Lanke Chess Edge
Chapter 187: Emotions Change With Circumstance

Many of the cultivators considered to have the greatest spiritual powers in Yuhuai Mountain worked together to stabilize Qiu Feng’s internal and external Qi. A number of other cultivators also worked together outside the Jade Dome Hall to cut off the Qi connection with the outside world.

The trembling “buzz” of the golden bell in the hall gradually calmed down. After about a dozen breaths, it fell completely silent. At the same time, Qiu Feng’s Qi also stabilized. His whole body had entered a state of meditation, enveloped in a layer of Dharma light, temporarily isolated from the outside world.

It was absolutely impossible for inner demons to have caused the situation just now. With so many of Yuhuai Mountain’s immortal cultivators present in the Jade Dome Hall on Yuzhu Peak, the invasion of external demons was even more impossible.

All the cultivators present frowned. Ren Butong glanced at Yang Ming beside him, then at Qiu Feng, still isolated in the Dharma light.

“Is the power of a True Immortal really so formidable?”

Many of the cultivators around them were shocked and curious.

“Mr. Ji was inadvertently feeling the changes in the world; could it be that it actually caused such a strange phenomenon, as if his state of mind manifested outside his body?”

“The Great Dao changes, and thus the world is transformed…”¹

Just like with Ren Butong’s murmur, each master now carried a different measure of awe and respect.

They held a number of complicated emotions with regard to Qiu Feng, who was sitting off to the side. His state was somewhat similar to the danger of people with shallow cultivation trying to forcefully reveal the secrets of the heavens. However, just as there were similarities, it was also strikingly different; with Qiu Feng’s level of cultivation, it was impossible for him to not be aware of when that might occur. Moreover, the golden bell in the hall was also trembling, which made it all the more strange.

Ju Yuanzi stroked his beard with his right hand and pinched the fingers of his left hand into a divination. His eyes wandered. He tried several times, but to no avail. Now, after hearing the discussions of his fellow Taoists, he could not help but speak up.

“No, that’s not quite right. It’s true that it is difficult to guess what a True Immortal could be like, but I have seen some of them before. But this Mr. Ji… is a little too incredible… It’s almost like…”

Ju Yuanzi subconsciously looked around at Qiu Feng and the area in the Jade Dome Hall still shrouded in Dharma light. He said nothing more.

The surrounding Yuhuai Mountain cultivators seemed to understand.

“The Tao is wondrous, and True Immortals cannot be speculated upon. Not even True Immortals are free of superior and inferior distinctions!”

“That’s right, that’s right. The most important part is that since Mr. Ji has a good impression of our Yuhuai Mountain, he mediated an old grudge between us and the Dragon Lord. This is a joyous occasion.”

No other cultivator refuted this sentence. It was obvious that the cultivators of Yuhuai Mountain were more willing to believe in Ji Yuan’s role in the dispute as opposed to the thought that the Old Dragon of the Tongtian River could truly be so magnanimous and forgiving. It was possible there was a slight bit of bias.

“Indeed, although the Mountain Decree cannot be shown to outsides, I believe that we can send some of Yuhuai Mountain’s research notes on the Edict to Mr. Ji for his perusal!”

“I’m afraid this might be inappropriate. Would a True Immortal who specializes in studying Edicts look down on such a small gesture?”

“Fellow Taoist, you are incorrect. Didn’t Mr. Ji make it clear to Fellow Taoist Qiu that this was only a private request? This could simply be considered expressing emotions. He would value intention over etiquette; this is merely to inform Mr. Ji that we took his request seriously and discussed it in our mountain sect. It is difficult to fulfill his wish, so we can only express our emotions.”

“That makes sense!”

“Alright, then that’s it!”

……

It was not until over a month later that Qiu Feng woke from his meditation. During this month, his senior brother Immortal Yang Ming had also been meditating in the Jade Dome Hall, while the other cultivators had already dispersed. Ren Butong had returned to Shuyun Tower to attend to his duties.

The current situation of the sect was still unclear, but it was nonetheless still a time of great turmoil. Several great masters had left Yuzhu Peak and returned to their original residences in the mountain sect to take charge, such that they might respond more promptly if something happened.

