Chapter 116: Sky of Ten Suns
After sending Yu'er and the Lady Arclight off, Xiao Nanfeng blocked the entrance to the emperor's tomb and entered secluded cultivation.
He had to quickly memorize Emperor Wei's inheritance, which included countless techniques. Some of the techniques had been cultivated by none other than Emperor Wei himself, but he had no firsthand experience with others. The techniques were carefully marked and organized.
Xiao Nanfeng's honed memory, boosted by his superior yin pearl, allowed him to record it all within just a few days.
"Emperor Wei's inheritance contains quite a few Ascension-realm techniques, but this one, Sky of Ten Suns, looks to be the most suited to me..."
Sky of Ten Suns was a cultivation technique with particularly demanding requirements. The cultivator needed pure yang qi, along with all hundred divine channels—the ten divine conduits and ninety divine capillaries—unblocked. Only then could the cultivator bear the might of the technique. Apparently, Emperor Wei had learned of such a technique from a tablet in a hidden realm. By then, he had already become an Immortal. Multiple times throughout his life, he had regretted not having learned the technique as an Ascension-realm cultivator.
The technique was particularly demanding in terms of spiritual power, but it boasted commensurate might in exchange.
Xiao Nanfeng distilled the draconic aether that he had sealed into pure yang qi and began to cultivate the technique.
The pure yang qi divided once and again into a hundred streams, flooding Xiao Nanfeng's divine channels. As more and more of the draconic aether was consumed, the qi flowed ever more rapidly. Its speed grew to such an extent that, when a small trickle of current vaporized, howling winds formed around Xiao Nanfeng's body.
The sealed draconic aether was almost entirely consumed upon circulating this technique. The hundred streams of qi moved as rapidly as bolts of lightning. Suddenly, they converged on one spot with a bang that caused the very heavens to rumble.
A golden fireball formed at the center of the collision, illuminating Xiao Nanfeng's dantian and generating a wave of flames over his body.
Xiao Nanfeng himself seemed to have transformed into a golden sun, roaring with flame and resplendent with light.
"External manifestation of qi? Have I reached the first stage of Ascension?" Xiao Nanfeng's eyes brightened.
The golden flames that surrounded his body would be a strong defense against spiritual and physical attacks alike. He flicked his right index finger and sent a puff of flame at the cave wall. The resulting explosion expanded the cavern with a bang, the golden flames remaining for a prolonged period of time on the cave walls.
Xiao Nanfeng reined in his genetic energy, snuffing out the flames all around him and sending their energy back toward his dantian. All his draconic aether had been consumed; a scorching golden sun now floated in his dantian.
The golden sun gave off an unusual suction that resonated with his hundred streams of qi. They began to absorb the spiritual aether in the environment rapidly, funneling it all toward the golden sun. The sun served as a furnace that was able to convert all strength into pure yang qi.
"Sky of Ten Suns? Will I be forming ten suns in my body, then?" Xiao Nanfeng murmured to himself.
He could sense a vast, frightening amount of energy coming from just the one sun he had already condensed.
Xiao Nanfeng cleaned up his surroundings and walked out of Emperor Wei's tomb. As he did so, two figures rushed over from the forest, You Jiu and his sweetheart. By now, they had recovered from their injuries.
"Sir, have you managed to obtain the Seal of Great Wei?" You Jiu asked Xiao Nanfeng.
Xiao Nanfeng summoned the seal, which radiated with golden light.
You Jiu immediately retrieved a badge and activated it. Upon sensing the seal, it trembled violently, causing his eyes to light up.
"You Jiu greets the successor of Emperor Wei!"
"You Ba greets the successor of Emperor Wei."
The two cultivators bowed deeply toward Xiao Nanfeng.
"You Jiu? You Ba? Are your names nicknames?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously. [1]
"Senior Sister, please keep an eye out on the surroundings. I'll explain all this to Sir Xiao," You Jiu requested.
The woman nodded, then headed toward a higher vantage point on the nearby mountain.
"Sir Xiao, we're the spectral guards of the Hall of Specters. A thousand years ago, Emperor Wei established the Hall of Specters to provide oversight over the officials of Great Wei, along with intelligence about the realm at large. Our foremost tenet is loyalty toward Emperor Wei and his successors," You Jiu explained.
"Is that so?" Xiao Nanfeng pondered the information carefully.
"The same tenet is shared by the two royal families of the humans' domain, as well as the bulk of the clans there," You Jiu continued.
"Tell me about the humans' domain," Xiao Nanfeng requested.
"A thousand years ago, there were many mortals in the humans' domain, none of whom had particularly advanced cultivation techniques. What little they learned was a result of the high spiritual density that filled this realm. Afterwards, when Emperor Wei was to be buried in the spirits' domain, he designated a group of gravekeepers to watch over the three great tombs that had been erected. The gravekeepers had remained loyally in the spirits' domain until a century later, when all Spiritsong- and higher-realm cultivators were invited to the divine domain in search of an opportunity or another. By the time they returned, however, nearly half had perished. Allegedly, every century since, the divine domain would invite them once more."
Xiao Nanfeng nodded, having learned of this to some extent.
