by A P Gore
That’s why he doubted the system’s ability to copy the diagram. But if it had, then that would be awesome. It might bring unending benefits in the future. Once, in his previous life, he’d met a Tea Master by accident. He was his senior brother Jiang Jia’s master. They’d hit off, and the Tea Master had told him about how he came to learn the Art of Tea Making. In his childhood, he’d roamed an ancient tomb outside of Fragrance Herb City and he’d stumbled upon a jade slip that had taught him tea making. At the time, he didn’t know what it meant, but when he grew up and saw a Three Leaf Tea Plant for the first time, he’d regained the knowledge to become a Tea Master. In a mere five years, he’d risen to fame as a Tea Master. Even high-level cultivators had to show him respect if they wanted to taste heavenly tea from his abode.
Sipping that tea, Wei wished he’d also gained some knowledge about tea making and wine making. That would have been a perfect for a lazy lifestyle. In fact, if he learned it in this life, it would fit perfectly with his plan of being a lazy immortal. Now that he thought about it, he knew when and where the man would meet with the beggar. Maybe he could take that jade slip for himself.
Well, he wouldn’t steal the jade slip, just learn things from it and leave it there for that Tea Master to find it in the future.
He tapped on the metal wall with his fingers, absorbing the little heat coming out of the metal.
Yes, that sounded like a good plan. After getting out of here, he would find that jade slip.
So, if the system had stored this strange diagram somewhere, he might find it useful in the future.
Before that thought vanished from his mind, a diagram popped up in his mind. And damn, that diagram looked legit. Seriously legit. He could feel the warmth coming out of it, and when he concentrated, he could deduce the essence of the diagram slightly. It gave him the same feeling he got from the Inheritance of Array Masters.
Dizziness overcame him. This was impossible. How could the system copy the essence of the diagram? It must have been some trick, so he compared the two diagrams.
Holy heavens. It was exactly the same diagram. This meant he could access the Inheritance of Array Masters and store it in the system. That would save him a lot of time, because everyone had to earn slots to read the Inheritance of Array Masters. If he added up the total hours, he’d spent reading the Inheritance of Array Masters in his previous life, it would’ve come close to two hundred hours.
And what was two hundred hours in two hundred years of life?
Nothing more than a fart.
With this system, he could store all the big books on the materials and herbs he had seen in the sect libraries. Wouldn’t that be awesome? That would save so much time for him in future.
In fact, he would be treated as a prodigy in the sect if he could remember everything he read. Of course, once his divine sense improved, he wouldn’t need to remember it as it would store everything he read once. But that would be only possible once he reached a higher level of cultivation. Even though he had a divine soul right now, it was quite small for remembering things in one go.
“Young master. I have a question. Did you store the golden and black threads in your body? Is your cultivation art related to those things?” Fei’er asked when he moved to the second strange diagram.
“Kind of.” He moved to the second diagram.
System: Scanning initiated. Remaining time: Thirty minutes.
This was good. He just had to spend some time around the diagrams, and they would be stored in his system.
A smile played on his lips unknowingly. This was a great advantage. He didn’t feel weird about having a strange system with him anymore.
“What do you mean, kind of? Are you a worm now? Can you shoot those threads from your fingers, like a spider man?”
His brow furrowed. “No. I can’t shoot the threads from my fingers.” He couldn’t understand what this little lass wanted from him.
“So, those threads are useless for you. Can you give them to me? I can use them to stitch your robe.” She sounded dreamy. “A gray robe with golden threads. You’ll look super handsome, young master. Please give me those threads.” She clapped like a little girl getting a sweet.
Wei sweated all over. This lass was crazy. She wanted threads that could cut one’s divine sense to stich his robe. If she could do that, he would be cut into pieces instantly.
Goodness, this lass always came up with weird thoughts. Those threads were heavenly material, and even if he could shoot them from his fingers, he wouldn’t give them to her for knitting. That would be such a big waste.
