Amid drifting cloudlight, the three arrived at the Wang family's grand residence in the city.
The magnificent estate surpassed even the Lin family's; calling them the wealthiest family in Lingcheng County would have been no exaggeration.
Ao Ding's left eye had yet to close, and he looked up at the fortune above the Wang residence.
He could faintly see red clouds coiled in the likeness of a tiger, pinning all manner of wealth beneath them.
At the sight, Old Daoist Qi said bitterly, "Back then, I located and awakened the 'Crouching Tiger Cave' for their ancestor, then used the 'Nine Dragons Golden Needle Feng Shui Great Art' to borrow a century of wealth for his family. Who could have known..."
Thinking of what he had suffered afterward, fury surged within him.
Sun Chen studied the fortune for a while, then calculated on his fingers before releasing Old Daoist Qi's restraints with a pointing finger.
"Go. Take back everything you gave the Wang family back then. Remember, you must not hurt the innocent."
He's just letting me go?
Old Daoist Qi could hardly follow his thinking.
Ao Ding's expression changed too. "Senior, Wang Mao does have some friendship with us... isn't this... rather inappropriate?"
"That's why I'm only letting him take back what he ought to take back." Sun Chen said no more. With a push of his hand, he sent Old Daoist Qi into the Wang residence.
He was a Mysterious Gang cultivator, after all. The Wang family had no power to resist as the old Daoist retrieved, one by one, the golden needles and compasses he had buried back then. Several members of the Wang family did summon servants to stop him, but mindful of Sun Chen and Ao Ding nearby, Old Daoist Qi merely rendered those servants and maids unconscious, while breaking both legs of several direct descendants.
Seeing that Sun Chen still said nothing and merely stood silently outside the Wang residence, Old Daoist Qi grew bolder and even ran to Crouching Tiger Cave to blow up the Wang family's ancestral graves.
Sun Chen took it all in, then said unhurriedly to Ao Ding, "Boy, learn this well-I brought you to watch precisely to teach you through this affair. We who cultivate truth and seek immortality may remain indifferent to fame and fortune, live free and unfettered, and let go of grudges. But if you seek revenge, do it cleanly and decisively. Repay hatred with vengeance and settle grievances, but never implicate the innocent. If you cannot manage that and insist on slaughtering an entire city, the six sects will inevitably hunt you down-you'll find no road into heaven and no gate into the earth!"
Normally, these principles of conduct should have been taught and impressed upon him by his sect elders after he entered an immortal sect.
Unfortunately, Ao Ding had remained outside even the Seven Spirits Sect's outer courtyard, and Sun Chen had whisked him away before Wang Weilong could take him as a disciple.
Feeling that he bore some responsibility, Sun Chen dared not put off this lesson until Ao Ding formally found a master. Instead, he simply found a case and taught him personally.
"In the future, if you encounter someone suffering misfortune and reduced to Old Daoist Qi's plight, don't foolishly rush in to help personally. Let them settle their own karma. As a fellow cultivator of the immortal sects, you need only stand by and watch out of a little fellowship. If you roll up your sleeves and charge in yourself, whose revenge is it-his or yours?"
Knowing where to draw the line was extremely important.
Ao Ding watched Old Daoist Qi setting fires at the Wang family's ancestral graves in the distance and turned these words over repeatedly in his mind.
When Old Daoist Qi returned, some of the viciousness had faded from his expression. He cupped his hands and thanked Sun Chen.
"Thank you for showing mercy, fellow Daoist, and allowing me to-"
"Not so fast. Save your thanks-your vengeance is done, and now your debts must be settled."
Sun Chen swept his right hand, and a scarlet thunderbolt split open the ground.
"Turbid world of the Yellow Springs, dark gate of profound yin... by Taiyi's decree, open!"
The ground rumbled, exposing a blood-red passage before the three.
