"The footsteps of our Xuan-Shang Celestial Vessel span the entire star sea. If we truly want to find someone, they will not escape even if they flee to the barbaric fringes at the furthest edges of the sea of stars." Jia Chu's calm tone carried an understated domineering confidence.
Even ten thousand years later, Lu Yuzhi and the other elders of the Xuan Celestial Vessel could not help straightening their backs slightly upon hearing this, pride gleaming in their eyes.
In the projected image from ten thousand years ago, the scruffy man shuddered slightly upon hearing this and waved his hands frantically. "No, no, no! It's much better to get all these troublesome details out in the open at once. Someone like me hates trouble more than anything!" As he spoke, the scruffy man pulled out a cucumber from who knew where.
While reminiscing, he began munching on it with relish.
"This trinket was actually given to me by an injured fellow I kindly rescued back in the day, to show his gratitude for saving his life. He claimed it could do something like 'warding disasters and facing perils.'
"I had no clue what that actually meant either. I just guessed it might shield its master from disaster in moments of crisis, so I happily took it." At this point, the scruffy man paused and wiped the juice from the corner of his mouth.
"That was what I thought, at least. But a while back, when that gang of debt collectors nearly beat me half to death, this damn thing didn't do a single fart's worth of good..." The man let out a burp and spoke with an expression full of bad luck.
Hearing this, Jia Chu gave a soft chuckle. "If it's useless, why sell it to our Xuan-Shang Celestial Vessel?"
"I didn't say it was useless, just that it doesn't save lives," the scruffy man corrected Jia Chu.
"Even if this figurine is useless to me, your Celestial Vessel roams the star sea; you're bound to come across a cultivator who needs it. When the time comes, flip it for ten times the price and you'll make a massive killing. Besides, with your vessel's vast connections, even if your luck turns sour and you never find someone who actually needs it, you're bound to run into a sucker or two, right? There's no way you'd get stuck holding the bag..." The scruffy man tried his best to persuade him.
Yet looking at Jia Chu's expression, from start to finish, he did not seem to care much about profit or loss on this deal; he had intended to buy the figurine all along.
Lu Yuzhi sighed with emotion. "Jia Chu's conduct truly is that of a quintessential Celestial Vessel merchant. To the ancient Xuan-Shang Celestial Vessel that traversed the star sea, spirit stones were nothing more than a string of numbers. Even temporary profit and loss mattered little..."
"What truly mattered was enriching the Celestial Vessel's secret vault, as well as accumulating bargaining chips to contend against True Immortals." Zhong Daogong's voice suddenly came from outside the small pavilion.
Before the sound had even faded, he had already appeared inside the room.
"Elder Zhong." Everyone bowed in greeting one after another. Zhong Daogong nodded in return, his gaze falling upon the projection in the center of the room.
Because of Zhong Daogong's arrival, the recorded imagery was temporarily paused.
"You actually found the time to come over?" Li Fan asked with a smile. As the Chief of the Severing Immortal Tower who oversaw all matters large and small aboard the Celestial Vessel, Zhong Daogong was naturally not as free as the other elders to drop by Li Fan's courtyard whenever he pleased.
"When Yuzhi was searching through the archives just now, I also discovered a few interesting things. Let us finish watching first..." The recorded image resumed playing.
At the end of the transaction, besides the previously agreed forty-five thousand spirit stones, Jia Chu gave the scruffy man an extra five thousand spirit stones.
"Brother Jia, what is the meaning of this?" Though he asked this aloud, the man showed not the slightest hesitation in his hands, hastily stashing away the five thousand spirit stones for fear the other party might change his mind.
Jia Chu wore a gentle smile. "I merely wish to ask about the injured man you saved back then. If this figurine ends up selling for a handsome price in the future, we might continue acquiring more. Keeping a record of the source makes future business easier."
Having pocketed the spirit stones, the scruffy man was exceedingly agreeable. "Just that? No problem at all!
"Let me think, what was his name again? Right, Sun Piaomiao! He wasn't a local cultivator from our Xiaoyao Realm, but a cultivator from 'Xuanhuang' who traversed the starry sky to get here. Just as he was about to arrive, he encountered the star sea anomaly known as the 'Sky Whale Leaping.' Although he narrowly escaped with his life, he was gravely wounded and plummeted from the sky.
"If I hadn't had a sudden burst of benevolence and taken good care of him, with the condition he was in, he definitely wouldn't have survived," the scruffy man said with a fair bit of pride.
"The Xuanhuang Realm, Sun Piaomiao..." The projection came to an abrupt halt with Jia Chu's quiet murmur.
Yet the name Sun Piaomiao stirred up a commotion among the vessel's elders.
"That name sounds a bit familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere?"
"Sun Piaomiao, Sun Piaomiao..."
In truth, the instant Li Fan heard the name, his heart also jolted.
