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Human Sacrifice
As I fled with Zhang Jianzi, the God Serpent Cult Leader did not pursue us. Si Tu Nan asked the God Serpent Cult Leader how to proceed. The God Serpent Cult Leader replied, "Right now, I am merely a Dao Body. Once the paper effigy is burned, I will disappear. Zhang Jianzi has been injured by me and has gone north. Send a group to chase him. You take some people along this path to pursue that young man; he is too strange to let go."
Si Tu Nan inquired, "What Daoist Arts did he just use? I sensed no Dao Qi from him at all, yet even my subordinates were no match for him."
The Serpent Cult Leader said, "No Daoist Arts can turn an ordinary person into a master of the Daoist Sect in an instant. That kind of power comes from darkness; I am not sure of the specifics."
Si Tu Nan continued, "Yang Sanqian has someone around him named As the Saying Goes. This person is about the same age as Yang Sanqian's deceased son and bears a slight resemblance to him. Moreover, he harbors something so bizarre within him. Could he be Yang Sanqian's already dead son? The rumors surrounding the Book of Life and Death were quite sensational back then."
The God Serpent Cult Leader shook his head and said, "Unlikely. That young man is in his twenties and has not entered the Dao. How could Yang Sanqian and Yaochi Saintess's son possess such treasures without entering the Dao? Even if we do not kill him, others will discover his oddities and will not spare his life. Do you know his name?"
Si Tu Nan thought for a moment and replied, "According to him, he seems to be called Guo Huaiyi. His father is named Guo Daozhen, nicknamed Guo the Blind. From his tone, it seems this Guo the Blind is quite an extraordinary person."
"A master with the surname Guo, Guo the Blind?" The God Serpent Cult Leader questioned. "I have never heard of such a person. After we return, I will have someone investigate. For now, you should take people to chase this Guo Huaiyi. If your guess is correct, he has used powers that do not belong to him excessively and is already close to death; he won't be able to run far. It would be best to capture him alive; if he dies, bring back his head."
"Understood, I will obey." Si Tu Nan respectfully replied as the paper effigy before them burned away, causing the God Serpent Cult Leader's Dao Body to vanish.
At that moment, I had escaped to a dilapidated temple and lay exhausted in the grass, unable to muster any strength.
The journey from Qingliang Mountain to Yaowang Mountain was already several dozen miles long, filled with wild grass and treacherous terrain. Douding and I stumbled several times along the way until we were too tired to speak. Meanwhile, those from the Serpent Cult had cultivated their Dao Qi and did not tire like us. Additionally, my use of the Book of Life and Death had drained a significant amount of my life essence, leaving me utterly powerless.
My head felt heavy; in fact, I knew when bidding farewell to Zhang Jianzi that once discovered, my fate would be sealed. I did not want to drag him down with me.
Thinking of Douding's death made my eyes well up again; my heart ached.
I dozed off in front of the broken temple for more than ten minutes when I was suddenly startled awake by faint sounds nearby. Quickly getting up, I hid behind some grass and saw a group of people approaching from a distance, led by none other than Si Tu Nan.
I watched as Si Tu Nan pulled a Crane from his pocket and began reciting an incantation before blowing on it: "Help me find a severely injured young man; he should be nearby."
As soon as Si Tu Nan finished speaking, the Crane began looking around before flapping its wings and taking flight, circling Si Tu Nan twice as if trying to determine its direction before flying toward me from afar.
"Elder Situ's Paper Crane Tracking Technique must have discovered the hiding place of that person. We need to follow quickly," said a disciple of the Serpent Cult.
A group of people approached me alongside the Crane, and panic surged within me. I had heard Mr. Chang explain the Paper Crane Tracking Technique at Qingliang Temple; its principle was quite simple. It involved using the Summoning Technique to call forth the spirits of nearby animals, placing them into the Crane, which would then scout the terrain it was familiar with during its life.
This Daoist Art originated from an ancient Daoist Grandmaster surnamed Wu, who created it on a whim, not realizing how significant its impact would be on future generations. This Daoist Art was relatively easy to learn, and many people dedicated time to mastering it. It was said that some could control hundreds of Cranes simultaneously to search for individuals or hunt down enemies, making it nearly impossible for anyone to evade them.
I could only watch helplessly as the Crane flew towards me.
When the Crane reached me, it seemed to assess my condition. Noticing the blood all over me, I couldn't tell if it acted out of pity or simply didn't see me at all. It flapped its wings and flew in another direction, leading Sidu Kong and the others away.
The Crane landed on a nearby patch of open ground, emitting white smoke before catching fire and turning to ash.
I quickly emerged from the bushes, intending to run down the mountain by circling around the dilapidated temple behind me.
Not far away, Sidu Kong remarked, "The person must be hiding nearby. Search around; this broken temple should be the Medicine King Temple. After decades of neglect, I can't believe it's fallen into such disrepair."
