The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 84 The Wanderings of Master Cold Altar

Chapter 84: Chapter 84 The Wanderings of Master Cold Altar

"The so-called charity institution is a custom that originated in the Song Dynasty.

Among the clans in various places, some are rich and some poor. The wealthy would fund charity institutions, which not only have ancestral halls and public fields but even employ private tutors to teach the poor children of the clan to recognize characters.

In any place, the establishment of a charity institution by the wealthy is a charitable act that everyone praises.

Of course, maintaining an institution of this size is also costly. With the decline of families, many charity institutions eventually have only one function left: to hold corpses.

Especially in large cities like Xianyang, close to Ancient Ferry, with many merchants traveling from north to south, and outsiders coming to make a living, it’s inevitable that some would die away from home.

The people of Divine State emphasize the concept that leaves fall back to their roots; after these people die, they are often kept in charity institutions, waiting for their townspeople to show kindness, or for their family members to come and transport them back to their hometowns.

The Xianyang City charity institution is on the west side of the city outskirts.

This place was once a royal hunting ground, so the terrain is vast, with large areas of hills and dense forests, and there is also a Medicine King Temple.

On the road to the charity institution, there are forests on both sides.

Many coffins are also stored in the forest, usually built with bricks and stones into a three-inch-high platform off the ground, with a round cover, and the coffin is placed inside.

Some have been aged for a long time; the bricks have collapsed, covered with moss...

Others didn’t have the stone platform, just raised on wooden frames that had long since rotted and collapsed, and even the coffins themselves were cracked and turned black...

Seeing Li Yan and another looking around, Wang Daoxuan explained, "This is called a ’floating burial’, according to funeral rites, the coffin cannot touch the ground before it is interred. Sometimes descendants can’t break ground in time, or if one dies in a foreign land, they must first deal with a floating burial."

Sha Lifei clicked his tongue, "It looks like these are unattended, suffering in poverty in life, and after death, they still can’t be buried in peace, truly..."

"It’s not just poverty."

Wang Daoxuan shook his head, "Many wealthy families do the same."

Li Yan frowned, "Why?"

Wang Daoxuan gave a wry laugh, "They want to find a satisfactory Fengshui treasure spot to bury their ancestors and bless their descendants. But it’s hard to find a really good spot, so many wealthy families have coffins that have not been buried for more than a decade."

"What a sin!" Sha Lifei cursed, "These unfilial offspring, for the sake of wealth and status, let their elders suffer from the wind and sun, unable to be buried in peace, aren’t they afraid of retribution?"

Wang Daoxuan also felt somewhat helpless, "The court has repeatedly banned this practice, but because nobles in the court do so, wealthy families imitate them, and even ordinary people follow suit."

Hearing him speak, the two inquired further.

"Daoist, does Fengshui really matter?"

"Of course, it does. Being buried atop magical veins, surrounded by Gang Qi, descendants will be blessed with fortune, but with each generation, the bloodline weakens, and the effect diminishes. Even the best burial spot can only bless up to three generations."

"In a hundred years, it is enough to create wealth and prosperity for a family, so many Fengshui Earth Masters travel North and South of the country, and as long as they find a good spot, they can sell it for a good price."

"But these are all trivial forces!"

"Look at those royal families and great clans. Which one doesn’t spend a lot of manpower and silver to find a good burial spot but under the grand Human Dao of the mundane world, it all becomes fleeting, like passing clouds."

"And the Zhou Family, after Zhou Monkey’s mother died, also spent a large sum to hire an expert from the Jiangxiang Sect in Ganzhou to find an auspicious spot. At that time, they had a grand burial, but it’s been only two or three years since then."

"If the virtue doesn’t match the status, even good Fengshui is useless..."

The three of them chatted and walked, soon approaching the charity institution.

After all, it is the Xianyang charity institution, covering a large area. But due to its age, it seemed somewhat dilapidated, and even some earth walls had collapsed halfway.

Li Yan had learned his lesson, always pinching Yang Jue and activating his smell superpower as soon as he got close to these places, to see if there was anything unusual.

In an instant, various scents surged into his nostrils.

Li Yan’s face looked terrible, and he almost choked and turned a somersault.

The smells emitted by decomposed corpses from different eras truly made it difficult for him to endure.

Seeing this, Wang Daoxuan laughed, "The Xianyang charity institution is watched over year-round, and the City God Temple also sends people regularly to perform rituals, to cleanse the foul Yin Evil Qi so that no evil spirits will cause misfortune."

"But in some remote charity institutions, there often occur strange events. The guards must be people from the Mystical Sect, to be able to suppress..."

As they spoke, they entered the charity institution.

Because Li Yan had made a special request, and Sha Lifei gave enough Silver Coin, Wu Laosi’s coffin was well cared for, stored separately, and not exposed to the elements.

Wang Daoxuan bought some offerings on the road, and after the three offered incense one by one, they arranged a time to transfer the coffin with the old man guarding the charity institution, and then they left.

As soon as they stepped out, Li Yan noticed something was wrong.

He abruptly turned his head, only to see a person in blood-soaked clothes with chains piercing through them, slowly raising a hand and pointing towards an area in the deep woods to his left.

It was exactly the same as what he had seen in his dream that night!

Startled, he grabbed his knife and pinched Yang Jue.

However, he didn’t smell any strange scents.

In the blink of an eye, the figure vanished.

"What’s wrong?"

Seeing this, Sha Lifei quickly asked.

Li Yan’s face looked grim, "I think I’ve encountered something unclean."

He then recounted his dream from the previous night and what he saw today.

