The Master of the Mysterious Truth Sect

Little Sweet Mountain lay where the three kingdoms of Rong, Cinnabar Millet, and Zheng met. With eleven peaks, nine great cliff ridges, and twenty waterfall pools, it had once ranked among the four hundred famed mountains of the vast Southern Territory of Eastern Maitreya Province.

Its beautiful scenery and natural wonders needed no further elaboration.

As for the sect headquarters, when the master of the Mysterious Truth Sect had established his foundation here thirty years ago, he had created five offices-the Discipline Office, Merit Office, Service Office, Spirit-Raising Office, and Elder Office-to oversee the sect's various affairs.

When Chen Heng arrived at the Service Office on Moon-Returning Peak, four or five hundred people stood scattered across a plaza spacious enough to accommodate a thousand.

Looking into the distance, he could see numerous Daoists descending from high above on their true qi. Radiance of every color intertwined and flowed, like fiery trees blooming with silver flowers, a splendid sight indeed.

"Sorry for the trouble of bringing me here, senior sister." Chen Heng bowed to the graceful female cultivator beside him.

Brilliant violet-blue true qi enveloped her from head to toe. Her sinuous figure, like that of a beautiful serpent, flickered in and out of view like flowers glimpsed through mist, making her all the more alluring.

With his own pace, Chen Heng might not have reached Moon-Returning Peak from Sunset-Glow Peak, where he lived, even if he walked from noon until dark.

Chen Heng had intended to wait for Xu Zhi to give him a lift, but before he had taken more than a few steps, this female cultivator had smilingly swept him to her side with her true qi, leaving him unable to escape.

Fortunately, the beautiful cultivator bore him no ill will.

With circumstances stronger than he was, Chen Heng could only resign himself to her whims.

"You really are handsome when you smile, martial nephew. No, even when you don't smile, you're handsome beyond compare... No wonder Yan Zhen went to such lengths for you..."

Chen Heng wore a moon-white robe that day, with a black-and-gold crane cloak over it against the biting mountain wind. In his loose robes and broad sleeves, he stood like a crane among chickens even amid hundreds of Daoists. His bearing was far from ordinary, distinguished by an airy grace that seemed to transcend the mortal world.

As the female cultivator studied his striking features, her throat shifted slightly, and her gaze grew more ardent.

"Do you know my name, martial nephew? Remember it: I'm Yu Wanchou. If you can't hold out in the Earth Abyss, you can call on me anytime."

The noisy, bustling plaza fell briefly silent when Chen Heng appeared.

Seeing this, reluctant though she was, Yu Wanchou could only press a Message-Carrying Jade Tablet into Chen Heng's palm, give him a gentle smile, and leave.

A Message-Carrying Jade Tablet?

Chen Heng put the jade tablet away. Suddenly, a chill shot up his spine, as though some predatory beast had fixed its eyes on him.

He turned to look.

Amid the crowd stood a man in yellow robes, his sharp eyebrows sweeping into his temples. He stared fixedly at Chen Heng, his face contorted, naked killing intent almost spilling from him.

Yan Ping?

Chen Heng glanced at him and gave a cold, scornful smile.

Enraged by this contemptuous attitude, Yan Ping's true qi erupted, like a furious wind whipping up raging waves.

But beneath everyone's watching eyes, however much he wished to send a flying sword at Chen Heng and cut his corpse into ten thousand pieces, he could only forcibly suppress his murderous intent. His face livid, he turned his head away, his lips trembling.

Chen Heng could not be bothered with him. He found a sheltered spot, wrapped his cloak tightly around himself, and closed his eyes, remaining still.

About half an incense stick's time passed.

Once nearly all the Mysterious Truth Sect Daoists who had received talisman writs had gathered, a thunderclap suddenly burst across the heavens. Within a few breaths, the Jade-Green Heavenly Palace descended.

Inside the palace, the three great elders-Yan Feichen, Gu Jun, and High Person Chengji-sat in their appointed seats. Deep within the palace, a handsome young man sat cross-legged on the Black Crane Cloud Couch.