Old Daoist Qi went deathly pale, dimly recalling the warning that extraordinary man had given him when he was learning his arts:
"When you practice the arts of landscape and feng shui in the future, you must abide by discipline and uphold morality. Otherwise, your name shall find its place beneath Heavenly Prison."
"Heavenly Prison? You're sending me to Heavenly Prison?" Old Daoist Qi looked horrified, his body trembling uncontrollably.
"I'm merely throwing you into the Ghost Gate for the ghost officers from Heavenly Prison to take over. Don't worry-however many sinful debts you incurred practicing plague-spreading arts, Heavenly Prison will give you a fair judgment. They can even help judge your grievances with the Wang family's ancestor."
Sun Chen then fetched paper and a brush and handed them to Old Daoist Qi.
"I'll dictate. You write."
Though unwilling, Old Daoist Qi obediently wrote out two documents.
One was a complaint against Old Daoist Qi, written from Ao Ding's perspective, describing how he had seen Old Daoist Qi committing evil outside the city, intervened to stop him, and brought him to the Ghost Gate.
Old Daoist Qi's hand trembled as he wrote this complaint. Several times he wanted to stop, but beneath Sun Chen's cold, stern gaze, he had no choice but to write the accusation against himself.
The other was a letter admonishing the Wang family in Old Daoist Qi's voice.
"Your ancestors committed evil and owed me a debt. In this life, retribution has come: your wealth and fortune shall scatter, and they shall know no peace after death. Yet you descendants are pitiable and are not, after all, my enemies of old. One path to survival remains."
In Old Daoist Qi's voice, it urged the Wang descendants to do good, accumulate virtue, and rebuild their family's fortune.
He was even less willing to write this than the complaint.
The Wang descendants?
They all deserved to die!
"Hmph. If they bear a grudge against you in the future, you will naturally be justified in seeking repayment from them. But the good ties they have accumulated over the past century may also be repaid."
Sun Chen patted Ao Ding and pointed nearby.
As news of the Wang family's disaster spread, the He family, the Lin family, and old acquaintances from their past dealings came one after another to help.
"It's true their ancestors committed evil, and it's also true they have accumulated virtue now. Debts being collected on one side, kindness being repaid on the other-the karma here is tangled like hemp rope. Why should we become involved?"
That was why they had to leave a document in Old Daoist Qi's voice, allowing them to understand the causes and consequences.
Ao Ding silently reflected on this way of handling matters.
In the future, whether more people come to collect debts from the Wang family or repay kindness will have nothing to do with us. If they have done enough good and accumulated enough virtue, they will naturally survive. If they have incurred too much sin and habitually done too much evil, someone will naturally take their lives at a time like this.
Seeing that Ao Ding understood, Sun Chen smiled faintly and pushed with his hand. Old Daoist Qi struggled as he fell into the netherworld passage and vanished in an instant.
Ao Ding stared at the fissure in the ground.
His left eye could see Yinluo Hell and the Ghost Kingdom beyond it.
Sun Chen passed his hand over it again, making the fissure disappear, and explained to Ao Ding:
"Heavenly Prison is where the six immortal sects imprison criminals. If someone makes a mistake within their own sect, punishment within the sect generally suffices. But certain grave crimes cannot be dealt with privately-murdering fellow cultivators, colluding with evil demons, slaughtering the common people, and so forth. The six sects established the 'Ten Directions Prison' specifically to judge and deal with such cases. As for Rogue Cultivators of the immortal path like Old Daoist Qi, with no sect to deal with them, they are sent straight to Heavenly Prison."
Sun Chen's tone grew unusually stern. "You must take this as a warning! Though we immortals act freely, there are lines we must never cross. Otherwise, if you end up in Heavenly Prison, you truly will cry to heaven without an answer and call to earth without a response."
Ao Ding nodded silently, but could not help asking, "Old Daoist Qi... how long will his sentence be?"
"I don't know, and I won't ask. What does his karma have to do with us? We will neither save nor harm him. We leave everything to Heavenly Prison's judgment," Sun Chen said calmly. "If you're curious, you can inquire when you visit Heavenly Prison in the future."
