The built-in mechanism made him faintly sense that something was wrong, and faint sounds of movement were also coming from inside the Guanyin statue beneath his feet.
He yanked the Bronze Mirror from its strap. Before he could jump down from the statue's shoulder, the ground beneath the underground palace let out a series of "clack-clack-clack" sounds from its mechanisms. The noise was far stronger than the mechanism he had triggered earlier. The ground began to buzz and tremble, and the entire underground palace shook violently.
Daoist Master, who had nearly jumped down, hooked one arm around the statue's head. He quickly swept his flashlight around to assess the situation. In circumstances like this, stumbling into trouble by accident was no good thing.
Something rustled down from above. When he shone his flashlight upward, he found that the domed ceiling was splitting apart.
"Monkey, the ceiling's collapsing! Move!" Daoist Master shouted as he leaped from the statue's shoulder.
Unfortunately, his luck was poor. A huge falling rock slammed him out of the air.
When he lay sprawled on the ground, coughing blood as he lifted his head, he vaguely saw the small man's figure flash through the roaring rain of falling stones. With a roll, Monkey darted into the passage they had entered through. Immediately afterward, darkness swallowed his vision, and he lost consciousness...
His mind was a chaotic mess, and the feeling of his head splitting with pain gradually receded like a tide. He slowly opened his eyes. The light was dim, and firelight swayed in the shadows.
He looked around and saw the source of the light: a torch slanted into a pillar. He seemed to be inside an old, dilapidated temple with an antique style. He had no idea where it was, but he guessed that Monkey, who had escaped, had saved him.
The sensation of being smashed to the ground earlier still lingered. Judging by the weight of that stone, even if he had not died, he should have been in terrible shape. Being alive was already a stroke of luck.
Based on his experience, someone with severe injuries was better off avoiding violent movement. Although he felt no pain, that might simply be because his nerves were numb.
He first moved his fingers and confirmed that all ten moved freely. Fine!
He moved his palms and arms. They worked smoothly too. Fine!
He raised both feet, bending his knees and stretching his thighs. Still fine!
Overjoyed, he braced both hands against the ground. Just as he was about to test the condition of his body, an old, smiling face suddenly blocked his view from above. The hairpin, topknot, and style of the clothing all belonged to an old man dressed in ancient garb.
"Young brother, you're awake? Looks like this old man really is lucky." The old man smiled. He reached over and gave Daoist Master's shoulder a tug, then helped him sit up.
Daoist Master maintained a trace of vigilance. He tried to circulate his energy and prepare himself, only to discover that he could not draw out his Internal Energy. He guessed it was because of his serious injuries. Yet after sitting up and twisting his body, he found no major problem. Only the back of his head throbbed faintly, as if he had suffered some heavy blow.
He looked around the ruined temple, then turned his gaze to the old man's face. "Old brother, this is..." The moment he spoke, he realized his voice was wrong. It sounded somewhat childish, probably another effect of his injuries. He coughed dryly and continued, "Where is this?"
"Old brother?" The old man froze for a moment, then suddenly chuckled. "Young people certainly have some nerve. Fine, old brother it is. I like your character. I don't know the exact name of this place either, and I haven't had the energy to investigate. In any case, it's in a mountain hollow within Ziyun Commandery of Yan Kingdom."
Ziyun Commandery of Yan Kingdom? Daoist Master paused blankly. What was that supposed to mean?
He could not help looking the other man up and down. He discovered a large patch of blood on the man's chest and abdomen, and he could faintly smell blood. His face was somewhat pale, suggesting that he was injured, but his eyes were still clear and bright. Daoist Master asked, "May I ask your honored name, old brother?"
The old man smiled. "This old man is a disciple of the Shangqing Sect, Dongguo Haoran."
Daoist Master froze again. He had heard the words clearly, but he had not understood what they meant. He examined the other man from top to bottom once more. Dressed in ancient clothing and speaking with an antique air, could this man have become too absorbed in his role? Even if he wanted to play an ancient person, couldn't he make it more convincing? Did ancient people really speak perfectly standard Mandarin? Suspecting that someone was playing a prank on him, he turned his head and shouted in all directions, "Monkey! Monkey..."
The old man was also startled. "I only just arrived myself. I haven't seen any Monkey. Are there monkeys in these mountains?"
With no response from Monkey, how he had ended up here remained a mystery. But anyone capable of getting him out of that ancient tomb was certainly no ordinary person. Daoist Master said in a deep voice, "Old brother, may I ask which path you travel?"
The old man smiled. "The Shangqing Sect is naturally an orthodox sect."
Daoist Master gave a cold laugh. "Old brother, this joke is getting boring. Let's speak frankly."
"Very well!" The old man nodded. "I'm gravely injured and don't have much time left. You may not understand what I mean, but remember this: the Shangqing Sect is also in Ziyun Commandery, roughly three hundred li from here. There's a river not far below this mountain. Drift downstream, and when you reach a cliff waterfall, you can stop. The Shangqing Sect lies in that blessed land of spiritual beauty. Have you remembered it?"
After speaking, the old man sat cross-legged and straightened his posture. He rotated one palm gently before his chest and pushed it outward.
Daoist Master instantly turned pale with shock. He found himself seized by an invisible force, held so tightly that he could not move at all. His entire body slowly floated off the ground. He was utterly stunned. He had never imagined that there could be someone in this world with Internal Energy so profound—so profound that it surpassed his imagination. He had always thought his own cultivation was already at the pinnacle of martial artists, but now it seemed no more than a grain of rice trying to rival the bright moon. As the old saying went, beyond the heavens lie more heavens, and beyond men lie greater men. The ancients had truly never lied to him!
