Chapter 36

Deep night, the darkness was hazy.

Dou Changsheng, seated upright on his bed, slowly opened his eyes.

After a long night of strenuous cultivation, his depleted primordial internal qi had once again filled to fullness.

But his five qi orifices remained empty; filling them would take more than a day or two.

Dou Changsheng began to review the battle from the day, and had to admit that the Five Elements Seal was truly powerful.

Combat power consists of internal qi, martial techniques, experience, weapons, and more; further subdivisions include the purity of internal qi and the level of martial arts, but undeniably, if one’s primordial internal qi is sufficient, one is strong.

Dou Changsheng sighed deeply in his heart.

He had still suffered from having cultivated too short a time and possessing too little primordial internal qi.

If he had cultivated properly for ten years, with the vast internal qi accumulated from the thousand-year earth pearl, a single strike alone would surpass the full opening of all five qi orifices; once those five orifices were fully saturated with primordial internal qi, the final power would be unimaginable.

He slowly drew out the Hero Sword and gently caressed its cold blade.

The power of this weapon exceeded his expectations.

In his final strike, he overwhelmed Chen Weiquan, Wang Dingli, and others; the weapon’s sharpness played a major role.

Above weapons are magic treasures.

Magic treasures possess sentience and the trait of choosing their masters.

If one’s affinity does not match a magic treasure, it cannot awaken; it can only rely on its sharpness, unable to manifest its true nature, thus losing its meaning as a magic treasure and becoming merely a weapon.

The Hero Sword was forged personally by the great swordsmith Tang Fangxiong, whose skill was sufficient to forge a magic treasure, yet he made it only a weapon—his purpose was simple: to have Tang He personally nurture the sword’s sentience.

When the Hero Sword’s sentience became strong enough and naturally ascended into a magic treasure, the sentience cultivated by oneself would be perfectly aligned, flawless, capable of bearing one’s Dao and potentially ascending to a divine weapon in the future.

Such great clans think long-term; they have already paved Tang He’s future path.

This favor must be repaid in the future.

Personally polishing the Hero Sword was a daily ritual.

Doing so alone could not cultivate sentience, but over years, it could deepen their bond.

After slowly sheathing the Hero Sword, Dou Changsheng prepared to rest; today’s turmoil had left him mentally exhausted—Tang Qingyan, Chen Weiquan, Lin Daoqi, none of them were easy to deal with.

His role in San Yang Mountain was merely to stir up trouble, disrupt the situation, and act as a target to draw attention.

Dou Changsheng had just lain down on the bed when he heard a knock—dong, dong, dong—on the door.

He sat up instantly, one hand gripping the hilt of the Hero Sword beside his pillow, and asked: “Who is it?”

The door creaked open.

A figure stepped inside.

In a flick of his hand, the door shut, and a Daoist clad in red robes stood before Dou Changsheng.

Hong Yang Daoist appeared the oldest; Zi Yang Daoist was in his thirties or forties, Qing Yang Daoist in his sixties or seventies, but this Hong Yang Daoist was eighty or ninety, his hair entirely white, his face wrinkled, his body extremely thin, giving off a withered impression.

He was suffused with the aura of twilight, as if one foot had already stepped into his coffin, death drawing near.

Since seeing him, Dou Changsheng had assumed he was a man who wished for no trouble, but he had not expected him to be so restless.

After all, who knocks on your door at midnight if they have no agenda?

Dou Changsheng spoke calmly: “Master Hong Yang, why have you come so late?”

Hong Yang Daoist gazed deeply at Dou Changsheng, then smiled bitterly: “I have come here seeking life.”

“The military payroll has been stolen, shaking court and realm, drawing the eyes of the entire world; all four nations are watching San Yang Mountain.”

“Within the court now, ministers and generals are at odds; with the payroll lost, other nations all hope it was the Chancellor who did it, to incite internal strife.”

“Even if it was the Grand General, that would suffice—to carve out the north and become a warlord.”

“Whichever outcome occurs, the court will be thrown into chaos and national strength severely weakened.”

“This is certainly not what the court wishes to see; if no further clues emerge regarding the payroll, all parties will no longer remain so passive.”

“San Yang Sect may be wiped out—every blade of grass burned, every soul slain.”

“Now, Qing Yang’s three primordial realm disciples dare not return, fearing death without cause.”

“The only chance for survival now lies with the shogunate.”

Dou Changsheng asked: “Why not the Emperor? Why not the Chancellor?”

Hong Yang Daoist spoke bitterly: “The Chancellor does not lack men; Zi Yang Daoist has long served the Chancellor, carrying out his orders. This matter may deceive the Sect Master, but it cannot deceive me.”

“Whatever I can do, Zi Yang Daoist can do too—why would the Chancellor need me?”

“Only the shogunate has no agents within the San Yang Sect, which is why my value becomes apparent.”

Hong Yang Daoist had revealed much at once, exposing Zi Yang Daoist’s true nature; Dou Changsheng’s trust in him rose to fifty percent.

Hong Yang Daoist hesitated briefly, then gritted his teeth and continued: “Since the death of our founder, San Yang Sect has had no master on the Earth List; over these years, though we have had divine marvel masters, our prestige has greatly declined.”

“Even Qing Yang Spring has been lost, which is why the Hero Meeting at Qing Yang Spring was held.”

“Our Qing Yang Sect Master has always harbored ambitions to restore San Yang Sect’s former glory; outwardly he appears timid, but inwardly he is resolute and decisive—soft on the outside, hard within.”

“I suspect the payroll theft was carried out by Qing Yang Sect Master himself.”

“Such a vast amount of official silver and armor would require immense manpower to move.”

“But I know that Daoism possesses a supreme technique: the Five Ghosts Transporting Art.”

Dou Changsheng’s expression turned grave; he asked sternly: “Does Qing Yang Sect Master know this supreme technique?”

Hong Yang Daoist shook his head: “Such a technique is mysterious and uncanny, accessible only to pure yin masters; Qing Yang Sect Master is merely an ordinary divine marvel master—he cannot possibly wield it.”

“But I know that recently, Tang Qingyan of the Jiangdu Tang clan, known as the Night Princess, ascended San Yang Mountain and met secretly with Qing Yang Sect Master.”

“She is a pure yin master, and with the Southern Chen’s myriad demons howling, she is strange and terrifying.”

“If anyone knows the Five Ghosts Transporting Art, she is the prime suspect.”

“To gain a glimpse of the Earth Book, she severed both her legs as payment, securing the third rank on the Wu Lin Tower’s movement list.”

“The Jiangdu Tang clan bears half the burden of her existence.”

“Many in the Heavenly Demon Palace surpass her, but without the Demon Master himself, none can catch her.”

“The Tang family stands firm in Jiangdu, unmoved.”

Wait.

This doesn’t match what I know.

Wasn’t Tang Qingyan merely lucky to survive, losing her legs?

How is it now that she cut them off herself?

One event, viewed from another angle, becomes entirely different.