Wu Shan sect was located on top of a tall mountain range and was normally accessible by taking a boat across a river stream.
Such was cultivators' bizarre preference in choosing a location to live: they tend to opt for secluded places where normal humans would be less inclined to travel to.
Although cultivators hardly need the boat, the facility was there to aid normal humans to reach the place. Wu Shan sect was bigger and definitely look grander than Ping sect, and was more accommodating to accept non-cultivators as guests. There had been a long history of Zuo dynasty's Emperors hailing from Wu Shan sect as well - obviously including the current Emperor Zuo JinLong. Therefore, Wu Shan sect definitely did not lack money. The past disciples that had left the sect to become Emperors or wealthy officials throughout the continent, did not completely cut ties with Wu sect. They constantly dispatch messengers to send resources for the sect. Most of these resources were in form of money and labour that were used to build the many structures and facilities of the sect.
Hence, the architecture and the amount of effort put into the work could clearly be seen; from the base of the mountain, up the stone steps, and the majestic looking gate. To the sides of the gates, yellow sugar maple trees as old as the gate itself served as a striking backdrop.
They had only passed the gate of Wu Shan sect when Zuo ZhouLei stopped in his tracks and turned his head. He lightly frowned and put his hand over his chest as he gazed northwest, his eyebrows furrowing slightly. It was the direction where the Imperial Palace was located, where they had left from, several days ago.
"Mother has just passed away." ZhouLei muttered.
Sage Shen Zheng and Shen Wei looked at each other with a bewildered expression.
"How... could you tell?" Shen Wei cautiously asked. Normally, only the death of someone with a powerful qi could be detected. But even then, it was usually only noticed by cultivators within relatively close proximity.
ZhouLei merely shrugged, "Just felt her presence disappeared."
Sage Shen Zheng lightly kneaded his temple. The boy was becoming more and more peculiar. Only a couple of nights before, he noticed ZhouLei demonstrating a flawless qing-gong skill. And now, he just witnessed the boy recognizing a mere Enlightened's qi disappearance.
Even Shen Zheng himself did not notice Shuan Bing's death, and he was a powerful Sage. He definitely could feel Shuan Yi's qi dissipating when the latter was close to his death, years go. But even then, Shen Zheng was at Wu Shan sect and thus was pretty close to feel it.
He shook his head and just attributed it to the special bond between a mother and a son.
Shen Wei watched Zuo ZhouLei continuing to walk up the stairs. He scratched the back of his neck when he noticed that, although there was a ripple of sadness in the younger boy's gaze earlier, his disposition was now already calm and indifferent.
"Shidi. Are you not sad?" He called out.
"Life and death are as sure as time itself. It is the law of the world that applies to everyone. Mother is not an exception." ZhouLei slightly tilted his head while looking back at Shen Wei. There was a questioning look on his face, as if Shen Wei had just asked a very bizarre question.
Sage Shen Zheng did not know what to think anymore. Such a special bond it was... that caused ZhouLei to notice Shuan Bing's death, but still be able to be nonchalant about her death. He wondered what kind of upbringing and education the little Prince had received for the past six years to make him having such maturity.
The other only plausible explanation was that, ZhouLei truly had the ability to sense the flow of energy inside people, even at such a young age; which should not be a far-fetched conclusion especially when the boy could already regulate his own qi to the extent of being able to fly seamlessly.
If that was true, then Shen Zheng had to do whatever he could to protect the boy and his future cultivation path. Shen Wei aside, Shen Zheng decided to also spend as much resources as possible to aid ZhouLei's cultivation.
"Ah-Lei, (1)" Shen Zheng called out, "Follow shifu to a place!"
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The Bu Gui (2) cave looked ordinary from the outside, but only Wu Shan sect's cultivators of the Sage rank and above would be able to enter. This was because the cave contained the purest of qi that the world could offer.
The cave was the only kind in the whole world. Although Hui Lin sect and Chun Ping Gu sect also had their own pure qi-cultivation places, Bu Gui cave was several levels more potent above the rest. Only Sages that had attained deep understanding and initial enlightenment of their Shang Dantian would be able to withstand the pressure of such undiluted, pure energy.
Anyone of lesser qualification would only seek death. The pure energy would attack their core and possibly destroy their meridians. If one was to meditate in front of the cave, they could even sense the particles of pure qi swirling about, dense small balls of energy drifting in the air.
