If I Were Going to Die Tomorrow

"An Immortal Mansion?"

Zhu Ying was puzzled by Gu Bai's answer at first. Then she understood—only to become puzzled again.

"An Immortal Mansion! No wonder... But an Immortal Mansion?"

Wu Ming also furrowed his brow, then instinctively lifted his teacup and took a sip. Only afterward did he realize it was his senior sister's cup...

Should he spit it back in and pretend nothing had happened?

While his disciples were puzzling over things or fretting, Gu Bai said, "When an Immortal Mansion appears in the world, it's usually nothing like people imagine. It isn't as if some place suddenly fills with heavenly signs, then an immortal gate quietly swings open, and you step through it into a blessed grotto-heaven... It isn't like that."

"The appearance of an Immortal Mansion is usually a very long process. It starts with a proverb appearing in the Immortal Mansion Heavenly Record, then the first wisp of Immortal Spirit breaking through the ground, then the Immortal Law Silk Weaving becoming manifest to the world, and finally the Immortal Mansion takes shape... It can be brief, lasting no more than an instant; but it can also take a very long time, sometimes even a hundred years, or several hundred."

"The Grey Needle Forest you went to, Ying'er, and the Mountain Spirit you encountered both seem like signs of the Immortal Law Silk Weaving stage, before the Immortal Mansion appears."

At this, Wu Ming and Zhu Ying understood at the same time.

The so-called Immortal Law was the law of an Immortal Mansion. Every Immortal Mansion had its own rules, and the most common were requirements for the cultivator's realm...

No wonder those Golden Core Protector Elders had vanished without a trace, unable to resist at all, even leaving their own wealthy patrons in the forest to turn on each other.

If it wasn't the post-2000s generation whipping the cultivation world into shape, then it could only be the Immortal Law of the Immortal Mansion at work.

The Immortal Mansion taking shape in the Grey Needle Forest did not allow anyone above Foundation Establishment to enter. So, halfway through their pursuit, the Golden Core elders had been filtered out and blocked, just like a censored word.

As for those Mountain Spirits...

Gu Bai mused, "That group of Mountain Spirits may simply have been Loose Demons native to the Grey Needle Forest. Long ago, when I traveled along the Eshui River, I did see Mountain Spirits in the area. But they weren't given to migrating, much less roaming around and attacking people in places where humans were frequently active."

"I think the key lies with that Mountain Spirit leader, who seemed to possess a faint ability to divine the future. During the stages when Immortal Spirit breaks through the ground and the Immortal Law is woven, a very small number of unusually gifted demons often emerge in the area. Once those demons gain the Dao, they gather followers and create a temporary disturbance, luring people there. They hold clues to how to break through the Immortal Mansion's trials in that place. For now... we can consider them a hint the Immortal Mansion's master deliberately left for those who came after."

"So that's why the Demon Hunting Decree drew so many talented young people from the local Aristocratic Clans. Most likely, they received the Heavenly Record Proverb in advance from the Divination Bureau of the Prefecture or even the provincial government, and realized that the Mountain Spirits appearing nearby might be connected to an Immortal Mansion about to emerge. That's why they went to such trouble and formed hunting parties. But even with careful preparation and plenty of local Rogue Cultivators brought in to help, they still didn't get what they wanted."

"Those young masters from the Aristocratic Clans either weren't skilled enough, or lacked Immortal Fate. Perhaps they said or did something taboo, and the Immortal Law quietly rejected them. That's why they never broke through the illusion or got close to the Mountain Spirit tribe. You, Ying'er, were able to approach them and see through the illusion, but you were too bloodthirsty. You nearly wiped out the entire Mountain Spirit tribe instead of focusing on hunting their leader..."

"Perhaps the Mountain Spirit leader left because your hunting expedition took too long and the 'hint' had expired. Or perhaps it saw its followers dying off and its own situation growing more dangerous, so it simply ran away. Once it was gone, the illusion broke on its own, and nothing stood in the way of the hunt, so you succeeded spectacularly. But you also missed out on the most important Immortal Fate."

After Gu Bai finished laying out this long and information-heavy bit of background, all three disciples fell into deep thought. The Sect Leader Temple was silent for a while.

As his disciples took in the information, the old man lifted his teacup and took a small sip. Bitterness and fragrance flowed down his throat, much like old memories surging through his heart.

But before he could savor it, a curious young face suddenly appeared before him.

"Master, you really are a man with a story!"

"Cough, cough!"

Caught off guard, Gu Bai nearly spat out his tea.

Wait, how did you digest all that so quickly?! That was such a long story! Even Ying'er, my eldest disciple who's cultivated with me for twenty years, still hasn't thought through all the details, and you...

Before he could finish marveling to himself, he heard Wu Ming marveling too.

"Master, you must have explored plenty of Immortal Mansions when you were young, right? We should compare notes on our strategies sometime. When I submit my first-clear guide in the future, I'll choose to co-submit it with you..."

Gu Bai's expression shifted slightly. "Ming'er, how did you know I..."

Wu Ming replied, "You used words like 'perhaps' and 'most likely' a lot just now, Master, but your confidence was plain to see. If you weren't a professional with a wealth of experience, where would you get that kind of confidence that you had it all figured out?"

Gu Bai gave a wry smile. "...The Immortal Mansion is the foundation of the Nine Provinces' Immortal Path. Even the calendar is now called the Immortal Mansion Calendar. What I said was just common knowledge."