Visit Heavenly Prison?
Ao Ding gave two dry chuckles. He had only asked in passing.
He was perfectly fine-a peerlessly handsome, dashing, clever, kind young man. What would he go there for?
"Don't get the wrong idea. What I mean is that I have selected three True Persons of the Guangfa Sect as candidates to recommend you internally. One serves at this continent's Heavenly Prison and goes by 'Yin Qiuzi.' After keeping vigil for me for three years, you may take my letter to Heavenly Prison and pay your respects. When the time comes, this affair with Old Daoist Qi will serve as a stepping stone for you. Senior Brother Yin Qiuzi is upright. Once he learns that you happened upon Old Daoist Qi committing evil and attempting to harm an entire city's people, and stepped forward to stop him, he will have a better impression of you."
Ao Ding froze.
Senior Sun had actually thought this far ahead?
"Of course, whether you go to Heavenly Prison is something you can consider yourself later. I'll leave you five letters. Three can introduce you to the immortal residences of three Guangfa Sect True Persons, and the other two are for orthodox Daoist branches of the Guangfa Sect. Who you seek out is up to you. Let fate take its course."
But leaving things to fate was one thing; preparing beforehand was another.
Of those three True Persons, one hated evil as his mortal enemy and was unbendingly upright. The affair with Old Daoist Qi could leave a good impression. Another loved drinking; once Lin Bai's father, or even Lin Bai himself, practiced their family's wine arts and brewed fine wine, Ao Ding could take some along to build a relationship. As for the third True Person... he was an "eccentric" fond of researching curse arts. Sun Chen could not hold a congenial conversation with him, but believed Ao Ding should be very much to his taste.
"Also, memorize this 'Yin-Falling Curse' of mine. It is a curse art that opens the yin and yang realms and locates the Ghost Gate. Don't attempt it now... wait until you have an opportunity in the future, with a teacher beside you. This curse... the slightest carelessness can tear apart the yin and yang realms and unleash hordes of ghosts and monsters into the human world."
After some hesitation, Sun Chen lowered his voice again.
"If you encounter serious trouble and cannot escape, there's no harm in using it. Draw the Ghost Gate's attention. Once the ghost immortals of our six sects serving there notice, never mind whether they save you-as long as they see, anyone seeking to harm you will have to weigh the terror of the 'Ten Directions Heavenly Prison.'"
This was a last-resort means of preserving his life.
After saying this, Sun Chen could not help feeling a little wistful as he thought of his own master.
Back then, when Master secretly whispered this advice to me, he must have felt much the same, mustn't he?
-Unleashing ghosts and monsters into the human world is indeed a great calamity. But... compared with all that trouble, your master cares more about your life.
Ao Ding committed it to memory earnestly.
Next, Sun Chen led Ao Ding back to the site of the battle outside the city and instructed him to clean up the wreckage strewn everywhere.
"Clear away all the evil energy, Killing Intent, and your True Heaven Golden Gang! Especially that fellow's plague toxins and pestilential energy-leave none of it behind. This is right outside the city gates. Don't let mortals come to harm. In the future, remember to clean up the battlefield when you fight others outside. Leaving a mess everywhere is no different from wild beasts marking their territory with stinking piss. Utterly immoral... oh, I mean go back and clean up if you win. If you lose, just run. Why would you stay there?"
Ao Ding said nothing and simply worked hard.
He was deeply grateful for what Sun Chen had done today.
According to their earlier agreement, Sun Chen only needed to give Ao Ding half his possessions and teach him some Daoist arts.
But Sun Chen had done far more than teach him Daoist arts lately. How to conduct himself, how to handle affairs, how to survive in the cultivation world-he had broken everything down into the finest detail... laying out one factual example after another to show him what was the righteous path and what was right.
Such painstaking care was probably found only in a true master-disciple lineage in the cultivation world.