For Sun Piaomiao was none other than the Ancestor of the Xuanhuang Realm's Medicine King Sect. Back then, Sun Piaomiao had traveled across various realms, leaving behind a travelogue that recorded the beacon coordinates of eighteen other cultivation realms.
Among them were Xiaoyao and Xuan-Shang.
Li Fan looked toward the abruptly arrived Zhong Daogong. "The interesting thing you mentioned—does it refer to this Sun Piaomiao?"
Zhong Daogong nodded. With a gentle wave of his hand, phantoms of three items instantly materialized before everyone.
"According to records preserved by the Celestial Vessel, ten years after the figurine transaction took place, Sun Piaomiao once visited the Xuan-Shang Celestial Vessel. He accompanied the vessel to pursue a star sea anomaly known as the 'Meteor Hail.'
"The Meteor Hail was one of the rarest phenomena in the star sea back then. Countless colossal ice-crystal meteorites hurtled forward from the depths of darkness like a torrential tempest, smashing to pieces every obstacle that stood in their path. Upon impact, they kicked up blinding sparks and icy mist, sweeping up a terrifying storm of intertwined frost and searing heat along their trajectory. Even brushing against the fringes of that storm would be a world-ending catastrophe for any cultivation realm," Zhong Daogong explained briefly.
"Though the Meteor Hail was perilous to the extreme, at the core of the innumerable ice meteor clusters, a bizarre substance known as 'Abyssal Ice Dust' would often form. Legend has it that a single speck of this dust could freeze an ordinary-sized cultivation realm entirely. And when the ice shatters, the bursting force of cracking ice possesses a might capable of almost rending the heavens and the earth."
"So, was the pursuit successful?" Li Fan asked, captivated by the tale.
"There are no records in the Xuan Celestial Vessel. But in my estimation, they likely succeeded in finding some Abyssal Ice Dust. Sun Piaomiao took a portion, leaving behind three items as bargaining chips in exchange. As for whatever remained, it was likely taken away later by the Shang Celestial Vessel." Zhong Daogong's tone was brimming with regret.
Li Fan was not surprised to hear this. After all, the Shang Celestial Vessel, being the de facto victor back then, had carried off nearly all the vessel's near-immortal power.
Based on Zhong Daogong's description, the power unleashed by the Abyssal Ice Dust was hardly weaker than that of a True Immortal, so it was only natural that the Shang Celestial Vessel had chosen it.
The focal point was the three items left behind by Sun Piaomiao.
"I don't recall seeing these items in the secret vault of the Baiwen Immortal Record before. Could they have gone to the Shang Celestial Vessel as well?" Li Fan asked with a frown.
Zhong Daogong smiled. "No, that is not the case. These three items remain in the collection of our Xuan Celestial Vessel. It is just that what you previously toured was merely the outer surface of the secret vault. These items are located on the vault's second tier."
Li Fan took no offense and instead asked teasingly, "Sounds like there's a third and fourth tier as well?"
"The deepest layer is the third tier. You know of the theft by outside thieves back then; this is merely a necessary precaution." Zhong Daogong's expression was calm, devoid of any embarrassment.
Li Fan dwelled on the matter no further, casting his gaze upon the three relics left by Sun Piaomiao. Their design and style were remarkably similar to the drooping-hands figurine.
The first was a gray bird with a broken wing; though its wing was severed, it still raised its head in a defiant cry. The second was a three-pronged tree; at the ends of its branching boughs hung not leaves, but countless miniature trees.
As for the third item, it was something Li Fan was exceedingly familiar with: a small cauldron whose appearance was almost identical to the Medicine King Cauldron of the Medicine King Sect!
"This Sun Piaomiao did not seem like a peerless powerhouse, yet the gifts he bestowed actually contain power capable of contending with what lies beyond the High Wall..." Li Fan's tone was ambiguous.
Zhong Daogong said in a deep voice, "In the era Sun Piaomiao lived, the Immortal Path had not yet been severed. There were even records of True Immortals descending to the mortal world. Although the records of Sun Piaomiao's travels with the vessel suggest his strength was merely at the peak of the Dao Integration realm, we cannot rule out the possibility that he concealed his true strength."
Li Fan nodded slightly.
Yet he did not voice his own conjecture. That Sun Piaomiao could traverse the starry sky alone and return safely left no doubt as to his formidable strength.
However, he certainly had not ascended to immortality. Throughout the long ancient epochs of the cultivation world, the records of all who had ascended from Xuanhuang were inexplicably erased, leaving no trace behind.
This was what was meant by 'True Immortals Have No Names.' Perhaps only living witnesses bridging the old and new eras like Mo Rubin could remember the ascension and fall of Venerable Miaofa, the founding ancestor of the Nine Refinements Monastery, through oral transmission.
First, the descendants of the Medicine King Sect never mentioned anything about Ancestor Sun Piaomiao ascending to immortality. Even Sun Piaomiao's ultimate fate was unknown.