In fact, even Wu Shan sect's Sages hardly used the cave. True to its name, it was a cave of no return. No one that had ever come in, would come out again. The Sages of Wu Shan sect preferred to meditate in several other caves or solitary places of the sect, to safely and slowly progress their cultivation.
Shuan Yi, though, had decided to enter Bu Gui cave. And he perished, just like a handful of Wu Shan sect's brave ancestors centuries ago that made the same decision as he did.
Shen Zheng, Shen Wei, and ZhouLei stood in front of the cave.
The mouth of the cave was covered by green moss and plenty of vegetation grew around the small hill it was located at. From the surface, the cave went further underground. No one knew the exact depth of it.
It was the very picture of tranquility, despite the danger it possessed within.
However, even by standing in front of it, Shen Wei's face had already turned green.
"Shifu... this... ."
"Ah-Wei. You should stand back further. At your current level of a Martial-Artist, even the pressure of the cave is much too big. Ah-Lei, you should also... ." Shen Zheng did not get to finish his sentence as he saw his youngest pupil walk even closer to the cave.
He widened his eyes,
"Ah-Lei... . You don't feel any discomfort?"
He initially only wanted to show ZhouLei the resting place of Shuan Yi. After all, Shuan Yi was Shen Zheng's shixiong as well as ZhouLei's grandfather. It was only proper to pay his respect. And as he noticed that ZhouLei seemed to have a purer qi than normal people, he thought the boy could definitely at least be able to do some kowtows in front of the cave.
But forget kowtowing, he was waltzing into the cave like it was just any other place. Shen Zheng could feel the slight disarray of Shen Wei's qi, obviously affected by the cave. However, ZhouLei was as calm as ever.
Shen Zheng had only gone as far as about half-a-day walk into the cave in the past, before the qi contained within weighed upon him like the mightiest of mountains. That was when he tried to dissuade Shuan Yi to go further inside. Apparently, the farther it was, the purer the qi became, the harder it would be to maintain the stability of their Dantians without being affected. Shen Zheng did not know exactly which part of the cave Shuan Yi had perished at. The late Sage's corpse could still be inside.
"Ah-Lei!" Shen Zheng jumped forward, finally broken out of his stupor. He caught the boy's shoulder, realizing that they were already inside the cave now. Shen Zheng glanced outside and noticed Shen Wei looking back in worry.
"Shifu?" Shen Wei called out, "Is shidi alright?"
"Very good question." Shen Zheng pursed his lips. He tried to make out ZhouLei's expression, but the light from outside seemed to be sucked in by the blackness of the cave. He could only tell ZhouLei's mood by feeling the change of his qi.
There was no change, which meant ZhouLei was not affected at all by the dense pure energy surrounding them.
"Shifu. Something is inside." ZhouLei's small voice echoed around them, bouncing off the cave's cold walls.
"It is very similar to Mother's presence."
"... ." Shen Zheng tried to focus towards the depth of the cave, to feel what ZhouLei had just felt. Soon, his eyes widened.
It was Shuan Yi's qi. The presence was very faint, but it was undoubtedly his shixiong's qi. It made sense if it was somewhat similar to Shuan Bing's. After all, they were father and daughter.
Could his shixiong – one of the greatest Sages of his time – still be alive after all these decades?
However, he definitely felt Shuan Yi's qi disappearing off the world's grid all those years ago, clearly signifying his death.
"Ah-Lei. Be truthful to shifu. Are you feeling any discomfort or pain at all at the moment?"
"Not at all. It is quite cooling and pleasant, actually," came the confident reply.
"Pleasant... ." Shen Zheng could not help but feel amused. Even as someone with a cultivation level as high as he was, he was already feeling tingling sensations running on his skin. Although it was not painful for him, it was definitely far from pleasant.
"Ah-Wei. Wait outside for shifu and Ah-Lei. We will return by the end of the day," Shen Zheng shouted towards his succeeding disciple who was already pacing back and forth outside the cave.
If Shuan Yi was still alive, perhaps Shen Zheng could still help him.
They proceeded deeper, only heightening their senses to follow where the purest of qi lead to. Sense of sight and smell was already gone since long ago, and they did not know the time of the day anymore. As the air became denser and the familiar feeling of pressure washed over Shen Zheng, burrowing deep into his meridians, he began to feel heat in his blood stream.
