Chapter 116: Chapter 5: Life is Unpredictable

In a private room on the second floor of Jinhuai Prefecture’s Daoist Scripture Hall.

Wang Ping was browsing the Daoist Scripture Hall’s collection of books on the history, culture, and biological evolution of ancient times. Some were translated texts, others were records of new discoveries, and still others were materials gathered by Qi Cultivators who explored ancient ruins out of interest.

The Daoist Scripture Hall had even set up a special exchange program for such materials to encourage cultivators to pursue exploration and archaeology.

These records documented many skeletal remains of ancient creatures. Some possessed energy fields, much like the skeleton at the bottom of Baisui Lake, while others were merely ordinary bones.

While Wang Ping leafed through the documents, Yu Lian perched on his shoulder, her vertical pupils fixed curiously on the book’s contents. Hu Qianqian, meanwhile, was reading a chronicle from a previous dynasty. Having started out sitting primly, she had at some point slumped against the chair’s armrest, her feet dangling and swinging back and forth.

「Two hours later.」

Wang Ping finally found a record describing something similar to the skeleton at the bottom of Baisui Lake. An Entering Cultivator had made the discovery in the waters east of Hai Zhou Road, finding over fifty skeletons at once, all located in a giant chasm on the seafloor.

The Entering Cultivator had also sketched a rough approximation of the species’ appearance based on the skeletons. The drawing depicted what looked like a giant bird, but with the head of a colossal snake, six eyes, four wings, and four legs.

Some of this was conjecture. The four wings and four legs were inferred from the shape of the skeletons, and the avian body was likely correct as well. However, the giant snake’s head and six eyes were purely imaginative additions.

In the final notes, the Daoist Scripture Hall specifically pointed out that the creature’s skeleton possessed an overwhelming chilling energy. A warning, written in red ink, cautioned cultivators against fusing with or absorbing this energy, lest their souls be damaged.

The creature had been given a very distinct name: Ping Shanjun.

It sounded like a title bestowed upon it by the Daoist Scripture Hall.

"According to the records in the Mystic Sect’s ’Inner Canon,’ all spiritual species that currently exist in the world evolved from ancient wonders." Wang Ping’s gaze turned to Yu Lian. "Do you have any inherited memories about this?"

"None!" Yu Lian answered firmly.

"Those records are probably correct. My kind, the Fox Demons, have similar accounts," Hu Qianqian replied lazily, still lounging in her chair. Then, as if remembering something, she shot upright under Wang Ping’s gaze and sat properly, like a misbehaving child.

Wang Ping ignored Hu Qianqian’s impolite posture and picked up the records from Wudao Prefecture. He quickly found the entry on Baisui Lake. Sure enough, the colossal corpse at the lakebed was no secret. It was even specially noted that absorbing the energy source at the bottom of the lake would bind one’s soul to the skeleton. ’No wonder everyone knows Bai Zhuo can’t leave Baisui Lake for extended periods.’

Upon seeing the record, Yu Lian couldn’t help but comment, "Bai Zhuo must have been truly determined. Absorbing that energy is tantamount to imprisoning himself..."

Hu Qianqian chimed in, "What’s so surprising about that? In the Snowfield, some old Monks who are nearing the end of their lives and are unwilling to pass on simply lock themselves in a secret chamber to meditate. They can stay like that for centuries."

"But doesn’t Buddhism in the Snowfield focus on the next life? Why would they be afraid to pass on?" Yu Lian asked.

"I don’t know."

As they chattered, Wang Ping gathered the borrowed documents, stood up, and headed for the door. Hu Qianqian immediately donned her signature conical hat and followed him.

Pushing open the door, a Qi Cultivator assigned to serve him was waiting outside. He was a man who looked to be around twenty years old. He respectfully took the books Wang Ping and Hu Qianqian were returning, then said with a smile, "Daoist Changqing, someone from the Treasure Pavilion just came to report that there’s news about the water-control spiritual artifact you were looking for."