Did he die of old age, meet an untimely death, or vanish mysteriously? Records of Sun Piaomiao ended after his return from traveling the stars.
Afterward, there was no information whatsoever. Second, Sun Piaomiao did not exist solely within the records of the Medicine King Sect.
Regarding this peerless powerhouse who healed the world and founded the Medicine King lineage, numerous ancient records across the Xuanhuang Realm mentioned him.
The traces of his existence had not been erased.
"When Sun Piaomiao crossed the starry sky back then, he wanted to travel even deeper, yet he discovered a certain peculiarity about the star realm where Xuanhuang was located and ultimately turned back...
"Was he unwilling, or was he unable?"
Just as Li Fan was lost in thought, Zhong Daogong spoke again: "The three items left behind by Sun Piaomiao are just like the drooping-hands figurine you chose earlier. Although the Celestial Vessel inspected them thoroughly and found nothing out of the ordinary, since they all originate from this Sun Piaomiao, they might very well harbor some secret..."
Li Fan did not answer, but the other elders could hardly sit still.
"Then shouldn't we go take a look at once!"
Li Fan looked calmly at Zhong Daogong. Zhong Daogong smiled slightly. "Given your contributions during this period, I do not believe any elder would object to your entry into the second tier of the Baiwen Immortal Record's vault."
Before long, Li Fan followed the elders into the second tier of the Baiwen Immortal Record.
Compared to the first tier, this space was noticeably smaller. All the treasures were sealed inside individual orbs of light.
The glowing orbs shone in myriad colors, floating in the air. The protective measures were neither formations, nor restrictions, nor True Immortal seal characters.
Li Fan narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the sky full of treasure orbs, faintly sensing a trace of living vitality emanating from them.
"These light orbs... are alive?"
Zhong Daogong nodded in praise. "Your intuition is sharp indeed!
"Indeed. What guards the second tier of the treasury is precisely a marvelous creature: the Celestial Star Light Lotus. Even in the star sea's flourishing days, this creature was exceptionally rare. Its illusory radiance could envelop more than half a star domain, weaving into the shape of a dreamlike lotus. When it bloomed, the star domain was bathed in dazzling brilliance; when it withered, the star domain plunged into deathly darkness.
"Whenever a world within the star domain met with destruction, a lotus seed would condense within the light lotus. Through myriad eons, repeating from antiquity to eternity... the light orbs before you were formed in this very manner."
Listening to Zhong Daogong's explanation, Li Fan seemed to envision the magnificent spectacle that had once unfolded across the ancient star sea.
"Back then, the Shang Celestial Vessel carted off numerous treasures. This Celestial Star Light Lotus can be considered one of the most valuable things left behind.
"The treasures are sealed within the lotus seeds and cannot be extracted easily. If one wishes to take them by brute force..." Zhong Daogong let out a cold snort. "One would have to destroy the entire Celestial Star Light Lotus! This spiritual being parasitizes the star sea. Having endured countless tribulations, its life persists. To destroy it is impossible without the power of an immortal!
"Moreover, we have tested it: even unleashing the power of True Immortal seal characters cannot damage it in short order."
The elders of the Celestial Vessel were clearly brimming with confidence in the defenses of this Celestial Star Light Lotus.
A fleeting thought passed through Li Fan's mind: *In my previous life, under the Return to Emptiness Array of All Creation, this so-called Celestial Star Light Lotus didn't seem to struggle for long either.*
*Nowadays, I wouldn't even need to use an immortal array; the Dustfall Finger could destroy it. However, destruction is easy; retrieving the items preserved within the lotus seeds without harming them is indeed somewhat difficult.*
Naturally unaware of Li Fan's dangerous thoughts, the elders joined forces to open the light orbs sealing Sun Piaomiao's three relics.
All eyes converged upon the three treasures. Li Fan's heart stirred slightly; from the three-pronged tree, he sensed an abnormal stirring of Trueness identical to that from the drooping-hands figurine.
However, he made no sound and carefully observed them alongside the elders. The broken-winged gray bird and the second Medicine King Cauldron did not seem to contain any special power.
*Warding disasters and facing perils... akin to a projection of the Great Dao. Sun Piaomiao is truly anything but simple.*
*Moreover, this ability was never passed down to the Medicine King Sect.*
Li Fan's eyes flickered, suppressing the restless urge within Trueness to absorb it.
"Everyone, have you made any discoveries?" After observing for a long time, Zhong Daogong spoke up.
"I can't see anything peculiar about them. But indeed, these items give me a very strange feeling." Lu Yuzhi's remark drew nods of agreement from the other elders.
If one did not know of the abnormalities of these three items, nothing would seem amiss at first glance.
Yet if one observed them with prior knowledge, all manner of dissonance would spontaneously arise.
If only one or two people felt that way, it could be explained away as an illusion. But with all dozen or so elders present feeling the same... then it was certainly not as simple as a trick of the mind.
Chapter 1340