"Elder Situ, could there be any treasures inside the Medicine King Temple?" one disciple of the Serpent Cult asked.
Si Tu Nan replied, "You're thinking too much. The Medicine King Temple was looted during the Ten-Year Catastrophe; everything inside—the Elixir Manuscript, tea sets, medicinal jars—was either smashed or burned. Even the statue of the Medicine King was destroyed. They dug three feet underground, tearing apart every compartment in fear that the Medicine King had hidden something valuable. Even if there were treasures, they would have been ruined by a bunch of foolish commoners; there's no chance for anyone else."
Si Tu Nan then walked towards the already collapsed front entrance of the Medicine King Temple. I hid close to the wall on the hillside and could vaguely hear several Disciples of the Serpent Cult moving around inside.
"Check over there for anyone. According to the Crane's judgment, that person should be nearby; I can hear water flowing from that direction," Si Tu Nan's voice came through.
Suddenly, one of the Disciples of the Serpent Cult poked his head through a gap in the crumbling wall, just half a foot away from me. He looked towards the hillside outside and said, "It seems there's a waterfall down there."
After saying this, he quickly withdrew his head. The sound of footsteps echoed as a group approached from both ends of the Medicine King Temple. I hurriedly ran down the slope; although this area was overgrown with weeds, I could still spot signs where people had treaded carefully.
Once I reached below the slope, I saw Si Tu Nan and others standing by the wall where I had been earlier. Si Tu Nan observed the trampled grass marks that indicated someone had passed through and immediately signaled for pursuit.
I ran toward where I heard water flowing; there were large stones like pebbles scattered everywhere that left no trace when walked upon. There were no hiding spots left around. I broke off a reed and used its cover to escape toward the waterfall.
I rushed into the waterfall, hiding behind the curtain of water, but Si Tu Nan and the two Disciples of the Serpent Cult quickly followed me in.
Typically, there are places to stand behind a waterfall, and some waterfalls even have caves behind them. The most famous is Flower-Fruit Mountain, and many waterfalls in Lushan also have caves for tourists to explore and enjoy the adventure of cave exploration.
Once the Serpent Cult members entered behind the waterfall and saw the cave, several of them immediately went inside to investigate. After a while, they emerged again, and Si Tu Nan said, "Strange, there's nothing here."
Just as Si Tu Nan was about to step out from behind the waterfall, one of the Disciples of the Serpent Cult pointed at a floating reed pipe on the water's surface. He immediately drew his sword from his back and thrust it into the water.
I sensed something was wrong when I saw movement on the water's surface, but the action in the water was slow. I had no time to dodge and was pierced in the shoulder blade by his sword. Blood gushed out as I took a deep breath and sank to the bottom. My shoulder blade was pierced, causing my whole body to spasm in pain. Yet even with such a severe injury, the Book of Life and Death did not activate.
The members of the Serpent Cult on the shore watched as the reed pipe floated up, and with the water splashing red from my blood, they all smiled. Si Tu Nan exclaimed excitedly, "Indeed, you're right here! Today, I'll let you die in this pond!"
Si Tu Nan called all his disciples to gather by the pond below the waterfall. I vaguely saw them setting up crossbows and thought to myself that this time I was doomed.
The sound of crossbow bolts slicing through the water echoed as they struck against the stone walls surrounding the pond. One bolt grazed my leg, drawing blood. I desperately swam downstream, but when I saw what lay at the bottom of the pond, I nearly choked on my own breath in fear.
At the bottom of the pond lay a corpse, its limbs outstretched towards me. The flesh had already rotted away, its eyes hollow and mouth wide open. Its entire body was wrapped tightly by a black water python that had also long since died; its skin was bloated and covered in spots that floated up.
The corpse wore an old military uniform, and pinned over its left heart was a medal of Great Man.
I couldn't understand why this person had not decayed after so many years submerged in water. I quickly stripped off my clothes, intending to cover him up and float him to the surface so that the Serpent Cult members would think I was dead.
However, as I pulled on his arm to lift him up, it suddenly broke off in my grasp. The python had wrapped around him too tightly; this method simply wouldn't work.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
More crossbow bolts shot down at me; one pierced through my leg, causing me immense pain as I swam upward. I could no longer hold my breath.
At that moment, something unexpected happened with the Zhou Compass that had been lying still in my arms. I looked at it as its needle began to tremble rapidly before finally pointing towards a certain direction in the pond. The Zhou Compass seemed to want to slip from my grasp.
Following where the needle pointed, I noticed a hole in the stone wall of the pond that was about the size of an arrow hole.
I punched the hole, and it widened into a gaping abyss, dark as night, reminiscent of the massive Serpent Cave I had seen in the Forbidden Area of Futu Ridge. But now, I had no choice; going up meant death, and in just a few dozen seconds, I would drown.
