Green Mountain

"What secrets do you want to hear about, do you want to hear about the Goryeo Royal Family?"

"No."

"What about the Jing Dynasty Royal Family, that old Emperor’s struggle for succession was a bloody mess..."

"No."

"How about the Ning Dynasty Royal Family, don’t you want to know why the old Emperor of the Ning Dynasty insisted on breaking up Princess Yongchun and Zhou Zhuoyuan?"

"No."

Old Ears pondered intently, "What about the Imperial Jade Seal, I know some clues that others don’t, do you want to hear it?"

Chen Ji walked towards the cave entrance, "Not interested, what does the Imperial Jade Seal have to do with me? Holding it might just cost me my life."

Old Ears cursed loudly, "You don’t want to hear this, you don’t want to hear that, when can I ever exchange this for the secrets of the sword seed? Are you doing this on purpose?"

Chen Ji arrived at the cave entrance.

Outside the cave, it was snowing heavily, the Changbai Mountain was closed off by snow, snowfall had piled up to knee-height, higher than the clouds. But he did not wait for the snow to stop, pocketed the black cloud and headed back against the wind and snow.

Old Ears followed behind Chen Ji, reminding him, "You’re going the wrong way, that direction is full of Zhongwu Guards and Wu Temple Mountain People."

Chen Ji tread forward on the snow, "I need to check on Aunt Ping."

Old Ears got anxious, using the cloth from before that wrapped ginseng as a scarf, covering half his face to shield against the wind and snow, "Didn’t that translator just say, she already escaped, you’ll just be throwing yourself into a trap now, isn’t that making her efforts go to waste?"

Chen Ji shook his head, "The translator, to save his own life, naturally wouldn’t dare tell the truth. In that situation, anyone with a bit of sense would say Aunt Ping is fine."

Old Ears helplessly said, "Even if Lu Yang isn’t here, there are still five Seeking Dao Realm officials in the temple, aren’t you afraid of dying?"

Chen Ji nonchalantly, "Afraid, but that’s not what I’m worried about."

Old Ears puzzled, "Then who should be worried about it?"

Chen Ji didn’t look back, "You should be worried about it."

"..." Old Ears was so mad he laughed, "Kid, you really think you’re the boss of this old man, don’t you? This old man isn’t so enamored by your secrets, your cultivation is clearly flawed!"

Chen Ji retorted, "Flawed cultivation?"

Old Ears’ face was hidden under the scarf, muffled voice, "If someone else took five Holy Relics of the Weapon Master, they’d be at Half-step Divine Dao Realm, the first sword used for entering Seeking Dao Realm, the second to ascend the first level, the third for the second level, the fourth for the third level, and the last for perfection. Until this point, it’s no longer about sword cultivation, to ascend to Divine Dao Realm depends on insight and cultivation of heart, if you possess both, with a will firm as iron, achieving Divine Dao Realm in a breath is possible."

Thought crossed Chen Ji’s eyes.

Old Ears scoffed, "But you, after taking five Holy Relics of the Weapon Master, only forged a Silver Sword Seed, haven’t even stepped into the Seeking Dao Realm, if that’s not flawed cultivation, what is?"

"If it’s flawed, so be it," Chen Ji sighed, three sword seeds flew from his sleeve, nimbly weaving through his fingers.

As Old Ears peeked, he actually saw a fourth sword seed fly out of Chen Ji’s sleeve, then the fifth, and sixth, leaving Old Ears dumbfounded, "You really have six sword seeds... no wonder there are five sounds of Martial Arts, with each sword a sound, that time in Luocheng City was the first time!"

Chen Ji squinted at Old Ears, who suddenly reined in his astonishment and maintained a composed demeanor, saying, "But you indeed cultivated wrong... our meeting is fate, tell me how you cultivate, I’ll help correct it for you."

Chen Ji sneered, "You’re practically throwing your abacus beads at my face."

Old Ears swallowed, "You’ve clearly cultivated too many sword seeds, so much so the Holy Relics of the Weapon Master can’t fill your abyss. Have you thought, the path you’re on is six times harder than others?"

Chen Ji retrieved the sword seeds back into his sleeve, not responding.

Now he knows, it’s not six times harder, but eight times.

Just then, an eagle’s cry sounded from above.

Chen Ji looked up, seeing a Yao Sun flying overhead, Old Ears hurriedly said, "Quick, use your sword seeds to bring it down, it’s a Yao Sun raised by the Zhongwu Guards."

Cloaked with six sword seeds from his sleeve, the silver sword seeds formed a cage in the sky enveloping the Yao Sun, the Yao Sun dodged the first sword seed with a flip and suddenly dove to avoid the second, but the third was already waiting mid-air to knock it down.

The Yao Sun flew unsteadily into the forest, a few feathers fluttering down from the sky.

Old Ears urged, "Hurry, the Yao Sun arrived, the Zhongwu Guards aren’t far behind."

But Chen Ji still refused to listen, stubbornly treading towards the east.

Old Ears grabbed his arm, irritably said, "You want to die, but I don’t. I know where you can find out about your Aunt Ping, follow me, just over that mountain, everything you want to know is in Erdao Baihe Town."

Chen Ji wondered, "How can going to Erdao Baihe Town tell me about Aunt Ping?"

Old Ears, annoyed, "You’ll know when you get there, if this old man deceives you, may this old man never know how to cultivate other sword seeds in his lifetime."

Chen Ji glanced east once more, allowing Old Ears to drag him away towards the west.

...

...

An hour later, hundreds of Zhongwu Guards stood guard at the cave entrance.

