Chapter 96: The Tomb Mansion's Downfall

Perhaps the master of this tomb had been somewhat lacking in literary polish; many of the hidden allusions felt a little strained.

With Jiang Min’s level of cultivation, her understanding of the five spiritual roots, and the foundation in Daoist arts she had honed in the Eastern Spirit Sect, she could, after reading the entire poem, detect the hidden trick within and make a rough guess.

For example.

The “spirit spring” in the line about brewing a wine fit to intoxicate immortals might refer to water from a spiritual eye, or perhaps to water essence.

And the “meat juice” in the line about mixing in fragrant powder and steeping it could, in some ancient scriptures, stand for the liquid of earth-spirit flesh fungus.

Interpreted this way, the long poem seemed more like a manual for refining a magical treasure.

And for a sword cultivator, a treasure-refining manual was not simply a sword-forging method?

Jiang Min’s face brightened. She was precisely in need of a powerful treasure-refining art to transform the peach branch into a sword. After all, wielding a tree branch in combat was hardly proper.

At once, she memorized every word on the stone wall. She was just about to leave quietly when she suddenly felt something and looked up at the night pearls set into the ceiling of the stone chamber.

Seven night pearls.

Arranged in a pattern of yin, yang, and the five elements.

After a thousand years, their light still had not faded.

Jiang Min stared at one of them and faintly sensed within it an extremely subtle and mysterious aura. That trace of aura was so weak that even her Foundation Establishment cultivation nearly missed it, let alone the Qi Refinement cultivators present.

Her sharp eyes turned, and she took from her universe pouch a night pearl of similar size. With a leap, and without any of the Qi Refinement cultivators noticing, she swapped out the slightly unusual pearl.

Then she vanished in concealment.

...

Some time later.

Outside the tomb estate.

On another mountain peak.

Jiang Min held the night pearl in her hand and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she slowly opened them, withdrew her divine sense from it, and fell into thought.

“So the method for unraveling the poem was hidden inside this night pearl.”

“It really is a sword-refining art, meant to forge seven swords in all, arranged according to the five elements and yin and yang.”

“What’s interesting is that this sword-refining art seems to resonate with some of the Daoist methods from the Seven Stellar Strange Chapter... When I have time later, I should look through some records and see what the origins of this kind of Daoist art really are.”

Though this sword-refining art bore no title, its Dao techniques were profound and unfathomable, and the spiritual materials listed within were all extraordinarily precious and rare heavenly treasures of the earth. That was why Jiang Min suspected its origins were anything but ordinary.

But since its background was unclear, she would need to study it further before making a judgment.

“My elder brother is probably busy over there. For now, I should follow the guidance of fate and go look for Father and Mother.”

Jiang Min put away the night pearl and sped off in the direction indicated by fate.

Just as she had crossed over a mountain peak, a violent howl of wind and thunder suddenly erupted behind her.

Rumble!

Jiang Min turned back, her pupils contracting.

In an instant, cold sweat broke out on her back.

There it was.

Above Tiger-Slaying Ridge, fierce winds roared and dark clouds pressed low. In almost the blink of an eye, the sky within a radius of hundreds of miles dimmed as though night had fallen. Then, from a black sea of clouds as immense as a small mountain, thousands upon thousands of brilliant bolts of lightning were born, descending toward Tiger-Slaying Ridge.

Crash!

The countless bolts struck at once, swallowing the entire ridge and shaking the earth and mountains to their core.

The ground where Jiang Min stood also trembled; rocks rolled down and trees toppled. She immediately dispelled her concealment, took out the White Willow Boat, and rode it into the air. Yet she then saw, from the direction of Tiger-Slaying Ridge, a band of gale-force wind carrying sand, stones, and leaves come howling toward her. Wherever the wind passed, even trees were cut clean in two at the waist. It seemed about to engulf her as well.

“Damn it!”

Jiang Min had no time to think about why those thunderbolts, like heaven’s punishment, had appeared. She drove the White Willow Boat with all her strength, turning into a streak of light as she fled at top speed. At that moment, she could only be glad she had spent heavily to buy the boat; when it came to running for one’s life, it truly was somewhat faster than the gale.

She crossed over another high mountain.

Only after Jiang Min saw the wind blocked by the mountain did she finally relax a little. The shock had not yet subsided as she began to think.

“What happened?”

“What was that thunderstorm in the sky? It was clearly not the same as the heavenly tribulation a powerful cultivator faces while undergoing ascension...”

She had truly been frightened badly.

The celestial lightning had come out of nowhere and descended far too suddenly.

If she had delayed leaving even a little longer, she feared she too would have perished in that sea of lightning.

