Chapter 289 - 273: Official Rank
After leaving the Valley of No Life, Qi Yun did not head straight back to the Wuji Holy Sect’s Mountain Gate, deep in the Northwest.
Although the grand drama that had stirred two domains had come to a temporary close, the ripples and undercurrents it created were far from settled.
He traveled west, passing through increasingly desolate and ancient mountain ranges.
This place was far from civilization, with not even a trace of other Cultivators. Only the primordial mountain winds howled, scraping across iron-gray, rugged cliffs and creating vast, echoing sounds.
Qi Yun moved unhurriedly, sometimes riding the wind to survey the lay of the mountains, other times stopping atop a peak to observe the flow of Earth Qi.
His Deep Blue Daoist Robe was like a lone boat against the wild backdrop, yet he stood as steady as a mountain.
After traveling like this for over ten days, stopping and starting, and crossing tens of thousands of miles, he finally came to a halt deep within a desolate, untrodden region.
Before him stood four strange peaks, massive and imposing. Their bodies were as black as iron, arranged in an enclosing formation that guarded a sunken valley about a dozen miles in circumference.
At the valley’s center was not an ordinary lake, but a bottomless "Celestial Pool" whose waters were as dark and profound as ink.
The pool’s water was still, not flowing, its surface as smooth as a mirror. It reflected the stark silhouettes of the four iron-black peaks and the flowing clouds in the sky, its stillness unsettling.
"Mm, this is the place." A golden light spilled from Qi Yun’s sleeve and landed on his shoulder, transforming into a palm-sized figure. Though small, its features were clear, and it wore illusory golden robes. It was the spiritual incarnation of the God of Wealth Cai Shen.
It stood on Qi Yun’s shoulder with its hands behind its back. Despite its tiny size, it possessed an air of profound stillness and imposing presence.
It was squinting, carefully examining the layout of the four mountains surrounding a mysterious pool.
"Four dragons bowing their heads to drink from the same abyss..." Cai Shen nodded slowly, a trace of reminiscence and certainty flashing in his eyes.
"Back then, Fourteenth Brother was the most unrestrained and unruly of us all. He loved to roam the mortal world and lingered here for a long time.
Before he left, he sank a crucial item into the yin eye at the bottom of this pool, using the baleful Yin of the Earth Vein and the Dragon Qi from the four mountains to nourish and seal it.
Counting the years, if there haven’t been any accidents, the thing should still be here."
Upon hearing this, Qi Yun’s Divine Sense spread out like invisible mercury flowing across the ground, silently blanketing the dark Celestial Pool below.
’In that case, let’s bring it back to light.’ Qi Yun no longer hesitated. He took a step forward, his body hovering in the air directly above the Celestial Pool.
He didn’t use any flashy Magic. He simply extended his right hand, fingers slightly spread, and gently lifted it towards the dark pool that was dozens of miles in circumference below.
The motion seemed casual, as if scooping up a handful of clear spring water.
But the moment his palm lifted—
HUMMM...!!!
All of Heaven and Earth seemed to let out a low, resonant hum!
With Qi Yun’s palm as the epicenter, an invisible, intangible, yet unimaginably vast and majestic power erupted!
It was not wind, nor was it waves.
It was the purest form of Magical Power interfering with reality—the mighty force a Foundation Establishment Master produces after connecting their Dao Foundation to the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism!
The mirror-smooth, dark water below suddenly caved in at the center, while its edges were lifted violently upwards, as if grasped by a transparent, sky-covering giant hand!
The water of the entire pool was forcibly "plucked" up by an irresistible force!
RUMBLE...
Amidst a dull roar like the churning of the Earth Veins, the dozen-mile-wide pool of water transformed into a terrifyingly wide, dark column that shot into the sky!
The column of water held its form without dispersing, soaring hundreds of feet into the air like an inverted black water dragon.
Beneath the water, a layer of black sludge dozens of feet thick that had never seen the light of day was revealed, along with the even deeper, rugged ancient bedrock that had been eroded by water for countless millennia.