“Fei’er. Shut up and do your work. You are forbidden to speak of the golden threads to anyone. Otherwise, I’ll spank your ass red.”
Suddenly he heard someone’s voice coming from the other side of the metal door, and he shushed Fei’er. There was trouble outside.
Chapter 33 Supreme Inheritance
“Brother Yun, what is this place?” Du Xin asked, observing the dark metal corridor they had stepped into. In the dim light of the candle he held, the corridor looked gloomy and dangerous. The odd smell coming from the corridor made his skin crawl with fear.
Heck, it had been a dangerous journey just to get here. After five intense battles with Three Eyed Bear packs and ten hours in the metal tunnels, they’d finally arrived here. But it had cost them a lot. His five guards were dead.
Tian Yun nodded his small head. “We’ve reached our destination, brother Xin. This is marked as the Supreme Inheritance Ground on the sacred map. We have finally made through the perils and reached our treasure,” he exclaimed loudly, his small chest heaving rapidly.
Du Xin relaxed a little and carefully observed their surroundings. It was a simple metal corridor, and it didn’t look like anything special. But Tian Yun had shown him the map, a map to a secret place in the Ancient Ruins outside of Old Martial City. This seemed to be the same place.
But why did it feel so empty?
“Here is the door, brother Xin. See, there’s a notch for an array source.” Tian Yun tapped on an intricate diagram marked on a metal door that one could easily miss if not looking carefully. If they didn’t have the map, they might have passed by this area and never found this place.
Du Xin traced his fingers over the hair-thin line that marked the door.
“Once we get through this door, we will get the supreme inheritance, and we will reach Houtian Realm directly.” He laughed. “Brother Yun, we will be unstoppable after that, and Li Chi will beg to warm your bed.”
Du Xin’s body quivered in excitement. Houtian Realm. What a beautiful world. There was a heaven beyond heaven, and once he became a Houtian Realm cultivator, how would Li clan reject his proposal to marry Li Chi? In fact, even becoming his maid would be her good fortune.
No. He should marry a princess of the State of Zin. Marrying a princess was better than marrying a low-level clan’s daughter. And that girl wasn’t even a real Li clan member. A bastard named Sua had sold himself to the Li clan by marrying their patriarch’s daughter, and so he became a Li clan member, but Li Chi was his third concubine’s offspring. So, she was a low-level girl after all.
Should he even take her as a maid, or just fuck her once and then throw her out?
“Brother Xin. Take out the low-quality Qi Stones you brought with you. We need them to activate the array to open the door,” Tian Yun said.
Du Xin frowned. “Brother Yun, do we really need a low-quality Qi Stone to activate the array?” Tian Yun was his best friend, and he had stolen a sacred document from his clan’s treasury. That document had a map to this secret space, but it also mentioned the need of a low-quality Qi Stone for activating the final array, and Tian Yun lacked it, so he’d asked for Du Xin’s help. But now that they were here, he hesitated. A low-quality Qi Stone was a precious thing even for Du clan, and Du Xin had only received it after begging to his master Du Su from the main branch. His master doted on him very much, so he’d given him a low-quality Qi Stone.
And now Tian Yun was asking for it to activate an array that might not work at all.
“Brother Xin, this is from a sacred document. How can it be false? Once we obtain the inheritance, we’ll be rolling in Qi Stones? Even the emperor will have to show you respect after you reach Marrow Cleansing Realm. Why are you worrying about one low-quality Qi Stone?”
Du Xin felt tickles all over his body with the image of the emperor bowing to him. Marrow Cleansing Realm was a major milestone in the cultivator’s life, and he would live a most leisurely life in the State of Zin.
“But . . .”
“Brother Xin, we have already sacrificed so much. Let’s not dilly dally anymore and receive the inheritance.” Tian Yun’s voice turned threatening, and Du Xin felt fear touching his mind. Tian Yun was a layer four Refinement Realm cultivator, and he could easily squash Du Xin to death.
