Su Che raced onward and finally caught sight of Shanyin County Town's walls by moonlight.
Returning to Shanyin County could not exactly be called safe.
Yet the pressure in his heart eased considerably.
At times, Su Che felt that he was truly unlucky.
By his nature, he would have kept a low profile and endured until he became the Ten-Mile Slope Sword God before emerging from the mountains.
Unfortunately, things never went as one wished. Troubles seemed to be calling roll specifically to come find him.
Could it be related to his shattered Destiny Pattern?
Sixfold Azure Dragon... heh heh, Sixfold Azure Dragon.
Su Che had not believed in fate in his previous life, and he did not believe in it in this one either.
He took out the item he had obtained at Withered Forest Chan Temple from his sleeve.
Under the bright moonlight, he examined it closely.
At first glance, there was nothing remarkable about it.
A yellow talisman was pasted over its top. There were no other words on the paper, only four: "Falls upon meeting Su."
Falls upon meeting Su, opens upon meeting Che.
Su Che only wanted to say one thing to that Zhongyuan: Why not just point at my nose and loudly tell all those demons and ghosts to come seize me? Why go through all this trouble?
The thing was rather heavy in his hand, its surface entirely covered in verdigris. Thick hornless dragon patterns wound across it amid cloud-and-thunder motifs. Its shape was ancient and unadorned, clearly bearing the weight of many years.
It stood on three legs, with a tail rising from the rear. Two small blue three-legged birds spread their wings at the rim as if about to take flight.
It was a wine goblet.
After going to such lengths, this was what Zhongyuan wanted to give him?
Su Che's first reaction upon seeing this ancient artifact was that it was merely an antique.
When he tore off the yellow talisman, the paper covered in Zhongyuan's handwriting began to smolder without wind. No flame appeared, and it turned into a heap of ash.
Inside the goblet's mouth were several crooked ancient seal characters.
Su Che furrowed his brow and carefully identified the characters within.
There had once been a legend in this world that the writing of the Central Land had been created during the Ancient Era, before humans and gods were divided, by divine beings. Once writing came into existence, ghosts wailed and gods howled, for the secrets of heaven and earth had all been laid bare through it.
Legends could not be fully trusted, but the forms of the characters had indeed not changed much.
Su Che could vaguely make out the four words, "Made by Weiyang," though the other writing had become illegible.
Why had Zhongyuan given him this thing? So that at future Mount Zhong Association gatherings, he could drink a few more cups with this goblet?
Just as he hesitated, Su Che discovered a faint glow within the wine goblet.
Within a thread of azure light, countless flecks of golden radiance appeared and vanished. The azure glow seemed to be rapidly forming inside the goblet at some unknown rate.
This thing...
Su Che suddenly recalled a description he had once read in Records of the Hidden Within.
"On the moonlit night of Gengshen, there is Emperor's Nectar within the moonlight. Its form resembles countless olives, threaded through with ten thousand golden filaments, hanging down into the mortal world. When grasses and trees receive its essence, they may become demons."
The sixty Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches formed one cycle, and a Gengshen day came once every sixty days. The moonlight concealed a small amount of Emperor's Nectar, a tremendous tonic for plant spirits and strange creatures.
What was forming inside this wine goblet was clearly Emperor's Nectar.
No, at this level, it might be more appropriate to call it crystallized Emperor's Nectar.
Or perhaps stones.
As for the deity named Weiyang...
Su Che recalled a passage from Records of the Hidden Within.
"The so-called Five Directions and Five Emperors are utterly absurd. Though gods may be found throughout heaven and earth, no Heavenly Emperor has ever been heard of. Though there are five directions, no Five Emperors have ever been heard of. The so-called Red Emperor Biaonu, Azure Emperor Weiyang, White Emperor Zhaoju, Yellow Emperor Hanshu, and Black Emperor Zhiguang have truly never been heard of. It is likely that alchemists are wild and fond of argument, while the Daoist School is pure and tranquil, unwilling to contend, and so these errors have spread across the four directions..."
This thing was very likely a wine vessel personally made by the supposedly nonexistent Azure Emperor Ling Weiyang.
As expected of an Ancient Era god. His handiwork was truly extraordinary.
There was no need to explain Emperor's Nectar's effects on demons and ghosts. It could replenish their foundations and allow their cultivation to advance a thousand miles in a day.