I closed my eyes and followed the Zhou Compass's guidance into the depths.
Every second in this black void felt like an eternity, as if I were living my last moments—cold to the bone and eerily silent, like sinking into an endless abyss.
When I finally broke the surface of the dark water, I gasped for air, greedily inhaling as I quickly swam away from where I had been.
I had no idea where I was. Looking up at a faint glimmer in the pitch-black space above me, I fainted.
I thought I was going to die.
When I awoke again, I was still lying in that dark space. The faint light above me was likely a piece of jade embedded by human hands.
No one came to rescue me. An arrow was lodged in one of my legs, and I had lost all feeling in it.
“Is anyone there?” I called out softly, but only my echo answered in the emptiness.
Dragging my numb leg, I crawled toward the dimly visible stone platform. On it, I felt something that resembled a firecracker, covered in dust. I opened its lid, and with a crackle, a spark ignited.
This must be an ancient firestarter made from gunpowder. As I blew on the flickering spark, flames erupted. I saw that I was in an ancient cave filled with antiquities. Oil lamps hung on the walls, and using one foot to support myself on the stone platform, I lit each lamp one by one to illuminate everything around me.
Under the dim glow of the oil lamps' light shadows, I saw an old man sitting cross-legged on the stone platform. His hair and beard were white as snow, appearing lifelike despite his dusty clothing that clearly indicated he had been dead for many years.
One of his hands rested on his leg while the other held onto something covered in dust on the stone platform before him—it looked like a bamboo slip. Beside it lay an inkstone and a brush.
I bowed respectfully to the old man and then pulled out the bamboo slip. To my shock, as soon as it was removed, his fingers twitched and he collapsed onto the platform, flesh turning to ash and leaving only a pile of bones behind.
I looked at the dusty bamboo slip in my hand; the first line read: "I have spent my entire life writing over eighty medical texts, among which the most famous is the world-renowned Essential Prescriptions. Yet few know that my proudest work is this piece."
My heart raced. The Essential Prescriptions was indeed the immortal work of Medicine King Sun Simiao, a precursor to China's first pharmacopoeia, Compendium of Materia Medica. Medicine King Sun Simiao was born in this mountain village fifteen hundred years ago. Due to his intelligence and eagerness to learn, he studied diligently and trained under local folk healers from nearby villages, gradually gaining fame.
Later, the court ordered Sun Simiao to take up a position at the National Academy, but he refused. He dedicated himself to studying Daoist classics and exploring methods of health preservation, while also perusing various medical texts and researching ancient remedies. His medical skills greatly improved, and it was rumored that he consumed Lingzhi mushrooms throughout his life, ultimately passing away without illness at the age of 101.
However, the Bamboo Slip in my hand recorded a different account. Looking at the date inscribed on it, it was written in the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty.
Sun Simiao was a physician from the Tang Dynasty, born even before the Tang Dynasty itself. After its fall, he lived through the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period until reaching the Northern Song era. This means that Sun Simiao must have lived for over four hundred years?
The Bamboo Slip stated that Sun Simiao spent his entire life researching the Daoist Elixir Manuscript and Nourishing Life Principles, always yearning for immortality. Eventually, he faked his death and secluded himself, searching for everything in the world that could prolong life. He eliminated pharmacological rejections and ultimately transformed himself into a medicinal furnace. He speculated that after his death, a Human Pill would form within him. The Human Pill is akin to the Elixir of Life; although it cannot grant true immortality, it can certainly extend one’s lifespan, allowing a person to live beyond two hundred years. Consuming it could cure all ailments, render one immune to poisons, and even restore youth.
I cleared away the bones on the stone platform and indeed found something resembling a colorful pebble among them. I had often heard that Buddhist masters would consume large amounts of miraculous medicines before death to prevent decay and become flesh-bodied Buddhas or develop Relics within them to prove their immense Merit. Daoists also practiced alchemy and cultivation in hopes of becoming immortal.
Yet throughout history, whether emperors or prime ministers or founders of various Daoist sects, there has been no clear record of anyone ascending to immortality. Even today’s Supreme Daoists are merely individuals who have lived past one hundred years with peak abilities; they have also heard tales of longevity or ascension.
And yet Sun Simiao used himself as a medicinal furnace, refining a Human Pill with the fire of time—a groundbreaking endeavor. I looked at the Human Pill in my hand; the Bamboo Slip did not specify how to consume it. Was I supposed to swallow it whole?
On the stone platform lay a bronze mirror. I recalled that when Zhang Jianzi and I left, my hair had already turned white after using the Book of Life and Death.
I wiped the dust off the bronze mirror, and my reflection startled me. My hair had turned gray; only a small portion remained dry and yellowed. Wrinkles had also appeared on my face.
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