The old man suddenly struck his own chest with one palm and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The blood gathered into a floating sphere. The old man thrust his finger into it and stirred rapidly. One Blood Rune after another shot out from the sphere, drifting around Daoist Master's body.
The eerie and miraculous sight left Daoist Master deeply shaken. The sophistication of this control over Internal Energy was something he had never even dreamed of.
As more and more Blood Runes shot out, the blood sphere grew smaller and smaller until it vanished completely. Thirty-six Blood Runes then circled around Daoist Master's body.
The old man suddenly stirred both hands at once, and Daoist Master's floating body began spinning up, down, left, and right.
The old man struck out palm after palm. Each palm hit one of the spinning Blood Runes. The Blood Runes rapidly compressed into streaks of red light and accurately shot into Daoist Master's acupoints and meridians.
It felt as though something were boring straight into his body alive. The pain made Daoist Master break into a cold sweat.
Once all thirty-six Blood Runes had been struck into Daoist Master's body, the old man set his flying palms upright. Daoist Master slowly drifted down and sat cross-legged opposite him, staring at him in stunned silence.
The old man's grave expression softened into a smile, but the brightness in his sharp eyes had dimmed. In a weak voice, he said, "I used the Shangqing Sect's Secret Technique to turn all the cultivation I have left in my life into thirty-six Protective Talismans. They will guard you and ward off evil. Follow the route I told you, and they should be enough to escort you to the Shangqing Sect. My injuries are too severe, and I'm at death's door. I can't return to the Shangqing Sect. Meeting you at the end of my life is my luck, and the Shangqing Sect's luck as well. Your meeting me is likewise your good fortune. It seems we're bound by a teacher-and-disciple fate. Becoming my disciple is better than staying in this mountain hollow as a commoner caught in troubled times. Surely you have no reason to refuse. When you reach the Shangqing Sect, say that you're my disciple. The Protective Talismans I placed inside you will serve as proof, and they will believe you."
Daoist Master blinked at him as he digested the old man's words.
The old man reached into his robes and took out a Bronze Mirror, handing it to him. "To obtain this item, I effectively lost my life. The Sect Master of the Shangqing Sect, Tang Mu, is my senior brother. Take this to the Shangqing Sect and give it to my senior brother. Remember this well: you must not show it to anyone else. You can only hand it to my senior brother personally. It must never fall into anyone else's hands. Do you remember?"
Daoist Master nodded instinctively. He took the Bronze Mirror and turned it over in his hands, his mind churning with uncertainty. This... this should be the ancient Bronze Mirror he had removed from that Guanyin statue. He could not be certain, since he had not looked closely at the time, but the mirror in his hand looked extremely similar.
He raised his head to look at the old man. The man's feat of supernatural power had made him believe in something a little, but this Bronze Mirror pulled him back toward reality.
He wanted to ask something, but the instant he opened his mouth, the old man closed his eyes. Still smiling, he toppled cleanly onto him.
"Old brother! Old brother..." Daoist Master patted him and called twice. When there was no response, he tested his breath, then felt the pulse at his neck. Dead!
After repeatedly confirming that the other man was truly dead, Daoist Master sat there dazed and dumbfounded for a long while. There was no need to make a prank or joke this convincing. He was really dead!
He slowly laid the old man's corpse flat, then examined the Bronze Mirror in his hand. Only then did he notice that he was also dressed in ancient clothing. The shape of his palms was not that of his own hands either. The top of his head felt strange, so he raised a hand to touch it and gave it a tug. It hurt! It really was a topknot!
He could not help climbing to his feet and looking around. Suddenly, a sharp "caw" came from outside, like the cry of a crow.
Daoist Master hurried toward the doorway, wanting to see what was outside and confirm a few things. He slid back the door bolt, opened the doors, and stepped onto the outside stairs.
The mountains rose and fell beneath the bright moon, while cold stars filled the night sky. Another "caw" came from the large tree outside, drawing his attention. It really seemed to be a crow, but its eyes were clearly visible, faintly glowing red. It seemed to be staring at the Bronze Mirror in his hand.
Red light flared in the crow's eyes. It spread its wings, exploded into a mass of black mist, and charged over. Its front end transformed into a humanoid shape, and with a wave of its hand, a shining broadsword came hacking down.
Daoist Master had never heard of or witnessed anything so strange. He was shocked and dodged instinctively, but his body seemed unable to keep up with the reaction speed he was accustomed to. Seeing that he was about to die beneath the blade, he panicked and reflexively raised an arm to block. A stream of heat surged from his arm into his palm, scorching it unbearably. A streak of red light shot out, transforming into a gigantic Blood Rune that slammed hard into the charging crow monster.
Boom! A muffled thunderclap echoed through the air. The crow monster struck by the Blood Rune instantly shattered into drifting smoke, and the Blood Rune vanished with it.
Daoist Master stood there with one arm raised and his body bent sideways, frozen for a moment without moving. He seemed unable to believe it. Was this his handiwork? He could not help recalling what the old man had said after transmitting the technique to him.
Damn it, it looks like the outside is dangerous!
Daoist Master blurred into motion, sprang backward, and leaped into the room. He quickly shut the door and extinguished the torch inside...
P.S. Please be kind enough to click the recommendation vote and add this to your collection while you're at it. Starting tomorrow, updates will tentatively be posted at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., one chapter each time. Thank you for your support!