"The Profound Merchant Ark's reach extends throughout the Star Sea. If we truly want to find someone, even if they flee to the desolate edges of the Star Sea, they cannot escape," Jia Chu said, his calm voice laced with a hint of arrogance and confidence. Even the elders of the Profound Immortal Ark, ten thousand years later, straightened their backs slightly, their eyes filled with pride upon hearing his words.
The ragged man in the image shuddered and quickly waved his hands. "No, no, no. It's better to get this over with. I hate麻煩 (máfan - trouble, hassle)."
The man pulled out a cucumber from somewhere and began munching on it as he recounted his story. "I got this thing from a wounded traveler I saved. He gave it to me as a token of gratitude, saying it could 'ward off disasters and misfortunes.' I didn't know what it meant, but I thought it might protect its owner from harm, so I gladly accepted it." The man paused, wiping the juice from his mouth. "That's what I thought, anyway. But a while ago, I was nearly beaten to death by debt collectors, and this thing did absolutely nothing…" He burped, his face a mask of disgust.
Jia Chu chuckled. "Useless, yet you're trying to sell it to the Profound Merchant Ark?"
"It's not useless. It's just not for protection," the man corrected him. "This figurine might be useless to me, but you, traveling the Star Sea, are bound to encounter a cultivator who needs it. You could easily resell it for ten times the price and make a killing. Besides, with your Ark's connections, even if you're unlucky and can't find a buyer, you'll surely find some fool willing to pay. It's not like you'll be stuck with it…" The man tried his best to persuade him.
However, Jia Chu's expression suggested he was already determined to buy the figurine, unconcerned about profit or loss.
Lu Yuzhi sighed. "Jia Chu's approach is typical of an Ark trader. For the Profound Merchant Ark, traversing the Star Sea in ancient times, spirit stones were just numbers. Even temporary losses weren't important… What truly mattered was enriching the Ark's treasury and gaining leverage against True Immortals."
Zhong Daogong's voice suddenly echoed from outside the pavilion, and a moment later, he appeared within.
"Elder Zhong," the others greeted him respectfully.
Zhong Daogong nodded in return, his gaze fixed on the image. The recording paused with his arrival.
"You actually have time to visit?" Li Fan asked with a smile. As the head of the Severing Immortality Pavilion, in charge of the Ark's affairs, Zhong Daogong was usually too busy to visit Li Fan's courtyard like the other elders.
"While Yuzhi was checking the records, I also discovered something interesting. Let's continue watching…"
The recording resumed. At the end of the transaction, besides the agreed-upon forty-five thousand spirit stones, Jia Chu gave the ragged man an additional five thousand.
"What's this for, Brother Jia?" the man asked, quickly pocketing the spirit stones as if afraid Jia Chu would change his mind.
Jia Chu smiled gently. "I just wanted to inquire about the wounded traveler you saved. If this figurine fetches a high price, we might be interested in acquiring more. Consider this an investment in future business."
The man, now much more agreeable, said, "Just that? No problem! Let me think… what was his name? Oh, right, Sun Piaomiao! He wasn't from our Xiaoyao World but a cultivator from the Xuanhuang World, traveling across the starry sky. He encountered the Celestial Whale's Leap, a celestial phenomenon, just before arriving. While he survived, he was severely injured and fell from the sky. If it weren't for my kindness, he would have died." The man puffed out his chest with pride.
"Xuanhuang World… Sun Piaomiao…"
The recording ended with Jia Chu muttering these words.
The name Sun Piaomiao caused a stir among the Ark's elders.
"That name sounds familiar. Have I heard it before?"
"Sun Piaomiao… Sun Piaomiao…"
Li Fan's heart also skipped a beat upon hearing the name. Sun Piaomiao was the ancestor of the Medicine King Sect in the Xuanhuang World. He had once journeyed across various worlds, leaving behind a travelogue containing the locations of twelve other cultivation worlds, including Xiaoyao and the Profound Merchant Ark's world.
Li Fan looked at Zhong Daogong. "Is this Sun Piaomiao the 'interesting thing' you mentioned?"
Zhong Daogong nodded and waved his hand, and images of three objects appeared before them.
"According to the Ark's records, ten years after the figurine transaction, Sun Piaomiao visited the Profound Merchant Ark. He then accompanied the Ark in pursuit of the Starfall Ice Hail, a rare celestial phenomenon. Countless massive ice meteors would hurtle through the darkness like a storm, shattering any obstacles in their path, creating a terrifying tempest of fire and ice. Even being grazed by its edge would spell disaster for a cultivation world." Zhong Daogong briefly explained the Starfall Ice Hail.
"While incredibly dangerous, a peculiar substance called Abyssal Ice Dust would often form at the core of the ice meteor swarm. It's said a single speck of this dust could freeze an entire cultivation world. And the resulting shattering force when the ice thaws possesses world-splitting power."
"Did they succeed?" Li Fan, captivated by the story, couldn't help but ask.
"There's no record on the Profound Immortal Ark. However, I suspect they did find some Abyssal Ice Dust. Sun Piaomiao took some and left these three items in exchange. The rest was likely taken by the Merchant Ark." Zhong Daogong's voice was filled with regret.
Li Fan wasn't surprised. After all, the Merchant Ark, as the victors of the split, took almost all the near-immortal level power from the original Ark. According to Zhong Daogong's description, the explosive power of the Abyssal Ice Dust was comparable to a True Immortal, so it was natural for the Merchant Ark to prioritize it.
The focus now shifted to the three items left by Sun Piaomiao.
"I don't recall seeing these in the treasury of the Records of a Hundred Hearsay Immortals. Did they also go to the Merchant Ark?" Li Fan frowned.