"What kind of artifact is it?" Yu Lian interjected with a question. Over the past few years, she had often accompanied Wang Ping to the Daoist Scripture Hall and was no longer as reserved as she was at first.

"I heard a member of the Water Race in Lishui Prefecture failed to transform into a dragon. Someone used his residual bloodline energy to refine a Water-Control Pearl. It can help a Water Spirit Cultivator enhance their ability to control water."

"What’s the asking price?"

"Two hundred thousand taels of silver."

"That expensive?"

"It’s precisely because it’s so expensive that the news reached us. Otherwise, it would have been bought long ago by the cultivators in Lishui Prefecture."

That made sense. The Southeast Sea Region was home to many Water Spirit Cultivators, so a water-control treasure would surely be in high demand. But at a price of two hundred thousand taels, ordinary cultivators couldn’t possibly afford it, while those who could likely wouldn’t be interested in it.

"What are the artifact’s specific effects?"

"It increases water spiritual sensitivity by twenty percent... but it requires a very sensitive soul."

Yu Lian’s eyes lit up, but she didn’t say anything. After all, two hundred thousand taels was a bit steep. Wang Ping’s eyes also lit up, and he asked, "Can I see it first?"

"With your status in the Daoist Scripture Hall, you may. However, you’ll need to pay a handling fee of one thousand taels first. This is for the transportation cost."

"No problem."

Led by the Qi Cultivator, Wang Ping immediately went to the Treasure Pavilion and paid the one thousand tael fee. He then had a new identity token made for Hu Qianqian, assigning her to Qianmu Temple and registering her under his own tutelage.

After getting her new identity token, Hu Qianqian asked happily, "Master, can I go to Baisui Lake now?"

"Not yet. First, return to the temple. I’ll have a disciple from the Inner Courtyard take you to Baisui Lake. That way, your presence there will be legitimate."

"Oh!"

...

「Two days later.」

Just as Wang Ping landed in his Dao Field, he heard Yu Cheng Taoist’s voice transmission: "Come see me."

His master was summoning him, so naturally, he couldn’t delay. Wang Ping left Hu Qianqian’s matter for Yu Lian to handle, while he transformed into a streak of light and landed outside Yu Cheng Taoist’s small courtyard in the back mountains.

Yu Cheng Taoist was, as always, sitting by the Stone Table, holding a letter stamped with the seal of Sanhe Temple.

"Master!" Wang Ping bowed in greeting.

"Come and sit..."

After Wang Ping sat down, Yu Cheng Taoist asked, "What’s this about the Fox Demon?"

He first asked about Hu Qianqian. Wang Ping answered in the simplest terms. After listening, Yu Cheng Taoist said, "It just so happens that Baisui Lake needs someone to watch over it. It’s just that this Fox Demon is naturally flighty. Since she is now your disciple, you must teach her well."

"Yes!"

After speaking, Yu Cheng Taoist put down the letter in his hand. His expression grew serious as he got to the point. "Guangxuan failed his breakthrough to the Entering Cultivation realm..."

Wang Ping’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this. Breaking through to Entering Cultivation was not like Foundation Establishment. Failure would most likely result in becoming a deformed creature or going mad from a Spirit Body’s invasion.

"Then Sanhe Temple..."

"At the critical moment, Gu Heng used his own Spirit Vein to forcibly help Guangxuan fuse with the Earth Vein Milk, allowing him to barely break through. But his own lifespan has now reached its end. He will pass away within a month or two."

"..."

Wang Ping was filled with emotion. He had just been worried that Sanhe Temple’s lineage would be set back a hundred years. He hadn’t expected Gu Heng to be so drastic, choosing to burn away his own life to force his disciple’s breakthrough.

This was the last resort for a small sect to continue its lineage.

While Wang Ping was lost in thought, Yu Cheng Taoist spoke again, "To mark Guangxuan’s breakthrough, Sanhe Temple is holding a grand assembly. They’ve invited most of the sects in Nanlin Road to attend. We must make a trip as well."