Wu Ming asked in surprise, "If it's common knowledge, why doesn't Senior Sister know it? And during her demon hunt, Senior Sister met a few close friends. One was a local from the Prefecture City, and another came from an Aristocratic Clan herself. Yet none of them realized that the unusual signs in the Grey Needle Forest had anything to do with an Immortal Mansion. But Master made an accurate judgment based solely on Senior Sister's account. If that's not professional, what is?"

At this point, Wu Ming paused, a faint glint of keen light in his eyes.

"Of course, when all's said and done, my judgment comes from the natural resonance between professionals... In a different world, the moment our eyes met, we'd have started fighting. When Master took me in, didn't you feel that resonance too?"

Seeing that Wu Ming was utterly convinced, Gu Bai fell silent for a long while. At last, he could only sigh and shake his head helplessly.

This disciple was frighteningly perceptive. Gu Bai had just been wondering how long it would take his disciples to digest his explanation of the Immortal Mansion, and in the blink of an eye, this youngest disciple had already digested it all the way to Gu Bai himself!

But some things, some stories, simply couldn't be told. Even that explanation just now had taken everything the old man had in him.

So this time, Gu Bai truly had no way to satisfy his disciple's keen curiosity.

Fortunately, perceptive as Wu Ming was, he could naturally see his master's predicament.

So he smoothly changed the subject with a laugh.

"Then I should still congratulate Senior Sister. May you be blessed by the Immortals and enjoy a lifetime of peace!"

Zhu Ying was stunned for a moment at that, then couldn't help laughing. "I missed my chance at the Immortal Mansion. That's worth congratulating me for?"

Wu Ming said, "Senior Sister only missed it by a hair, while those young masters from the Aristocratic Clans missed it by a thousand miles. By comparison, rounded up, it's like you planted your foot on their heads and got the first clear on the whole server. Isn't that cause for celebration?"

"..." Zhu Ying had wanted to argue, but Wu Ming had put it so considerately that she couldn't bring herself to contradict him!

Her junior brother could be thoughtful after all...

"And besides, you only missed it this time. Now that we know an Immortal Mansion is about to appear in the Grey Needle Forest, we can prepare in advance. When the time comes, you'll have two strategy experts—Master and me—at your service. Isn't that a fine blessing?"

Zhu Ying was half amused and half exasperated. "You haven't even seen what an Immortal Mansion looks like, and you're already putting yourself on Master's level!"

But she soon sobered up and said seriously, "Still, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you this time. I probably won't get the chance to go to the Immortal Mansion in the Grey Needle Forest."

"?"

Zhu Ying explained, "An Immortal Mansion doesn't throw open its doors to everyone as soon as it appears, letting them explore at will... Aside from a very few exceptions, all other Immortal Mansions strictly limit the number of people who may enter and how often they can do so. Some Immortal Mansions only open once every few hundred years, and then accept just a handful of people."

"So naturally, access to every Immortal Mansion is strictly controlled. In Qiongzhou, exploring Immortal Mansions is practically an exclusive privilege of the Aristocratic Clans. Rogue Cultivators like us basically have no chance..."

Wu Ming smiled. "A privilege of the Aristocratic Clans? Isn't that exactly Senior Sister's chance?"

Zhu Ying frowned. "Why?"

Wu Ming explained, "Earlier, that group of young masters from the Aristocratic Clans, led by the Liu Family's Eldest Young Master, had the Heavenly Record Proverb in hand and left full of confidence. In the end, they missed their Immortal Fate by a thousand miles. But Senior Sister was all alone and knew nothing about the Immortal Mansion, yet she missed her Immortal Fate by only a hair. If I were Liu Cheng, I'd make room for you to explore the Immortal Mansion, even if I had to use the Aristocratic Clan's privilege to do it. With you on the team, wouldn't that be worth a hundred idle, wine-bag young masters from the Aristocratic Clans?!"

Those words startled both Gu Bai and Zhu Ying.

A moment later, Zhu Ying answered with a cold laugh.

"Then he'd better put that idea out of his head soon... I'll never join those young masters from the Aristocratic Clans in the same boat!"

"Huh? Why? In your story, Liu Cheng seemed like a good person, didn't he?"

Zhu Ying was silent for a moment, then said, "If you judge him by his personal character, Liu Cheng is beyond reproach. But no matter how good an Aristocratic Clan scion's character is, he's still an Aristocratic Clan scion. When Kang Pingxiang framed us out of nowhere and the team fell apart, Liu Cheng knew exactly which side was in the wrong, yet he still left the Rogue Cultivators to fend for themselves. At that point, being a so-called good person meant nothing. It was just a disguise."

"Fair enough." Wu Ming nodded, then asked, "Then what if they invited you with a huge sum of money? A huge sum!"

"An Aristocratic Clan's money isn't that easy to take," Zhu Ying said. "Junior Brother, you think far too well of the Aristocratic Clans."

Wu Ming had just accepted a huge sum from an Aristocratic Clan, so he couldn't help glancing at Master. Gu Bai looked rather helpless too.

Zhu Ying's dislike of the Aristocratic Clans was well-founded and heartfelt. Whatever the reason, that kind of conviction was often extremely difficult to shake.

"Is there really nothing that could change your mind?"

Zhu Ying said flatly, "Not for me."

Wu Ming thought for a moment, then said, "Senior Sister, let's say, just as an extreme hypothetical..."

Zhu Ying: "?"

"Suppose I were going to die tomorrow..."

Zhu Ying: "??"

Gu Bai: "???"

"Junior Brother, don't die!"

"...And the only way to save my life was to buy an Immortal Pill with a huge sum of money. Would the Aristocratic Clan's money still be untouchable then?"