Zhong Daogong smiled. "No. These three items are still in our possession. However, what you saw earlier was only the outer layer of the treasury. These items are in the second layer."
Instead of being annoyed, Li Fan teased, "It sounds like there's a third and fourth layer as well."
"The deepest part is the third layer. You know about the theft, so we've taken extra precautions," Zhong Daogong said calmly, without a trace of embarrassment.
Li Fan dropped the subject, his gaze fixed on Sun Piaomiao's three items. Their style was similar to the hand figurine.
One was a grey bird with broken wings, its head still held high. Another was a three-branched tree, its branches ending not in leaves but in countless miniature trees.
The third item was something Li Fan recognized: a small cauldron, almost identical to the Medicine King Cauldron of the Medicine King Sect!
"This Sun Piaomiao doesn't seem like an exceptionally powerful cultivator. Yet, the items he left behind possess power that can rival the forces beyond the Great Wall…" Li Fan's voice was laced with wonder.
Zhong Daogong said solemnly, "In Sun Piaomiao's era, the path to immortality wasn't severed. There were even records of True Immortals descending to the lower realms. While the Ark's records suggest his cultivation was at the peak of Dao Integration, he might have been concealing his true strength."
Li Fan nodded slightly, keeping his own speculations to himself. Sun Piaomiao's ability to travel across the starry sky alone and return safely spoke volumes about his power. However, he clearly hadn't ascended to immortality.
Throughout the long history of the cultivation world, all records of those from the Xuanhuang World who ascended had been mysteriously erased. True Immortals had no names. Perhaps only those who lived through the transition between eras, like Mo Rubing, could remember, through oral tradition, the ascension and fall of Miao Fa Shangren, the ancestor of the Nine Refinements Pavilion.
Firstly, the descendants of the Medicine King Sect never mentioned Sun Piaomiao's ascension. Even his ultimate fate was unknown. Did he die of old age, an accident, or did he simply vanish? Records of him ended with his return from his interstellar journey.
Secondly, Sun Piaomiao wasn't only mentioned in the Medicine King Sect's records. Many texts in the Xuanhuang World mentioned this renowned healer and founder of the Medicine King lineage. His existence hadn't been erased.
"During his interstellar travels, Sun Piaomiao intended to venture further, but he discovered something peculiar about the region of the Star Sea where the Xuanhuang World was located and turned back… Was it because he was unwilling, or unable?"
As Li Fan pondered, Zhong Daogong spoke again. "These three items, like the hand figurine you chose earlier, seem ordinary despite our thorough examination. But since they all came from Sun Piaomiao, they might hold hidden secrets…"
Li Fan didn't answer. The other elders were restless.
"Let's go and see!"
Li Fan looked calmly at Zhong Daogong.
Zhong Daogong smiled. "Given your contributions, I doubt any elder would object to you entering the second layer of the Records of a Hundred Hearsay Immortals' treasury."
Soon, Li Fan followed the elders into the second layer. Compared to the first layer, this space was much smaller. All the treasures were sealed within orbs of various colors, floating in the air. The protective measures weren't formations, restrictions, or the True Immortal Script. Li Fan narrowed his eyes, observing the countless orbs, sensing a faint aura of life emanating from them.
"Are these orbs… alive?"
Zhong Daogong nodded approvingly. "Your intuition is truly sharp! Indeed, guarding the second layer of the treasury are unique lifeforms called Celestial Star Lotuses. Even in the ancient Star Sea's prime, they were incredibly rare. Their dreamlike radiance would envelop vast star regions, forming the shape of a lotus flower. When the flower bloomed, the star region would be bathed in brilliant light. When it wilted, darkness would descend. Whenever a world within the star region was destroyed, a seed would form within the lotus. This cycle continued for eons… These orbs are the result."
As Zhong Daogong explained, Li Fan envisioned the grand spectacle of the ancient Star Sea.
"The Merchant Ark took many treasures, but this Celestial Star Lotus is among the most valuable remaining."
"The treasures are sealed within the lotus seeds and cannot be easily extracted. Attempting to take them by force…" Zhong Daogong snorted. "…would require destroying the entire Celestial Star Lotus! This lifeform is connected to the Star Sea itself, having survived countless calamities. Destroying it would require the power of an Immortal! We've even tested it. Even the True Immortal Script's power can't destroy it easily." The elders were clearly confident in the Celestial Star Lotus's defenses.
A fleeting thought crossed Li Fan's mind. "Even this Celestial Star Lotus couldn't withstand the Return to the Void Grand Formation in my past life. Now, I don't even need the formation. My Heaven's Dust Finger could destroy it. However, while destroying it is easy, extracting the contents of the lotus seeds is another matter."
Unaware of Li Fan's dangerous thoughts, the elders joined forces to open the orbs containing Sun Piaomiao's three items. Their gazes focused on the treasures. Li Fan's heart stirred. He sensed the same reaction from True Return emanating from the three-branched tree as he had felt from the hand figurine. However, he remained silent, observing along with the elders.
The grey bird with broken wings and the second Medicine King Cauldron didn't seem to possess any special power.
"Ward off disasters and misfortunes… similar to a Dao projection. Sun Piaomiao is truly extraordinary. And he didn't pass on this ability to the Medicine King Sect." Li Fan's eyes flickered, suppressing True Return's urge to absorb the tree.
"Have you discovered anything?" Zhong Daogong asked after a long observation.
"I can't see anything unusual. But these items do feel strange," Lu Yuzhi said, earning nods of agreement from the other elders. Without prior knowledge of their peculiarity, they seemed ordinary. However, knowing their connection to the backlash from beyond the Great Wall, a sense of disharmony arose.
If only one or two felt this way, it could be dismissed as an illusion. But with all the elders present sensing it… it was clearly more than just an illusion.
(End of Chapter)