True One

Chapter 42: True One

Gao Lingfeng and four minor officials entered, carrying several black boxes.

The boxes were cast from black iron, square in shape, each a meter in length and width. Pitch-black, they gave an impression of solidity and weight.

They went in and out several times, bringing in a total of thirteen boxes.

Following them came a middle-aged man with a long, narrow face like a horse's, and a round-faced middle-aged man.

The long-faced man's eyes were small but full of vitality. Once inside, he wore a fawning smile, clasped his hands, and bowed: "Young Master."

Chu Zhiyuan smiled. "Lord Ma, I appreciate your trouble."

"For the Young Master to have use for this humble one is this humble one's honor!" Ma Tianhe's fawning smile bloomed like a chrysanthemum.

The round-faced middle-aged man beside him was rather reserved, merely clasping his hands in salute and saying nothing.

Chu Zhiyuan nodded and said no more. He walked over to the pile of sealed boxes and examined them.

Ma Tianhe and the round-faced middle-aged man each produced a long key. Together, they inserted both keys into the locks and opened the black iron boxes one by one.

Zou Fang presented the files to him one after another, and he flipped through them swiftly.

After finishing each file, he set it aside on the desk. Once he had read all the files in a box, Ma Tianhe organized them, placed them back into the sealed box, and together with the round-faced middle-aged man, closed the lid. They inserted both keys and turned them in the opposite direction, locking it completely.

Chu Zhiyuan reviewed every file, closed his eyes to think, nodded in satisfaction, and gave a slight nod to Ma Tianhe and the round-faced middle-aged man.

The two directed the minor officials who had followed them to begin carrying the sealed file boxes out.

After seeing Ma Tianhe and the round-faced middle-aged man off, Chu Zhiyuan clasped his hands behind his back and paced within the room.

The previous sect leader of the Thick Earth Sect had two sons: one named Feng Yan, the other Feng Chang.

Both sons were dragons and phoenixes of their time, possessing extraordinary talent, each spreading the sect's teachings in different regions.

When the old sect leader was on his deathbed, the younger son, Feng Chang, could not return in time. Only the elder son, Feng Yan, was by his side, so he passed the position of sect leader to his eldest son, Feng Yan.

This man became the current sect leader.

The younger son, Feng Chang, had in fact been ambushed on the road by assassins hired by Feng Yan from the Jade Luo Tower. He was gravely wounded and nearly lost his life.

By the time Feng Chang dragged his severely injured body back, the dust had long settled, and the new sect leader had already assumed the position.

Feng Yan took the seat of sect leader, and Feng Chang became an elder.

Feng Chang's talent was astonishing, and he held great prestige within the sect.

Naturally, Sect Leader Feng Yan did not trust him. He constantly sought ways to undermine Feng Chang's prestige and power, eventually pushing him too far. Feng Chang stole the Earth Dragon Pearl and vanished without a trace.

After losing the Earth Dragon Pearl, the Thick Earth Sect did not decline; on the contrary, it grew even stronger.

A hundred years later, the Earth Dragon Pearl has reappeared in the world.

The Thick Earth Sect immediately began its pursuit.

Even though the Earth Dragon Pearl was now in the hands of the Flying Flower Sword Sect, which had just produced a Grandmaster, they did not give up their pursuit, seeking its return by every possible means.

These were all records from the Supervisory Department.

The ownership of the Earth Dragon Pearl was indeed a troublesome matter.

The Earth Dragon Pearl was one of the tokens of the sect leader. In theory, it should indeed be returned, and one could certainly demand some compensation in the process.

But the problem was that Feng Chang had stolen it, and it was eventually picked up by someone through sheer coincidence.

That was already one degree removed—they had not stolen it themselves; they had merely stumbled upon it by chance. Moreover, Feng Chang had left an inscription stating it was a gift for the fated. Under those circumstances, there was no need to return it to the Thick Earth Sect.

Each side had its own reasoning. It all depended on which side one stood on.

The Supervisory Department's files also noted the daily interactions of the Thick Earth Sect's important disciples and with whom they had close ties.

From this, one could see that the Thick Earth Sect's upper echelons had close dealings with the Imperial Court's high-ranking officials, with the root of it all being Prince Huai's Estate.

The Thick Earth Sect leader's daughter was greatly favored by Prince Huai, often kept by his side. His fondness for her extended to the Thick Earth Sect, which he treated very well.

It was said she was likely to become Prince Huai's secondary consort.

Those officials deeply entangled with Prince Huai's Estate naturally had good relations with the Thick Earth Sect as well, frequently visiting.

And besides the officials aligned with Prince Huai's faction, the Thick Earth Sect also had good relations with the Four Great Sects, with many of their disciples being friends with members of those sects.

Chu Zhiyuan felt as if he could see a vast net.

The Thick Earth Sect had woven a great net without anyone noticing, a net that caught both Imperial Court officials and the Four Great Sects.

Chu Zhiyuan grew even more curious.

Had the two Thick Earth Sect disciples crippled the Flying Flower Sword Sect disciple to force them to return the Earth Dragon Pearl, or to strike at the Flying Flower Sword Sect's prestige?

