Seeking Immortals

Wealth stirs the hearts of men. Bai Ri Mansion may harbor no ill intent, but the Sky Rift Valley is truly no benign place. You mortals must also measure your strength before you act.

Yu Ci was taken aback, then spoke respectfully: Please, Immortal Master, enlighten me.

Immortal Master Xuan Qing was quite satisfied with his attitude, smiling faintly. You are a child worth teaching. You must know that a man's actions require careful deliberation before he makes a move. Have you ever been to this Sky Rift Valley before? Do you know what kind of place it is? And what taboos attend the gathering of Shrimp Whisker Grass?

The Sky Rift Valley is ten thousand miles from my home, and this humble one has never been there.

Yu Ci's expression grew even more deferential. I have only heard rumors that the terrain there is precipitous and the beasts numerous. As for the Shrimp Whisker Grass, it parasitizes the large trees beneath the gorge's sheer cliffs, sharing their color and wrapping around them. Only when strong gales blow is there any possibility of distinguishing it with the naked eye, making it exceedingly difficult to find... Ah yes, the steward of Bai Ri Mansion also warned that this grass must neither be dug up with metal or iron implements nor stored in wooden vessels, and so he gifted a stone box specifically meant for preserving the Shrimp Whisker Grass.

Xuan Qing stroked his beard and smiled. That counts as some understanding, but you have missed the most important point.

At this, his expression suddenly turned severe. Do you know what sort of place lies at the bottom of the Sky Rift Valley?

This... I do not know.

I warrant you do not. Let alone you, how many people in all the world know? It is simply that I, old Daoist, possess some degree of cultivation and ventured down to investigate for myself, discovering only then that beneath ten thousand zhang of clouds and mist lies a profound and gloomy abyss, no longer the weather of this realm, but a direct conduit to the Nether Prison Yellow Springs, where ghosts, demons, and monsters are too numerous to count!

Yu Ci immediately widened his eyes: This... is somewhat too illusory.

He did not deliberately conceal his thoughts, and Xuan Qing naturally could tell. The Daoist smiled slightly, flipped his palm, and produced a spherical object, letting Yu Ci examine it.

Across the distance of a zhang, with the campfire flickering between them, Yu Ci narrowed his eyes before he could clearly make out what that thing actually was. When the object presented itself distinctly, Yu Ci's brow twitched, for it was not some sphere at all, but a skull!

This thing had clearly undergone special treatment, being only the size of a fist and ashen-green in color throughout its body. Placed upon Xuan Qing's palm, its external texture and structure were complete and without flaw. Precisely because of this, Yu Ci could clearly see the fangs protruding from its lips and jaw, its unusually high-bulging forehead, and the blood-red eyeballs sunk deep within their sockets.

This is a skull I preserved after plunging deep into the Nether Prison Yellow Springs and slaying a demonic entity, kept as a mere memento. Do not look upon this thing as being merely this small; I purposely refined it using a secret art. When I originally slew it, this skull alone was the size of a millstone, and its body was comparable to this Daoist temple...

Yu Ci's expression finally changed. Xuan Qing was quite pleased to see his expression, and so he put the skull away, his tone easing somewhat:

Of course, these ghosts and demons find it very difficult to crawl up. That is generally because at the bottom of the Sky Rift Valley stands the Two Realms Stele personally placed by the Supreme Dao Venerable, suppressing the Nether Prison, and on a layer above that are immortal prohibition arrays laid down by successive generations of immortals, which are sufficient to withstand hundreds of millions of demons and monsters.

Just as Yu Ci let out a breath, Xuan Qing said solemnly: It is simply that under heaven there is never a foolproof arrangement. The divine stele personally placed by the Dao Venerable and those immortal prohibition arrays, though able to suppress those fierce fiends and malevolent ghosts, always have one or two that slip through the net and escape... How do they escape? Naturally, they crawl up from the bottom of the Sky Rift Valley! I see you are also someone trained in the martial arts, but should you encounter those ghosts and demons, you are likely to meet with more misfortune than fortune!

What more could Yu Ci say? He merely stated: Please, Immortal Teacher, point out a clear path.

Xuan Qing sighed. The Sky Rift Valley is no benign place, yet for you to press forward despite the difficulties is also quite remarkable. Very well, old Daoist has cultivated for many years, penetrating the Dao of heaven and man, and I most enjoy lifting up the younger generation. Now that we meet, it is by fate, and I shall bestow upon you a spiritual talisman to serve as protection for your body.