“Brother Yun is wise, so I will hand over the low-quality Qi Stone to you.” He pulled the stone from his pouch and handed it to Tian Yun with a hesitant heart.
***
Li Wei pressed his ear to the cold metal wall, listening in on the conversation on the other side. Surprisingly, once he placed his ear against the wall, he could hear even their ragged breaths from this side. They were exhausted, and their vitality was not in an optimal shape.
“Du and Tian clan,” he muttered, brushing his nose. The metal wall smelled too fresh for his liking. In his initial years in Heavenly Firmament Sect, he’d worked with metal day and night, and he’d developed nausea around it. One of his teachers, an apprentice refiner, had told him that refinement wasn’t his path, so he’d stepped on the path of arrays, never to look back.
Fei’er too stepped closer and put her ear to the wall, but by her annoyed look, she didn’t seem to hear anything substantial.
This was the effect of body cultivation.
“I hear someone outside. What are they doing here?” she asked, sounding a little afraid.
He smirked. “They are here to die.” His fingers traced over his sword hilt, rousing his battle intent.
“They deserve to die,” Fei’er clenched her fingers and replied bashfully.
Du and Tian clans were Li clan’s arch enemies in every city they operated in. Du clan had even destroyed Li clan in his previous life, so he wouldn’t go easy on them. Especially after finding out that Du clan abducted his cousin sister, Li Chi. For Chi’er, he’d vowed in his heart to destroy them from the Mortal Realm. Although he’d destroyed them in his previous life, doing it again would soothe his heart.
Quickly, he slipped his divine sense through the metal door and gauged their cultivation level. They were Qi Refinement Realm layer three and layer four.
He could easily take them with his body Refinement Realm cultivation.
“It sounds like Du Xin. That lecher is pestering elder sister Chi constantly,” Fei’er whispered, her face turning red.
Although he didn’t know who exactly had abducted Chi’er in his previous life, he’d had a gut feeling it had something to do with this bastard Du Xin. Although he didn’t have any particular attachment to the Li clan, and he hated that bastard Li Tang for trying to kill him, he would still take revenge for Chi’er. It was Du clan that had started trouble for Chi’er, so he could save her from some trouble before he left the clan behind. Even if he couldn’t save the whole Li clan, he would try his best to save Chi’er.
Yes, he should do that.
When he heard Du Xin and Tian Yun’s plan, he smirked. They didn’t know they were walking into a trap. Sure, this room held an inheritance, but how could a human gain an inheritance of divine beasts? And that too by going through yin yang threads that could cut even one’s divine sense into pieces.
Was it a joke for them?
With the Qi Stone they possessed, he could even set up an Essence Gathering Array to help Fei’er’s cultivation. For himself, he could use the metallic token he’d gotten from the Inheritance Chamber, as it had a Qi Conversion Array already embedded in it.
So, he had to open the door from the inside before those stupid people used the low-quality Qi Stone. The door was locked by a simple Bronze Grade Two Stage Lock Array from inside. For him, it was easier than taking a breath.
Tapping on the source points, he activated the key, and the metal door slid open without making any noise, like it was oiled regularly.
The door opening was so sudden for the tall youth standing on the other side that he stumbled forward, still clutching the Qi Stone in his right hand.
It was Tian Yun, a local tyrant of Old Martial City. Wei knew him very well, because he was one of the people that had forced him and his friends to hide in the Ancient Ruins a few months back. Wei had lost a couple of good friends trying to find a way out.
They shared a deep enmity, and that bastard deserved to die.
Without giving Tian Yun any chance, Wei snatched the Qi Stone from his hand and threw it toward Fei’er. “Keep it safe.”
Tian Yun frowned while trying to firm his feet on the ground. “Li Wei, you are courting your death.” He flapped his hands in the air, but he couldn’t regain his balance.
Wei sneered and attacked with a straight punch on Tian Yun’s nose.
Tian Yun tried to jerk his head aside, but Wei’s attack was too fast for him. While falling forward, it was impossible for him to move his face away. Even a Foundation Realm cultivator couldn’t do it, and he was only in the Refinement Realm’s early layers.
