"Let me contact my grand-disciple." The smooth, broad road of a literary-path cultivator lay right before his eyes, and Wenchang True Lord could not wait to try it.
The phone, ID card, and the like that he had after emerging from closed-door cultivation had all been arranged by this grand-disciple.
Wenchang True Lord opened his contacts. First on the list was his grand-disciple, "aa Li Minghui."
......
The Li Group was holding a high-level meeting. President Li sat at the far end of the long table with his hands folded.
President Li was nearly sixty. His hair was black and thick, without a single white strand, and he was imposing even without anger. From the top of the group to the bottom, there was no one who did not fear him.
The subject of today's meeting touched the interests of every director, and the quarreling was especially fierce.
President Li looked at them all with displeasure. He was just about to speak when a phone rang.
The ringtone silenced the meeting in an instant. Everyone searched for the phone. Who did not know that what President Li hated most was a phone left unmuted during a meeting?
Oh. It was President Li's phone.
But by President Li's habit, he never took calls in meetings. He ought to hang up very soon.
Instead they saw President Li answer. He bent down to shield his ear, his voice solicitous. "Hello? Hello? Ah, I can hear you, Old Ancestor. Yes, it's me, Little Li. Whatever it is, please give your orders."
When had the directors ever seen President Li this polite? It overturned everything they knew of him. Some wanted to discuss it in whispers, but restrained by President Li's authority they dared not speak, and could only force themselves to hold it in.
President Li did not care what the directors thought. This was Wenchang True Lord, his ancestral master. No amount of solicitude would be too much.
Although Wenchang True Lord's literary path had been cut off and his cultivation attainment could advance no further, his cultivation realm itself was already frighteningly high—a goal countless cultivators could not hope to reach in a lifetime.
Serve him well, and even a little that slipped between the fingers could bring endless benefit.
"You wish to go abroad? Of course that's no problem. I'll handle the paperwork for you."
"Might I ask what you are going to the United States to do, so I can prepare on my end?"
"To be the president? Then of course that's no problem... hmm?"
Li Minghui froze, suspecting he had misheard. What was this about running for president?
At first he had worried the Old Ancestor could not keep up with the times. Now it seemed he had worried too much.
The Old Ancestor was over five hundred years old. After more than a hundred years of closed-door cultivation, the first thing he did upon emerging was to run for president.
But was this keeping up with the times a little too well?
"Oh, right, Little Li. What would you say a Qi Refining stage cultivator needs most?" Wenchang True Lord asked. He was considering what to send Zhou You, just as a small token of regard.
Li Minghui's heart suddenly slowed for a beat. He was a man in his fifties who had been lingering at the Qi Refining stage all this time. Could the Old Ancestor be about to bestow something?
"Should I give some wealth?" Wenchang True Lord pondered. In his era everyone liked money. That probably had not changed, but he still wanted to ask a cultivator of the present day to confirm.
At those words Li Minghui hurriedly advised him, "Old Ancestor, wealth is external to the self. It corrodes the mind. As the saying goes—methods, land, wealth, and companions—what a cultivator needs most are cultivation methods."
He oversaw the vast Li Group and never lacked money. It was his aptitude that was insufficient, so he could advance no further. What he lacked most were cultivation methods—a cultivation method and divine abilities.
"That makes sense." Wenchang True Lord nodded. He had not expected the immortal cultivators of this age to have such aspirations. It put him to shame.
Li Minghui hung up and began calculating when the Old Ancestor's reward would come through.
......
The basement.
Messy courier boxes and takeout containers were piled into a small mountain. Ancient books gathered from all over filled the shelves. Dim light stretched two human shadows long and cast them on the wall, gloomy and oppressive.
The shadows swayed, looking extremely excited.
"Where's the Ming dynasty map of Chang'an?" one of them muttered, and soon pulled a large yellowed map from the shelf.
It was a precious ancient map he had won at auction after bidding six times, spending five hundred thousand. It was the only copy in the world. Afterward a collector offered eight hundred thousand, and he still refused to sell.
