I was subsequently sent by Divine Hero and Chang Lao to find Yang Hao. All of Yang Hao's skills were self-taught; neither Brother Yang nor Chang Lao taught him anything."
Upon hearing this, Ghost Elder looked at me with curiosity. "So it's because of the Book of Life and Death. Huh? Why is there not a trace of Yin energy in your body? Where's the Book of Life and Death?"
I replied, "To be honest, the Book of Life and Death has already been taken by someone. It was previously with someone from the Yang Family..."
"Yang Family?!" Before I could finish my sentence, Ghost Elder's expression changed drastically. "This is bad; the Book of Life and Death must not fall into the hands of the Supreme!”
I said, "Please allow me to finish, Ghost Elder. The Book of Life and Death was first taken by the Yang Family, and later it was seized by Miao Guanyin of the South Sea Sect."
"I see," Ghost Elder sighed in relief. "So Miao Guanyin has also come out of seclusion. It should be safe in her hands."
"Old fellow, what exactly happened? Why did you take so long to return? What have you discovered?" Wu asked.
Ghost Elder's expression turned mysterious as he inquired, "Where is Divine Hero?"
"Wudao replied, "In the Yang Family courtyard."
Ghost Elder said, "This is serious. We should return and meet up with Divine Hero first."
We nodded and followed Ghost Elder back. When Yang Sanqian saw Ghost Elder suddenly appear, he exclaimed, "Ghost Elder, why have you only just returned?"
Ghost Elder looked embarrassed and said, "I got trapped in a strange formation in Underworld Ghost City and couldn't find my way out. I spent four years living off Underworld food; it's quite a long story."
"A strange formation in Underworld?" Yang Sanqian asked, puzzled.
Ghost Elder replied, "If I'm guessing correctly, that formation might have been set up by the Supreme Yang Family."
"Ancestor Yang Kaishan?" Yang Sanqian was even more confused. "What exactly happened?"
Ghost Elder nodded and explained, "Four years ago, I followed the map you gave me to find the Deep Valley surrounded by Wuzuo Mountain Peak in Qilian Mountain. From my observations, it indeed connects to the Underworld; it's not surprising that the Yin Qi is so dense there. After that, I used the Yin-Yang Secret Technique to traverse the Underworld and saw many Yin Soldiers. I asked about the theft of the Book of Life and Death and confirmed that it was originally located in Underworld City at the very bottom of the Underworld. But who would have thought that before I could reach the site of the theft, I was trapped by a grand formation? The formation is incredibly complex, and the Spirit Energy is abundant; clearly, it hasn't been there for just a few decades."
"Kunlun Underworld has long been untouched. Are you suggesting that someone from the Five Supremes who stole the Book of Life and Death set up a formation there?" Yang Sanqian asked.
"That's right. Among the Five Great Supremes, there were two with profound knowledge of formations: Yaochi Saintess Jiang Shangxiang and Yang Family Ancestor Yang Kaishan. However, Yaochi Saintess was more skilled in barriers and did not understand the maze of Yin-Yang and Five Elements. Moreover, the only one capable of trapping me with such a formation, aside from Senior Chang Lao, would be Yang Kaishan. Therefore, it is likely that this formation was set up by Yang Family Ancestor," Ghost Elder replied.
Jiyao said, "I heard from my master that after they took the Book of Life and Death, the five of them traveled back and forth to Yang Realm to evade the pursuit of Yin Soldiers. Even Yang Kaishan couldn't have set up such a complex formation in such a short time, could he?"
Ghost Elder responded, "That's also where my confusion lies. The Five Elements Formation requires at least seven or eight hours; it's impossible to set up a grand array in just a few hours. They didn't have that kind of time. Could it be that the Ghost Soldiers of the Underworld were bribed?"
I interjected, "Yang Family Ancestor Yang Kaishan understands Underworld Yinwen, which explains this point, but he doesn't need to rely on it. He doesn't trust Yin Soldiers; Yang Kaishan cultivated his own avatar, which can exist in this world for a long time. If I'm not mistaken, the formation should have been arranged by his avatar."
"An avatar?" Ghost Elder looked surprised.
Yang Sanqian added, "The Yang Family Book indeed contains the Shadow Clone Technique, which is different from any avatar techniques in Daoist Sect. It can exist for a long time as well. Hao's guess might be correct, but since they already took the Book of Life and Death, what would Yang Kaishan need to seal?"
"Now you're getting to the point," Ghost Elder said mysteriously. "I wonder if Divine Hero has ever heard of the Spring and Autumn Reincarnation Pen?"
Everyone shook their heads.
"Are you referring to the Judgment Pen?" I asked.
Ghost Elder's eyes lit up. "That's right! You're quite knowledgeable!"
Wudao urged, "Stop keeping us in suspense; tell us what this is all about."
"According to the legends of the Underworld, the Book of Life and Death is one of The Three Books of the Earth. The book is known as The List of Deities, the earthly book is called Earthly Membrane, and the human book is the Book of Life and Death. The Book of Life and Death controls all human lifespans, and due to its malevolent nature, it disrupts the order of the mortal realm. Therefore, it was sealed in the Underworld by the ancient Dao Sovereign. However, the Book of Life and Death is not a complete evil treasure; it has a paired evil treasure known as the Spring and Autumn Reincarnation Pen, also referred to as the Judgment Pen. This is where the saying 'The King of Hell holds the book, and the judge wields the pen' originates."
"The Ghost Elder means that Yang Kaishan likely took advantage of the other Supreme beings' unpreparedness to secretly acquire the Judgment Pen. To prevent others from investigating further, he set up a formation?" I asked.
The Ghost Elder nodded. "Exactly. But I can't understand why issues only arose with the Book of Life and Death when it was in Yaochi. If Yang Kaishan possessed the Judgment Pen, couldn't he have directly rewritten the Book of Life and Death when it was time for his Yang Family?"
Yang Sanqian replied, "Opening the Book of Life and Death requires immense power; at least five experts from the Mahayana Realm are needed. Moreover, I estimate that rewriting the Book of Life and Death has its limitations. The leaders of major sects and some highly skilled elders are adept in Taoist Arts, which inherently goes against nature to seize creation. To take their lives would likely require a significant cost; it might be easier to directly kill younger disciples from each sect."
The Ghost Elder said, "That's roughly how things stand. In any case, the Book of Life and Death must not fall into the hands of anyone from the Yang Family."
I added, "If opening the Book of Life and Death requires five experts from the Mahayana Realm, then even if it temporarily falls into Yang Family hands, it shouldn't be a problem. Old Scholar Yang Kaishan, along with Li Chang'an and Yang Xuanzong, makes only three people. Currently, the Book of Life and Death is in Miao Guanyin's possession within the Southern Sea Lineage; there shouldn't be any issues there. Ghost Elder, have you discovered anything else?"
The Ghost Elder shook his head. "Nothing else. As soon as I broke through the illusion formation, I returned."
I said, "Alright then, give me a map. I want to go to Qilian Mountain to see what really happened back then."
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