Wu Kezhi stepped on the snow and came, the Zhongwu Guards instinctively made way for him. He looked down at the corpse on the snow, muttering to himself: "Indeed, these are injuries left by a sword seed. It’s true that an inheritor of the Sword Seed Path has intruded upon our Mountain Gate."

Then, he looked around: "Which way did they go?"

The Korea translator emerged from the crowd, smiling obsequiously: "Reporting to the Immortal, when the Zhongwu Guards arrived, the footprints had already been covered by the snowfall, and the direction was unknown."

Wu Kezhi nodded: "Wait on the mountain road. When the people from Erdao Baihe Town arrive, guide them here."

The translator hurriedly agreed and called out to the Zhongwu Guards.

Wu Kezhi walked into the cave, squatted by the hearth, and pressed his fingers against the pile of stones, feeling the residual warmth.

He stood up and looked around, seeing the words adventurers had written on the stone wall. A trace of sadness flickered in his eyes, which turned into a sigh.

At this moment, shouting came from outside the cave.

Wu Kezhi went to the entrance of the cave and saw Luo Yunlin leading four middle-aged people and an elder, the four middle-aged ones carrying a large heap of items.

An incense table, a Five-Colored Flag, incense burners, offerings, candles... They had brought all their ritual possessions into the mountain.

When they arrived in front of the cave, the elder politely cupped his hands: "Mountain Person Jin An, this humble old man is Old Xianggen from Erdao Baihe Town, bringing disciples to honor the hall."

Wu Kezhi pointed at the cave: "Begin."

Old Xianggen led the four middle-aged people into the cave, setting up the incense table, facing north to south.

One disciple laid down a red cloth, three feet three inches long, on the incense table, while Old Xianggen picked up a pen to write the Immortal names on the cloth, focusing on Grandmaster Hu San and Granny Hu San, and the Hall Master, with Hu Huang Chang Mang’s title written on both sides.

Another disciple placed three incense burners, a pair of red candles, and three plates of offerings and pastries on the table.

Wu Kezhi calmly said: "Keep it simple."

Old Xianggen shouted: "Kneel!"

Three disciples each took turns playing the King Wen Drum, shaking the waist bell, striking the Martial King Whip, and finally one kneeling in front of the incense table.

Old Xianggen, holding the Five-Colored Flag, closed his eyes and began to sing amid the drum and bell sounds: "Dark clouds loom over Xishan, people tightly shut their doors. The magpie races to the old woodlands, the sparrow flees to the rooftop eaves. The main road is blocked against vehicles, and the side road also impassable. Ten homes secured their locks, except for one that’s left unclosed."

"Listen, my fellow villagers, hear me out. Light up eight pillars of incense, summon the Immortals, oh oh oh. Left hand wields the King Wen Drum, right hand holds the Martial King Whip. The drum isn’t called a drum, the whip isn’t called a whip, and with the eight great Copper Coins of Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, Dui, oh oh oh."

"Listen, my fellow villagers, hear me out, whether gray, or yellow, whether short or long. First, we invite Hu Family Soldiers, Mr. Hu to sit at the top, accompanied by Mrs. Hu, Mr. Hu quickly issue orders, gather Hu Family soldiers fully, Hu Tianba, Hu Tianqing, Hu Tianhei and Hu Tianhong, Hu Laoga known as Hu Erleng..."

Wu Kezhi expressionless: "Stop summoning soldiers, let Grandmaster Hu San speak."

The next moment, the kneeling disciple began trembling.

Old Xianggen exclaimed: "Declare yourself!"

The disciple sprang up, his voice hoarse: "I am Grandmaster Hu San, commanding the Hu Family Immortal Squad, leading all Earth Immortals of Changbai Mountain... cough, Mr. Wu?"

Wu Kezhi pointed at the cave and asked: "I need to know how many people were in this cave earlier."

Grandmaster Hu San closed his eyes in silence for a while before answering: "Two people, an elder and a young one."

Wu Kezhi asked again: "Why did they linger here while fleeing?"

Grandmaster Hu San replied: "The young one seemed to have fallen ill and fainted, the elder sought ginseng to aid him."

Wu Kezhi frowned: "Fallen ill? Describe their appearances, draw them for me."

Grandmaster Hu San closed his eyes in thought, not knowing what he saw, his body began to tremble, clenching his teeth: "Cannot speak, cannot write, cannot draw!"

Wu Kezhi, slightly surprised: "Cannot speak? What identity does the other have that it cannot be spoken of?"

Suddenly he asked again: "Is it because the elder cannot be spoken of, or the younger? If the elder cannot be spoken of, then speak of the younger. If the younger cannot be spoken of, then speak of the elder."

Grandmaster Hu San was silent for a while longer, his body shaking even more violently: "The elder cannot be spoken of, the younger even more so!"

Wu Kezhi shouted: "It concerns the safety of our Temple of Martial Arts, tell me, where did they go?"

Next moment, Grandmaster Hu San ceased trembling, the disciple fell to the ground, and upon rising again had a blank look, the Immortal had simply left.

Wu Kezhi furrowed his brow tightly, puzzled, feeling something amiss.

Luo Yunlin asked from the side: "What do we do now?"

Wu Kezhi went to the cave entrance, gazing at the snowstorm: "Where would you go... Luo Yunlin, return to the mountain, instruct everyone to descend and search, if not found in Changbai Mountain, pursue towards Jing Dynasty, make sure to find this elder and younger pair."

Luo Yunlin curiously asked: "Mr. Wu, what about you?"

Wu Kezhi thought for a moment: "I will go to the Imperial Capital to seek an audience with the Emperor and have the Jing Dynasty search nationwide."

...

There will be another update tonight, read it in the morning.