"You must have seen things!" Sha Lifei shook his head, "Neither the Daoist nor I saw anything, and you didn’t smell anything unusual either."

"Not right," Wang Daoxuan frowned, "The situation you described, I have read about it in ancient texts."

"It must be the Cold Altar Wanderer!"

...

"Here, right here."

Back at the Wendao Temple, Wang Daoxuan searched for a long time before finally finding a page in a damaged old volume, pointing it out to Li Yan.

On the page, it was written: At the rise of the great era, Golden Tent Wolf Country invaded from the south. In my dreams, I saw my mentor, and was equally startled by day, overwhelmed with anxiety. Later, a wandering Taoist guided me, revealing the tales of the Cold Altar Wanderer. I entered Zhongnan Mountain, and in a cave found the Cold Altar, offering sacrifices to the Heavenly Lord Chen, inheriting the lineage of the West Mystical Sect...

Wang Daoxuan patiently explained, "This is a record of our West Mystical Sect. Unfortunately, the text is incomplete. Afterward, I consulted my senior Qingyangzi and learned about the Cold Altar Wanderer."

"You have also encountered the Rampaging Soldier of the Cold Altar. The Cold Altar Wanderer is somewhat similar, individuals with profound knowledge in spells who died without disciples to carry on the lineage of the Magic Veins incense, become spirits that roam, solely in search of someone to inherit the Magic Veins."

"This is also called a celestial fate. During the late Tang Dynasty, as the world was in turmoil, with demons rising and the Dao declining, many Magic Veins lineages thus came to an end, hence the Cold Altar Wanderers were most active. Some stories entered folklore, about immortals transmitting the Dao in dreams..."

Li Yan frowned slightly, "Is there any danger?"

Wang Daoxuan pondered and replied, "According to what senior Qingyangzi said, when facing this situation, one only needs to follow the directions to the Cold Altar. If one does not wish to inherit, it signifies the complete end of that lineage’s fortune, and the other party will not persist further."

"Moreover, such an encounter often depends on fate. Have you encountered any strange events recently?"

"More than just strange..."

Li Yan sighed, raised his palm to reveal the Hook Seal, and recounted what had happened in the cave and Luo Mingzi’s warning.

"This is perfect."

Wang Daoxuan declared gravely, "Didn’t Luo Mingzi suggest investigating the origins first? Perhaps by following the Cold Altar Wanderer, you can find the root cause!"

...

In the following days, the Cold Altar Wanderer frequently appeared.

Li Yan, growing annoyed, grasped a pattern.

The visitor would occasionally show up in dreams, avoidable just by remaining vigilant, but in broad daylight, they would appear anywhere, all pointing southward.

That place was none other than the location of the Qinling!

Fortunately, as Wang Daoxuan had said, aside from occasionally appearing to point the way, there were no other actions. Li Yan gradually got used to it and stopped worrying.

Of course, his plans now included an additional item.

After sending Old Four Wu back home, he would first enter Qinling.

After all, it was an opportunity that, if suited him better, would provide a superior choice when building the observatory.

And thus, without realizing it, it was the ninth day of the ninth month.

The Double Ninth Festival, when the nine returns to truth, the beginning of one Yuan, a most auspicious day.

Since ancient times, on this day, it is customary among the people to climb heights to pray for blessings, worship ancestors, and hope for longevity, with communal feasts. In some places, they even conduct harvest thanksgiving ceremonies to Heaven.

Today was the time agreed with Luo Mingzi, to go to Chaotic Burial Mound to witness the sealing ceremony of the Mountain God; thus, they all got up early to prepare.

Before dawn, there was a knock on the door.

Li Yan opened the door to find his neighbor, Granny Liu.

She carried a bamboo basket with a dozen persimmons, Ziba cakes, and a small bottle of wine, neatly arranged and quite attractive.

"Li Xiao-ge, on the Double Ninth Festival, you probably haven’t prepared anything," Granny Liu smiled as she handed over the basket, "I made these myself, try them out."

"You’re too kind, Granny."

Before Li Yan could respond, Sha Lifei snatched the basket, stuffed a Ziba cake in his mouth, and mumbled, "Delicious, Granny, your craftsmanship is excellent."

"Eat, eat, you jinx!"

Granny Liu’s face soured immediately.

Sha Lifei, however, laughed and hastily brought out a pack of roast chicken wrapped in lotus leaf from the house, "Granny, no hard feelings, may you be in good health."

Granny Liu took the roast chicken, softened her expression, and glanced at them, "Dressed up so neatly, are you going to climb high?"

Saying that, she hurried back home, bringing back three Cornelian branches, their green leaves lush and berries like flickering fire, and handed them to Li Yan, "All men, none of you understand. How can you climb high without wearing Cornelian branches? Without a woman in the house, you really are helpless."

"Exactly, exactly."

Sha Lifei managed a reply, "Granny Liu, we are in a hurry, so we’ll be off now!"

With that, he ushered Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan out the door in a rush.

"Hey, hey!"

Granny Liu couldn’t stop them, stomping her feet in frustration, "Cunning baldy!"

Li Yan and the others hastened away on horseback, and only then did Sha Lifei laugh, "That kind of gift is usually from the bride’s family to the groom. Granny Liu probably wanted to take you in as a son-in-law."

Li Yan was bewildered, noting Wang Daoxuan’s silent amusement, then recalling Granny Liu’s daughter’s appearance, beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, he clasped his hands in gratitude, "Thank you Uncle Sha for saving me."

"Good you know it!"

Sha Lifei laughed heartily, distributed the Cornelian branches, each sticking them in their collars, and sped on horses toward Chaotic Burial Mound...