The stench of the sludge instantly filled the air. The surrounding temperature plummeted, and frost even began to form on the cliff walls.
For a Foundation Establishment Master, moving mountains and overturning seas was no empty boast.
Although Qi Yun had not used any Divine Techniques, this single move fully displayed the immense power and exquisite control of his Magical Power.
"There!" A golden glint flashed in the eyes of Cai Shen’s Little Golden Man on Qi Yun’s shoulder, and he raised a hand to point at a spot on the pool floor.
The color of the sludge there was slightly different. A faint, warm white light could be vaguely seen, utterly out of place amidst the surrounding cold, deathly silence.
It stubbornly shone through the thick darkness in faint wisps.
Hearing the voice, Qi Yun’s figure flickered. The next moment, he was hovering above the exposed sludge that reeked of cold and decay.
He looked down, his gaze piercing through the surface filth to lock onto that speck of white light.
His right hand, no longer lifting, now made a grasping motion. He aimed his palm at the spot, and a gentle yet precise suction force erupted.
POP—
With a soft sound, the sludge below roiled slightly. A flawless, snow-white, and perfectly round pearl the size of a longan burst free from the muck as if escaping ten thousand years of bondage, landing steadily in Qi Yun’s palm.
The pearl was exceptionally warm and gentle to the touch, not at all like Jade.
Its surface was perfectly smooth, but inside, hazy clouds seemed to swirl, with soft, silky strands of light slowly flowing, appearing and disappearing within.
But when Qi Yun scanned it carefully with his Divine Sense, he found that aside from its peculiar texture and a gentle, stable Spiritual Rhyme, the pearl showed no trace of any Magical Treasure or Talisman Array.
It seemed more like a natural wonder, a rare treasure that had been nurtured by the Earth Vein for ages.
"Hehehe..." Cai Shen’s Little Golden Man let out a pleased chuckle. It leaped lightly from Qi Yun’s shoulder and hovered before the pearl, its eyes filled with nostalgia.
"It’s still here, just as I thought. He used to love using this pearl to store all sorts of curious little things."
It extended a tiny yet solid golden finger and lightly tapped the snow-white pearl in Qi Yun’s palm.
The tap carried no great force, yet it seemed to trigger a mechanism that had lain dormant for millennia.
HUMMM—
Inside the pearl, the leisurely flowing cloudy light abruptly froze.
It then collapsed violently inward, only to erupt outwards the very next instant!
A beam of light—iridescent yet carrying an indescribably grand and righteous aura—shot out from the pearl’s core, instantly enveloping Qi Yun’s entire body!
The light beam was not hostile. On the contrary, it was warm and possessed a strange power that soothed the Divine Soul and calmed the Heart and Spirit.
But what truly shook Qi Yun’s Heart and Spirit was the change that followed.
The moment the light enveloped him.
The scene before his eyes suddenly blurred and distorted.
The sludgy pool floor beneath his feet, the iron-black peaks around him, the dark column of water hanging overhead, and even Cai Shen’s Little Golden Man on his shoulder all faded away rapidly, like an ancient, discolored painting.
In its place was an illusory scene so magnificent and solemn it defied description.
In the dim and distant void, he felt as if he were standing before a temple that soared into the clouds.
Beneath his feet stretched a boundless White Jade Plaza. In the distance, a continuous chain of palaces exuded a majestic aura, with purple qi flowing from the east and golden dragons appearing intermittently.
The sky was a deep and brilliant starscape, with countless stars moving along profound trajectories, casting down a clear radiance that shimmered in harmony with the resplendent fortune of the palaces below.
A tall figure, whose face was indistinct, stood upon a high dais. The figure wore a *jinxian* crown and black ceremonial robes, and held an imperial edict that swirled with purple qi and seemed to be woven from starlight.
Its body seemed to merge with the vast starry sky behind and the thousand-mile rivers and mountains below, exuding the supreme majesty of one who ruled the eight wildernesses and whose words were the Celestial Constitution.
The figure slowly unfurled the purple-qi edict. A grand, indifferent voice traversed the infinite barriers of time and space, entering the depths of Qi Yun’s Heart and Spirit with perfect clarity.