Unfortunately, the files contained no further records about the Earth Dragon Pearl, only that it was one of the sect leader's tokens, without mentioning its wondrous uses.

Now he knew it was a powerful tool for cultivation, a treasure that aided training, and extremely important to the Thick Earth Sect—not merely a token of the sect leader.

A genius like Feng Zhihao, with the aid of the Earth Dragon Pearl, would absolutely advance by leaps and bounds. Especially after his defeat at Chu Zhiyuan's hands, Feng Zhihao likely craved the Earth Dragon Pearl even more.

The Thick Earth Sect would not let this rest.

On one hand, they would apply direct pressure; on the other, they would likely use the Imperial Court or the Four Great Sects to put pressure on the Flying Flower Sword Sect.

Even if the Flying Flower Sword Sect could withstand this blow, could they withstand the next?

If Song Feiqiong learned of all this, would she still act?

The Earth Dragon Pearl—everything came down to the Earth Dragon Pearl. Truly, a treasure would stir up blood and rain.

He pondered again and again, when suddenly a strange intuition arose from the void—this Earth Dragon Pearl would be very useful to him.

His spirits lifted at once.

He possessed the Earthly Yuan Art and the Heavenly Yuan Art; the Earth Dragon Pearl should be of little use to him. Why this peculiar intuition?

He trusted his instincts, and so the desire to see this Earth Dragon Pearl took root in his mind.

"My Lord!" Gao Lingfeng called out from outside the room.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Enter."

Gao Lingfeng carried in a dossier sealed with wax, presenting it with both hands: "This is an official document forwarded from the Town Martial Division."

Zou Fang stepped forward to receive it, opened it, inspected it, and then presented the stack of letters to Chu Zhiyuan.

Chu Zhiyuan took them and flipped through them one by one. There were thirteen people's testimonies—not only the four who had been arrested, but also the witnesses present at the time.

In the accounts of these thirteen people, everything that had happened was clearly recorded, including every word spoken.

Through these records, the scene at the time was vividly reconstructed.

Chu Zhiyuan shook his head.

According to what was written here, it was indeed the Thick Earth Sect disciples who had provoked first, but nothing seemed particularly out of place.

After all, anyone in that situation would be unable to contain their anger—it was like being cuckolded; only a fool could hold back.

The testimonies even mentioned the Earth Dragon Pearl, though not by name, but they spoke of the incident, cursing the Flying Flower Sword Sect as thieves.

So it seemed this was not about tarnishing the Flying Flower Sword Sect's reputation, but about the Earth Dragon Pearl.

That was slightly better.

Among the thirteen testimonies, the Town Martial Division deliberately asked about the Four Great Sects' disciples, and none of the thirteen had seen any Four Great Sects disciples at the Jade Dew Library.

It could be preliminarily concluded that the Four Great Sects had no hand in this.

Then it was purely a dispute over the Earth Dragon Pearl.

This relieved him, sparing Song Feiqiong from clashing with the Four Great Sects and sparing the Imperial Court from violent upheaval.

If enmity arose between Grandmasters, the impact would be too great, and its effects too far-reaching.

Once it was clear that it was only a dispute over the Earth Dragon Pearl, things became simpler.

He thought for a moment, then sat back behind his desk, had Zou Fang grind ink, picked up his brush, and wrote several sheets in one breath. He blew on them, stuffed them into an envelope, and sealed it with wax.

Finally, he handed it to Gao Lingfeng: "Lord Gao, present this official's memorial to Director Langzhong."

"Yes." Gao Lingfeng nodded solemnly, took the envelope, cupped his fists, and left.

Chu Zhiyuan let out a breath.

When it involved a Grandmaster, his own position as Assistant Director was only a deputy role; he could not act on his own authority.

By clarifying the full context of this matter and presenting it to his superior, he had fulfilled the duties of his office.

He clasped his hands behind his back and walked out of the Ministry of Rites, strolling aimlessly until he came to a street he had never visited before.

Sanfu Street.

The disciples of the Flying Flower Sword Sect were temporarily lodged here.

On his way here, Chu Zhiyuan took a detour to the vicinity of the True One Cult's altar.

He had long wanted to determine whether any of these cults were secretly cultivating the Path of Incense and Fire, thereby violating the Imperial Court's prohibitions.

The True One Cult's altar was a large compound, no less spacious than the Earthly Soil Hall, bustling with people coming and going.

The faithful believed in the Oneness of the Great Dao.

All things in heaven and earth ultimately return to the One—the true One.

The True One Cult pursued the eternal Great Dao, the true origin of all things: the One that gave birth to Two, Two to Three, and Three to the myriad things.

Everything in the world was but appearance. To find that One, one must strip away appearances, return to essence, and seek the essence within essence—the purest, truest One.

The method for seeking the True One was the Contemplation Method.

Taking the bright moon as the original veneration, one contemplates the present, contemplates the sea of the heart, contemplates the soul, peeling away layers of appearance, breaking through the myriad phenomena, and seeing the One.

And this Contemplation Method took a bright moon as its visualized veneration.

What was enshrined within that altar was a bright moon.

As Chu Zhiyuan saw it, this bright moon was no different from the moon in the night sky.