Chapter 11#
Searching for Stones on the Lakeshore#
Last time Xiao Man came to Xingyun Peak, he talked with Tan Wenzhou at the stone table outside the hall. This time, the Daoist boy welcomed Xiao Man directly into the hall, served a cup of hot tea, and respectfully addressed him as “Your Highness”:
“My Peak Master is still handling some matters. Please wait here for a moment, Your Highness. If there is anything you need, please do not hesitate to ask.”
Xiao Man nodded to the Daoist boy: “Thank you.”
The tea was this year’s pre-Qingming tea, its aroma very clear and its color transparent. However, Xiao Man only took one sip before setting down the teacup and quietly observing the situation inside the hall.
Except for Xueyi Peak and Mingguang Peak, this was Xiao Man’s first time entering someone else’s Dao Hall. Compared to the one on Xueyi Peak, the arrangement inside Xingyun Peak’s Dao Hall was more serious, lacking leisure items like rocking chairs or recliners. Ancient paintings hung on the four walls, and the carved patterns on the tables, chairs, and screens were exquisite, mostly featuring flowers and birds.
Xiao Man looked over slowly, his gaze falling on the curio shelf on the other side of the Dao Hall. He asked the Daoist boy: “Can I go take a look over there?”
“Of course, Your Highness, please.” The Daoist boy made a gesture.
He stood up and went over.
There were a few Dharma treasures on the curio shelf, which Xiao Man could barely recognize. More numerous were the scrolls and albums. On one of the middle layers, there were also a few jars of pigments. It wasn’t hard to see that Peak Master Tan was a person who enjoyed painting.
Gradually, Xiao Man’s attention was drawn to something.
It was an egg, placed on a wooden stand, about the size of a goose egg. Its shell was extremely white, with very beautiful silver patterns.
Xiao Man developed a curiosity about this egg and raised his hand to lightly touch it.
“This was left by a certain ancestral master, but they never said what kind of egg it was.” Tan Wenzhou appeared behind Xiao Man at some point. “I think it should be some kind of bird’s; does Your Highness have any clue?”
Xiao Man moved slightly away from the curio shelf and shook his head at Tan Wenzhou: “I can’t recognize it. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait until it hatches.”
“This egg has been sitting here for a hundred years without any movement. Perhaps the fate between it and me has not yet arrived.” Tan Wenzhou lightly waved his feather fan, his tone quite helpless. “However… if the ancestral master were willing to return, one could go and ask.”
These words made Xiao Man slightly surprised. The current Gushan Sect Leader was of the same generation as Yan Wushu’s master, so an ancestral master would be one generation further up. Although Shen Yiru looked young, she was actually several hundred years old. How old would her martial uncles and aunts be? If they were still alive, would they remain in this world instead of choosing to ascend?
Tan Wenzhou saw what Xiao Man was thinking: “It’s one of those two on Tingyun Peak.”
“Are those two actually ancestral masters?” Xiao Man’s eyes widened in surprise. He had always thought they were of the same generation as the Sect Leader, either martial uncles or aunts.
“Those two have stayed in Gushan for too long and said they were bored. Many years ago, they left the mountain to travel and only return occasionally. Not many people know their business now.” Tan Wenzhou couldn’t help but smile at Xiao Man’s expression. “Let’s not talk about them. Let me guess, Your Highness’s visit this time is for the matter of the Buddhist shrine?”
“Peak Master’s calculations are brilliant.” Xiao Man bowed to Tan Wenzhou.
Tan Wenzhou waved his fan, looked at Xiao Man for a moment, and asked: “Speaking of which, the Sect Leader has already entrusted the Buddhist shrine to Lord Lingguang to handle. Wouldn’t asking him be better than asking me, Your Highness?”
Xiao Man: “…”
Last time Tan Wenzhou asked him if he had a conflict with Yan Wushu, he denied it. Acting like this now was like slapping his own face, which was inevitably a bit embarrassing.
Forget it, he would break with Yan Wushu sooner or later, and by then everyone would know they had a conflict.
Xiao Man sighed lightly in his heart, intending to no longer hide it, but then heard Tan Wenzhou say: “It was just a casual question; Your Highness needn’t take it to heart.”
This topic was thus dropped. Tan Wenzhou led Xiao Man back to the other side of the Dao Hall. The tea on the table had gone cold, so he had the Daoist boy bring a new pot, flicked his robes, and sat down, getting straight to the point:
“To be honest with you, after the Buddhist shrine was brought back to Gushan, the Sect Leader summoned all the peak masters. I’ve taken a careful look; the thing sealed inside is exceptionally evil, having survived for at least a thousand years, and its realm is at least Taixuan Upper Realm.”
