Chapter 99 - 97: An Encounter
"Talisman Master Lü, business can wait. Right now, the tea is what’s important."
Gao Xuan rolled up his sleeves, stood, and took the initiative to pour tea for Lü Zhong. "Please, don’t stand on ceremony. If you hadn’t come today, Talisman Master Lü, I wouldn’t have had the chance to drink this Yunxi Spring Tea myself."
After that, the two dropped the pretense and began drinking the Spirit Tea, cup after cup.
Lü Zhong drank four cups in a row, which was equivalent to two months of hard cultivation.
With this experience, he finally understood why some cultivators in storybooks could greatly advance their cultivation just by drinking tea every day.
Only by experiencing it firsthand did he realize it wasn’t just some nonsense written in a book. It was clearly a depiction of their real, albeit mundane, lives—a reality that cultivators who only read about it could never comprehend.
"This is good stuff. A pity the Pavilion only allows us to treat a guest like this once..."
Gao Xuan set down his empty teacup, his expression one of wistful longing.
Once the Spirit Tea was finished, it was time to talk business.
"Fellow Daoist, what have you decided?" Gao Xuan looked at Lü Zhong.
Lü Zhong already had his answer. He said frankly, "How can I become an Honored Guest Elder of the Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion?"
"That’s simple." Gao Xuan made no mention of the Experience Book, acting as if the matter had never come up. With a flip of his hand, he produced an amber-colored token and placed it on the table. Its surface was carved with patterns of water, fire, and clouds, encircling the words "Honored Guest Elder."
Clearing his throat, he began to explain the specifics.
"Regarding the position of Honored Guest Elder, according to the Pavilion’s rules, with your current Qi Refining Middle Stage Cultivation, I’m afraid you can only serve as an Amber Honored Guest Elder for now. The standard for this rank is one hundred Contribution Points per year. Amber Honored Guest Elders are required to take action at least three times annually. Any additional tasks will earn extra Contribution Points, calculated separately."
"As for the specific uses of Contribution Points, besides using them to exchange for the Pavilion’s Cultivation Techniques and Magic Skills, you can also exchange them for Spirit Stones at a one-to-one ratio. Or, after accumulating enough Contribution Points, you can choose to formally join the Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion, as I did."
"Do you have any objections to this, Fellow Daoist?"
Lü Zhong shook his head. This was all in line with what he already knew, so he was prepared.
"If not, you can accept this Amber Token, Fellow Daoist. Doing so will be considered as you accepting the position of the Pavilion’s Honored Guest Elder. Later, when we need you to take action, the Pavilion will send a notice in advance."
Hearing this, Lü Zhong accepted the Amber Token.
He exchanged a few more pleasantries with Gao Xuan, discussing some insights on cultivation before taking his leave from the Ten Thousand Laws Pavilion.
...
At dusk three days later, Lü Zhong arrived at the outskirts of Ghost Cloud Valley.
Seeing that it was about to get dark, he decided against venturing deeper into the valley for safety’s sake. Instead, he found a secluded cave to rest in for the night. This would allow him to avoid the most dangerous hours in the wilderness. He would wait until sunrise to release his Spirit-Seeking Rat and begin the search.
The cave was in an excellent spot, situated on a cliff face over a hundred feet from the ground. A gnarled, ancient pine tree concealed its entrance.
A cave so well hidden was nearly impossible to spot from the outside.
If Lü Zhong hadn’t happened to land on the ancient pine using his Light Body Skill, he wouldn’t have discovered it either.
He cast Malice Detection, just in case something malicious was hiding inside. When he felt no response, he sat cross-legged on a flattened patch of ground and closed his eyes to rest, planning to stay that way until sunrise.
The mountain wind howled through the night, its gusts echoing into the cave.
Remembering that a great number of mortals and cultivators had perished here, it was easy to mistake the sound for the wailing of ghosts.
’There aren’t really any ghosts, are there?’
To be on the safe side, Lü Zhong took out a whole stack of Evil Exorcism Talismans. He then cast three techniques in succession—Concealing Breath, Concealing Trace, and Qi Observation. He stared out at the ghostly, blue-green flames flickering in the night, guarding against the possibility of a real ghostly creature bursting in.
Under the moonlight, Ghost Cloud Valley looked even more sinister than it did by day.
This was especially true of the will-o’-the-wisps floating in the air. Influenced by the incredibly dense Yin Qi of the area, they glowed ever brighter as they bobbed up and down in the gray mist filling the valley, looking as if they were truly alive.
Dark clouds soon obscured the moon, and before he knew it, the night had crept past its midpoint.
At this moment, two rays of Spiritual Light suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
Judging by their movements, they were two cultivators, both at the Mid-stage of Qi Refining.
For some reason, he felt that one of the slender figures looked a bit familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.
The pair leaped and bounded through the valley’s ruins, finally landing amidst a pile of rubble.
’What are these two doing running around out here so late at night?’ Lü Zhong wondered, his vigilance sharpening.
To avoid being discovered by the pair nearby, he pushed his Concealing Breath and Traces techniques to their absolute limit. He then lay flat at the mouth of the cave to observe their movements, trying to discern their purpose here.
’Could they be here for the Evil Cultivator’s hidden treasure?’ Lü Zhong wondered as he watched.
Ever since the Evil Cultivators of Ghost Cloud Valley were wiped out, rumors had been circulating.
According to the rumor, Lu Ya, the leader of the Ghost Cloud Valley Evil Cultivators, had long ago discovered a Spirit Stone Vein in the valley and had been secretly sending his confidants to mine it. After he was killed by a Foundation Establishment expert from the Golden Rainbow Sect, the mined Spirit Stones were not moved and remain hidden in the valley to this day.
Several versions of similar rumors circulated in the Yanling Mountain Market.
In those versions, the contents of the treasure had become a peerless Cultivation Technique that led directly to the realm of a True Immortal, or a Foundation Establishment Pill that guaranteed a one-hundred-percent success rate.
Even more ridiculously, some people swore that Lu Ya had once imprisoned a female cultivator as beautiful as a Celestial Immortal in Ghost Cloud Valley. If someone could rescue her, they would win the fair lady’s heart, and so on and so forth.
Lü Zhong scoffed at this rumor, figuring that whoever started it had simply read too many romance novels.