Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Old Man of the Valley

Endless falling, relentless impacts, yet these left Wu Jue acutely aware of the upheavals in his life, time and again.
This feeling was one he once knew intimately.
He had faced death’s edge over and over, always managing to escape disaster.
This time would be no exception.
A fierce will to survive surged within him, his energy and blood pounding, evolving, evolving again and again. The fourth stage of the Meridian Transformation, which had been on the verge of breaking through, finally reached perfection.
His physical body transformed, and in the midst of a violent descent, he suddenly awoke.
He opened his eyes, seeing earth and mud falling beside him, along with his companions.
Wu Jue swung his fists and feet with all his might, unleashing fierce strikes that sent countless rocks flying.
Using the force of the rebound, he leapt several times in succession, landing beside Princess An Yi and taking hold of her.
The pure yang energy of Daling Temple surged into her, instantly rousing An Yi from her unconsciousness.
An Yi awoke with a start, realized what had happened, and nodded to Wu Jue; the two separated, stepping across falling stones to rescue Xiao Han and Xiao Yang.
After searching for a while, they finally saw Xiao Yang maneuvering his transforming armor into a flying device, dodging falling rocks and seeking an exit.
Just as another stone threatened to strike his head, Wu Jue flew over, activating the Golden Bell Shield throughout his body. Unconsciously, the energy expanded outward, forming a protective layer above him like a monk’s robe.
The stone bounced away several meters, and this unexpected effect made Wu Jue feel a secret delight.
Huron spoke in his mind, “Congratulations, you have surpassed the limits of humanity and reached the first stage of mind-manifestation. When you complete all nine stages of the Bone Transformation Sutra, you will enter the realm of Middle Martial.”
Wu Jue felt the changes within himself, knowing this was the transformation brought by the fifth stage of the Bone Transformation. He had never imagined achieving such mastery.
Xiao Yang, from within his flying device, let out a long breath. “That was close—thank goodness Master came to help, or I’d be in trouble. By the way, where are Xiao Han and An Yi?”
“We haven’t found Xiao Han. Looks like we’ve been separated,” An Yi quickly returned, and now the three could see the valley floor—only ten meters remained before they landed.
Xiao Yang called out, “Jump onto the flying device, we’ll land together.”
Wu Jue and An Yi immediately leapt aboard. Xiao Yang skillfully piloted the device, and it slowed in midair, finally coming to a steady stop just as it touched the ground.
There were still a few stones falling from above; Wu Jue told Xiao Yang to hide inside, while he and An Yi continued to strike at the falling rocks, inspecting the situation at the valley’s bottom.

After a while, the rain of stones ceased, and a rare calm settled. Wu Jue gradually recognized this as the mysterious valley where he had once fallen upon hard times.
It seemed the recent cliff collapse had exposed the hidden valley entirely. Wu Jue pointed ahead, saying, “If we go further, we’ll reach the heart of the valley. I remember there were some elders here once—I wonder how they are now?”
He didn’t need to think hard; Wu Jue could guess that after centuries, those masters from before had undoubtedly passed away.
But even if they were gone, surely they would have left some relics. Wu Jue, reminiscing about the past, unconsciously walked forward.
After a short walk, the valley opened up, but there were also bodies of beasts that had fallen—cheetahs and wolves, mangled and bloody, in terrible shape.
Occasionally, a dying beast would sense someone approaching, growling low to threaten the group, but Xiao Yang showed no mercy, picking up a stone and killing it outright.
Moving further ahead, they suddenly came upon a cave, long abandoned, its entrance covered in weeds and nearly blocked.
Wu Jue approached, brushed aside the weeds, and said, “This is the place—I once took refuge here, and it’s still preserved. Let’s go inside.”
The three entered one after another, delving deeper, and found the interior surprisingly different.
Strangely, though the outside was overgrown, inside it was impeccably clean, with stone stools, beds, and chairs neatly arranged.
At the center was a table with a censer filled with ash, and words carved on its surface. Wu Jue wiped away the dust and read carefully.

It said: “We three have lived in seclusion here, unable to withstand the passage of years, and shall one by one grow old. The last to depart leaves these words for those who come after.

Yi Xingchen, former leader of the Star Gate, master of astrology and divination, predicted countless fates, but his defiance of destiny was too great. He lived blind for many years, passing away at ninety-three.