Because Ji Yuan clearly stated that he did not want Yuhuai Mountain to publicize his existence, the latter carefully considered how they might contact him.

Unless absolutely necessary, it was better to let Qiu Feng and other old friends of Ji Yuan go visit him. After they had deepened their relationship, they could invite him to visit the Yuhuai Holy Land. Then other Yuhuai Mountain cultivators could become acquainted with this True Immortal.

To put it bluntly, Yuhuai Mountain acted inexplicably “reserved.”

Therefore, it was naturally Qiu Feng who went to Ju’an Pavilion to deliver the jade slips.

In fact, while Qiu Feng was deep in his trance, he once more heard the crisp sound of chess pieces falling in the small courtyard. Then he woke up.

No sequelae appeared, despite his concerns. Originally, he did not dare even recall the glimpse he had caught of the changes in the small pavilion. However, he gained something else when he forced himself to recall it in the Jade Dome Hall. Although it was dangerous at that moment, after stabilizing his inner Taoist core, his understanding of the world within his body had reached a higher level, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.

Upon learning of this, Ju Yuanzi personally selected some of Yuhuai Mountain’s books on the comprehension of Mountain Decrees, and asked Qiu Feng to take them with him to deliver to Ning’an County.

Thus, around the end of the seventh lunar month, Ji Yuan received a gift from Yuhuai Mountain.

Qiu Feng left the three jade slips behind, exchanged a few simple words with Ji Yuan, and went back to the mountain. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to chat more, but rather that he seemed to be making great strides in his cultivation at the moment and was even more eager to return to the mountain to practice.

Ji Yuan was actually looking forward to finding out whether Yuhuai Mountain would truly allow him to view the Mountain Decree. However, he was obviously overthinking it. He had only met them a few times, and the other party might still be on guard against him, so how could they possibly show him the mountain sect’s treasure so easily?

However, receiving these three jade slips was a better outcome than even Ji Yuan’s original plan. Ji Yuan had just glanced over one of the jade slips, and although the research on the edict seemed a bit obscure to him, it could not conceal the subtleties of its knowledge.

At first glance, the other two jade slips were as incomprehensible as the books in Heavenly Script. Without careful interpretation, it was probably impossible to understand them. Even with Ji Yuan’s current knowledge of immortal arts, he might not be able to decipher them even after careful scrutiny.

After all, this was not an instruction manual on cultivation like his previous miscellaneous books and cultivation techniques. The jump in difficulty might be analogous to the difference between a textbook and a research paper.

“It seems that the true Edict technique is very different from my Edict-imbued commanding sound technique. Practicing this is just as difficult as improving and exploring the human-incompatible techniques of the Old Dragon…”

This made Ji Yuan feel that he had taken much for granted previously. If he had directly viewed the Mountain Decree, he might have been blindly exploring in the dark with no understanding, and would have wasted the opportunity.

The jade slips in front of him were true spiritual techniques. Although they were obscure and difficult to understand, as long as one could grasp the knowledge within it, one could comprehend and absorb it. It was truly a treasure of a book, and one that would quickly improve his cultivation.

At this moment, on the stone table in the courtyard, the three jade slips made of white jade appeared crystal clear in the mottled sunlight that shone though the branches of the jujube tree.

Each jade slip was composed of sixteen jade sticks, each two fingers long and one finger wide. The gold thread connecting them seemed to grow in the jade, rather than simply passing through it. Each jade stick was densely covered in tiny carvings in Heavenly Script. If one was not skilled enough, one would only see smooth white jade sticks.

In addition, after every complete reading of the Heavenly Script text, a spiritual intent would be conveyed through the objects, allowing the reader to experience the Heavenly Script both physically and spiritually.

“Based on just a few paragraphs, the teachings of whatever divine being created this object are truly exquisite!”

Ji Yuan was shocked by this technique. He could feel that whoever wrote the book possessed a great deal of skill and spiritual power. In comparison, although the Old Dragon was also quite powerful, his research was mostly for fun, and he lacked a craftsman’s spirit.