He usually kept this map very well, sealed away, without a speck of dust on it.
But now success was right before his eyes. He no longer had the mind to treat the ancient map gently, and simply fetched a red pen and drew a circle on it.
"The modern map of Chang'an is on your side. Hand it over."
A map of Chang'an, published by Geological Publishing House, fifth edition of 2012, list price sixty yuan, was handed over.
They set reference points, overlapped the two maps, and held the maps up to the light.
Through the light, the red circle left a faint shadow on the modern map.
One of them excitedly jabbed the map. "Found it at last! Chang'an No. 2 High. The legendary Human Dao supreme treasure is here!"
The two clapped in celebration, eyes brimming with tears. Their joy was beyond words. They had waited far too long for this day.
One's code name was Nianshi, the other's Lishi. They were members of a superpower organization, and archaeological experts as well.
Ten years ago the organization had learned of a passage of ancient text related to the Human Dao supreme treasure, and ordered the two of them to decipher its meaning.
It was a supreme treasure of legend. Not only their organization, but even countless immortal cultivators of profound cultivation attainment were stirred by it, all seeking every means to find traces of the treasure.
But to this day there had been no news of it.
By a stroke of fate, the organization had obtained a clue.
To decipher the ancient text, they had spared no effort traveling all over the country, visiting renowned masters, collecting ancient books, and comparing and translating them. After ten years, they finally made a major breakthrough today.
"The ancient text records that the Human Dao supreme treasure is in Chang'an. Comparing the ancient and modern maps, it should be at Chang'an No. 2 High."
"It also says the treasure's guardian is called the Zhenyue Ghost King."
"It seems the author who left this ancient text went looking for the Zhenyue Ghost King and never came back. I'm afraid the ghost king won't be easy to deal with."
"Let's report to the organization right away," Lishi said. He prepared to make the call, his fingers trembling with excitement.
By now the organization's task could already be counted as complete. Reporting it would surely bring rich rewards: ability-enhancement agents, physique-enhancement agents, all kinds of secret intelligence... They could freely choose anything in the reward vault.
Their status would rise. They would be able to reach the organization's core and rise high from then on!
"No rush. Ten years have already passed. What difference does this little while make?" Nianshi's eyes were very bright. He stopped Lishi and pressed down on the phone, with plans of his own.
"The school is so big. At most we know the rough location. Why not go investigate in person?"
"Investigate in person?"
Lishi suddenly fell silent, staring only at the map. No telling what he was thinking.
Only after a long while did he slowly ask, "You want to pocket the treasure for yourself, don't you?"
Nianshi did not hide the greed in his heart. "That's right. It's the legendary Human Dao supreme treasure, containing boundless mighty power. Don't you want it?"
Who would not want this legendary treasure?
Lishi hesitated, and did not agree rashly. "But the ancient text says the treasure's guardian is a ghost king. Anything that can be called a ghost king must be extremely powerful. It isn't something we can deal with. Aren't you afraid of ending up like the author of that ancient text?"
Nianshi dared to think this because he had ability of his own. "My ancestors studied some feng shui arts, and I have ritual implements consecrated by eminent Buddhist monks. They can't deal with a ghost king, but holding our own for a bit is still possible."
"And the ancient text says a powerful sealing was set on the box that holds the treasure. Ghosts and evil things cannot approach. That means the Zhenyue Ghost King only keeps watch nearby, and won't carry it on his person. As long as we get close to the Human Dao supreme treasure, we'll be safe!"
"Even if we can't obtain it, we can still feel out some intelligence on the vengeful ghost. Then we report both the treasure and the intelligence on the ghost king to the organization. That would still be one greater credit and one lesser one."
It was a plan on which they could not lose, no matter how they reckoned it.
Lishi thought for a moment, then nodded hard. "All right."
The answer was no surprise. Nianshi showed a satisfied smile. The two had spent ten years together, and knew what kind of person the other was.
Chapter 16