With that, he flicked his sleeve, and a slip of talisman paper flew out, drifting leisurely until it reached right before Yu Ci's eyes. Before Yu Ci caught it and could examine it closely, Xuan Qing spoke again:

Gathering a thousand stalks of Shrimp Whisker Grass is not as simple as one imagines; even with a spiritual talisman, it may not guarantee your safety. It is a pity I still have secular affairs and cannot spare myself... Thus, two heads are better than one, and several minds are better than one. These juniors of mine are also heading to the Sky Rift Valley to gather medicine; if you keep in close touch with them, it will at least provide mutual support.

Hearing this, Yu Ci swept his gaze across the faces of those individuals beside the campfire. At this moment, even the dark-faced man who had just uttered harsh words was revealing a smile, though unfortunately, those smiles were all distressingly stiff.

Yu Ci shook his head, not answering immediately, but instead examining the spiritual talisman in his hand. On the bright-yellow talisman paper, the character for tranquility had been smeared in cinnabar using seal script; its winding, twisting strokes were not particularly attractive, yet the moment his fingers touched it, wisps of cool sensation lingered at his fingertips, possessing a certain unusual quality as well. Pondering for a moment, he said:

Calm Heart Incantation?

Xuan Qing was finding Yu Ci's reaction strange; hearing this, his expression changed slightly, and he immediately made a covert gesture to put his companions on guard. At the same time, he barked: Good eyesight...

Before he finished the second half of his sentence, he nearly bit off his own tongue. Not just him, but starting from the dark-faced man beside him, the group gathered before the campfire sat with jaws agape one by one. The amiable smiles they had forced onto their faces collapsed one after another in the wake of the sudden, brilliant light flashing within the hall.

Yu Ci had not done anything all that remarkable; he had merely extended his left hand, joined his index and middle fingers, and traced empty circles in the air. Yet as his fingers moved, a slender, pale-cyan thread of light materialized out of thin air, twisting up and down, and in the blink of an eye a talismanic script was written.

This talismanic script was likewise the seal-script character for tranquility, vaguely similar in stroke to the talisman bestowed by Xuan Qing, only somewhat more streamlined. More importantly, once the talismanic script was complete, it hovered right there in midair, radiating a clear brilliance and possessing a wondrous quality all its own.

In a marvelous turn of events beneath such miraculous scenery, the hall plunged into an even more eerie silence. After a long while, someone knew to speak—it was the dark-faced man.

Drawing qi into a talisman, Spirit Light Adherence!

Though he spoke, his voice sounded more like that of a chicken whose neck was being wrung, barely holding its pitch.

Yu Ci glanced at him and returned the sentiment: Good eyesight!

Amidst a loud, rustling flurry of commotion, nine out of ten people by the campfire stood up. However, rather than making a move, they collectively cleared a patch of ground, looking at Yu Ci with gazes that had already reached the utmost limit of awe. As for the dark-faced man who had previously uttered harsh words, he sat stupidly in his place. After a long moment, he abruptly leaped up, turned to flee, but his legs went weak and he took a massive, sprawling tumble, trembling so hard he could no longer stand back up.

Among this group, only Xuan Qing managed to keep his composure, though it felt as if needles had been stuck beneath his buttocks and he was thoroughly uncomfortable. He coughed, slowly stood up, and tried his best to maintain a composed posture: This, ah, fellow Daoist, previously I was unaware...

The moment he opened his mouth his true nature was laid completely bare; his speech was even less fluid than the dark-faced man's. Yu Ci paid him no mind, stepping forward directly and striding past the campfire.

At this moment his waist and back were straight, and his posture, which had already been quite tall to begin with, seemed to grow another inch. The corners of his lips were pressed together slightly, carving shallow lines into his face. These microscopic changes alone completely dissipated his previous honest and timid image; appearing before everyone's eyes was precisely an arrogant and capricious immortal master, and his half-smiling expression resembled an invisible rope, choking them until they could barely breathe.

Faced head-on with such a figure, Xuan Qing did not even dare to let out a fart, immediately vacating his seat and standing rigidly off to one side. As for the people around him, needless to say, they were trembling like walking on thin ice, terrified that a single heavy breath would summon calamity.

Yu Ci settled into the seat of honor. Feeling that sitting this way made the sword on his back an encumbrance, he unstrapped it and laid it across his knees, his movements unhurried and his bearing natural. Xuan Qing stood behind him, yet Yu Ci did not even bother to cast a glance at him, sweeping his gaze instead across the faces of the remaining people before suddenly breaking into a smile. The mountain road was tiresome to walk, so I was merely joking with you all. If there was any discourtesy, do not take offense.

Hearing this, a collective exhalation of breath swept through the hall, immediately followed by a chaotic clamor of shouts:

Not at all, not at all, the Exalted Immortal is far too polite.

Indeed, what words are these from the Exalted Immortal...

It is we who offended the Exalted Immortal, to be sure.