Not far away, Longmen Stockade was also plunged into sudden darkness, and the earth shook violently, startling every soldier there. They staggered and clutched their heads in panic, not knowing what had happened.

A long while later, the shaking ceased and the dark clouds dispersed.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Jiang Min saw countless streaks of light coming from all directions, hurrying toward Tiger-Slaying Ridge. Clearly, the cultivators from all over had been alarmed by the terrifying phenomenon and were rushing over to investigate.

With so many people drawing attention away, she too sent her flying boat into the air and looked from afar.

What met her eyes made her scalp tingle.

Where the sword cultivator’s tomb estate had once stood, there had originally been a hillside. Now, only a vast, deep crater remained, and even the entire underground tomb had been reduced to blackened dust.

If she had lingered in the tomb estate a little longer...

She would have become part of that dust as well.

“Was the heavenly lightning aimed at the tomb estate?”

“Why?”

“What on earth is the origin of those thunderclouds?”

A chill rose in Jiang Min’s heart.

There were still hundreds of cultivators in that tomb estate. Perhaps innocent people had also passed through Tiger-Slaying Ridge. Yet all of them had lost their lives beneath the lightning, perhaps even their souls dispersed completely.

How cruel.

Stunned, she frowned in thought, and a spark of insight suddenly arose. She thought to herself, “The night pearl I took from the tomb estate cannot stay with me.”

She did not know why the tomb had suddenly been destroyed.

But since that thunderclap had such a sinister origin, she absolutely could not keep anything from the tomb on her person.

Jiang Min immediately departed by boat. After finding a deserted place, she shook the hand hidden in her sleeve. When she opened it, only a pile of powder remained. Her life flame rose up and burned it all to ash.

As for the method for unraveling the poem hidden in the night pearl, it was already firmly etched in her mind.

After dealing with the night pearl, Jiang Min repeatedly retraced every step she had taken upon entering the tomb estate, confirming there were no omissions, and only then did she continue toward the direction of fate.

Yet the matter remained like a dark cloud hanging over her heart, impossible to dispel for a long time.

...

Longmen Stockade.

Though the earthquake had caused some disruption, Jiang Yuanyi quickly finished handling the matters at the stockade. With the bandit chief’s head and the confiscated valuables in hand, he set out on the road home.

Sitting on horseback, Jiang Yuanyi’s mind still echoed with Jiang Min’s transmission.

“Could it really be my second younger sister returning...”

Even in his joy, he was still somewhat doubtful.

First, the Eastern Spirit Sect was thousands of miles away.

Second, the person claiming to be his second younger sister had never shown herself, so he had to remain cautious.

Third, a few days ago, a mysterious old man had come to the Jiang family and told them that his second younger sister would come looking for them...

Carrying these questions, Jiang Yuanyi led the soldiers back to Jiangning City in Qingjiang to report to the regional commander, Feng Qi.

...

Jiangning City.

East side of the city, the Jiang residence.

Jiang Min stood at the entrance to the Jiang home, wrapped in a black robe with a hood.

By the guidance of fate, the great house before her contained the auras of six close relatives.

Jiang Yuanyi had military duties and was busy with the matters at Longmen Stockade, so it was inconvenient to disturb him. Thus she came directly here to find this house.

From inside, laughter and cheerful voices drifted clearly into Jiang Min’s ears. She could distinguish Grandmother, Mother, Father, and Eldest Sister, and it seemed there were also her Second Brother and Third Sister, now all grown up.

Along with the laughter came the fragrance of wine and dishes, wafting over the courtyard wall.

After reaching Foundation Establishment, Jiang Min could nourish her body with true energy and need not eat grain-pellets to avoid hunger. Yet when that familiar fragrance from memory reached her nose, her eyes suddenly reddened.

Her lips trembled. Slowly, a warm smile rose on her face as she stepped up the stairs and knocked on the door of the house.

Tap, tap.

Creak—

The moment she knocked, the door was opened almost at once.

A white-bearded old man she did not recognize stood behind the door. He was tall and thin, his hair tied in a Daoist topknot, dressed in a gray robe, his bearing kind and detached from the mortal world. At that moment he looked at her with a beaming smile, stroked his beard, and spoke familiarly:

“Good disciple, your master has finally waited for you.”

Jiang Min’s expression froze.

The feelings of longing she had just begun to gather shattered in an instant.

“?”

Who... was this person?

Happy Labor Day.

I worked today, so I updated early.

Something came up at home tonight, so whether there will be a second update really depends on fate... This wretched author even brought the computer home, but forgot the charging cable. At this rate, the battery is almost dead...