Once something like this emerged into the world, it would certainly draw demons and ghosts from across the land like moths rushing into a flame.
It truly was a priceless treasure.
Lord Zhongyuan's generosity was extraordinary indeed.
While marveling at Zhongyuan's might, Su Che could not help but consider that what he, "Lord Dongwang," had received was a drinking vessel once belonging to the Azure Emperor.
Wu Zhiqi, Gushe, Yuqiang, Plain Maiden, and that unlucky Qingqiu—what gifts had Zhongyuan given them?
Su Che also considered another possibility.
When Lion Azure Lotus Perfected Tathagata had journeyed east to spread his teachings, this wine goblet might well have been one of the treasures he had obtained in the Central Land.
No. Su Che even felt that Old Lion might have come to the Central Land precisely to seek an item like this.
The wine goblet appeared simple. Su Che's cultivation was not high enough for him to know what significance Emperor's Nectar held for great cultivators who had reached the highest realms.
But from the perspective of someone from another world, Su Che felt that this wine goblet possessed the power to alter the course of the entire world.
Simply put, today was not a Gengshen day, yet the Emperor's Nectar in this goblet was frighteningly abundant.
For great demons and fierce ghosts to obtain Emperor's Nectar, they had to breathe in the moonlight on a Gengshen day and expend tremendous effort to gather even a thread or wisp.
The reason One-Eye had encountered him was also because he had been absorbing moonlight on a Gengshen night.
Yet now, this wine goblet had gathered Emperor's Nectar on an ordinary night.
And it was plentiful, exceptionally pure Emperor's Nectar.
What did that mean?
Whoever possessed this item could easily cultivate an army of demons and ghosts.
If this treasure fell into the hands of some Demon King or ghost immortal, it would be enough to make the Human Path's great age in this realm, already like a candle flickering in the wind, even more turbulent.
It was practically a divine tool for evil-path farming.
Heh heh, such a treasure had, of all places, fallen between Shanyin County, where monsters sprang up in droves, and Guobei County, where ghosts ran rampant.
Could it be that heaven and earth in this realm were specifically at odds with the fires of mortal life?
Su Che raised the goblet and poured the full cup of condensed Emperor's Nectar into his body.
The instant it entered his mouth, a clear, numinous aura rushed straight toward his mud pellet palace. His sea of consciousness was like a greedy sponge, swallowing the liquid infused with Lunar Essence bit by bit.
The ruptured flesh and sinews caused by White Deer Grotto gradually recovered under the effects of the Lunar Essence. In a silent, rain-moistening way, it also quietly brought further changes to Su Che's body.
Naturally, the greatest benefit came as his sea of consciousness was nourished. The sword intent between his brows leaped without cease, making Su Che want to let out a long howl of delight.
Heaven-Supporting Jun Sword, divine edge carried in his gaze.
Sword light flashed through Su Che's eyes.
Worthy indeed of the Heavenly Emperor's Nectar. Such a peerless spiritual delicacy was the marvelous indulgence enjoyed by Ancient Era deities.
At that moment, Su Che immediately understood what had given Wu Zhiqi the capital to contend against the Censorate's three Fifth Grade experts.
Why do I feel like the most profitable approach would be to get rid of the others?
Right, Qingqiu is still in my hands.
"Lord Dongwang" thought without the slightest loyalty.
Is this what it feels like to be Yue Buqun?
There really was a somewhat immoral thrill to it.
Su Che looked at the Emperor's Nectar that had begun condensing anew within the goblet.
There was no astonishing transformation. It simply condensed the liquid bit by bit in such a plain and unadorned manner.
Ancient artifact, ancient artifact indeed.
He could only marvel at the Azure Emperor's supreme divine ability, stealing the craftsmanship of Creation itself.
Turning cleverness into clumsiness—truly fine things needed no grand spectacle.
Su Che gained another layer of understanding.
The Yellow Heaven Sect's rope looked best suited for tying around one's waistband.
The previous generation swordsman's Sword Case had no particular movement when idle.
As for this Azure Emperor's Goblet, even placed on a curio shelf in a study, it would look like some counterfeit casually picked up from an old man's street stall.
Su Che hid the wine goblet in his sleeve and headed straight into Shanyin County Town.
Miss Qingqiu, this reunion would be quite different.