Chapter 390: On Lianbao Peak! Mao Mao Xiaoyun and Zhang Tiansheng

Deep night, a lone full moon hung high, scattered cold stars twinkling faintly.

Maoshan, Lianbao Peak.

Inside the ancient, rustic temple, candlelight glowed red, thick incense smoke swaying as it offered reverence to a jade box upon the altar.

Amid the howling mountain wind, Mao Mao Baifeng, An Wuyang, Xiao Ge Changfeng, and others stood respectfully outside the temple, when suddenly a figure walked up to the altar.

"Uncle Ancestor!"

Mao Mao Baifeng couldn't help but cry out.

According to the Mao family's generational hierarchy, she was to call Mao Mao Xiaoyun "Uncle Ancestor."

"Elder!"

An Wuyang and Xiao Ge Changfeng also bowed respectfully—they were disciples of Mount Zhongnan, currently guests at Maoshan, and could not afford to neglect propriety before a Tian Shi.

"Little An, where is your uncle now?"

From within the temple, an ancient voice echoed; beneath the dim candlelight, the old figure seemed to gaze at the jade box upon the altar.

"Uncle Ye has followed the trail of the Jianggong Lord—he's likely already left Jiangnan Province and entered Huizhou territory," An Wuyang said solemnly.

He vaguely knew that this time, Ye Ye Beichen descended the mountain with Mao Mao Xiaoyun to hunt down the Jianggong Lord of Wu Wei Men.

"Wu Wei Men truly produces talent—he still slipped away." Mao Mao Xiaoyun sighed.

"A thousand deaths cannot kill him, ten thousand calamities cannot defeat him—only those tempered in adversity become true masters."

"By comparison, today's Daoist sects are far too comfortable."

The faint whisper echoed through the ancient temple; An Wuyang, Mao Mao Baifeng, and the other young disciples fell silent.

If the Daoist sects walked in the light, Wu Wei Men lurked within the darkness.

By contrast, Daoist disciples were far too numerous; each generation produced prodigies of unimaginable talent.

Yet though Wu Wei Men had few members, they moved in shadows, enduring countless trials to survive—their success rate was astonishingly high; masters forged in suffering and death were far more terrifying than ordinary Daoist cultivators.

Like the Jianggong Lord—two Tian Shi surrounded him, forced him to abandon his physical body, and laid a celestial net across Jiangnan Province—yet he still escaped.

Having survived such a calamity, he will surely grow stronger; next time, he will be even harder to deal with.

"Just as he said: flowers grown in a greenhouse, no matter how beautiful, are fit only to be fertilizer."

These words struck Mao Mao Baifeng, Xiao Ge Changfeng, and the other disciples like knives.

"Little An, bring out your treasure."

Mao Mao Xiaoyun's voice rang out again, pulling everyone back to the present.

An Wuyang withdrew a talisman seal from his bosom—cast in purple copper, faint thunder-and-fire patterns etched upon it, its base inscribed with ancient, mysterious Kedou script.

This was An Wuyang's treasure…

Cangjian Seal!

An Wuyang walked to a stone platform one hundred meters before the temple's entrance; its surface was mirror-smooth, as if polished ten thousand times, upon which rested two broken seals: 【Thunder City Imprisoning Demon Golden Seal】 and 【Jingming Xi Dongyang Talisman Seal】, alongside three other treasure fragments.

These were all the materials An Wuyang had brought.

He carefully placed his 【Cangjian Seal】 upon the stone platform.

"Your treasure is extraordinary—it bears traces of Mount Zhongnan's Wang Lingguan Seal," Mao Mao Xiaoyun said from within the temple, his gaze fixed on the platform.

The Wang Lingguan Seal was an ancient talisman of Mount Zhongnan; had it not suffered calamity, it would long ago have ascended to the rank of 【Qingyu Treasure】.

