Blade - Unbound

Zhao Luzi had told him about the Golden Flower Cat.

He came from a long line of treasure-hunters, and thus, his family's knowledge ran deep. Not only was he well-versed in heavenly treasures and rare spiritual materials, but he also knew much about the demons and spirits hidden away in desolate mountains that existed only in rural legends.

After all, they spent their lives wandering the wilderness. The strange and bizarre things they encountered might very well exceed what even the Taixuan Orthodox Sect had seen.

That night, they had gotten very drunk deep in the mountains as they chatted beneath the moon. Zhao Luzi had been an exceptionally generous companion. His endless collection of bizarre and fantastical tales had utterly captivated Li Yan. One of those stories had been about the Golden Flower Cat.

Within the Yan Sect of the jianghu, aside from women who deceived others with their beauty, there were also those proficient in unorthodox mystical arts. Raising the Golden Flower Cat was one of their secret inheritances. Not only could the Golden Flower Cat bewitch people and drain their vital essence and blood, but it was also extremely well concealed. When it wasn't acting up, it was no different from an ordinary cat. It was precisely because of this characteristic that it had become an imperial court secret art.

Disbelief filled Zhao Wanfang's eyes. "How is that possible? Aunt Liu treated us very well. She always said we were all pitiful people, and never made life difficult for any of the girls."

"You can know a person's appearance, but not what they are thinking." Li Yan shook his head slightly as he stood up. "Your Aunt Qing and Aunt Cuilan are probably already dead, but Aunt Liu is definitely still alive! Whatever the case, they're far too dangerous. Just pretend you never learned any of this."

With that, he turned to leave.

Zhao Wanfang bit her lip and called out to him. "Stop! All I want is revenge. I'm not even afraid of dying, so what else could I possibly fear? Who exactly are they?"

Li Yan fell silent for a moment before replying, "The Maitreya Sect. If my guess is correct, they were all subordinates of a Maitreya Incense Master known as the Red Maiden. My father was silenced after they discovered he had been gathering information about them.

"The Golden Jade Pavilion was burned down because they were preparing to leave Chang'an. They feared the Taixuan Orthodox Sect's divination techniques, and didn't want to leave behind a single clue. It's enough that you know this. Don't act recklessly on your own."

Zhao Wanfang's face turned deathly pale as she muttered to herself, "The Maitreya Sect..."

She had never imagined the matter would involve something of such enormous scale. Li Yan had already walked halfway out before suddenly stopping.

He said solemnly, "And another thing. Stop talking about dying all the time. It's not easy for a person to live through the countless hardships of life. Reputation, honor, gossip, idle slander... They're all bullshit. Other than life and death, nothing truly matters.

"Live however you want. Enjoy every day you can. Once you're dead, there's nothing left to do. It's such a bad trade."

With those words, he leapt out the window and disappeared into the night...

***

Knock! Knock! Knock!

The next morning, before dawn had even broken, someone knocked at the door.

Li Yan had been practicing his martial arts in the courtyard. After wiping the sweat from his face with a towel, he walked over and opened the gate.

Outside stood a plump man dressed in a wealthy landowner's robe. His face was plastered with smiles as he cupped his fists. "Young Hero Li, I presume? I'm here on Hall Master Bai's behalf. The matter has already been settled."

As he spoke, he took out a stack of documents from his robe. "This is the deed to the shop. Just take it to the yamen and sign it, and the ownership can be transferred. Also, here's five hundred taels of silver as compensation.

"Young Hero Li, Hall Master Bai also said not to forget about treating everyone at the Calyx Pavilion."

Li Yan accepted the items and smiled as he shook his head. "Of course. No matter how poor I may be, I'll accompany everyone even if it costs me my life."

The fat man smiled as he cupped his fists. "Young Hero Li jests."

Li Yan sank into thought as he watched the man leave. On the night of the ritual duel, Hall Master Bai had been extremely humble, standing silently behind Tie Shigu without saying a word, looking no different from an ordinary lackey. As it turned out, he had been hiding his true abilities all along.

Shaking his head, Li Yan turned around just in time to see Li Laogan stepping outside to wash up. Holding up the items in his hand, he called out, "Uncle Li, it's all settled. Take a look."

"What... It really worked?"

Even after everything that had happened yesterday, Li Laogan still found it hard to believe. His trembling hands accepted the deed to the shop, and he suddenly burst into tears.