"The gravekeepers who returned, worried that they would all die out if this were to continue, leaving no one to guard Emperor Wei's three tombs, thought to summon new gravekeepers from the humans' domain. Worried that these successors would be disloyal, however, they instead chose to start their own families, passing down these tenets from generation to generation. All descendants of gravekeepers would be gravekeepers themselves, and they would submit to the authority of Emperor Wei or his successor."
"What happened next?" Xiao Nanfeng asked curiously.
"After the first generation of gravekeepers died in the divine domain, their descendants' loyalty wavered. No longer did they want to guard the tombs; rather, they fought for dominion of the humans' domain, eventually forming two great empires and many major clans that took over the entire region."
"Oh?"
"The two royal families, along with the descendants of the major clans, grew more and more lawless. They even tried to form crews to rob the tombs. The Hall of Specters killed them all, but was quickly beset by the major clans. It suffered tremendous losses and was almost entirely destroyed. The sect leader commanded for us to pretend that we truly had been destroyed. We moved undercover to the humans' cities, where we lay in wait, stealing and destroying the techniques of each clan, and assassinating their successors so as to destroy the completeness of their respective inheritance. We did this to weaken their overall strength and to continue our surveillance against them as we waited for Emperor Wei or his successor to descend and judge them for their crimes. The Hall of Specters has continued to guard the tombs of Emperor Wei, and I was assigned to such a duty.
"In that case, the Hall of Specters has been running surveillance on the royal families and the major clans all this time?" Xiao Nanfeng was suitably impressed.
"Quite so. However, a millennium has passed, and even several of our number have grown restless," You Jiu replied, smiling wryly.
"Oh?"
"You Ba's father is the current head of the Hall of Specters. Because he's a Spiritsong-realm cultivator, however, he was forced to head to the divine domain. Our head is loyal to Emperor Wei and can quash any disturbance, but if he doesn't return, the Hall of Specters might truly suffer."
"How strong is the Hall?" Xiao Nanfeng asked.
"The Hall has nine divisions, represented by the numbers one through nine. I lead the ninth division, and am therefore called You Jiu. The eight spectral guards You Yi through You Ba lead the other eight divisions. I am among the top three guard leaders in strength," You Jiu replied confidently.
"Several of my senior brothers have gone missing in this realm, and I believe they may have been caught by the major clans in the humans' domain. Can the Hall of Specters help me find them?"
"I will do my best, Sir."
Xiao Nanfeng nodded.
Just then, You Ba leapt down from her vantage point high above. "We have a problem, You Jiu."
"Is there someone in the forest? Who?" You Jiu prepared himself as he looked over.
A hundred or so black-robed men suddenly walked out of the forest, each brandishing a sword. Killing intent suffused them.
"Spectral guards? Is that You Liu?" You Jiu seemed to recognize one of their number.
One of the black-robed cultivators revealed himself to be a middle-aged man with a sinister air around himself.
"You Jiu? You Ba? You're both here. And behind you must be Nanfeng. Who has the Seal of Great Wei, him or either of you?" You Liu's eyes flashed with excitement.
"What do you want?" You Jiu called out coldly.
"There's a refrain in the humans' domain: he who bears the Seal of Great Wei controls the world. I'd like to see what it's like to control the world," You Liu replied, grinning with excitement.
"Did the serpent spread this news in the humans' domain?" Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes.
You Liu cackled. "So you are Nanfeng, then? Do you have the Seal of Great Wei?"
"Come and get it if you dare," Xiao Nanfeng replied coldly.
"As you wish!" You Liu's cackle grew louder.
"You Liu, have you forgotten about the tenets of our Hall? Sir Xiao is the successor to Emperor Wei. Do you intend to foment rebellion?!" You Jiu cried out.
"Haha! Don't be naive, You Jiu. It's been a thousand years, and it's long past time for the tenets to be changed. The old sect master really was foolish, wasn't he? The Hall of Specters boasts tremendous strength. Why should we skulk in the darkness? We could easily become the third great empire of the humans' domain, but he's been clinging on to the tenets! Considering his wounds, there's no way he would return from the divine domain. The Hall of Specters shall change with the times, and I advise that you change with it."
"You dare! And all you spectral guards—don't you forget the oaths you swore! Are you going to rebel too?!" You Jiu cried out.
"They'll only listen to my commands," You Liu called out. He turned to the black-robed cultivators. "All of you, listen up. Seize the Seal of Great Wei!"
The black-robed cultivators ran straight at Xiao Nanfeng's party.
"Protect Sir Xiao, Senior Sister!" You Jiu shouted.
He shot toward You Liu, who was leading the charge.
Their two blades clashed against each other. Manifold spirits formed all around them, dashing into You Liu and sending him stumbling back.
"Talented, aren't you, You Jiu? Has the sect leader even deemed fit to pass you his secret technique? He must be intending to groom you to be his successor. Unfortunately for you, I secretly learned the technique too!" You Liu
The tempo of the fight grew more and more rapid. Although they used the same set of techniques, You Jiu was the more talented and experienced fighter, and he continued to push You Liu back.
Meanwhile, a group of the black-robed cultivators had rushed up toward Xiao Nanfeng.
"Those who betray the Hall of Specters shall die!" You Ba shouted.
She stood in front of Xiao Nanfeng, shielding him with her body. Her sword slashed at a group of the incoming cultivators.
1. 八 (ba) and 九 (jiu) are respectively 'eight' and 'nine'. ?
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