"Elder's insight is sharp—my seal was reforged upon the foundation of the Wang Lingguan Seal, refined with reference to the Great Seal's form hidden in the Qiu family's archives."

At these words, Mao Mao Xiaoyun inside the temple raised his brows; a name hovered on the tip of his tongue.

"Xiantian Seal!"

One of the Nine Treasures, the 【Xiantian Seal】, had once belonged to the Qiu family, who then created a unique art called Xiantian Art.

An Wuyang's seal, built upon this foundation, perfectly complements his 【Taiyi Sword】.

"Mount Zhongnan clearly holds you in high esteem—they must have paid a great price," Mao Mao Xiaoyun remarked.

The Qiu family's Xiantian Seal form was not something one could casually observe, let alone use as a foundation to reforged a treasure.

Moreover, Mount Zhongnan also paid a price to help An Wuyang temper his 【Cangjian Seal】.

Clearly, this heir held extraordinary weight within Mount Zhongnan.

"Please, Elder, lend your hand," An Wuyang bowed deeply.

"Then let us begin!"

As he spoke, Mao Mao Xiaoyun turned and walked to the altar, raising his hand to open the jade box above.

A jade seal appeared before them; instantly, thunder roared without ceasing, crimson auroras faintly pierced the horizon, and incense smoke surged like a tide.

The moment the jade seal appeared, every soul felt an uncanny sensation—the seal seemed shrouded in mist, profoundly mysterious.

"That is…"

"Zixiao Chi Shen Jade Seal!" An Wuyang said solemnly.

The Long Hu Mountain talisman seals were the supreme marvels of all Daoist arts.

Eighty years after the Daoist calamity, this lineage's incense dwindled and vanished from the mortal world; the talismans once enshrined at their gates were either destroyed or hidden—few remain today.

The one Maoshan obtained was among Long Hu Mountain's most important seals, ranked eleventh on the 【Long Hu Mountain Talisman Golden Register】.

Though Mount Zhongnan also possessed three Long Hu talismans, their most precious one ranked only twenty-eighth on the 【Long Hu Mountain Talisman Golden Register】.

"Zixiao Chi Shen…"

Inside the temple, before the altar, Mao Mao Xiaoyun whispered softly, slowly removing his gold-rimmed glasses.

"Jiang Your Majesty is petty—this pair of glasses is broken again."

Hearing this, Mao Mao Baifeng instinctively glanced over, her eyes falling on the gold-rimmed glasses.

She vaguely knew these glasses were gifts from the grand ceremony eight years ago during the restoration and consecration of Bai He Guan—only those of Tian Shi rank received such gifts.

Yet the glasses' quality was truly poor; rumor had it their cost in Danyang was merely twenty yuan.

Mao Mao Xiaoyun's gold-rimmed glasses had been repaired more than once.

"Uncle Ancestor, you…"

Suddenly, Mao Mao Baifeng gasped softly, words catching in her throat.

Her eyes trembled as she saw, after he removed the glasses, a strange scar along his temple—finger-length, crooked like a rune, crawling across his skin.

Mao Mao Baifeng rarely saw Mao Mao Xiaoyun, let alone witnessed him without his glasses or this scar.

At this moment, An Wuyang and Xiao Ge Changfeng also noticed—the face of a Maoshan Tian Shi bore such a wound, and no one knew how many stories it concealed.

"Long Hu Mountain…"

Mao Mao Xiaoyun seemed unaware; he gazed at the 【Zixiao Chi Shen Jade Seal】, its translucent jade reflecting his blurred figure—and the strange scar.

"Cicadas hum beneath locust trees, willow-lined streets breathe with wind; palace towers lean against the waning moon's eastern glow. A thousand-li road endures, yet those who meet and part differ after ten years."

Mao Mao Xiaoyun murmured softly, his gaze distant, time swirling before his eyes.

Upon the jade seal, upon the scar, he seemed to return to many years past—also at Maoshan…