There are five major realms on the Xuantian Continent, namely Baoxu, Shouyi, Guiyuan, Taixuan, and Taiqing.
Cultivation is like climbing a tower; the further up you go, the fewer people can find a footing. The Taiqing Saint realm is the one closest to ascension. In today’s Xuantian Continent, there are very few people in this realm. The next realm, Taixuan, is also rare; even in a major sect like Gushan, there are only about a dozen.
Not to mention the Taixuan Upper Realm.
The thing in the Buddhist shrine is at least at the Taixuan Upper Realm. If it were to gain some opportunity through a lapse in judgment, it might enter the Taiqing Saint realm.
How difficult it would be to deal with such an evil object.
“Where was it obtained from?” Xiao Man couldn’t help but ask.
Tan Wenzhou recounted the process of how Lin Wu obtained the Buddhist shrine.
After listening, Xiao Man’s intuition told him something was wrong.
He had heard about the misfortune that befell the Zen Sect, but in his previous life, he had never heard of anyone entrusting a sealed Buddhist shrine to Gushan.
Things had become different from his previous life.
He touched the Buddhist beads on his wrist and slowly frowned: “The Zen Sect was actually suppressing such a thing?”
“I am also very puzzled. This matter is of no small importance, yet it is unheard of.” Tan Wenzhou shook his head, then thought of a possibility: “However, that is something that was suppressed a thousand years ago. It’s also plausible that there are no rumors in today’s cultivation world.”
Xiao Man thought for a moment and asked: “Is it known which Buddha the shrine is dedicated to?”
Tan Wenzhou: “It can’t be distinguished or identified.”
“The broken seal is only temporarily suppressed. How is it intended to be handled later?”
“That would be a question for Peak Master Yan; the object has already been given to him to handle.”
Another silence fell in the Dao Hall. After the silence, Tan Wenzhou was heard asking: “Why is Your Highness interested in this Buddhist shrine?”
Xiao Man sensed he was testing him, lifted his eyelids, and looked seriously at the other: “It’s not interest, but curiosity. I lived at Dazhao Temple for nearly ten years, reciting and listening to the Buddha day and night, so I could be considered half a person of the Buddhist sect. Hearing that the Buddhist sect has such an evil object, I naturally want to understand a thing or two.”
Immediately after, he changed the subject and asked in return: “Is the Peak Master not curious?”
Tan Wenzhou laughed: “Of course I’m curious. Otherwise, how could I have drawn that Buddhist shrine on paper as soon as I returned to Xingyun Peak?”
“Peak Master drew the Buddhist shrine?” A light shone in Xiao Man’s eyes.
“Your Highness wants to see it?”
“Precisely.”
Tan Wenzhou stood up and waved his feather fan forward: “Please follow me.”
Xiao Man followed Tan Wenzhou to the study in the back hall and saw a painting spread out on the desk. It was drawn in great detail, with even the incantations and talisman patterns on it clearly visible.
While he looked, Tan Wenzhou recounted in detail the black mist that seeped from the cracks in the seal and the evil, ominous aura that couldn’t be suppressed at all. After listening, Xiao Man began to look for the connection between this object and the old illness in his body.
He had been afflicted with the illness since birth, and long-term illness had made him his own doctor, so he was all too clear about the reasons for its onset.
During this detailed account, he seemed to have grasped something, but the thought flashed by and in an instant was impossible to catch. This feeling was like searching for a stone on the lakeshore; he had clearly found one he liked, but with a slip of attention, it had fallen into the water.
Regrettably, that pebble was tiny, failing to even stir a ripple.
His heart felt tight with discomfort.
“I think I should go to the Library Tower to take a look.” Xiao Man looked at the painting on the table and said softly.
Gushan’s collection of books could be described by the word “immense.” He had heard Yan Wushu say that the classics of every school and sect, as long as they could be transcribed, had rubbings here. As for those that couldn’t be transcribed and whose originals couldn’t be obtained, they were directly created using spells and then preserved. Although the methods were somewhat shameless, they were exceptionally useful at a time like this.
Tan Wenzhou disagreed: “If Your Highness goes to the Library Tower, I’m afraid it will be difficult to find what you’re looking for.”
“Hm? Oh…”
Xiao Man only then realized that he was currently just a low-level disciple in the Baoxu Middle Realm. With the waist plate of a low-level disciple, he could only wander around the first floor of the Library Tower, which inevitably made him feel discouraged.