Watching him, Li Yan patted him on the shoulder in comfort. He didn't find it laughable at all. When the fruits of a lifetime's struggle vanished in an instant, some people would even take their lives. At Li Laogan's age, the fact that he had endured until now was already commendable. However, the ordeal had still taken at least half his life from him.

Li Laogan carefully counted the silver with trembling hands. "T-this... There's too much."

When he discovered the extra five hundred taels, he immediately tried to hand them back to Li Yan.

"Keep it. That's their compensation." Li Yan shook his head and pushed it back. "Heidan grew up following me around. Helping him is a matter of friendship. If money gets involved, our brotherhood loses its meaning."

Heidan and his uncle thanked him over and over again before leaving the courtyard. They would handle the remaining errands. As they departed, Heidan looked back every few steps, clearly reluctant to leave.

Li Yan smiled and waved him off. "Go on. Study your craft well. Earn enough money to marry a good wife!

"When the time comes, I'll drink at your wedding banquet."

He knew exactly what Heidan was thinking. The boy wanted to follow him, but Li Yan's world was simply too dangerous. He didn't even dare let his master's family get too closely involved.

If an honest kid like Heidan got dragged into it, he would probably be swallowed whole within a matter of days. After that incident, life gradually became peaceful once more.

After Heidan and his uncle recovered their property, Shopkeeper Wan, who had been busy preparing for the Drum King Assembly, heard about what had happened and immediately came to invite Li Laogan to help. If they wanted to make a splash this time, the Divine Tower certainly couldn't be made from ordinary materials.

Sha Lifei also remained busy every day alongside Luo Faqing. After Venerable Zhikong of the Zen Buddhist sect publicized the discovery of Tang Dynasty relics at Xiangji Temple, news quickly spread throughout the city.

The fortune contained within those relics had already been absorbed by Li Yan. It was no longer possible to enshrine them to ward off disasters or evil spirits. Yet people were often strange. After learning of them, countless wealthy households eagerly purchased them at exorbitant prices. As one rich landowner put it, they weren't lacking in objects to suppress evil or protect their homes. As long as they had money, they could obtain such items from the City God's Temple.

These items, however, were relics of eminent Tang Dynasty monks. In the past, only members of the imperial family and high nobility had ever had the chance to see such things. Many elderly mothers within their households were devout Buddhists. If they could enshrine even a single relic at home, then whenever guests visited, casually mentioning it in conversation would bring them tremendous prestige.

Meanwhile, under Master Du's guidance, Wang Daoxuan spent his days performing rituals to dispel disasters and suppressing evil spirits. They were all small jobs, yet his reputation steadily grew.

Both Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan intentionally took on every task themselves so that Li Yan could devote all his attention to cultivation. After all, Li Yan had already become the team's greatest source of combat ability.

Before anyone realized it, another half month had passed. Every day, Li Yan devoted himself entirely to martial arts and Daoist techniques. At night, he cultivated the Luofeng Scripture through Spirit Visualization, entering a state of complete trance.

After his Great Luo Dharma Body advanced, he became much bolder in his cultivation. He no longer feared injuries, constantly pushing himself to his absolute limits. Thus, whether it was his martial arts or his cultivation, both improved at astonishing speed.

With Madam Li helping him refine and adjust his boxing techniques, Li Yan finally succeeded in perfectly merging Pigua Palm with his Red Fist. Pigua specialized in long-range strikes while Red Fist excelled at close-quarters clawing attacks. As far as martial arts were concerned, he no longer possessed any significant weaknesses.

This was even more true given that he usually practiced while also unleashing the Thundercloud Resonance. Whenever he executed the Pigua palm, his momentum became overwhelming, every strike resounding like rolling thunder. But once the fight closed into grappling range, his clawing attacks no longer possessed that same imposing presence.

The contrast felt somewhat unbalanced. Fortunately, Li Yan had already devised a solution. The Northern Emperor Scripture contained a technique known as the Northern Emperor Yin Lightning Palm. Much like the orthodox path's Lightning Palm, it was one of the foundational thunder arts cultivated upon Mount Luofeng.

The only difference was that it made use of yin lightning. There were countless forms of lightning arts. Yin lightning referred to thunder originating from the underworld. It was deep, heavy, and subtle, excelling at striking directly at the soul.

When using the technique, one had to form the proper hand seal. A single palm strike would immediately shake the opponent's spirit. Like maggots clinging to bone, its lingering effects would refuse to disperse.