His Dantians were under attack, the pure energy from outside tried to make their way to take over him, to forcefully cleanse him from inside out. He focused all his will and his qi regulation to protect his fleshly body. He definitely could not perish here, especially when ZhouLei was with him. He had to protect Shuan Yi's only living blood descendant.
"Shifu. It is close." ZhouLei's voice helped his determination and Shen Zheng could also feel Shuan Yi's signature qi become closer.
Then Shen Zheng could finally see, clear as day.
A couple of feet away from them, leaning against the wall, was a body. The person was long gone, no longer with a soul. The face of the dead cultivator was the same, even the robe was immaculate. The body was in a meditative sitting stance.
It was Shuan Yi.
Shen Zheng forgot all his pain and discomfort and walked closer. The qi was definitely still there, and it was stronger than what he had felt at the cave's entrance.
Shen Zheng knelt and raised his hand towards Shuan Yi's nose. He already knew it was futile, but it was almost an involuntary habit, just a slight hope. True enough, it was truly just a corpse, not even the faintest breath remained. The well-preserved body almost looked like his shixiong was merely sleeping.
The phenomenon must have been caused by the pure qi inside the cave. Although Shuan Yi did not attain immortality, his fleshly body would withstand the flow of time forever if he was to stay inside this cave.
Shen Zheng sighed. Perhaps, he should not take Shuan Yi outside at all. There were some black stains from Shuan Yi's five orifices (3) on his face, and Shen Zheng cautiously cleaned them up. They must be the injuries Shuan Yi had received when he meditated and finally succumbed to the pressure of the cave.
"Ah-Lei." His voice was deep in grief, "This is your grandfather... ."
He paused and noticed that the boy had removed an object from Shuan Yi's lap.
And also quickly noticed that Shuan Yi's qi, was precisely from that familiar object.
It was Shuan Yi's sword.
"Of course! Shixiong's qi was still trapped inside his sword." Shen Zheng wanted to kick himself, forgetting the well-known knowledge all sword-wielding cultivators should possess.
A cultivator's sword was imbued by their own qi, making it almost akin to an extension of their limbs. That made it unable to be wielded by anyone else but the master.
Normally, when a swordsman died, the qi from the sword also vanish.
But Shuan Yi's sword undoubtedly still carried his qi, as if the master was still alive. Shen Zheng could only think that this was caused by the cave as well.
Although the cave's dense pure qi affected a living cultivator, trying to purify the cultivator's qi, a sword was only an object. The qi ended up being trapped inside, unable to escape the confinement of the surrounding stronger qi.
However, even after a Sage's death, their sword would not be able to be used by any other cultivator. After the sword lost its master's mark, it would normally be junk, merely an ornament.
However, these kind of ornaments usually fetch a high price in the black market. After all, there was never a shortage of rich people willing to pay fair price to obtain an object that used to be used by well-known cultivators.
As for Wu Shan sect, they displayed these swords without masters inside a building as a memorial for their ancestors who had passed away.
Which was what Shen Zheng planned to do. If he could not and did not want to move Shuan Yi's body outside, at least he could bring Tian (4) back to properly display it beside the other Sages' dormant swords in the memorial pavilion.
Tian was the name of Shuan Yi's sword. In the darkness of the cave, it was the only object emitting light. The blade of the sword was made of the highest grade white crystal, even stronger than the strongest metal.
In fact, even Shen Zheng's sword - Xian (5) - was inferior to Tian. And after Tian, Xian was the most powerful sword known the man. However, after Tian was entombed inside the memorial pavilion, it would be nothing more than a normal good looking blade.
"Shifu." ZhouLei ran his finger on the sword's edges, his eyes reflecting the white-bluish light. For a split second, Shen Zheng thought he saw the boy's dark pupils turn azure,
"This is grandfather's sword, right?"
"Hn." The Sage nodded, "We will leave your grandfather to rest here, but we can take Tian out. That is the name of the sword."
"It is a beautiful sword," ZhouLei gushed, his lips pulled in a light smile, "Very strong, too."
Once again, Shen Zheng nodded, "Yes, but only your grandfather could use it. After we take it out, the qi from Tian would disappear. After all, your grandfather is already long gone. It is a pity, but Tian will not be able to be wielded by anyone ... ."
Shen Zheng's eyes widened as he felt the qi from Tian gradually dissipating under ZhouLei's touch. He faintly thought that he really should not be surprised anymore by whatever the boy manages to do. However, he was still flabbergasted in the end,
"... Y-Y-You." Shen Zheng stammered, "What did you just do?"