Every word was as heavy as a mountain, carrying the irrefutable air of a decree:
"We, by the great mandate of Heaven, bearer of the state’s authority. We have observed... your diligent service and meritorious assistance. By special Decree, you are hereby enfeoffed as—a Standard Ninth-Grade Brave and Virtuous Captain of the Great Tang!"
"Though the rank is humble, you are now a subject of the crown.
We bestow this seal upon you to manifest the imperial grace.
You shall receive a stipend from the court and bring benefit to the people.
Respect this!"
As the four words for "Captain of Kindness and Courage" were spoken, the phantom figure holding the edict seemed to flick a tiny speck of violet-gold light towards Qi Yun.
At the same time, the light from the snow-white pearl in Qi Yun’s palm completely receded. Deep within its core, a minuscule, imperceptible violet-gold seal quietly emerged before vanishing again, merging completely with the pearl itself, becoming one and the same.
The illusion receded like the tide.
Before him was still the exposed pool floor, the inverted column of water, the desolate mountains, and, floating in front of him, the smiling Little Golden Man of the God of Wealth Cai Shen.
But Qi Yun knew that things were different now.
The pearl in his palm was different.
It was no longer just a rare treasure, but the mark of an official position—Standard Ninth-Grade Brave and Virtuous Captain—bestowed by the magnificent and prosperous Golden Tang Dynasty from ages past!
Even though it was only the lowest-ranking Military Officer position...
...the meaning behind the four words "Great Tang Official Position" was heavier than a mountain.
Qi Yun slowly clenched his fist around the pearl, feeling the imperceptible yet real wisp of violet-gold official qi within. He looked up at Cai Shen, his eyes shining with a brilliant light.
Cai Shen, in his Little Golden Man form, chuckled.
"So? Are you satisfied with this gift?"
"Of course I am," Qi Yun said with a smile.
From the secrets Cai Shen had previously revealed, he already knew the weight of this "Great Tang Official Position."
"Alright, now that the official position is in hand, we should act sooner rather than later." Cai Shen’s Little Golden Man sobered up. "Let’s hurry back to the Valley of No Life!
Although my main body has been moved, the Cause and Effect Threads connecting my detached spiritual nature and your involvement still remain.
Those old fogeys might have had their attention partially diverted by the main body of the Imperial Soldier, but once they recover, they’ll perform divination after divination, searching repeatedly.
They’re bound to sniff out something unusual from the lingering traces left in the world."
"We must set up the [Array of Cause and Effect] before they can truly lock onto their suspicions!
Using the power of this array, we can confuse the heavenly secrets, sever the remaining threads of cause and effect, and completely bury any loose ends connecting us to this matter. We can even fabricate a plausible outcome.
Otherwise, the consequences will be endless."
"The Array of Cause and Effect..." Qi Yun nodded slightly.
He had already learned the basics of this array from Cai Shen. It was an extremely obscure and ancient wonder, a Grand Array specifically created to obscure heavenly secrets and sever specific threads of cause and effect. Its formation was complex, and the materials required were anything but ordinary.
Only an ancient Emperor’s Weapon Spirit like the God of Wealth would know of it and be able to guide its construction.
As the scene of the incident, the Valley of No Life held the densest and most chaotic residual cause and effect, making it the most suitable place for the Array Formation.
"There’s no time to lose. Let’s go now." Qi Yun stopped hesitating. With a flicker of his Heart Thought, he prepared to put away the pearl and use an Escape Skill.
However, in the split second before he could channel his Magical Power and take flight, something unexpected happened!
TCH...
A sharp, stabbing pain suddenly shot through the inside of his left wrist without any warning!
It wasn’t the sensation of tearing muscle, but a searing heat originating from the depths of his soul, as if something had been triggered!
Qi Yun’s movements froze. He looked down.
Beneath the skin of his left wrist, a complex, ancient Spell tattoo was clearly appearing.
It was the [Avoiding Tribulation Curse]!
’The Spell is reacting. Is a great calamity about to strike?’
...