Chapter 53: Elder Yuanfu!
“There may be the spiritual item I need on Little Lan Mountain, but the matter on Tranquil Cloud Island is also urgent.”
“With so many matters weighing on my mind, my cultivation has advanced swiftly, but hidden dangers remain.”
Rising to stretch, Shen Yan did not venture outside, but instead obediently took out his formation disk and began to study the array techniques.
Now that everyone was placed under soft confinement by the three great clans, he had no desire to make himself a target.
It was not until the third day that the three clans suddenly summoned all the cultivators once more.
Inside the Artifact Refining Hall, the Xu clan’s Supreme Elder surveyed the crowd and suddenly asked, “Fellow Daoists, does anyone here know about Azure Lotus Lake?”
At this, everyone looked at each other in surprise. Weren’t they supposed to be repairing a talisman treasure? Why bring up a lake?
Still, someone in the crowd replied, “Honored elders, I do know something of Azure Lotus Lake. It’s said that the lake was once the site of the ancient Azure Lotus Sword Sect. For reasons unknown, the sect vanished overnight, leaving behind only the lake, which then took on its name.”
“You are correct,” the elder nodded. “Azure Lotus Lake was indeed the gate of the Azure Lotus Sword Sect, and the talisman treasure we three clans invited you all to restore rests within the lake.”
“All that’s required is that you sign a Dao Heart Oath, and we will naturally share the secrets of the Azure Lotus Sword Sect with you.”
The cultivators below exchanged uneasy glances—why were they being asked to swear another oath?
But as the saying goes, the knife is in the hands of others; they had little choice but to comply.
“Little Lan Mountain lies at the edge of Kunwu. You all may think that our three clans are merely the result of wandering cultivators, but that is not so,” the Supreme Elder of the Chen clan said, his gaze deep as if lost in memory.
“A thousand seven hundred years ago, the sect gate of the Azure Lotus Sword Sect vanished without a trace. Every member, from the highest elder to the lowest disciple, disappeared, save for those who happened to be away.”
“Our ancestors were among those disciples. Unable to unravel the mystery of the sect’s disappearance, they eventually founded our clans on Little Lan Mountain.”
“For over a millennium, our clans have searched tirelessly and, at last, discovered a mysterious domain within Azure Lotus Lake.”
The Xu clan’s Supreme Elder continued, “At the entrance to this domain lies an immovable, broken talisman treasure. After years of research, we have determined it can only be accessed once the treasure is restored.”
“But just as we were preparing to repair it, the mysterious domain abruptly vanished.”
“Hence, we have gathered you all for two purposes: to search for the whereabouts of the domain and to repair the talisman treasure.”
The Zhao clan’s Supreme Elder nodded and vowed, “So long as you can find the domain and restore the talisman, we swear by our ancestors’ names that one-tenth of all gains within will be given to the one who locates the domain and the one who repairs the treasure.”
At this, the assembled cultivators began to murmur among themselves. None had expected the three clans of Little Lan Mountain to have such a history, and greed for the secrets of the Azure Lotus Sword Sect awoke in many hearts.
“Honored elders, we are but Qi Refining cultivators. Why do you, as mighty Foundation Establishment experts, require our assistance?” Han Yin suddenly asked.
This question immediately drew everyone’s attention—for indeed, why?
The three Foundation Establishment elders exchanged glances and smiled wryly. The Chen clan’s Supreme Elder explained, “There are restrictions on Azure Lotus Lake—no cultivator above the Qi Refining realm may enter. Were it not for this, we would not have summoned you.”
“A restricted secret realm, then,” the crowd muttered.
In the cultivation world, there were often forbidden grounds and secret realms set aside for trials, each with its own limitations—some for Qi Refining, some for Foundation Establishment, some for Golden Core. Such measures prevented the powerful from entering and upsetting the balance.
“We have prepared all manner of spirit pills for you, and with your Dao Heart Oaths now sworn, if there are no further questions, we ask that you proceed to Azure Lotus Lake.”
After a moment’s silence, all nodded their assent.
Storing away their fasting pills—since, before a certain realm, cultivators still needed to eat—each was aware that the quality of a pill greatly affected its efficacy, depending on the user’s own spiritual foundation.
Thus, Shen Yan intended not only to eat, but to eat to his heart’s content.
Besides a variety of spirit pills, the three clans provided maps and a hundred spirit stones. With all his possessions in his storage pouch, and seeing that the others were setting out for Azure Lotus Lake, Shen Yan joined them.
The Qian Kingdom was divided into thirteen prefectures; Azure Lotus Prefecture was one of them, just as Azure Lotus County was one of nine counties under its jurisdiction.
This region’s officials were notoriously corrupt. Fisherfolk would sell their catch in the county town, and though they were often extorted by fierce bailiffs, they usually kept more than half their earnings.
But ten years ago, a group called the Fiery Flood Gang inexplicably appeared in Azure Lotus County.
They quickly took control of all twelve counties, opening fish markets along the coast and monopolizing the trade. Any fisherman who tried to sell directly in town would have his legs broken—everyone was forced to trade at the gang’s markets.
Such tyranny inflamed public resentment, and the lives of the fisherfolk became wretched. Yet, with a powerful backer behind the Fiery Flood Gang, no one dared interfere, and the common people could only endure.
Before, fishermen had only to pay a boat tax or a sea tax. Since the gang’s rise, fish prices had been halved and a new “scale tax” was imposed as well. Every year, countless fishermen lost their livelihoods, unable to pay the heavy taxes.
Shen Yan now understood the truth: the so-called Fiery Flood Gang was actually a front for the three great cultivation clans. They manipulated the common folk, using their analysis of the lake’s resources to search for the hidden domain’s location.
Disguised as Yan Sheng, Shen Yan arrived at Azure Lotus Lake, then picked up a fish spear and stepped outside the cabin. With practiced ease, he poled the fishing boat toward the reeds.
Bang!
A sudden crash rocked the boat, jolting him from his thoughts.
Glancing coldly behind him, Shen Yan grasped his fish spear and leapt into the water.
Moments later, blood gushed upward in a crimson plume.
A dark shadow surged up from the depths, bursting from the water and smashing onto the deck.
It was a fish—scales hard as armor, body jet-black, mouth filled with interlocking fangs.
Blood streamed from two gaping wounds that pierced its body clean through.
With a splash, Shen Yan broke the surface and landed on the deck. Without hesitation, he raised his now-bent spear and drove it down with all his strength.
A sickening crunch followed.