A Tale from Long Ago

After spending more than an hour underwater without seeing the Yellow Wasps leave, Xu Qingtong began to grow restless. He decided to explore the lakebed for another way out. Perhaps following the water to its source would lead him to an escape route.

With that thought, he hesitated no longer. He quickly broke the surface to draw a breath, then hurriedly sank back into the water.

Before he had descended a hundred feet, the water had already grown dark, and he could no longer make out his surroundings. Xu Qingtong spread his divine sense, probing downward. Underwater was different from dry land; his divine sense could extend only about six hundred feet. Yet within that range, he found nothing but water.

He began to wonder whether he had made the right decision. Just as he was about to give up on diving deeper, his divine sense detected a patch of light on the lakebed. Joy stirred in his heart, and his confidence surged as he swam toward it. To his disappointment, however, the light was not the exit he had imagined, but a circular platform.

"Come here, quick... hurry... hurry over. I... I can't hold on much longer!" An aged voice suddenly rang out in Xu Qingtong's mind. Startled, he hastily summoned the Goumang Seal, placing it before him as he looked around.

"Stop looking. I'm not there. I'm transmitting my voice to you. Quick, get onto that circular platform." The aged voice sounded again.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" Xu Qingtong dared not let down his guard and asked cautiously.

"Rest assured, I won't harm you. I only ask that you do me a favor, young friend. Please! I will repay you. Perhaps I can even give you a great opportunity!"

Xu Qingtong hesitated, then slowly approached the circular platform. Seeing nothing unusual, he moved to its center. Suddenly, a wave of dizziness swept over him, and he appeared inside a secret chamber.

Xu Qingtong tensed and hurriedly looked around. The chamber was small, with a lamp hanging from the ceiling. It had neither oil nor a wick, only something resembling a pearl that gave off a faint white glow.

The chamber had no doors or windows. Two pillars stood near a wall, with a man standing between them. His head drooped, and long hair covered his face, obscuring his features. Four pitch-black chains bound his hands and feet, holding his entire body spread-eagled. His exposed hands and feet had no flesh left on them, making him look more like a skeleton.

Xu Qingtong steadied himself and asked, "Senior, were you the one who called me just now?"

The man did not answer immediately. He slowly raised his head, revealing a skeletal face. The sight made Xu Qingtong's hair stand on end, and he hastily put himself on full alert.

After a pause, the man asked, "Young friend, what is your relationship with Yuquan?"

Xu Qingtong froze. Who was Yuquan?

Then someone came to mind, and he asked, "Senior, by Yuquan, do you mean Jade Spring True Person, the sect leader of Jade Spring Mountain a thousand years ago?"

The man murmured, "A thousand years ago... the sect leader of Jade Spring Mountain... yes, it must be him. Young friend, what are you to him?"

"Jade Spring True Person left to wander the world a thousand years ago and has yet to return. I have no connection to him," Xu Qingtong replied.

"Was that little seal of yours made by him?" the man asked again.

Xu Qingtong turned his hand over and took out the Goumang Seal. "Senior, do you mean this seal? I obtained it from a shop on Jade Spring Mountain."

"To think I've been trapped here for over a thousand years! Fortunately, you came here today, young friend. Otherwise, I, Yu Xuzi, would have died here unjustly," the man said wistfully.

"I hail from the Central Province. My name is Yu Xuzi, and I am Yuquan's junior brother. A thousand years ago..." the man began.

As Xu Qingtong listened to Yu Xuzi's halting account, a tale from long ago gradually unfolded before him.

The man was named Yu Xuzi. A thousand years ago, he had been Jade Spring True Person's junior brother and an inner disciple of the Anyang Sect in the Central Province. Jade Spring True Person had joined the sect earlier and possessed greater talent, yet his cultivation progressed more slowly than Yu Xuzi's. Less than three hundred years after becoming their master's disciple, Yu Xuzi had caught up with Jade Spring True Person and earned their master's deep favor.

The two had a junior sister named Luo Fei, a striking beauty whose loveliness could move the heart. Jade Spring True Person had always loved her in secret, but Yu Xuzi had grown up with her. The two were childhood sweethearts, their hearts in harmony. They had even agreed that once Yu Xuzi successfully formed his nascent soul, they would hold a dual cultivation ceremony and bind their lives in marriage.

Jade Spring True Person envied his junior brother's swift progress and hated him even more for winning their junior sister's heart. He wanted to get rid of him. After Yu Xuzi formed his nascent soul, Yuquan invited him to travel and gain experience, visiting famed mountains far and wide. He lured Yu Xuzi into a trap he had prepared beforehand and ambushed him.

Yuquan had originally intended to kill him, but because he had not obtained Yu Xuzi's cultivation secret, he had no choice but to imprison him here. More vicious still, he not only imprisoned Yu Xuzi's body but also sealed his soul with a secret art, preventing him from possessing another body or entering the cycle of reincarnation.

Xu Qingtong reflected inwardly that it was fortunate Jade Spring True Person had sealed the man's soul. Otherwise, he might well have lost his life here.

After sealing his junior brother, Jade Spring True Person disguised this place as the Primordial Forbidden Land to conceal his deeds and laid down formations to keep others from entering.

Only after a long while did Yu Xuzi finally finish his story in fits and starts. Xu Qingtong waited a moment, then, seeing that he had fallen silent, asked, "Senior Yu Xuzi, you called me here. What can I do to help you?"

Yu Xuzi remained motionless, as though asleep. After a while, he said softly, "You have four spiritual roots, don't you? Of the five elements, you lack metal. You're a little better off than I am."

Xu Qingtong was left dazed, his head buzzing. His aptitude with four spiritual roots was still a little better than this old man's? Could he have all five spirit roots?

Sure enough, Yu Xuzi continued, "I possess all five spirit roots and was originally a hopeless waste when it came to cultivation. By chance, I obtained an ancient cultivation art called the Five Elixirs Origin Refinement Art, which was precisely suited to those with five spirit roots. That is the greatest secret behind why my cultivation surpassed my senior brother's. He always wanted to obtain it, but never got his wish."

At the words "Five Elixirs Origin Refinement Art," Xu Qingtong's mind reeled, and he stood rooted to the spot. Wasn't that the very art he cultivated? Only, he had just the Qi Refining Stage portion and had been worrying over where to find the rest!

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Senior, I also cultivate the Five Elixirs Origin Refinement Art. I wonder whether it is the same one you mentioned?"

Yu Xuzi was also taken aback by Xu Qingtong's words. "How could you possibly have the Five Elixirs Origin Refinement Art?"

Xu Qingtong replied, "My uncle's Fifth Ancestor was named Chen Yuanhua. He was said to have been an Immortal's medicine-refining attendant. The art I cultivate was left behind by Ancestor Yuanhua."

Yu Xuzi managed a strained smile. "So you are a descendant of that boy Yuanhua. What a fated connection! When I taught him this art, I repeatedly warned him not to pass it on. To think the boy left it to his descendants after all. Still, it is fortunate that he did. Otherwise, my injustice would truly have remained buried here."

After saying this, Yu Xuzi fell still. Half an incense stick's worth of time passed before he seemed to come back to himself and slowly said, "I doubt I can hold on much longer, so I'll keep this brief. Are you willing to take me as your master?"