Watching Ao Ding clean up the battlefield, Sun Chen let out a long breath.
The Qingji repaying kindness had shown Ao Ding the principle that "good deeds and accumulated virtue will surely bring blessings."
Old Daoist Qi's affair had taught Ao Ding how to handle matters when he could not decide in the future: knock on the Ghost Gate and ask it to adjudicate disputes.
Even the "Hundred-Curse Fortune-Gathering Secret Rite," for if he failed to find a master in the Guangfa Sect, had already been laid out.
What else was needed next?
Sun Chen calculated inwardly: Curse arts-I'll teach him gradually over the remaining days... if necessary, I'll use mind-transmission to stuff all twenty-four chapters of orthodox methods and five hundred curse arts I've comprehended into his Niwan Palace. Artifact refining-I've already begun guiding him. Once we return to the tomb... with his aptitude, he should more or less be able to refine magical artifacts. Alchemy? I won't teach that. There's little point; he can buy pills from the Jade Cauldron Sect later. Haven't I already arranged things for Lu Xiu? That will be a connection in the future.
Feeling he had overlooked nothing, Sun Chen took Ao Ding back to the inn.
Early the next morning, Ao Ding, Sun Chen, and Lu Xiu checked out and left.
"Come, summon the Qingji yourself and have them take Lu Xiu to the Heavenly Stone Sect."
With a sweep of the wooden staff and a faint flash of spiritual light, a familiar group of Qingji ran out of the ground and crowded around Ao Ding, chattering their greetings.
Sun Chen nodded inwardly.
Good, he's already quite proficient. This child has a great talent for curse arts. There's no need to worry that he won't be able to summon Qingji for transport when he travels alone in the future.
Sun Chen handed a pill to the little old man leading them. "Sorry for the trouble. Please take Lu Xiu to the Heavenly Stone Sect."
After a moment's thought, he took out a jade talisman and handed it to the Qingji as well.
"Once you deliver him safely, simply crush this. I'll sense it then. If anything happens on the road, take him to the Jade Cauldron Sect."
Though he was not as close to him as to Ao Ding, Sun Chen had also guided Lu Xiu onto the Dao and bore some responsibility as the one who had imparted the path.
Finally, he handed Lu Xiu two letters.
"One letter is for your elder in the Heavenly Stone Sect. The other is for you to take to the Jade Cauldron Sect and seek an audience with the True Person named in it, should you fail to become a disciple of the Heavenly Stone Sect. He is a junior brother of mine with whom I've long been on friendly terms. Once he sees my letter, he will look after you."
"Thank you, Senior."
Lu Xiu thanked him solemnly, then went over to bid Ao Ding farewell.
Humm-
Kan water manifested, Xun wind rose, and the Qingji's little carriage traveled far away along the road.
Watching their receding figures, Sun Chen grew somewhat reflective.
"When I first met that boy, I considered having Lu Xiu help too. But then I thought it over-my estate wouldn't be enough to divide between you. So I simply gave him some guidance, leaving you a good connection for your future cultivation. Lin Bai is another good connection I've left you. If you have the opportunity in the future, you can continue strengthening those friendships."
Lu Xiu absolutely had the potential to rank among the Jade Cauldron Sect's True Disciples. When the time came, once Ao Ding had achieved success cultivating in the Guangfa Sect, he would have another fellow disciple with whom he shared a bond.
Was that not just like Sun Chen himself and the Seven Spirits Sect's previous sect master, whose friendship had begun in their younger days?
"All right, we've bought the cultivation supplies and covered the lessons in life I needed to teach you. Next, we're going to my tomb."
"Shall I summon another Qingji carriage?"
"Haha-on the way back, there's no need to conserve magical power anymore. Come, let me show you just what Divine Abilities a True Person possesses."
Sun Chen drew a deep breath and seized Ao Ding's arm.
"Hold tight!"
A streak of golden light shot into the heavens, roaring like a golden dragon in flight, crossing a thousand li in an instant...
Before you continue