Tan Wenzhou added: “There is a small library on Xingyun Peak, formed from the collective efforts and wisdom of our peak’s generations of elders and disciples. Although it doesn’t compare to the great Library Tower, many volumes can be found there. If Your Highness doesn’t mind, you can try there.”
“But I am not a disciple of Xingyun Peak.” Xiao Man hesitated.
“Xingyun Peak has never kept things to itself. If it did, how could it accommodate all things?” Tan Wenzhou waved his sleeve and laughed freely. “I’ll take Your Highness over.”
Xiao Man solemnly performed a salute: “In that case, thank you, Peak Master Tan.”
The small library was reached in an instant. No lights were lit inside the building; only glowing stones were hung in the four corners, their light barely enough to illuminate the path. But cultivators have excellent eyesight, so such light was not an obstacle for Xiao Man. He followed the guide signs to his destination, picked out dozens of books by name, sat by the window, and pushed it open.
A sliver of moonlight flowed in like water, lighting up the patterns of varying depths on the floor and bookshelves.
Although walking inside the small library was not a problem, Xiao Man still preferred to be in a bright place when reading.
The moon outside the window was a full moon, hanging in the east, coating the layers of forest with a silver glow. Xiao Man sat cross-legged, rarely failing to keep his back ramrod straight, leaning against the wall with his eyes downcast, turning page after page.
After focusing his mind, time always passed quickly. He read one book after another, and weariness surged into his heart. He thought to himself that he would stop here for today, but before the thought was even finished, he heard someone outside speaking very rudely.
It wasn’t that his hearing was too good, but rather that he was overly familiar with the person speaking.
Xiao Man’s expression became somewhat strange. He closed the book, stood up, and looked far off towards the source of the sound.
At the foot of Xingyun Peak, two people were in a standoff across the boundary stone. One was in fluttering black robes with silver hair like frost, the sword scar between his brows sharp; it was indeed Yan Wushu.
Coming to such a place where they didn’t associate with each other, his expression was very sour.
Tan Wenzhou was wearing a crane-feather cloak, swaying his feather fan, and asked slowly: “What has Peak Master Yan come here to do?”
Yan Wushu was concise: “To pick someone up.”
Rong Yuan said Xiao Man left Xueyi Peak at sunset. He waited at Luoyue Lake until midnight but couldn’t wait for Xiao Man’s return. Recalling Xiao Man’s attitude towards him during this period, Yan Wushu concluded that Xiao Man was avoiding him.
Avoiding was one thing; both he and the Phoenix still had long lives ahead of them, and these things could all be explained clearly in time. But the Phoenix had actually fled to Xingyun Peak, with a faint indication that he was going to stay the night there.
This made Yan Wushu angry.
Tan Wenzhou showed a look of confusion: “Pick up who?”
“Naturally, the Phoenix.” Yan Wushu snorted. “Don’t think about hiding him.”
“Why does Peak Master Yan say this?” Tan Wenzhou laughed. “His Highness and I have talked very happily and are already friends. Between friends visiting each other, how can you call it ‘hiding’? Besides, His Highness is currently reading in the small library, very busy.”
Yan Wushu lifted his eyelids: “The small library?”
“As the name implies, it is a library tower. Although it doesn’t compare to the sect’s library, looking at the entire Xuantian Continent, it should be able to rank in the top ten.” Tan Wenzhou said. “There is no such collection on Xueyi Peak. Isn’t it only right for His Highness to come to my place to borrow and read?”
“So it’s because Peak Master Tan’s teaching is incompetent. Everyone from my Xueyi Peak keeps things in their heads and has no need at all to keep them on paper, waiting for a later day to recall them.” Yan Wushu’s lips curled into a smile.
Tan Wenzhou pressed his folding fan down and gave him a faint glance: “Our paths are different; no more words.”
“Then open the formation and let me go pick him up.” Yan Wushu tilted his chin up, a dangerous look appearing in his eyes.
Xingyun Peak and Xueyi Peak had been at odds for years. Tan Wenzhou naturally wouldn’t do as Yan Wushu threatened; instead, he looked at him with great interest and asked:
“Has Peak Master Yan made His Highness unhappy?”
Yan Wushu was expressionless: “That is not something Peak Master Tan should be concerned about.”
Tan Wenzhou asked with a smile: “Then why should I let you in?”
“It’s not that I can’t break in by force.” Yan Wushu also smiled, suddenly raising his hand and grasping a sword out of the void.
But there was no time for it to be unsheathed!
No sooner said than done, a white figure swept through the forest and landed beside Tan Wenzhou.
It was Xiao Man.
“Yan Wushu, stop.” Xiao Man looked fixedly at Yan Wushu, his expression somewhat cold.