Chapter Ninety-Six: Clues to the Spirit of the Five Elements

Since he still had two years to remain in this realm, he might as well take the opportunity to wander at leisure and see whether he could chance upon any lingering legacy from ancient times.

Only then would their bold venture into this place not have been in vain.

At that thought, he turned to the woman beside him and said, “A hundred years ago, that senior disciple accepted an elder’s assignment and came to this realm to receive the Primordial Clear Energy. By my reckoning, the Primordial Void Cauldron should soon be born as well. Since we are here, we might as well gather some of the spiritual treasures of this world. When we bring them back to the Hall of Pure Mystery, that will be no small contribution.”

The woman’s eyes lit up at once.

Spiritual treasures and elixirs were the scarcest things in the Hall of Pure Mystery.

Though conditions in their little heaven were somewhat better than those outside, they were not much so, and the vital spiritual energy was gradually running dry.

Moreover, because no Dao Seeds could be birthed within that small heaven, every spiritual treasure was a family heirloom passed down through generations, and only the true disciples who had established their foundations were qualified to hold them.

If they could bring back a few treasures, even if only ordinary-grade ones, they would still be enough to exchange for a great deal of cultivation resources within the sect.

She smiled brightly. “Senior Brother Clear Lock, once the Primordial Void Cauldron is brought back to the Pure Mystery Sect, you will be able to begin establishing your foundation, won’t you? Once you enter the foundation stage and are ranked among the true disciples, the great road to immortality will lie open before you!”

The man, however, shook his head. “We are in the waning age of Dharma now. Though we are within a heaven-dwelling for the time being and can remain temporarily at ease, it is like water without a source; in time, it too will dry up. To have an opportunity to establish a foundation is already a blessing. As for some great immortal path, that is all empty talk.”

The woman was about to speak again when, suddenly, she caught sight of a huge and lavishly appointed ship moving slowly along the river in the distance.

The vessel was carved and painted in magnificent splendor, with three stories of pavilions and galleries, all lacquered in vermilion and decorated with auspicious clouds, cranes, alchemical tripods, and herbs of immortality.

A great sail rose from the mast, and on one side, written in bold and graceful strokes, was the character for “elixir,” while on the other was the character for “cauldron.”

Its bearing was stern and solemn, altogether unlike any mortal craft.

“Eh? Elixir Cauldron?”

The woman let out a soft exclamation and exchanged a glance with her senior brother.

The term Elixir Cauldron was usually used only by cultivators.

For a ship to dare call itself by such a name, it was rather interesting.

“Senior Brother Clear Lock, could there still be cultivators surviving in this world?”

Seeing this, the woman could not help asking.

If so, then this trip of theirs would truly have been worth it.

After a moment’s thought, the man said, “I’m not yet certain whether they are cultivators. Let’s observe first.”

He did not rush over to investigate. If there truly were cultivators aboard, such behavior would be no different from an insult.

To act so without knowing the other party’s background would be extremely foolish. Even though he was confident his cultivation was enough to roam this land stripped of spiritual power, he would not be so arrogant.

As he spoke, a talisman appeared in his hand.

With a flick of his fingertip, spiritual power surged into it, and the paper talisman instantly transformed into an unremarkable little sparrow, which flapped its wings and flew toward the great ship.

The vessel was not moving especially fast, so the sparrow soon alighted atop it and tilted its head to listen closely to the various sounds aboard.

...

At the highest point of the ship’s three-story pavilion stood an elegant riverside gazebo.

Its table, chairs, and railings had all been exquisitely carved by countless master artisans.

At that moment, a sword cultivator in white robes sat in the seat of honor, facing a middle-aged Daoist with a clean-shaven face.

He was idly turning over a blood-red nail in his hand, his expression thoughtful.

Seeing this, Daoist Cold Peak could not help asking, “Fellow Daoist Azure Void, are you worried about tomorrow’s matter at Crimson Pine Dao Palace?”

Upon hearing this, the sword cultivator nodded. In recent days, he had been feeling uneasy, as though this journey would not go entirely smoothly, and said, “This poor Daoist has a premonition that this Jade Morning Daoist is not so simple.”

Daoist Cold Peak laughed. “Didn’t we already investigate everything clearly? This Jade Morning Daoist is merely a disciple of the old Daoist Pine Crane. Though we don’t know what great opportunities he may have encountered, how high can the cultivation of a youth sixteen or seventeen years old really be?”

Before this, the faction under the Unborn Sect, Listening Wind Tower, had already inquired into Lin You’s background in great detail. It was precisely because they had this information that their Alliance of Outsiders dared to take on this matter.

Daoist Cold Peak poured Azure Void a cup of tea and pointed at the blood-red nail in his hand. “Besides, didn’t the Gu Master leave fellow Daoist a secret treasure? Even if that Jade Morning Daoist is at the peak of true essence, he can still be matched against.”

At those words, Azure Void could not help nodding, inwardly admitting that he really had been too suspicious.

Once his doubts faded, the expression on his face eased considerably.

He then said to Cold Peak, “By the way, news reached the alliance earlier that one of the outsiders who came this time has a clue to the Spirit of the Five Elements, but this person wants to trade it for spirit pills. How are your preparations?”

As soon as he said this, the sparrow above the pavilion froze slightly in midair, then edged a little closer, eager to hear more.

But in that instant, it still revealed a trace of spiritual power.

“What lurks there?”

Azure Void immediately sensed it and shouted in fury. The long sword behind him flew from its scabbard at once and cleaved toward the roof.

With a flash of sword light, the entire top of the pavilion was cut to powder, and the sparrow, caught off guard, was shattered as well.

The enormous commotion instantly alarmed the disciples and attendants aboard the ship, who all looked around in alarm to see what had happened.

Violent and boundless spiritual power surged from Azure Void’s body, lifting him into the air as he surveyed the surroundings, trying to find the source of that aura.

His gaze soon locked onto the shattered remains of a paper talisman, and he gave a cold snort, memorizing the spiritual power aura upon it.

If those outsiders dared provoke their alliance, they had better pray he did not encounter them again.

...

At that same moment, on the riverbank, Clear Lock, with his sword-like brows and bright eyes, frowned slightly.

His junior sister, seeing this, quickly asked, “Senior Brother Clear Lock, what is it?”

“It’s nothing. My talisman was discovered. It seems this person’s cultivation is rather considerable,” he said after a moment’s thought.

Just now, his mind had jolted, and he had let out a trace of aura. He had not expected to be discovered so quickly.

Still, he did not worry much. With the cultivation he and his junior sister possessed, so long as no one at the foundation stage intervened, no one could do anything to them.

This trip to investigate the situation had brought an unexpected bounty.

The Spirit of the Five Elements was also a world-renowned rarity even within the Hall of Pure Mystery.

Once he returned after completing the sect mission, he would receive the reward of a secret foundation-building art.

Together with the Yellow Sprout Elixir formula he had obtained through his own opportunities, establishing his foundation was already a certainty.

And if he could obtain that Spirit of the Five Elements as well, it would amount to opening a broad, level road leading straight to the Grand Golden Elixir Path.

Yellow Sprout, Jade Stamen, a Golden Cauldron alight with flying gold—when the five elements generate one another, the elixir shall be nurtured into completion!

It seemed his opportunity had finally arrived.

It was only right that he should attain the Grand Golden Elixir Path, with immortality within sight.