"Hm?" ZhouLei looked up to smile at him. Now the last of Shuan Yi's leftover qi from Tian had disappeared, "I have just merely asked the energy inside the sword to leave."
"... . What?" Shen Zheng blinked. "It could not have been that simple to do that, right?!"
"And, Shifu. Wei shixiong told me that I have to imbue my own qi to a sword to make it mine. How do I do it? I need to be able to do that to be able to fly on swords."
"Uh... . I don't think you are able to do it yet, Ah-Lei... ." Shen Zheng paused, then decided to just throw all his reservation to the wind. After all, he had seen more than enough from ZhouLei that he had previously thought was impossible to do.
"Here. You can focus your energy to pool inside your heart. That is your Zhong Dantian. Although the Dantian does not need to be fully opened yet, it is necessary to establish the bond to an object. Then you can transfer the qi pooling from your Zhong Dantian through to the sword."
Shen Zheng watched anxiously as ZhouLei sat cross-legged, putting the sword on his lap with his hands on the blade. The boy had his eyes closed and seemed to be in the state of deep meditation. The Sage could feel the boy's inner-energy started to flow throughout the latter's body, steady and strong.
Shen Zheng was merely there to guide and to watch over him, in case his inner-qi regulation became chaotic due to insufficient training.
However, it seemed that his worry was completely unnecessary. Soon, Shen Zheng could feel a surge of strong qi, almost as dense as the cave's itself, pooling inside the little boy's Zhong Dantian. It flowed smoothly throughout the boy's bloodstream, causing faint breeze to flow around his body.
Soon, the already empty Tian was imbued with qi once more – ZhouLei's own qi.
And the blade emanated a stronger light than ever. It signified that ZhouLei's innate qi was even purer than Shuan Yi's.
Shen Zheng really wanted to curse and cheer at the same time.
However, he was soon wary of ZhouLei's pale face when the boy finally opened his eyes, glazed look inside his dark pupils.
"Shifu... I don't feel too good. The air is getting heavy."
"Now you are telling me! It is a wonder you have been able to withstand it this long!"
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"Are you serious?" Shen Wei threw his hands up in the air in an exasperated manner.
The day was already over, and his shifu and ZhouLei had come out from the cave safe and sound, if not the latter being a bit pale. But that was not the problem that caused Shen Wei's headache.
The Martial-Artist was looking at the familiar looking blade in ZhouLei's hands. Although Shen Wei had hardly interacted with the late Shuan Yi before, Tian was a famous sword that had been documented in the sect's various scrolls, as well as painted by famous scholars across the continent.
He was definitely more than familiar with the physical characteristics of the sword. No doubt, the sword that ZhouLei had taken out of Bu Gui cave, was Tian.
"You... have seriously renamed Tian... into LanHua (6)???"
The sky-high might blade, had been renamed to a feminine-sounding name. The sky, had become a flower.
ZhouLei merely nodded, satisfaction written all over his face as he looked at his new sword with a smile.
"Why? Why couldn't you use another name?" Shen Wei complained, not quite giving up in the awful choice of name he thought ZhouLei had decided on.
ZhouLei paused at this and pondered for a bit.
"Hmmm.... It just... feels right," he finally answered, "Shixiong, why did you name your sword WeiFeng (7)?"
Wei was definitely derived from Shen Wei's own little name.
But Feng?
Shen Wei put his hands on his chin as he pondered on the day he named his sword years ago. He finally slumped his shoulder in defeat,
"It... feels right?"
"Exactly." ZhouLei grinned.
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Notes
(1) By affixing "ah-" in front of someone's little name in Chinese, it signifies the close relationship. Almost similar to affixing "-er" at the end of the name.
(2) Bu Gui means 'not return'.
(3) Five orifices of one's face: two ears, two holes from the nose, the mouth.
(4) Tian means sky/heaven. It was also the mentioned in the prologue. Remember the surname of our dear immortal?
(5) Xian = immortal
(6) LanHua = orchid flower. Lei kinda missed the mark though; YuLan, although was derived from the 'Lan' part, she was a jade-orchid (Magnolia), not just an orchid. Nevertheless, I guess Lei's dormant soul still somewhat remembered the existence that was precious to him.
(7) Meant to be translated loosely as "guarding wind". Well, Feng itself is our well-loved character's name in his past life... You know who.