The young man's nose was straight and full, his eyebrows swept into his temples, and his fair skin was as smooth as an infant's. He looked around twenty-five or twenty-six. Dressed in jade-colored robes, a python-patterned belt, and a tall purple-gold crown, he looked less like a cultivator than a wealthy prince of some mortal dynasty.

"Greetings, Sect Master and elders."

The Mysterious Truth Sect Daoists below all cupped their hands and bowed toward the Jade-Green Heavenly Palace.

"Those who have come to Moon-Returning Peak today have all received Earth Abyss talisman writs from the Service Office. That place is the Place of Absolute Yin. Its dangers and prohibitions have all been listed in the Daoist texts, so I will not repeat them."

The young man on the Black Crane Cloud Couch chuckled. At that slight movement, he seemed like a great sun descending from the clouds, divine radiance filling the sky in a shimmering blaze.

His deep, resonant voice reached the hundreds of Daoists below as clearly as though he spoke beside their ears:

"I have come here today to say only one thing.

Anyone who hunts down either a yin horse or human-faced ganoderma for me will receive three hundred merit points, eight thousand talisman coins, eight Middle Vehicle Dao Arts, and three taels of jade marrow. I place no upper limit on these offerings. Naturally, the more the better-as many as you can find!"

As his words fell, boundless dragon-tiger primordial truth rose from the crown of his head, enveloping his body and circulating without cease. A single glance was enough to reveal its wondrous nature.

"Go."

The young man pointed, and fine strands separated from the dragon-tiger primordial truth above his head, settling onto the red cords around the wrists of the hundreds of Daoists present.

Chen Heng felt the red cord on his wrist tremble. A pure, gentle warmth immediately flowed into him, warming his body, which had grown slightly stiff in the mountain wind.

Even the cold dipper true qi within him slowed for a moment.

"Marvelous! Marvelous! As expected of a sect master from the Shangyu Ai, a lofty and illustrious lineage-your family's learning is truly vast! This art of transferring qi is something this old Daoist can only admit himself inferior to!"

Inside the celestial palace, High Person Yuanji, whose long beard reached the floor, clapped in admiration, squeezing a flattering expression onto his round, plump face.

Even someone as proud and unruly as Yan Feichen froze for a moment, an unfathomable light shifting in his eyes.

Although he too had attained the First Realm of Profound Mystery-the Dragon-Tiger Furnace-

He still lacked the strength to divide his primordial truth into so many strands in a single breath.

Judging by this, the lad has done more than draw in the five essences. He has likely already condensed innate golden mercury. Even the golden core cannot be far off!

Without betraying anything, Yan Feichen clenched his trembling hand.

That being the case, the plan they had originally agreed upon would have to undergo a few changes.

"I have given each of you a strand of the dragon-tiger primordial truth nurtured within me, lodging it in your red cords. With it in hand, you will command a measure of fear from the ordinary yin spirits and demonic ghosts in the Earth Abyss."

The young man swept his sleeve again. Streaks of light containing pills and talisman coins descended from the palace eaves like a thousand falling stars.

Chen Heng caught the streak of light flying toward him. When he saw the pills held in two white porcelain bottles, relief eased his heart.

"At next year's summer solstice, when clear yang is rising and murky yin is ebbing, I will personally arrange for you to be escorted into the Earth Abyss."

Another thunderclap erupted.

The Jade-Green Heavenly Palace suddenly soared away, leaping atop clouds ten thousand fathoms high. Only the young man's voice remained, echoing there long afterward.

After returning to his cave abode and bidding farewell to Xu Zhi, who had made a special trip to bring him back,

Chen Heng closed the doors, settled onto his meditation cushion to regulate his breathing, and poured out a Small White Sun Pill.

The pill was no larger than a broad bean, yet it produced a faint burning sensation in his palm. An unusual medicinal fragrance emanated from it, difficult to put into words.

He studied it for a moment, then hesitated no longer. He dropped it into a cup of clear water and drank it down in one swallow.