Pu Tianyang, chief of the Thirteen Provinces of the Green Forest, robbed the rich to aid the poor, killed many, but repented in later life, retiring here to atone for his sins, giving up martial arts, passing away at seventy-nine.

I, Duan Mingde, once a top disciple of the Ultimate Intent Sect, loved martial arts and considered myself peerless. In my youth, pride led me to conflict and grave mistakes; in middle age, I fled the world, living in seclusion. I never grasped the true path of martial arts nor understood the meaning of chivalry.

Only after meeting these two friends, in this wild land, muddled through our days, never understanding why.

Now my friends are gone, I alone remain. Alas, alas!”

Reading this, Wu Jue was deeply moved. He hadn’t expected the three elders to end their days here, alone—an infinite sadness welled up within him.
He joined his palms and began chanting Buddhist scriptures to help release their souls.
Xiao Yang, meanwhile, inspected the cave and returned to report, “There are two stone coffins, each with a skeleton inside. Another skeleton rests beside the coffin—must be Duan Mingde, the last to die.”
Wu Jue stopped his prayers and went to see the coffins. As Xiao Yang had said, three skeletons were visible; Duan Mingde, having died alone, had simply passed away leaning on the coffin.
He asked Xiao Yang for help to carry Duan Mingde’s remains outside and buried them nearby.
Once finished, the three returned to the cave, but soon worried about how they would survive.
In the valley, food was scarce. Wu Jue remembered fruit trees once grew here, offering wild fruit, but now even those were gone.

Xiao Yang suggested, “If nothing else, we can eat the carcasses of the dead beasts.”
An Yi shook her head, “No, these beasts are likely full of toxins—eating them might cause mutations. Besides, Master is a vegetarian, breaking that vow would be wrong.”
Wu Jue shook his head, “No! I have made my decision—to break my vow. If it means survival, even if I violate the rule against meat, I will have to apologize to the Buddha. My only worry is that these beast carcasses may not be edible at all.”
Huron suddenly reminded him mentally, “You can’t eat the monsters, but their hides are useful. Bones and teeth can be made into weapons. Their brains have mutated, and there’s a chance to extract corpse cores. These can be refined to enhance martial arts.”
He frowned at this cruel method, but at a desperate time, he had no choice.
He shared Huron’s suggestion, proposing they use the monsters’ remains to strengthen themselves.
Xiao Yang, not being a martial artist, could only stay out of it. Princess An Yi was not opposed to using animal hides, but extracting corpse cores was hard for her to accept.
As they discussed, suddenly a voice echoed from within the valley, “Ah, no! I can’t stand it, how is this possible!”
It was Xiao Han, sounding urgent, rushing toward them.
Wu Jue looked up and saw a streak of light flying toward Xiao Yang’s position at full speed.
He immediately lunged, pushing Xiao Yang aside, feeling a burning pain in his back as the light passed through.
“It’s Xiao Han—stop him!” Wu Jue, enduring the pain, called to An Yi.
An Yi leapt after the light, trying to stop it, but it was too swift and escaped her grasp.
Only in midair did another figure appear, intercepting Xiao Han, and a burst of intense mirror light exploded, blinding everyone.
When the light faded, a figure fell to the ground. Wu Jue opened his eyes and saw Ter floating in midair, descending slowly. He spoke, “This is your mission. You have inherited part of my power, so you must swear to become one of the Mirror Knights. Otherwise, I will erase your existence.”
No one had expected such a turn—Xiao Han seemed to have inherited some of Ter’s power and was being forced to become a Mirror Knight.
Wu Jue stood and said, “Ter, you are going too far. Even for the sake of world peace, you shouldn’t force this responsibility on someone unwilling. Is justice only possible if one becomes a Mirror Knight?”
Ter laughed coldly, “We Mirror Knights pass our legacy from one to another. See this Eight Trigram Mirror on my chest? I inherited it from my predecessor. Now the mirror has chosen Xiao Han—he must become a Mirror Knight.”
“Absurd!” Princess An Yi cried out, “If the mirror has chosen Xiao Han, what about you? Will you become a normal person and retire?”
Faced with An Yi’s question, Ter replied calmly, “My existence will vanish from this world—there will be no more Ter. This is the cycle represented by the Divine Mirror.”
He then looked composed, landed before Xiao Han, placed a hand on his shoulder, and comforted him, “Accept it—take up your mission. Do not let this world suffer further calamity.”

End of Chapter Thirty-Nine: Old Friends of the Valley