Chapter 43: Inheritance of the Cave Dwelling
"Fellow Daoist Song deserves it without question," Xu Yunhe, having caught his breath, voiced his agreement.
Zhu Yiqun shrugged. "Of course I have no objections. Without Changsheng, we wouldn't have gotten this far. He could have claimed everything for himself."
With just a few casual words, the group unanimously affirmed Song Changsheng’s merit. As the person in question, he saw no need to act coy and gladly accepted their goodwill.
Before him were twelve jade boxes, five jade vials, three jade slips, and three jade tokens of unknown purpose.
Song Changsheng didn’t bother to scrutinize them. He simply picked one jade box, one jade vial, and one purple jade slip, then stepped aside.
At that moment, Zhuang Yuechan spoke again. “Fellow Daoist Zhu was the organizer of this expedition. He should pick next.”
“Well, since Fellow Daoist Zhuang says so, old Zhu won’t stand on ceremony.” Zhu Yiqun chuckled and stepped forward to take a jade box.
Zhuang Yuechan placed everyone ahead of herself in the order. After a few rounds, the remaining items were one jade vial and the three jade tokens.
When it was Song Changsheng’s turn again, everyone assumed he would choose the jade vial. Unexpectedly, he instead picked up a blood-red jade token.
“Changsheng, do you know what that thing does?” Zhu Yiqun asked curiously.
Song Changsheng shook his head. “I simply felt a sense of affinity with it, but I don’t know its purpose.”
No one pressed the matter. According to the order set by Zhuang Yuechan, everyone took another item: Zhu Yiqun and Zhuang Yuechan each picked a jade token, and the jade vial ended up in Xu Yunhe’s hands.
Once the treasures had been divided, Song Changsheng clasped his hands and said, “Fellow Daoists, if any of you acquired an inheritance related to formations or artifact forging and are willing to part with it, I am prepared to purchase or exchange for it. I will ensure your satisfaction.”
There had been three jade slips in the storage pouch, any one of which might contain an inheritance. Song Changsheng had chosen one earlier and having glanced at it, he found it to contain a sword technique, profound but of no use to him.
What he truly desired was an inheritance related to formations or artifact refinement.
“I have one concerning artifact refinement,” Xu Yunhe was the first to take out a jade slip and hand it to Song Changsheng.
“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Xu. What would you like in exchange?” Song Changsheng was overjoyed. So the cave master had indeed left behind a relevant inheritance.
“Fellow Daoist Song can take it. It’s of no use to me anyway,” Xu Yunhe waved a hand nonchalantly. For him, a man and a sword were enough.
“One cannot say that. Though it may be useless to you, it is of great value to me. As it happens, the jade slip I obtained contains a sword technique. I’ll exchange it with you,” said Song Changsheng, retrieving the jade slip he had taken.
When Xu Yunhe heard it was a sword technique, his interest was instantly piqued. For cultivators, there were four essentials: technique, companion, wealth, and land, with cultivation methods being paramount.
As a loose cultivator, Xu Yunhe had stumbled upon a sword cultivation inheritance, which had set him on his path. But he had long since hit a bottleneck. He was neither from a family like Song Changsheng, nor did he possess the mysterious background of Zhu Yiqun or Zhuang Yuechan. For him, this sword technique was a timely boon amid adversity.
“This is exactly what I need. Let’s do as you suggested,” Xu Yunhe replied, somewhat embarrassed. After all, he had just said he’d give it for free.
After their exchange, Zhuang Yuechan also produced a jade slip. “It seems Fellow Daoist Song’s luck isn’t too great today. I, too, have a formation inheritance here.”
Song Changsheng’s face darkened instantly. Of the three jade slips, two contained what he sought, yet he had flawlessly missed both. His luck wasn’t just bad, it was dreadful.
With a wry smile, he cupped his hands and asked, “May I ask what Fellow Daoist Zhuang desires in return?”
A faint smile curved the lips beneath Zhuang Yuechan’s veil. She pointed to the pile of unsorted valuables on the ground and said, “I’ll take these cultivation resources, and also that green jade box you picked earlier.”
“Fellow Daoist Zhuang, aren’t you being a bit greedy?” Zhu Yiqun’s beady eyes locked onto the jade slip in her hand. “That pile alone must be worth at least six thousand spirit stones. Changsheng’s jade box is probably another fifteen hundred. Is that inheritance worth all that?”
Zhuang Yuechan showed no irritation. She handed the jade slip to Song Changsheng and said calmly, “Fellow Daoist Song can judge for himself. I’m not trying to extort.”
Song Changsheng placed the jade slip to his forehead, and upon skimming its contents, a storm surged in his heart.
Without hesitation, he retrieved the green jade box. He hadn’t even opened it yet, but whatever was inside could not compare to the allure of this inheritance.
“Many thanks, Fellow Daoist. I am deeply grateful,” Song Changsheng said earnestly, bowing to Zhuang Yuechan. This time, he had truly gotten the better end of the deal.
Zhuang Yuechan gave him a somewhat complicated look but said nothing.
“There’s definitely something going on between those two,” Zhu Yiqun muttered to himself as his gaze flicked back and forth between them, already concocting a series of wild and plausible theories.
Soon after, the remaining cultivation resources were split into four portions, with Zhuang Yuechan taking two.
Though Song Changsheng missed out on this batch of resources, he had secured the cave master’s inheritance in both formations and artifact refinement, as well as a secret art. He had gained plenty and felt fully content.
Just as the group prepared to tally their overall gains, Song Changsheng’s expression suddenly changed. “Not good. I don’t know what method those blood demons are using, but the Mystic Yang Skysteel Array is about to be breached!”
“What?!” Everyone was aghast. Even a demon-suppressing formation couldn't stop them?
“Fellow Daoist Song, we’ll need you to control the formation and buy some time. My sect’s elders should be arriving soon,” Zhuang Yuechan said gravely.
“Alright. I’ll do my best.”
The group quickly made their way out of the cave dwelling, only to find the sky overhead had been swallowed by a layer of filthy black blood. The protective light formed by the yang energy was being steadily eroded.
“This is the Blood Demon Yin-Fiend Array, a fiendish formation that can only be set up using special methods. Damn those blood demons,” Song Changsheng growled, fury welling in his chest.
Connecting all the events together, Song Changsheng suddenly understood why those demonic cultivators had ambushed them three years ago. It had been to set up this very vile formation. All of this had been planned from the start!
He thought of Song Changjiu, Song Luding, and the others who had fallen in that battle. His rage reached a boiling point.
“Fellow Daoist Song, everything depends on you now,” Zhuang Yuechan said solemnly, her left hand quietly tightening around the jade pendant at her waist.
“Formation, arise! Heavenly Gang Wind Fiends!”
Song Changsheng shouted, and the formation roared to life. Violent gales surged forth, transforming into blades that slashed toward the sea of blood enshrouding the great array…
(Chapter End)