Cao Jinxing entered the Secret Vault again, already familiar with the routine. He went straight for the catalog of sixth-grade palm techniques and began reading, still scanning ten lines at a glance as the pages rustled.
No one else in the entire Pacification Commission could read at that speed.
The old Taoist sighed, opened his eyes, and saw that it really was him. He smiled. "What merit have you earned this time?"
"Caught a few remnants of the Hehuan Sect," Cao Jinxing answered casually, his hands never stopping.
"Good work!"
The old Taoist bristled with righteous indignation. "Anyone who practices harvesting others' essence deserves to die! 'Let your own blood and essence unite; the husband and wife within the body work wonders.' Dual cultivation originally meant cultivating both one's spiritual nature and vital force-the great path of solitary, pure cultivation! Those deviants twisted it into vulgar bedroom arts!"
"Quite right..."
Cao Jinxing offered a couple of idle words of agreement. He knew little about the subject and could not be bothered to learn.
As he flipped through the pages, he suddenly spotted three very familiar characters. His expression turned strange. "Senior, what's the story with this...?"
The old Taoist leaned over to look. "The Cloud-Discharging Palm. A supreme technique of the Three-Extremities Elder from the Northern Song."
His memory was astonishing, and he immediately launched into an explanation. "He was said to possess three supreme arts: fist, palm, and leg techniques. Only the complete palm technique and half the fist technique survive today. The Liaodong Frostless Gate's Frostless Fist Manual was developed from that half of the Heavenly Frost Fist, building on the old to create a new supreme art. Not bad. It suits you well."
Cao Jinxing was speechless. "..."
The developers had cut corners, hadn't they!
They had definitely cut corners!
This was a blatant copy!
Shameless!
"I'll take this one."
After receiving the manual and "reading" it for two hours, Cao Jinxing returned the book and went back to the inner hall. Liu Zhenyuan was already waiting.
He knew how terrifying Cao Jinxing's comprehension was, and he also knew why Cao Jinxing had deliberately stalled for two hours. He therefore said nothing about it and went straight to the point.
"Do you know what concerns His Majesty most?" Liu Zhenyuan asked.
Puzzled, Cao Jinxing thought for a moment and gave the standard answer. "The threats along the northwestern border, the Japanese pirates in the southeast, and unrest in certain regions, I suppose."
"I'll give you another chance to answer."
"..."
Looking at Liu Zhenyuan's half-smiling face, which all but said, "Who are you trying to fool?" Cao Jinxing had no choice but to add another universally known concern. "And attaining immortality, achieving the Dao, and living forever."
"Correct."
Liu Zhenyuan said, "Great generals guard the borders, while Hu Zongxian and Qi Jiguang oversee the southeast. As for local unrest, it is no more than a minor irritation, nothing worth worrying about. His Majesty's only true concern is longevity."
Cao Jinxing began to understand why he had said, "Once you accomplish it, no one will have anything to say."
It seemed this matter involved Jiajing.
If he completed the task and pleased the emperor, a promotion and pay raise would be assured. Whatever suspicions or resentment others harbored, they would have to swallow them!
That was only the first layer.
There was a second, deeper meaning.
Cao Jinxing sincerely cupped his fist. "Thank you, sir."
Liu Zhenyuan was gratified.
Speaking with clever people saved so much trouble.
He was also helping Cao Jinxing secure a powerful backer. As long as Cao Jinxing completed the task and left his name in Jiajing's memory, no one would dare move against him lightly, however unsociable he was or however much envy he provoked.
"Don't thank me just yet."
Liu Zhenyuan said, "This won't be easy. Think it over carefully."
"No need."
Cao Jinxing smiled. "Fortune is won through risk. I still want to learn better martial arts and take better spiritual medicines. How could I let an opportunity slip by? Besides, killing me... won't be that easy."
Below Tongyou, I fear no one.
Above Tongyou... even if I can't beat them, surely I can run?
"Very good."
Liu Zhenyuan immediately took out a sheet of paper and handed it to him. "This mission is strictly confidential. Depart at once for Black Tortoise Mountain in Luoyang. The Taiyi Gate has secretly captured an exotic beast, a Millennium Fire Tortoise, and wishes to present it to His Majesty. Go and bring it back."