Ji Yuan murmured in admiration to himself. He reached out to touch the top of the Heavenly Script on one of the jade slips.

In contrast to his other miscellaneous books, these jade slips were all signed.

“Yuanzi of Yuhuai Mountain.”

Ji Yuan took a look at the other two. Of the three jade slips, two had been written by Ju Yuanzi, while the other was written by Yuan Wan’er. They were both most likely masters in Yuhuai Mountain.

‘Perhaps there is also a True Immortal in Yuhuai Mountain!’

Ji Yuan guessed in his heart. In any case, Ju Yuanzi and Yuan Wan’er were quite similar. At the very least, he was certain that these two could also create a “Calligraphy Manual.”²

Ji Yuan was filled with joy. Acquiring these three jade slips was like getting a brand-new flagship new mobile phone in his previous life. He treasured them so much that, after putting them in his sleeve pockets and going out to have breakfast as usual, even his steps were lighter, and a smile stretched across his face.

In the alley, some of his neighbors passed by carrying water. When they saw Ji Yuan, they greeted him warmly.

“Mr. Ji, you seem to be in a good mood!”

“Good morning, haha, I’m doing well!”

Ji Yuan also smiled and nodded as he passed by. His smile was infectious. He arrived at the Sun family’s noodle stall with a smile on his face. He greeted Old Man Sun and ordered a serving of wontons.

Less than a cup of tea’s worth of time later, Old Man Sun brought out a big bowl of wontons.

“Mr. Ji, your wontons are ready!”

“Okay, thank you!”

Ji Yuan bowed with cupped hands, picked up the porcelain spoon in the chopstick holder, and started eating. With his good mood, the wontons tasted even more delicious…

“Uncle Sun, give me a bowl of wontons and two white steamed buns.”

Another diner sat down and shouted to the stall owner.

“Okay, I’ll make it right away!”

After a while, the wontons were ready. Old Man Sun brought the wonton bowl and a small plate with two steamed buns to the man’s table, but he saw the person frown.

“Uh, Xiao Liu, what happened to make you sigh so hard?”

“Ah… My wife’s cold hasn’t healed for a couple days now. I’m worried. The herbs prescribed by those doctors aren’t working.”

Old Man Sun was obviously quite familiar with the man, so he sat down at the man’s table.

“Have you consulted Doctor Tong?”

“Forget about that, Doctor Tong isn’t even here. Otherwise, I would have asked him to come to my house for a checkup a long time ago!”

“Oh, Doctor Tong hasn’t come back yet? He must have been gone for over a month now, right?”

“Yeah!”

Ji Yuan, who was originally just eating his wontons, slowed down when he heard these words. He had a vague, peculiar feeling, so he turned to the side to look at the table next to him and asked a question.

“Where might Doctor Tong have gone?”

When Old Man Sun heard Ji Yuan’s question, he hurriedly answered.

“I heard that he went to Deyuan County last month, and hasn’t come back yet.”

“Deyuan County?”

After a moment of thought, one person came to Ji Yuan’s mind: the old miracle doctor, Qin Zizhou.

‘Could it be…?’

As he thought about it, the peculiar feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger. Ji Yuan could not help but make a divination hexagram with Qin Zizhou’s name. He quickly calculated it with his left hand hidden in his sleeve.

After a moment, Ji Yuan stopped his divination.

“Alas… Even a miracle doctor can’t escape from the natural cycle of birth, age, sickness, and death!”

“Mr. Ji, what did you say?”

Old Man Sun vaguely heard Ji Yuan muttering something, but he didn’t hear it clearly.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I would just like to pay the bill.”

Ji Yuan turned around, finished all the wontons, and drank the soup in just a few gulps. He left the payment and hurriedly left. His previous joy faded.

1. The second half of this is an idiom, 沧海桑田 (cānghǎisāngtián): Lit: “the blue sea turned into mulberry fields” — drastic transformations/changes in the world
2. 留 (liú): to leave/to keep/to preserve, 书法 (shūfǎ): calligraphy/handwriting/penmanship, 令 (lǐng): a ream of paper/order/poem/writ