What could he do?
Wei felt something squishy connect with his knuckles, and then something warm gushed along the gaps between his knuckles, and he heard a deadly scream coming out of Tian Yun’s mouth.
“Li Wei, you are courting your death! White Tiger Metal Palm!” Du Xin attacked with a palm, and before Wei could react, Fei’er had leaped in between him and the attack.
Shit! His heart nearly jumped out of his rib cage when he spotted Du Xin’s palm reaching Fei’er.
Chapter 34 Fei'er in Danger
Li Wei’s heart jumped into his throat when Du Xin attacked Fei’er with a metal palm attack. His palm turned metallic gray, and it shot toward Fei’er, and Wei wasn’t in position to stop it before it hit Fei. Du Xin had acted sneakily while Wei turned Tian Yun’s face into a pulp.
That was a mistake. He shouldn’t have lowered his guard. If Du Xin injured Fei’er, Wei would regret it for a long, long time.
Pushing his leather shoes on the metal ground, he leaped toward Fei’er, intending to push her away. But he quickly realized he couldn’t reach her before the palm attack landed. He lacked cultivation to increase his speed, nor had he any martial skill that would allow him to travel faster.
Damn. Lack of cultivation haunted him like a nightmare.
“Explode.” He shouted inside his mind, burning twenty blood pearls. There was no other option but to burn his blood pearls. If not, Fei’er might lose her life today. That palm attack was aimed at her throat, and although she was higher in cultivation, she lacked a defensive martial skill.
Once this was over, he should teach her an arsenal of skills to protect herself.
Power burst through his body, tearing the small blood vessels around his Yangming meridian. It rushed through his meridians and provided his legs a large boost that was unrivaled.
Like an arrow, his body shot forward and his punch hit Du Xin, who had dared to lay hands on Fei’er. Du Xin’s chest caved in, but Wei had been too late by a fraction of a moment. Although his punch connected before Du Xin’s, his palm attack still landed on Fei’er’s shoulder.
Fei’er’s face went pale, and she screamed in agony. Her fragile body wobbled backward, and she dropped on her back, powerless. Maybe dead.
Blood rushed to Wei’s eyes. “You bastard!” he shouted and burned twenty more blood pearls.
Power rampaged through his body, destroying everything in its path. Blood vessels bled and ruptured under pressure, but it gave him an unending supply of power to trample an e
lephant.
Du Xin’s face turned grim, and he spurted blood from his mouth. “Li Wei. If you kill me, my master will find you and kill you. Let me go, and we will treat this like it never happened.”
Wei chuckled. “Even if your master comes today, he can’t save you from me.”
Du Xin spat another mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale. Turning backward, he tried to run out of the metal door, but how could Wei let him live? With the new power surge, he punched Du Xin’s back, targeting the same spot he had hit from the front. His punch pierced through Du Xin’s back and crushed his ribs like an elephant crushing a human head below its feet. It was as easy as that.
Before he died, Du Xin looked over his shoulder. He wanted to say something, but he couldn’t. His life was over.
“You— What did you do?” Tian Yun shouted in fear.
“Now it’s your turn.” Wei glared at Tien Yun. That bastard was responsible for this mess too. He’d brought Du Xin here, and that’s why Fei’er was in danger. He deserved to die.
But before that, he had to take care of Fei’er.
Squatting, he checked her pulse. Thanks to the heavens, her pulse was fine. Her face was pale, and her right shoulder was a bloody mess. Thank goodness she had lost consciousness, or she would be in a lot of pain. But she was bleeding, and if he didn’t treat her quickly, she might die or suffer an immense injury that may take a lot of time to heal. From his own pouch, he withdrew some Blood Nourishing Powder and fed it to Fei’er with water. As she alone had access to the storage ring, he kept a pouch with himself in case of troubles. That was becoming useful in this situation. Maybe he should keep a pill or two with him as well.