If the Northern Emperor Yin Lightning Palm could be incorporated into his close combat style, its power hardly needed explanation. At long range, he possessed the overwhelming force of yang lightning. At close quarters, he wielded the insidious danger of yin lightning.

With yin and yang complementing one another, he would no longer fear his enemies in the jianghu. Of course, his current cultivation was still insufficient to practice the Northern Emperor Yin Lightning Palm. Likewise, his cultivation of the Luofeng Scripture had reached a bottleneck.

Once again, midnight arrived. Li Yan awakened after completing his meditation.

Turning his awareness inward, he saw that the deity he had preserved within his inner temple had now fully taken shape. It was no longer merely a humanoid sphere of light. Instead, like the Great Luo Dharma Body, it had become a figure whose face and features were identical to his own.

The visualized deity resided in his inner temple, which had also grown increasingly distinct. It now looked ancient and profound, sitting atop the pitch-black Mount Luofeng.

That was precisely what made the Luofeng Scripture different. He didn't know how the Taixuan Orthodox Sect's cultivation methods worked, but according to Wang Daoxuan, when ordinary Daoist lineages cultivated and constructed their spirit towers, they generally possessed only the inner temple.

Their daily cultivation simply strengthened that temple, turning it into the foundation for constructing the second level. The Luofeng Scripture, however, used the visualization of Mount Luofeng itself as its foundation.

Yin qi settled below while yang qi rose above. Both remained utterly pure. At the same cultivation level, its techniques naturally possessed greater power.

This was the true secret of the Luofeng Scripture: Above stands the imperial night light. Below sits the Nine Offices. Yin and yang, life and death, all are nurtured there. Misfortune and destiny pause between them.

Even so, Li Yan still wasn't fully satisfied. The cultivation method was excellent. Its progress, however, was inevitably rather slow.

After pondering for a while, he searched his memories for the Northern Emperor Scripture once again. The Northern Emperor Scripture he possessed did not belong to the Northern Emperor Sect. That sect worshipped the Great Emperor of the North Star.

The Great Emperor of the North Star specialized in destruction and punishment. Their commandments were also extraordinarily strict. Very often, before one could even eliminate evil, one would perish for violating its prohibitions.

The commandments themselves formed a crucial part of the cultivation method. For example, there were schools with extremely rigorous rules. As long as monks strictly observed them, their cultivation steadily advanced. Yet once those rules were broken, the consequences were equally devastating.

People could hardly avoid the seven emotions and six desires, or the entanglements of love and hatred in this world. Anyone who dared cultivate such a lineage was probably insane.

The Northern Emperor Scripture he possessed belonged instead to the Northern Ghost Emperor. The ruler of Mount Luofeng was the Great Emperor of the Northern Fengdu Underworld.

Beneath him served the Five Ghost Emperors. The Northern Emperor Scripture was the cultivation method of the Northern Ghost Emperor. One only understood these hidden intricacies after entering the Daoist path.

Whether drawing talismans or chanting incantations, one could never do without the deity's taboo name.

A taboo name referred to the sacred name of a deity. For example, the Great Emperor of the Northern Fengdu Underworld belonged to the Grand Court, whose taboo name was Qingjia.

According to Zheng Xuan's annotations on the Classics of Rites: Monthly Ordinances, the Great Court was one of the eight successive leaders of the Shennong Clan. They had once served as the ancient Flame Emperor.

When Li Yan eventually mastered the Great Emperor of the Northern Fengdu Underworld's arts and invoked the deity's taboo name while chanting, his incantations would begin with "Qingjia."

As for the "Nuogao" that currently began all of his incantations, that was the taboo name of the Northern Ghost Emperor himself, who was also an ancient yin deity.

The relationship between the two was simple. The Luofeng Scripture was the cultivation method and the Northern Emperor Scripture was the protective art.

Although the Northern Ghost Emperor was not as overwhelmingly powerful as the Great Emperor of the North Star, the techniques under his command were still extraordinarily formidable.

This included a ritual known as the Northern Emperor Yin Mountain Rite. This ritual was specifically designed to rapidly strengthen the visualized Mount Luofeng. Then, through the balance and transformation of yin and yang, it further reinforced one's inner temple, thereby increasing one's cultivation.

The ritual was exceptionally dangerous. It required cultivation within an yin infested land where countless ghosts gathered. The scripture even specifically warned that those without great fortune must never attempt this cultivation recklessly, lest they fall into the demonic path.

Li Yan found himself somewhat curious.

With the Great Luo Dharma Body residing within him... Did that count as possessing great fortune?