"A Millennium Fire Tortoise?"
"Correct. The inner core in its belly can cure all illnesses and increase one's cultivation. If refined into pills with spiritual medicines, it can even restore youth-"
What?
Cao Jinxing's head snapped up.
No wonder this mission was difficult. If word got out, how many people would fight over it?
"There's no need to be so startled."
Liu Zhenyuan glanced at him. "Your knowledge is still limited. In time, you'll understand that this world has no shortage of techniques that preserve youth forever. Never aging is easy; never dying is hard. What makes the Fire Tortoise precious is its ability to extend one's lifespan."
Cao Jinxing thought that made sense.
He had almost forgotten this was a world of extraordinarily powerful martial arts. The Illusory Jade Skill alone could preserve Yaoyue's and Lianxing's youth forever. This world could hardly lack martial arts of the same caliber.
Besides, fetching something with truly heaven-defying effects would never fall to him.
"You needn't belittle yourself either."
Seeing what he was thinking, Liu Zhenyuan sighed. "A high cultivation realm isn't entirely a blessing. Countless eyes watch every move we make. If we went, we would only create more complications and draw out some old monsters."
True enough.
Cao Jinxing nodded. "Understood, sir."
Liu Zhenyuan said, "Go quickly, and return quickly!"
"Yes, sir."
Cao Jinxing left the inner hall and had someone tell Su Yunsheng and Sun Lang to study hard and take their time in the Secret Vault. He had a mission and would be traveling far.
Two days later.
On the official road in Luoyang.
A blood-sweating horse came racing along!
Its hooves struck the paving stones with explosive cracks!
Its rider carried himself with imposing confidence. He wore a billowing black cloak and a bamboo hat that concealed his figure. Beneath that black outer layer were unmistakably a Flying Fish Uniform and an Embroidered Spring Saber.
"Finally here."
For the three hundredth time on the journey, Cao Jinxing lamented, "Traveling on horseback is such a fucking hassle! I really miss flying."
He reined in his horse.
Cao Jinxing looked up. Beneath the blue sky and white clouds, Black Tortoise Mountain stood in the distance.
Before coming, he had searched the records archive for relevant information. Black Tortoise Mountain was extraordinary, with two peaks, six caves, and nine pools. Lush woods covered its slopes, and streams murmured through its valleys. Together, they formed a wonderfully enchanting landscape.
Places blessed with such natural splendor were especially likely to produce rare treasures, naturally making them prized territory over which sects competed openly and in secret.
The Taiyi Gate had offered the Fire Tortoise because it hoped to gain imperial backing and preserve its ancestral foundation. Its situation was dire!
Two sects occupied Black Tortoise Mountain: the Taiyi Gate on the eastern peak and the Ten-Thousand Snakes Cave on the western peak.
The former had a long lineage, its martial arts originating among the meritorious nobility of the Song dynasty, and its swordsmanship was superb. The latter was a branch of the Five Poisons, possessing secret arts for driving and controlling snakes, and excelling in poison techniques.
The two sects had fought for years. One despised unorthodox practices and was determined to drive the other out; the other wanted to expand its snake-rearing territory and raise more venomous creatures. Gradually, their conflict became a generational feud.
In martial arts alone, the Taiyi Gate held an overwhelming advantage, but the Ten-Thousand Snakes Cave had superior poison arts, and its snake-control methods were bizarre and unpredictable. In a fight to the death, the outcome would be difficult to predict.
Recently, however, the Ten-Thousand Snakes Cave seemed to have acquired some secret weapon, frightening the Taiyi Gate into action.
Its leader, Pei Yangchun, did not even dare enjoy the Millennium Fire Tortoise already within his grasp. Under the pretext of presenting it to the emperor, he sought imperial protection.
Cao Jinxing's second purpose in coming here was to lend them a hand.
After all, having accepted their gift, some gesture was due. As for who was right and who was wrong... they were not common civilians, and judging disputes was not the Pacification Commission's concern. By the rules of the martial world, whoever was strongest had the final say!
Before you continue